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I described this quilt pretty thoroughly in my last post, so Iāll skip the long paragraphs and just show you the finished, post-wash photos.
āSYWTQ āAmishā Samplerā, Rachael Arnold, June 2013, 43″×54″
All of the Regal sections are feathered, most of the seams are stitched in the ditch, with the light fabrics free of quilting.
āSYWTQ āAmishā Samplerā (Front Detail), Rachael Arnold, June 2013, 43″×54″
The strip block needed just a little something more, so I changed thread colors to give the large triangle a bit more color.
āSYWTQ āAmishā Samplerā (Front Detail), Rachael Arnold, June 2013, 43″×54″
Now that it is washed, my feather stitching messiness isn’t quite as noticeable.
āSYWTQ āAmishā Samplerā (Back), Rachael Arnold, June 2013, 43″×54″
Iām not very happy with how the binding turned out. It is very limp. I made it so wide and un-mitered as a nod to Amish quilting, but I should have found a way to pad it. By the time I got to the binding, I was so done with this quilt, so I machine sewed the binding on. It worked pretty well with the serpentine stitch.
āSYWTQ āAmishā Samplerā (Back Detail), Rachael Arnold, June 2013, 43″×54″
So, thatās that. Now I just have to decide which of Carlās nieces is getting it. 2013 finish number three!
My studio space is finally clean, so of course I had to go back to a project and get it a bit messy again. Since I missed the last Sew You Want to Quilt (SYWTQ) meeting, which was talking about layout options, and we have almost a month in-between meetings this time because of Memorial Day, I figured I should go ahead and piece the top together.
The last glimpse I gave you of this quilt was on a Wednesday Wall post:
Itās another grouping of fabrics playing on the color scheme I used in āShakespearian Barsā. Kona Regal, Moss, Berry, Peapod, and Bella Strawberry. Itās a bit closer to what I wanted for the first quilt. It would have been just about perfect with Kona Coral instead of Bella Strawberry, but I couldnāt get ahold of that in time to start piecing.
Because I made the first block undersized, but also made multiples, I had to come up with a way to include both it and the seven 12″ blocks. So, I set a few on point, and ended up with this, which is ~41″×52″:
Then, because a completed top always screams for quilting to start, especially when Iām only feeling lukewarm about the top to begin with, I managed to fit some quilting in. I quickly pieced a back using leftovers from the top and a yard of Kona Plum Iād bought to audition for the top. Iām using the same charcoal thread that I used on āShakespearian Barsā.
Somewhere along the line, after stitching in the ditch around the major joins, I decided I needed to jump in the deep end and try feathers. For the first time. On a solid quilt. With very contrasting thread when viewed on the back.
Just donāt look too closely at it. I think this one is going to Carlās niece, so I hope she doesnāt mind getting the guinea pig quilt. Or as Moof would say, his quilt, since he always tries to claim them.
More on this one as soon as I finish the quiltingāFMQ goes way faster than straight line quilting! I just have to figure out how to quilt the remaining sections, as I donāt want dark feathering on top of the light pieces.
ā¦ or Mini Mid-Week Montage. Whatever alliterative title floats your boat.
Itās not my design wall, this time, but another one:
This hand-pieced and hand-quilted variant of Contrary Wife or Steps to the Alter is another block done by my grandma. Because it is quilted already (I don’t know if she was trying out a technique, or learning QAYG, or what), I didnāt want to keep it for use in a future project. A 12″×12″ picture frame turned out to be the perfect solution. I donāt know if Iām sold on the white frame, but it seems to just be primedāeasily paintable in the future.
My focus continues to be cleaning and organizing, lately. I did start up my sewing machine the other night though.
See what my dog did to our brand new guest-room sheets?
A bit of stabilizer and my machineās built-in darning stitches later, and itās fixedāin the other three places too!
Yes, trimming his nails would also be good. We’re working on that one.
Speaking of this cleaning spree, have you ever had fabric go missing? In theory, I should have a whole stack of quarter yards from this one fabric line. I cut a couple of strips off of each at one point, and know where those are, but I cannot find the remaining pieces of yardage anywhere! I am positive I didnāt give it away, but itās nowhere in my sewing room.
Spoiler alert: the storms in our county last night didnāt do any major damage to our house, my partner just thinks heās funny. Yesterday evening was rather fun, in a “I miss midwest thunderstorms and they appeared in NY” sort of way. We stopped to grab dinner last night, mid-errand running, and got stuck at the restaurant while crazy wind, rain, and hail swept through the area. It was beautiful outside until about five minutes after we walked in the building.
Carl hadnāt looked in my sewing room for a while (though knew it was a mess), but Iād left the door open when we left, so when we got home, he saw the mess it was and said āhave you seen your sewing room? Thereās major wind damage in there!” Ha ha ha. Funny, honey.
