Introducing Ashton Olivia

Ashton Olivia was born on October 6 at 6:27 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and has been a dream to bring home. I'm sure she will be making appearances here in the future, but in the meantime there may not be a lot of sewing going on for a little bit as we get to know each other better!

A baby quilt

I made the free Strip Tango quilt as a baby quilt for a friend of mine.

In theory it was a quick and easy quilt to make, except I always trip myself up on easy stuff and wound up having to order more fabric from cutting it wrong and having to delay the work. Once I finally got it cut out correctly, it was a pretty easy sew.

I used fat quarters from Fantasia Crepuscular by Sara Lawson for Art Gallery. The binding was a pretty orange with tiny white arrows I found at Joann. It was a very nice quality. You may be able to make out a 5" grid pattern I made in blue to quilt it all together.

I used a nice bright blue and pieced together all the fabrics I screwed up to create a backing. I actually really like how the back turned out. 

This pattern was great, the only problems I had were me being careless. It would be a nice quilt for a beginner. I may make a few quilts to put on Etsy, and see how I do. I love making them, but at some point you really don't need anymore quilts. Your friends probably don't either come to think of it! I'll keep you posted on that.

Swoon quilt reveal

The quilt is finally finished! This is my Swoon quilt made with fabrics from Riley Blake's Trendsetter line as well as several cotton + steel lines. I have about a million hours into this sucker and couldn't be happier with the results.

The white is Moda's bleached white, and was a really nice quality to sew with. All the fabrics were.

Funny enough, this is my favorite square. Neither the stars or diamonds were my favorite fabrics, but together, they were such winners.

I did send this quilt off to a quilter with a long arm to be professionally quilted. I am really pleased with the results and it turned out much better than I could have done on my machine. Especially with a quilt this size. It is about a queen sized quilt.

The backing fabric as well as the binding is plain navy blue, and the quilting thread is white. It really turned out lovely and will soon be hanging on the wall of the new nursery. 

This snap of just the top makes it a bit easier to see the fabrics and colors. Don't mind my mess in the background! Now can I eek out another cardigan before I go back to work Monday?

Easy cardigan

I am heading back to school, pending my last Hail Mary stint of buying lotto tickets doesn't work out, in the next couple of weeks. In Houston we return in late August which may be Fall in some parts of the world, but Fall around here doesn't really hit until November. Working in education, I cannot just wear sun dresses and tank tops to work, so I made the Julia Cardigan in a short sleeve version to get me through.

The pattern comes in cap sleeve, 3/4 sleeve and long sleeve versions. I think it will help me transition back to work well, while still allowing me to be back in a sun dress as soon as I hit the parking lot. The cardigan has no closures which is perfect for what I needed.

It also has a nice length in back. I could wear that with some skinny jeans with enough coverage on my bum to feel ok. I did do a doubled over collar, which gave it a professional look instead of hemming it. 

The collar is actually a big loop that goes around the neck down the front and across the back. The instructions are easy and the whole project took about two hours. I think I may also make this in grey and leopard too. 

The only changes I made to the directions was being very liberal with my use of dog hair, which I believe enhances any garment, and I added clear elastic to the shoulder seams. It's just a habit at this point. I highly recommend this great project to anyone!

Updates on random projects

Clothes are out of the question right now, but I have been sewing a few things.

Crib sheets. They take 45 minutes and 2 yards of fabric. They are way cuter than the pink, blue, yellow and grey offerings in stores. 

I'm recovering a glider I got on Criagslist. I'm painting it white and changing from brown nasty fabric to fully washable/removable covers from cotton + steel's states fabric in a home decor linen weight. Please ignore the weird junk in all the pictures, we're still recovering from the ceiling falling in!

I;m also working on a Swoon quilt. It is pretty advanced compared to my usual quilts. This block is 2 feet by 2 feet and took me 3 hours to make! It has 73 pieces. I have two done and seven more to go! It will be beautiful when it is done, but it's a lot of work!

Beyond that I am enjoying being a lady that lunches during my summer. I get to hang out with friends, play in the pool and visit the YMCA all that I want. I love summers! 

Quilt help and catch up

I have been working on this quilt for awhile and it has taken forever. I'll get to that in a bit. First though, I need some help. I need to choose a color to go around the large middle part between the outside rows. I don't know what to go with. 

