Craftsy Classes: BOM

I began taking the FREE craftsy BOM class at the beginning of 2012 and am only NOW getting to the actual quilting part.  The reasoning  for this quilt was to use up all my little barkcloth scraps that I've kept from work over the past few years.  It looks like I've used up most of them, so at this point I'm looking at a nearly successful quilt... The sewing/sashing was easy... I had no trouble gettiing it all put together, the stitching dooesn't show so it looks really nice right now.   But I'm beginning to do some free motion quilting on it and am struggling to make it look good.  My curves and loops have been looking more like zigzags and I'm ready to give up.  I've spent so much time ripping out stitches... :(  My quilt will consist of mostly echo quilting and stitch in the ditch. Here's a peek at my quilt at this point... 

You can see some of the attempts at FMQing, the ones that I felt were acceptable enough not to tear out.
I'll keep working on finishing this quilt between work projects, But I sooooo want to master FMQ though...

Blue and White Pillow collection

Blue and White!  My favorite!  I made this batch of pillows for a friend's TV room.  Her theme was Japanese and her main focus was comfort.  Thus, the big cooshie pillows...

She had requested 4 large 20x20 pillows, a sobakawa back pillow, 2-18x18 pillow, a dogbone pillow, and a pillow that looks like a couch pillow, recovered.   My favorite thing about this project was that she gave me her old pillows and some fabric and just said... "Do whatever you want.  Just recover these."   So I added a few decorative elements to some of the pillows. 

Simplicity 2860 Amazing Fit Pants

And YES it is an Amazing Fit...  

Here's the finished pants backside:

Now that I see the picture, I can see a few alterations I'd like to make.  I don't like the wedgie look, and would like to get rid of those bagging lines....

But overall, I like the way these fit.  With only a few minor alterations, I got them to look pretty decent.  Initially, I took off about 4 1/2" in length.  I cut a size 12 since my measurements were closest to this size.  My waist is only 1/2" bigger than the 12 and hips are 1" bigger.  After checking the finished measurements on the pattern, I knew I didn't want that much ease, so I chose the 12 since I was between sizes. I sewed them as instructed and loved it at the first fitting.  Now... it's the morning after and either I shrunk an inch or the pants grew.  They are still comfortable, but I guess since I've been wearing jeans all morning, I want it a little more snug in the hips.  So I took in a 1/4" along the side seam from high hip to hem.  And now, this pattern is a keeper.  It fits just the way I like it...

A few things about this pattern to make note of...

• the fly front zipper instructions are lousy.  Use a different technique. 
• the length is for super tall people.. adjust or wear very high heels.
• NO POCKETS.  drats... I'll draft those in next time.
• use hem tape for finishing the edge of the facing.  It's folded in half and sewn on like you would for the bias binding (as instructed in the pattern).  I thought it would add too much bulk so I used hem tape. Here's mine:  

Okay... I'm going to try this pattern again and repost an update a little later.  Hopefully, the wedgie look will be gone and the excess fabric at the back of the thigh will be removed.  Amazing Fit... eventually.

Grocery shopping bags

 

Okay... I got a little side tracked from my original plan.  I found a website that had a really nice tutorial for grocery bags and had some perfect fabric in the stash to make them.  So I did.  This stash entry used up 4 1/2 yards.  I made three large lined bags and one small unlined bag.  

 I found instructions to make the larger lined one on craftster.org.  Click Here to go there and make your own.    There is an optional pocket used to fold the bag into a little square to keep things neat.  I don't think I'd bother to fold them up and  turn them into the pocket to make them all neat and tidy.    Instead, I fold them neatly enough and stick them into the smaller bag. Or maybe I'll just stuff them in when I'm lazy.  It works for me.  Here's my bag of bags.

It's actually quite a simple project, made a little more difficult by lining.  Keep it simple by NOT lining it and just finishing the edges with bias tape (like my little bag) and you'll have them done in no time.  :)  Happy Sewing!

Hot Patterns 1121 is AWESOME!

It's a beauty!  And a quickie!  Here's my version:

And here's a few tips if you decide you've gotta have one for yourself.

The pattern runs long... I shortened the top by 2" mostly because I didn't have enough fabric, but this length actually turned out perfect for me.  The dress was shortened by a lot more.

I'm small on top, so I reduced the fullness in the bust a teeny bit.  Most reviewers have said it's perfect for larger ladies, so if you are bigger than a B, try it out without making adjustments.  Here's the adjustment I made for mine so it wouldn't bag around the boobs.  You can see I pinched out about 1/8" between each notch on both the facing and the front bodice.  I'm pretty sure this helped and would NOT want to see it with more fabric over the bustline.

And I shortened the dress by at least 5", probably more like 7"  because if I didn't it would probably be a full length gown... didn't want that.  You can see where I shortened the pattern for the dress. Here's the short persons version:

This is not a very flattering picture... honestly... the dress looks lots better in real life.


Now there's an odd piece for the hem... facings, on a simple, drapey knit dress.  I decided to eliminate the facings and just turn the hem up 1/4" and sew it.  I used wooly nylon in the bobbin and regular thread on top.  You could do a double needle hem, but I didn't have mine with me so I just did a simple hem.  It looks fine to me.  Personally, I think the faced hems would add too much bulk at the hem and might even ruin the soft, drapey look of this design. 

I cut 8/10/10 corresponding to my measurements and I like the fit fine.  It's loose, but still flattering. 

Like it?  Want one for yourself?  I'll bet you get some mileage out of this pattern: 
Hot Patterns Riviera Cote D'Azur Knit Dress, Tunic and Top