Cafe Apron

So here is TSA (Twin Sew Along) project #3....the cafe apron.

I used reclaimed bed linens from goodwill. I wasn't totally inspired with these fabrics or how they went together. I really didn't want to have to spend $$ on new fabrics so I went the cheap route. But despite the fabrics, the cafe apron itself is a great idea. Although Phil asked me what the point of it is because you would still get your top front dirty. I told him it was more of a "hostess" apron for entertaining. He didn't seem convinced.

Visual Update: Hexagons

Clutch

This week Julia and I made clutches for our twin sew along. Mine definitely didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would, but that's mostly because I rushed through it. The zipper tab thingies didn't turn out...as seen below. I opted not to do the divider but only the card holder. I think the card holder was a little too big, but overall it was a fun little project.

Hop on over HERE to check out Julia's! 

Stick It To Me

Yesterday Jules and I both finished our pin cushions. I think it turns out pretty well, but there are some things I would probably do differently next time. I'm pretty great at sewing straight lines (well at least my machine is), but the curved lines of the circles really challenged me with this one. That definitely something I need to practice. Also, I think I would have stuffed mine a little bit more and also tried to get the tension on the embroidery floss a little more even. But all in all it was a fin project and I LOVE LOVE LOVED working with these fabrics. This line of fabric is a cotton sateen home decor weight fabric. I was actually at my local A.C.Moore looking for polyfil when I spotted this fabric. It was packaged as a set of four fabrics, but it had no indications of who designed it only the name of the company that packaged it up. I knew it looked familiar and since I loved it, I purchased it and did a little research when I got home. It is in fact Joel Dewberry Ginseng in Spice! It's lovely to work with and I have plenty of extra to make some more goodies.

Twin Sew Along

Jules (my lovely twin sister, wife of David, mother of Henry) and I have decided to start something new...or maybe I have (very lovingly might I add) persuaded Jules to do this with me. I LOVE to sew, but sometimes learning all by myself is a challenge. So why not do some projects with a buddy and learn from each other? Well folks, that's what we're doing. Announcing the first ever Twin Sew Along! Jules and I will be doing the same sewing project at the same time and we will both be posting about them on our blogs.

Even if you're not a twin, feel free to join us! (just let us know if you are).

Our first project? A sewing necessity...a pin cushion a la Creative Kismet. Our thought is to start slow and work our way up to doing something more complicated like a dress following a pattern, like this one. (but not too complicated because this dress doesn't requiring a lining or a zipper!)

Plenty of creations to come!

"..Oh what can it mean to a day dream believer..."

Yes, I admit I'm a day dreamer...especially when I'm at work doing things I would rather not do...actually hold the phone; I'm pretty sure I day dream even when I'm doing things I like to do! It's just so counterproductive.

I day dream about lots of things, but mostly I day dream about fabric and what I could do with it. Currently I am without my sewing machine (insert frown). We moved to a new place this past weekend and when we were putting the desk together which was supposed to be my very own sewing desk, it broke. So without a place to sew I now just think about it a lot. I think about how I'm going to tackle this dress for which I have this fabric for (the yellow one). Or what I'm going to do with this fabric, and this fabric, and this fabric. And how on earth am I going to finish my first quilt which I have blogged about below? How long is it going to take me to finish my hexagon quilt which I'm doing all by hand? What should I make for Christmas gifts this year? (I'm determined to do handmade gifts this year). When am I going to find the time to turn a pair of Phil's old madras shorts into a skirt for myself? (not maternity)

Then there's a whole pile of  "I want to learn how to do that..." projects.
- bias strip skirt (but in an adult version)
- duvet cover
- pin cushion
- gathered clutch
- installing a zipper
- how to sew with a pattern (this pattern and this pattern)
- french seams
- how to sew with knits
(ok, so after reading this list it sounds like I need to take a clothing cunstruction class...anyone know of any good ones in the Boston area?)

Oh and then there's all the wonderful fabric I dream about owning....

But honestly there could be worse things than having a broken desk and day dreaming about beautiful things right?

New Project

What? A new project before the quilt is done? I know I know, some would think I can't finish a project. Well in this case, I can't finish. See, as I was through a fair portion of free-motion machine quilting my quilt, I noticed my machine started to have some tension issues. I thought maybe my bobbin case was coming lose, so I took it out. It looked fine. Then I thought maybe there were some loose threads that were clogging up my tension discs. I didn't find any. I adjusted my tension settings, changed needles, changed threads, changed bobbins....nothing seemed to work. So I've pretty much chalked this down to my machine being old and not made to do free motion quilting. Which is fine, but this also means I have a quilt that is only 3/4 of the way finished. I will figure out what to do with it later...

I was so frustrated with my machine that I thought I would try and learn to quilt by hand. So this seamed like the perfect time to teach myself how to make hexagons using the English paper piecing method. You can learn more about that HERE. I have been admiring the hexagons I have seen on different sewing blogs and flickr pages and figured I would teach myself. So I did! I came up with a design I wanted to make and then picked out some fabric.