The fabric line I used was Fresh Cut by Basic Grey. The colors are really vibrant.

There are some bits of navy in the fabric, so I thought about that. I just don't know. Your opinions are very appreciated.

So where the heck have I been for two months?

                                        

First, I found out I'm pregnant so screw sewing any clothes. Honestly I'm really not into babies or baby stuff either, so I have lost all motivation there. Quilts it is! If anyone has any ideas to help me get my joy of sewing back, please share!

Second, we had some roof damage from a hail storm and the ceiling caved in. It is already hot and humid in Houston, and this room is upstairs by my sewing room. It gets sweaty up there real fast!

Third, the weather has been really nice to go to the beach, and we've been taking advantage of that. A lot!

Fourth, we've started a couple gardens. Yes, that poison oak I planted on the fence is doing even better than the vegetables, but what can I say? I have a green thumb like that.

Fifth, I have been hanging out with my cousin. We did a five mile race in April then last weekend we went and saw Britney Spears perform in Las Vegas. I love a good girl's weekend!

Now that the ceiling is back in place, and school is about to be out for summer I should get more time. Don't forget I need color suggestions first, so I can finish this one. Thanks for sticking with me during my hiatus!

Baby quilt and scrappy pillow

It has been awhile. When it gets dark early I struggle to get pictures taken, and I've mostly just been hemming pants or making things you have seen a million times. I love this quilt I just finished for one of my best friends who is pregnant though. She is creating a gender neutral yellow and grey nursery. 

The quilt is from the book Simplify by Camille Roskelley of Bonnie and Camille fame. It uses a charm pack and a bit of yardage for background and borders. It came together easily, and I think turned out just perfect. I did widen my borders to make the quilt 43"x 43".

The charm pack I used was Gray Matters by Jacqueline Savage McFee. I love using precuts because they always match, and I get a little bit of a whole line of fabric I really like. 

The pillow used the same block pattern as the quilt and I just tagged some borders on it to make it the proper size. Hopefully she can use it, because I think it is super cute!

The back of the quilt and pillow were made from a perfect fabric I found at Joann Fabrics That was gray and yellow with little birds on it. You can barely see it, but I put a pocket a long the top of the quilt in case she would like to hang the quilt. The dark gray is leftover binding fabric.

More projects soon. Now that we've had the time change and it finally quit raining, you should see some real projects from me! Happy Spring.

New Look, New Year

It has been awhile. Some sewing has gone on that I never got to, but I was so excited about this shirt I had to come tell you guys immediately. I just finished a button down shirt made from New Look 6266. I was so inspired by all the Archers last year that I really wanted to make a button down shirt. I knew I had a ton of button down patterns I have never even tried though. I have to say I am pretty pleased with this one.  

This shirt has a boxy, loose fit, and that is exactly what I wanted. I tend to wear this style shirt a lot instead of a T-shirt when the weather is hot, but I want to look dressier. I like the curved hem.

The shirt also has side vents which are cute and functional since this shirt is a bit longer.

Yes, I completed a collar stand. It is not perfect, but I am very pleased with it. I watched a few tutorials online, but the directions included in the pattern were excellent. I also like the cute yoke  on the front of this shirt.

There is a yoke in the back as well. This shirt would look cute with lace front and back yokes. 

This shirt was a big win. I used a double gauze I ordered from Mood with a gift card. It is sheer, but great to work with. I ordered quite a bit to use my gift card, and chose quite a few wovens. I have worked with knits more lately because they are so easy to sew and fit. I really enjoyed all the technical aspects of this shirt though and look forward to using the rest of my fabrics. 

As an update if anyone is interested, the quilt show this year was awesome. I bought several fat quarters and a few notions. I have been lining up all the fat quarters and rearranging them. I have no idea what quilt to make. Also, I didn't plan it this way, but when I got home I realized all the fat quarters I got were the same colors even though they were from several booths. Kind of cool!

Christmas was fun. This is my husband checking the phone while I took a picture of him and his sisters. Nice.

 New Years we mostly hunker down because the pup is so terrified of the fireworks. When she is scared she wants to sit on top of Mr. Thinks He Can. 

I m looking forward to 2015, but have no real goals other than to quit planning so much and start sewing. Thanks for reading, and I hope you had a great holiday season as well.