It looked like this:
Still does, mostly
At this point, I think Iāve posted more photos of my room being a total mess than clean. Probably because 70% of the time, it is a mess, although usually not this bad. In my defense, this is during that “it gets worse before it gets better” stage of reorganizing for the umpteenth time. Those piles of fabric in the foreground are organized scraps from my scrap bin, which was overflowing and is now quite well-contained.
Not as non sequitur as it seems, hereās whatās on my wall right now:
This is a hand-pieced block that my grandmother gave me two years ago (along with the fabric she bought for the quilt) in a bag of various sewing things. She had finally, after 20 years, admitted that she was never going to take up quilting and knew I was hooked. After she passed away last summer, one of my sisters and I also inherited some additional craft supplies (mostly she took the yarn and cross-stitch things while I stuck mostly to the remaining quilting stuff).
My grandmotherās house was always clean, and while she loved collecting, she never seemed to hold on to things that she didnāt have space or use for. This block is on my wall right now to remind me of that as I clean out my sewing space, destashing and tossing things that I donāt need. The hardest part was sorting through the two bags of things that came from her suppliesā¦ rulers that I never used because I prefer the brand I buy, quintessentially late-80s calico fabric, a printed cross-stitch/embroidery kit for a quilt top, and more.
But she didnāt give them to me for safe-keeping, she gave them to me to use. And in her honor, I sent most of it on to other people who will use them, keeping the things I do want to use like this block (but not the remaining fabric), a pair of minky quilt kits that will be great for her future great-grandchildren (whether mine, my sistersā, or our cousinsā), a couple of cross-stitch kits, and crochet hooksāthe latter two crafts she taught me growing up which Iām hopelessly inept at now but plan to find time to regain those skills.
And in that spirit, I cleaned out my scrap bin, throwing out unusable ones, organizing the rest. I culled my stash, selling books, patterns, and fabric at a recent guild meeting.
Now I just need to put everything back together again. And then finish up some projects, because half-finished projects arenāt of much use either! I think sheād be happy with that.
Last weekend, three shops in my area held a Shop Hop, and each gave away a pattern from Bloomin Minds along with a kit for the top. Intrigued by the prospect of a somewhat quick project, and willing to procrastinate on things I should be doing, I went ahead and did the piecing and fusing part of all three.
Thereās a lot of sewing and embroidery left for all of them, but thatās where they stand now. Iām not sure what to do about the dog oneā¦ the kit had fabric for letters that just doesnāt have contrast with the background. I hope that white stitching will help it stand out more. Iām going to try to finish them up this month to donate to my guildās boutique for our quilt show, but I do plan on making up at least one of the patterns in fabrics that will better match my house at some point.
As for things I should have been doing, and am working on this week:
These fabric pairs and zippers need to become samples for a class Iām teaching Saturday. None of them need to be fully finished, but I want to have visual examples of the different steps through construction. Oh, and I still need to write the instructions! So, back to that!
Because Iām doing more than one Saturday Sampler this year, missed last monthās meet up for this, and we met a week early this month, I decided to update every four months instead of quarterly this year. So, here’s the first of three updates for one of the shops. All blocks finish at 12″ square.
Januaryās block was Contrary Wife.
In February, we made Greek Cross.
March brought Friendship Block (one of many with that name). I really think a quilt full of these could be very interesting.
And this month was Clayās Choice, a block named after Henry Clay, but also known as Star of the West once Clay faded from public memory.
Instead of the whole quilt being a surprise as it was last year, this year they have the top completed and on display already. Iām trying to decide if I want to follow their setting style or not, so thereās still an element of personal choice. I canāt decide if Iām warm or cool about the quiltās fabrics.
Thereās still eight more blocks to help me make up my mind.
I did a bit of sartorial sewing over the weekend, but I havenāt yet managed photos. In the mean time, Iāve been plugging away on additional signature and piano key blocks. Theyāre quickly filling the design wall. All of the signature blocks are complete; the three that will be in my quilt are at the top of the wall, framed with scraps from my other blocks to build them out into 8″ finishing squares to mix in with the uneven nine patch blocks. I stil have another set of 12 piano keys to finish up, but then Iāll be done.
A note on the design wall
I received an email asking about my design wall. Mine is very low-techāa scrap of batting (currently what is left from a queen pre-cut after two baby quilts, something around 50″×80″ or so) hanging from Command hooks with safety pins.
I do want a better solution in the long run, but this actually works very wellāand I can swap out batting scraps as needed. I know most people swear by flannel or felt for their design walls, but I much prefer batting. It seems to hold on to the blocks much better, and can be purchased much cheaper than flannel if you pay attention to sales (assuming you want something wider than 45″). I also like that itās not on a rigid boardāthis way, I can roll it up if I want, preserving the layout on it, and hang up another scrap for another project as needed.
Aside from the baby quilt I finished earlier this week, Iāve spent most of my sewing time lately on the various samplers and block swaps Iām currently involved in. My sewing space is a mess, but my design wall is rather colorful at the moment.
