Forest Lovey: Quilted!

I got the borders all mitered up, but really struggled to get a decent picture for some reason. I have a fancy flash that is supposed to make a big difference with indoor photos, but I think it isn't up for fabric in all cases. Below is the only decent photo I got, and it's of the worst of the four corners. My biggest problem was with getting the inside corner in the exact right spot. The best one was the last corner of border that got sewed on, where I could sew all the way up to the other border piece. Still, they look passable, and I'm really proud that they are mitered at all.

I quilted everything in the ditch with a walking foot and clear Sulky thread. It was a dream. It went so fast and I got really great results!

I had checked out Guide to Machine Quilting by Diane Gaudynski from the library, where I got a lot of confidence and the invaluable suggestion of turning one's top thread vertical. When I had the spool horizontal as per my normal sewing arrangements, the thread just spiraled off of the spool and didn't spin the spool at all, creating a twisted mess. Turning the spool veritcal on the bobbin winder was effortless and solved the problem instantly!

My only issue was where the stitching line strayed onto the upper fabric. After I did it once or twice, I got a lot better about making sure it didn't happen again.

With the gridding quilted in, it was time to tackle the free-motion designs from Quilting Designs from Nature by Lone Minkkinen. This was my first time ever doing free-motion quilting, and it was nerve wracking! I copied the designs onto Stich 'n Wash Disolving Foundation Sheets from June Taylor, Inc. that I had picked up at Joann's. I pinned the sheets directly to the quilt and stitched away.

I was sweating bullets by the time I was done with the two squares, but I was so pleased with the results. I definitely found that I got better results when I relaxed a little and got into a bit of a flow. However, as I got towards the end of the second design (the hawk/eagle), my arms were getting really tired and I got a little sloppy.

The view of the stitched designs from the back.

Unfortunately, the paper did not completely dissolve despite thorough soaking and vigorous agitation with a very soft toothbrush. *sigh* As you can see in the picture below, there are lots of little white bits when you look close enough.

From even a little bit of distance, however, it's almost not noticeable. And, I don't think my 16-month-old will mind. I'm thinking I might just chalk it up to experience and let it be.

All I have left to do on the lovey (once it dries!) is sew on the border. It should be done in time to give it to my son for Christmas!!

One of the driving forces behind creating this mini-quilt was to test out ideas for a bed-size quilt without creating something that I knew I was going to toss (and thus stealing my motivation to work on it). Some lessons learned for the big quilt:
1) The corduroy is way to thick to expect it to fold back unless absolutely necessary. I went into this project with the idea that the corduroy should get folded back whenever possible so that the dark fabric would not be under the lighter fabric. However, the corduroy didn't hold a 1/4" crease no matter how much I pressed it, and I was reluctant to press it too much and smash it's lovely velvety feel. These unruley seam allowances caused all of my problems with stitching in the ditch as well. On the bed quilt, the seam allowances will be pressed away from the corduroy as much as possible.
2) Obviously I need to do something different with the free-motion quilting. I might try a different transfer paper. Or I might try tracing it directly onto the fabric with a dissolving pen. I'm a little reluctant to do that because I am exceedingly slow at making progress and am a little concerned that I would get too far ahead of myself on the tracing, leading to permanent marking. I've also considered quilting from the back, since I would care much less about the paper bits on the back of the quilt. However, I wouldn't be able to use the clear thread in the bobbin, I'm almost sure of that. The fabric on the back of this quilt is the same as the cream squares on the front, and I love the way the back looks. So I could always use that cotton thread in the bobbin and stitch from the back.
3) The quilted designs on the cream blocks are perhaps a bit too subtle. I love how the designs came out so much that I am very reluctant for them to be so minimalist. I'm considering using a contrasting thread for quilting those designs on the bed quilt. That will be a tough call to make. A green would be one option. Or I could go with a slightly darker cream/tan color for something not too dramatic.

Border On, Mitering to Go

I cut out of work a little early and actually found some time to sew today during the daytime! I finally got around to re-cutting the border strips for the mitered border. They went on really well, I think, and now they are ready to be mitered. I was surprised by how quickly I went from cutting to assembled.

I sewed each border piece to 1/4" from the edge. I dug up several tips for mitering borders from Quiltmaking Tips and Techniques. The one I decided to use involves folding the miter with the fabric right-side-up, ironing the crease in well, then folding the whole thing on the diagonal and sewing from the back with the right sides together. I'm hopeful that it will work well!

Up close, I'm a little concerned that the border fabric and the focal fabric are too similar. When I look at it in pictures, I don't mind it nearly as much. Still, for the bed quilt I might figure out a different kind of fabric for the border, either a different color completely or something in a value in between the focal fabric and the background fabric. I have to find a different fabric, regardless, since I don't have nearly enough of this fabric for a bed quilt.