I found the fabric at a nice etsy shop. I purchased 5" charm packs of the two fabric collections as well as some off-white solid cottons. The blue hexagons in the design will be hexagons made from all of these different patterns, randomly thrown together into the flowers.

Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane

I plan on binding the quilt like this, using more hexagons flipped over to the back. And I plan on doing some hand quilting around all the hexagon flowers.

So far I have 30 hexagons finished (only 193 left to go!!). The nice thing about making the hexagons is they are transportable. I have a little oil cloth zipper pouch that I keep everything in and it comes with me. I took it with me on the airplane during our recent trip to Nauvoo, and I plan on taking it with me on my trip out to Utah in a few weeks. Hopefully by the end of the summer I will have somewhere around 100 or so hexagons finished (maybe more!).

I know it's going to take me a while to get this done, but I figure it will be a labor of love...and I will be that much more proud of the finished product!

Blocks

Here are my submissions for Anna Maria Horner's Rainbow Around the Block. I used scraps that I already had to make these. The green seersucker is from a pair of pants of Phil's that I turned into shorts for him. He seemed pleased to see me use it! It was a lot of fun to make these. I used a pattern for the plaid one, but for the house I just kind of free form pieced it. It obviously didn't turn out as I would have liked...notice the tip of the roof had to be cut off. Oh well, I learned from it.

Rainbow Around the Block

I haven't even finished my first quilt (which I have put aside until I resolve some tension issues I'm having while free motion quilting) and I'm thinking about what quilt project to do next. I really want to work on my block construction skills since I just used easy 4x4 blocks for my quilt.

I was so excited when I came across this on Anna Maria Horner's blog! If you haven't ever heard of Anna Maria Horner, then you probably aren't a sewer or a quilter. Anna Maria is a fabulous fabric designer, textile designer, quilter, seamstress, etc. I have yet to use any of her fabrics, but have been drooling over them for some time now. Anyway, Anna Maria lives in TN right by where they had all that horrible flooding. In an effort to help the the families who have lost their homes, she has put together Rainbow Around the Block. She is asking for quilters to send her 12.5x12.5 squares that will be used in quilts and given to the families. This is perfect for me to practice my piecing skills and help others along the way.

I'm off to the fabric store today to choose some fun fabrics for this projects and some others! I will post pics of my blocks before I send them off to TN.

Oh and on another exciting note (well, exciting for me to say the least...you may roll your eyes if you choose) I made my very first skirt yesterday! I cheated a little bit and used an old pair of jeans that don't fit me, but I'm pretty proud of myself. It ended up being a really cute dark denim pencil skirt! I think I even impressed Phil a little bit with my skills! But I really can't take all the credit. I used THIS tutorial. I'm not pregnant, so I didn't even touch the waistband. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it and I've been patting myself on the back since last night! I will post pictures when I decide to get the camera out...Lately I haven't been taking too many pictures because I'm really unhappy with my camera. Oh well, I'll have to suck it up until we buckle down and buy a new one.

Happy Saturday!

Newest Creative Adventure

So I have recently taken up quilting. Well I guess it's not so recently, I started this quilt in December and am just now preparing to quilt the "sandwich". So it's taken longer than I had expected, but it has been very fulfilling for me. I started with choosing a color pallet and fabric, then I created my own design and started sewing. The thing with being a novice quilter is that measuring is still an area for improvement. Once I got all my squares sewed together I realized my quilt was rather narrow, so to remedy this I put some panels on each side. I actually really like the way it's turning out. It's not done yet. I still have to quilt it (I had to order a new part for my machine to do this) and then I need to bind it. I think because this is my first quilt, I'm going to keep it rather than give it away, for memories sake! Here's a sneak peek. More pictures to come when it's finished.

I was featured!

I got an email from a fellow "etsian" (yes, that's an official term) that she had featured the vintage apron that I have in my store on her blog!

I've never really gotten much exposure with my etsy store. Recently I haven't really been focused on it. Getting this email has made me realize that I really enjoy selling stuff on etsy...maybe I should get back in the game?!

Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards

Check it out!

ideeli has partnered with Style Coalition to create the Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards to celebrate fashion designers and brands for outstanding social media activity.

To cast your vote visit HERE and HERE.

Bloginion (Blog + Opinion)

Many use their blogs as a way to gauge public opinion. I for one, think it's a great use of technology. And I have to admit, I do occassionally dabble in the opinion gathering myself. ideeli.com blog (a great on-line sample sale site) wants to know your opinion of pop-up shops and fur!

Now, I like the idea of pop-up shops, although I think they are mostly found in NYC. I have yet to hear about any in the Boston area. Pop-up shops also are a great idea for budding designers and boutique owners. You don't have to commit to a long-term lease and you can do some "street testing" of your products. I'd say they are a win win. (now we just need to move the phenomenon across those state borders...)

Click on the link to add your opinion.
Pop Up Stores: Love Them?

As for as fur goes, I'm not a proponent of it...but "to each his own."
Click on the link below to let ideeli know what you think about fur.
The Fur Debate

Check them out and add your opinion!

Oh, and if you don't belong to ideeli, just click here!