The final swap for this round of my bi-monthly LQS block swap is a 6″ Ohio Star signature block for each member (10) and however many sets of three 6″ piano key blocks we want to use for our final layout. Iāve finished four of the signature blocks and 20 piano key blocks (out of 44 that I plan to make at this point). My other stars will use different fabrics from the four completed ones (seen in the blue/purple/green/orange piano key set), while the other piano keys will be made mostly of the same fabrics used in the previous swap blocks.
Rounding out the wall this week is another block for the Modern LQS sampler, and another for the SYWTQ Amish-esque block. Because we traveled over Easter weekend, I didnāt make it to the other sampler meeting, so I should have two to finish next month.
I really canāt turn down any idea that brews in my brain involving Parson Gray fabric. When Carl mentioned that a friend was planning on decorating her babyās room in blues and browns, I knew I had the perfect excuse to buy a few half yards of Seven Wonders.
Enter Disappearing Seven Wonders.
āDisappearing Seven Wondersā, Rachael Arnold, March 2013, 38″×50″
I put together two sizes of disappearing nine patchesā10″ and 8″ābisected by 2″ strips. It went together rather quickly on the retreat I went to in February.
Being a baby quilt, I backed it with a Minky-style fabric of blue and brown stripes. Because the background is white, the result was a less-than-opaque backing, so I threw an 80/20 blend batting in between (I think it is Pellon Natureās Blend, but it was a scrap from something else, so Iām not positive).
āDisappearing Seven Wondersā (Back Detail), Rachael Arnold, March 2013, 38″×50″
The quilting is an all-over wave-like pattern in a blue/white variegated thread (technically meant for denim).
āDisappearing Seven Wondersā (Front Detail), Rachael Arnold, March 2013, 38″×50″
It crinkled up nicely, even with the bit of poly in the batting and backing.
Topping it off is a new label. Iām planning on telling you more about that later this week.
āDisappearing Seven Wondersā (Back Detail), Rachael Arnold, March 2013, 38″×50″
Now to pop it in the mail! Iām a few weeks late, but I doubt the new baby boy will mind. Thatās finish number two for the year. Time to get back to some WIPs.
My project last week was to cut out and assemble a shirt based on the dress pattern Tiramisu from Cake Patterns. Why a shirt rather than the dress? I wasnāt in love with the fabric I had (a basic black medium-weight jersey from JoAnn Fabrics), and wanted to get the fit issues out of the way before cutting out a skirt. Mostly, I donāt need another crossover bodice black dress.
My first iteration didnāt go so well. I started with cutting out the size based on my measurements, but the front was a bit indecent (at least for work and family events).
This is my second iteration, using the next size up for the front pieces, which I went ahead and sewed up into a full shirt to wear for Easter morning.
I look even shorter than normal, partly because of perspective, but mostly because of clothing proportions as Iāll discuss below.
It still has some fit issues in the crossover bodice, but overall, it gives pretty good coverage, doesnāt gape badly, and is very comfy. I love it from the underbust up.
However, as soon as I can buy more of the jersey, Iām going to rip it apart from the underbust down and make a few more changes. There are two major issues with the way I sewed this up as a shirt.
The first is the lower “skirt” partābelow the midriff panel. I cut it with the stretch going the wrong way (down, not across), so it doesnāt stretch like it should, and could have also used an extra inch or two in width over the hips. Secondly, it is too long, but itās also currently unhemmed, so that would be an easy fix if not for the stretch issue.
The most important issue is proportion. I am rather short waistedāespecially when you factor in the visual imbalance of my chest. As a result, the wide midriff panel comes to my belly button, and with a seam lying there, it just throws off all the proportions and makes me look weird.
Iām trying to decide between two fixes: one is to remove the midriff panel all together, and just sew the base of the shirt to the crossover section. The other is to drastically shorten the midriff panel (like sew-along-er Melanie did), so that it is better proportioned. I think Iām going to do the latter for this particular iteration. Iād like to play around with doing the former in the future, but I would change the back to be all in one piece so there is no awkward, unneeded seam horizontally on the back.
I think if I can fix the proportions and cut the lower panels properly, this will be a great t-shirt alternative. There is more work that can be done for the chest fit on the pattern, so expect a second version of the top in the future, or maybe even a full dress.
The topās not the only me-made article of clothing in the photo. The skirt is something I started about two years ago, but still havenāt finished (I wore it with a slip here, but it really needs to be lined for opacity). Iāve forgotten by now, but I think it is Simplicity 4188, made in a linen/rayon blend. I need to take in the waist a bit (even though Iāve put on weight since I made it) and chop a few inches off of the length in addition to finishing seams and adding the lining. It is supposed to be tea length (both by pattern and personal preference), but Iām so short that even with it hiked up to my natural waist, it reaches the ground when Iām barefoot. I never posted about it, since I never finished it, but I needed something to wear yesterday, so out it came (but I didnāt have time to fix the issues before we left town Friday night.
I think Iāll focus on fixing it up this weekāit is a very nice skirt otherwise.