After the mitering is complete, all I have to do is sew on 2" strips of the background fabric, which will end up under the binding, so no need to worry about mitering. Then it's time to put it together and get it quilted!!

Going Backwards?

I hate it when I grab a few free moments during a nap or after bed to work on a sewing project only to find myself worse off than when I started.

I resumed work on G's lovey quilt today after a bit of a hiatus to finish his Halloween costume and then a family trip. I had cut out the strips for the border of the lovey a while back. I went into the weekend knowing all I needed to do was sew on those strips (including the dreaded miter), and the top would be essentially done. First free nap of the weekend, I got right to work sewing on the first border strip. Only to find that I cut it to the exact length of the pieces being bordered. One does need a little extra fabric to miter a corner. So now I have to cut the pieces anew, which feels like going backwards. I know I'm no worse off than I was before I realized they were cut wrong, but at least I didn't know they were wrong. To make matters worse, there is no way that I will have enough of this fabric for the actual quilt's border now (not entirely sure that I would have before), and I can't find more of it anywhere.

On a positive note, I stumbled on some perfect green silk twill at my favorite local fabric store, Denver Fabrics. As long as I budgeted my length correctly this will be the binding on the lovey.

I still have pathetically little to do on this project before I get to put it together. There's just nothing more demotivating to me than trying to make progress only to find myself worse off than (I thought I was) when I started.

Pirate Costume: Complete!

The pirate costume is done! I don't have along-the-way pictures on this one, because I was so focused on making as much progress as possible in those few moments where I had free time and wasn't exhausted.

Simplicity 2561: Toddler Pirate Costume

Pattern Description: Pirate costumes for toddler girls and boys. Includes hat, coat, skirts, pants, and shirt/vest combo. I made The pants from the right (B) and the shirt/vest from the left (D).

Pattern Sizing: Toddler sizes. I made size "2".

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Absolutely!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes and no. When I got out of my head and looked at the pictures a lot, it flowed very easily. However, this was my first time making any kind of a collar and the directions really confused me. It took me a long time (and a wasted set of collar and interfacing pieces) to figure out that "facing" in the instructions didn't necessarily mean the pattern pieces that were labelled as facing. Still, this was probably a beginner mistake. Everything else was simple!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was amazed by how perfectly and effortlessly everything fit as it was coming together. Marks lined up without any stress. It came together so well! Part of this could be my beginner-level skills, but I was amazed by how well it all came together. I've worked with other patterns (maybe my error on the precision of my work) that didn't come together well at all.

That being said, there were a few places I thought the directions lacked. The bottom of the vest is unhemmed. The directions call for using a seam glue stuff to seal the bottom edge, but it doesn't tell you to do that until the very end of the project. If your fabric frays at all, you'll have a right mess by then. Since my vest fabric was a poly faux suede, I burned it instead.

I also struggled with the vertical slash that makes up the v-neck. There is nothing on the pattern that suggests you might want to keep track of the vertical line at that point, but when you are making that slash, the directions expect you to line it up to that vertical (now invisible) line. Also, when you are working on that portion of the top (sewing the line that becomes the fold for the V), you are expected to work to the markings on the facing piece. However, you are working on the back of the interfacing at that point. Since I marked with thread, I took the threads out before I interfaced. Again, maybe that was a rookie mistake, but trying to mark the back of the interfacing on the facing piece when it was already sewn in (and assuming I got the vertical alignment right) was tricky and probably not very precise. I'm not exactly sure how to improve on that. Maybe mark the back of the interfacing from the get-go? I don't think keeping the threads in while the interfacing was applied would have been a good idea. I'm reasonably sure they wouldn't have come out cleanly. Pencil marking the fashion fabric wouldn't have helped either, since it almost certainly wouldn't have shown through the interfacing.

What techniques did you use, learn, or want to use next time: This is probably to be expected, but there was nothing at all in the instructions about finishing the seams. I completely forgot about the need to do this until I was about halfway through construction of the shirt. I managed to go back and finish all of the seams, mostly with an overcast stitch, although on the sleeves I did a pseudo french seam by turning in the seam allowances (is that the right word?) and stitching them together.

I did a horrible job matching up the pants' stripes. For some reason, when I was cutting out the pants pieces, I decided that matching didn't matter since the pants were one piece per leg. Really, what it came down to, is what I have researched for matching patterns didn't apply in this circumstance. I still could have matched the fronts/backs and the seam on the legs better. Something to try to do better next time!

Something that went well: I used tailor's tacks to mark the various circles and marks on the patterns. I was really pleased with that method and think it was definitely a part of how well the pieces fit and came together. In the past, I have always used pencil marks, which I feel are less precise.

Fabric Used: Several, actually. The white shirt bits are a cotton gauze. This fabric was a gorgeous for the huge puffy sleeves. However, the marking and cutting out phases were difficult. The fabric had a lot of give, and tended to move under pins instead of being pierced by them. I figured it out as I went, and definitely thought it was worth the trouble. I was concerned that it would be too flowy and/or soft for the collar, but standard JoAnn's Pellon lightweight interfacing did the trick!

The black vest part is polyester faux suede from JoAnn's. I can be a bit of a fabric snob and tend to shy away from polyester, but this fabric was a dream to work with. It iron well, it cut well, it sewed well. I will definitely use it again when I want a suede look, especially for costume pieces.

The pants are a heavy cotton stripe I found from FashionFabricsClub. Definitely a bottom-weight fabric. Very easy to work with.

The sash is silk dupioni from my local Denver Fabrics. I didn't wash the silk before I worked with it, and loved working with the stiff dupioni. Also, my thread all but disappeared into the fabric. I cheated a little and top-stitched closed the opening for turning the sash.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None. This was my first time making a shirt, and I wanted to follow the directions precisely.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again, just because how much need does one have for more than one toddler pirate costume? But I would highly recommend it. I can't speak to the coat or hat, but the parts I made were easy and look fantastic! My one gripe would be that the shirt is very open in the back, which is fine for a costume, but if you live anywhere that it gets cold at all in the fall, your toddler will probably need an undershirt, which will almost certainly show through the v in the front.

Conclusion: Love this pattern! Most especially, I love the confidence that it has instilled in me to try more complicated projects! I am very, very pleased!

Stashing!

Instead of spending my son's morning nap being productive, I went on a (tiny) fabric shopping spree! I needed to pick up batting and silk for the border of the forest quilt and lovey. The batting was easy. I used Hobbs' wool batting to interline the curtains in my son's room, and really liked it. I haven't quilted with it, other than a few crafty projects, but I knew that was what I wanted.

The concept for the quilt/lovey included silk as the binding/border. One of the things I am trying to do with this project is include lots of textures. And who wouldn't want to cuddle up to some luscious silk charmeuse when going to bed at night? I've had my eye out for a dark green silk charmeuse for a while, with very little in the way of options. Several places don't offer much in the way of samples, prices are around $22-25/yd, and minimum cuts are 1 yard. I came across a "forest green" charmeuse at Fashion Fabrics Club for $12.50 a yard, and I could get just a half a yard of it, which should be plenty for the lovey. Of course, I'm taking a risk with the color, but I figured it was worth it. Worst case, I add a half a yard of green silk to my stash. It beats spending a couple of dollars plus shipping just to get an unusable sample. If the fabric is totally fabulous, I can go back and get another yard+ for the quilt. Or I might end up binding the quilt differently.

While I was poking around, I came across two other fabrics that got me salivating. Hancock's of Paducah had this gorgeous starry batik fabric that I thought would certainly find a use in a quilt at some point. Fashion Fabrics Club had a sale going on wool. I snagged several yards of a purple wool/rayon suiting. I have no idea what I will use it for, but it was too alluring to pass up at $4 a yard!

Stashing fabrics is pretty new territory for me. I have very rarely ever purchased fabric that I didn't have a plan for before, and always from remnant/sale bins. I like the idea of having a stash of fabrics. So.. Yay!

Forest Quilt Progress

Slight change to the plan for the forest quilt: I'm going to make a lovey first, with a coordinating quilt to come later. The lovey will be roughly a 24" square, with 2 of the four-part blocks and two bigger, cream blocks. My original intent for the quilt project was for it to be something that my son could snuggle. I realized a twin-size bed quilt probably would not meet that intent. So lovey first, and hopefully a similar bed quilt will aid in the transition to a big boy bed when he is ready for that.

The progress on the lovey is actually coming along pretty well, as small as it is. I have finished the four-part blocks. Yay!

The rest of the fabrics for the top layer are washed and ready to be cut. Sewing together the blocks and strips to finish the top will go incredibly quickly, and I'm hoping to get some time to get that done this weekend.

I also got a chance to play around with some mistake bits, trying to figure out what I want to do with the quilting. My only experience with machine quilting to date was straight lines on a shopping cart cover for G. So I have a lot of learning to do in that department. I played around with the leaf fabric with a contrast thread for visibility. I tried tracing the design, and just some general filler-type motifs that I've seen on other quilts. I wasn't impressed with any of these. On the corduroy, I knew I wanted to stay away from quilting across the plush lines of the corduroy, so tried vertical stripes and loved them. My current thought is to do (evenly-spaced) vertical stripes on the corduroy and horizontal stripes on the leaf fabric.

For the large cream blocks, I had the idea from the very beginning to quilt in some woodsy animals and/or motifs. I came across Lone Minkkinen's Quilting Designs from Nature in the recent American Quilter's Society catalog and was intrigued. I picked up a copy on Amazon (for less than the AQS member price) and am very excited about the designs it offers.

Now I just need to get some time when I am not exhausted and maybe I can start to make some more progress!

Forest Quilt Planning

Back when I was pregnant with my first, I found myself in a fabric store in Breckenridge in search of something fabulous to remember the trip by. I stumbled across a cream and green leaf motif fabric, and bought a yard and a half, thinking I might make a crib sheet out of it.

Jump forward almost two years. I'm dreaming up a quilt for that same baby, whose room is done up in a forest motif, with a tree painted on the wall even. I was gravitating towards green in his quilt, and one day pulled out all of the quilt-suitable green fabrics from my stash. I came across an awesome green cotton corduroy that I had picked up from the remnants at Denver fabrics. Add to that a green leafy quilting remnant I had picked up at Joann's a few days before, and I was starting to salivate!

Leftmost is the Breck fabric

Now I needed a quilt design! I knew I wanted to keep it simple, and was craving something with some empty space after my last, very busy quilt. In my internet wanderings, I came across a "simple four patch" pattern. This was it! After starting to play around with cutting fabric last night, I got on my computer and made a mock up of what the quilt will look like, to figure out dimensions, counts of squares, etc.

With this arrangement and 8 inch square big blocks, I will need a 6-8 inch border for a twin size quilt. I haven't yet figured out what I want that to look like, but I have plenty of time!

My intent is to strip piece the four-square blocks. Last night, I was cutting 4 1/2" squares out of my fabric. Doh! Old habits die hard.

Pirate Costume Stall: Laundry!

I have been so out of the loop with sewing that I got into the long weekend, ready to make some progress with sewing, and realized that I hadn't yet washed my fabrics. Gah! I can't wash them together and I can't wash them completely alone, so they're waiting on my lazy butt getting around to doing laundry in general this weekend. Time to get to it so I have some weekend left to get some sewing done!

Pirate Costume: Fabrics!

I hit up a sale at Joann's last weekend to gather supplies for the pirate costume. My wonderful husband was happy to assist. We settled on a faux black suede for the vest portion of the shirt and a cotton crepe for the sleeves and collar.

We wanted a pretty wide red stripe for the pants, but couldn't find anything suitable at Joann's. I did some searching around this morning and found this awesome cotton fabric at DenverFabrics!

No more excuses, time to get started!

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Update: I got all of the pattern pieces cut out today! I had the scissors and pattern hanging around the kitchen table and cut on things between other things, while my son, G, was eating, playing, etc. I'm super excited about this because cutting out the pattern pieces tends to be my least favorite part of the whole sewing experience. Next weekend (a long one) I can get on with working with fabrics!

One Year Later...

So, my son was born on August 20th, and here I sit a year later, finally starting to think about sewing and blogging again. What a year it has been!

I have accomplished a little bit of sewing in the last year. I finally finished up the curtains and crib skirt around Christmas time, although I don't seem to have any pictures at the moment. I'll have to take some. I also made my son a blank slate of a Christmas stocking for him to embellish in future years (another McCall's 5549).

I also made myself two pairs of pajama pants, both using Simplicity 2317, which I love. The second pair was in a green plaid. It was my first experiment with plaid, and it didn't get close to lining up, but it was a good learning experience.

I've been attempting to whip up two pairs of pajama pants for my husband using Butterick 5572 (finally a pajama pants pattern with pockets!). After several false starts I now need to start over completely because the baby got ahold of and shredded the pattern pieces before I managed to cut any of the fabric.

I have a new goal of making my son a Halloween costume before Halloween. I'm using Simplicity 2561, the pants from view B, right, and the top from view D, bottom left. I've never tried a shirt before, so there are definitely some challenges here. I feel like Halloween costumes are a good time to make mistakes, though.

Also on my radar is a quilt for my son, who will be ready for a bed and blankets before we know it, and a baby quilt for the next son or daughter, due April 2.

This may all be a bit overly ambitious, especially for a pregnant woman with a burgeoning toddler. However, summer is winding down, meaning more time indoors, my son is close to weaning, and I like to have goals. I may not get all these things done in the time frame I would like, but I like to have something to work towards.