Stacked coins baby quilt top

I've been busy starting an intense workout program, so sewing has kind of slipped to the back burner. But...I did finish my quilt top. Sorry for the crummy photo, but lighting was not my friend today. Gloomy and rainy here. I will say that Moda fabric is so nice to work with, soft and beautiful to touch. I think it will make a nice quilt when I'm finished. Of course, this is the pattern that Crazy Mom Quilts post on Moda Bakeshop. Pretty straight forward and easy.

Cabo Halter Pictures

Here it is, the Amy Butler Cabo Halter. I used the XS size in the pattern, and I didn't have to make any adjustments. It fits perfectly. I also used Amy Butler fabric, Daisy Chain. The pattern calls for one and a half yards for the XS and Small, and I was left with a TON left over. I'm sure it is there for matching up patterns, which I didn't do very well, but I don't think it is too bad for a first try. I'd actually wear this out in public, and I have never made a garment for myself that I have worn out in public. (unless you count running the mail out in the morning in pajama pants!) So, I'm pretty happy with it. I got it just in time for the weather to start cooling off here. Of course! I'll just throw a sweater on over it. :)

Invisible Zipper Success!!

I got to the scariest part of the Cabo Halter today. The part that has had me kind of putting it off, and saying, "I'll try to figure it out tomorrow." The invisible zipper. I've never put in a zipper before, and it just seems so complicated and impossible somehow. A big thing in a lot of the online tutorials that I found was the importance of an invisible zipper foot. They had them right by the zippers at the fabric store, but it was all in pieces of different colored plastic. I took one look at them, and deemed them utterly not for zipper novices, such as myself. So I did a quick search on Ebay and ended up with one for my machine. And it is ONE piece, so that made it a little less intimidating. And guess what? I did it today. I still need to do some hand-finishing, and finish up the rest of the back seam, but I put in an invisible zipper! In one try!

See...

Tomorrow I just need to do some finish work on the zipper, and hem it, and I will be done with the halter. And it fits perfectly, I didn't even have to mess with adjustments or anything. The only thing is that the pattern doesn't match up...a lesson I'll need to learn on another day.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself. More pictures once it is finished!

Because I couldn't help myself

I really should be SEWING, not out buying old (1925!) Singer sewing machines off of Craigslist! I blame it on the find at Goodwill yesterday, and I will control myself...now...

Isn't that a lovely wooden case? It fits over the top and locks with a little key. It is electric, but instead of a foot pedal, it has this long curved metal bar which is a knee lever. Singer has a list of serial numbers on its website, and that is how I discovered what year it was manufactured. I'm hoping to display it on top of our new entertainment center. I love it! But no more, or my husband will set me out, with all my machines! :)

So THAT'S why people go to thrift stores!!

I had some time to kill before I picked Emi up from school yesterday, so I ran over to the Goodwill store. My husband and I were just strolling through when he pointed out a FILTHY plastic sewing machine box. Hmmm...can a girl who sews POSSIBLY pass up a sewing machine box without looking inside? As I pulled it out, I began thinking...this is going to be some totally disgusting yellowed plastic monstrosity, that I'm going to shove right back under the shelf. Imagine my shock when I opened the case and I saw THIS!!!
(Sorry for the sideways picture, Blogger won't let me flip it!) An antique cast iron ( I think, it weighs a TON!) Kingston sewing machine.

And it works!! For $24 dollars, I could not resist, and bought it. My husband cleaned it when we got home, while I searched the internet for information on it. Sadly, I couldn't find much in the way of info. I DID find a site where I think I can get a reprinted manual, and a couple of sites where various Kingston machines were for sale. I think it might be affiliated with Brother, and I know it was made in Japan, potentially from 1945 to 1954 or so. I also read that Post War Japan basically "borrowed" Singer's design and churned out quite a few machines that are basically Singer knockoffs. Even parts were basically interchangeable. Collectability for these machines isn't that high, and I paid pretty much what they go for. BUT! Who cares! What a cool old machine! I actually SQUEALED when I opened the box and saw it. For a split second I thought it was an old Singer...because of the shape.

Whoever used it before, had placed masking tape strips at two and a half inch, and four and a half inch intervals. Quilting, perhaps? The second picture with that beautiful scroll work plate, isn't that pretty? I'm not positive where I am going to put this thing, but I HAD to have it, even if is just for looking at. What a cool piece of history where sewing is concerned. Someone just like me sat in front of it for hours, sewing up fabric, creating...I am so glad I went to Goodwill yesterday!!

I'm not even done with my quilt top!!

And look, I've already started Amy Butler's Cabo Halter. I'm kind of at a standstill with this right now, because I'm at the part where I need a friend to help with the fitting before continuing. And my husband is sleeping, 'cause he was up since 4 AM flying. Ugh! It is coming together quite easily so far. Of course, this little halter comes with an Invisible Zipper. I just bought an invisible zipper foot for my machine, so hopefully it won't be too painful!

I love how I am sewing up a halter near the end of August. :) Probably more work on my stacked coins quilt tomorrow. And cleaning the house and putting away laundry. Fun, fun!

Summer has been fantastic...

There are so many things that go on during the summer...that sewing definitely was not in the cards...BUT, I've done a couple of things in the last week or so gearing up for quality time with my machine...

Like finishing my sister's long awaited lounge pants from Amy Butler's In Stitches book. I made them with Arkansas Razorback fabric (she went to school there) that I bought last year. I have yet to send them to her, and when I do, it will probably be a huge surprise, because she quit expecting them by now.



Also, I busily traced Amy Butler's Cabo Halter pattern out on tracing paper so I wouldn't have to cut the actual pattern. Part of the pattern overlaps itself, plus it is nice to preserve it for the different sizes. I picked up some really cute fabrics at Hancocks of Paducah (I could have spent HOURS in that store!) when we drove through Kentucky this summer, with the Cabo Halter in mind. I've got an invisible zipper foot ordered, and aside from having to sew an invisible zipper into the halter, it looks pretty straight forward and not too intimidating/difficult. Hopefully I will get a couple sewn up before summer is gone, and halter tops will be the last thing I want to wear! Thank goodness that summer lasts for basically nine months down here!



Then, a project I'm also very excited about is this:

For three and a half yards of fabric plus two charm packs, you can make a very simple baby quilt. There are a couple of Moda fabric collections that came out this year that I fell in love with...and I discovered Moda charm packs, which has a square of EACH fabric in the collection. Then I went to Moda Bake Shop, and discovered the perfect recipe to showcase an entire fabric collection in one piece. The stacked coins baby quilt. The collection in the picture above is Aviary by Three Sisters for Moda. Ooooh, I love this collection! I love the bird egg prints, the soft colors, the fabric itself is so nice...I could go on and on. Charm packs are a great way for fabric lovers to get an entire collection for a small cost. But the idea of just hiding these gorgeous fabric samples away in a drawer, box, or shelf just seemed like such a shame. Now AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts uses charm packs and then other fabrics. But, it is obviously open to interpretation, and I decided to use all Aviary fabrics. Right now I've just finished pressing my stacked coins, and need to move on to the sashing.

I have two more collections that I'm going to turn into this same quilt. Howard Marcus Collection for a Cause Legacy, and Fig Tree Quilts Patisserie. I have to be careful, because since it could easily become an obsession. And if I have uninterrupted sewing time, like when my little one goes back to school here pretty soon...I could probably churn these out like nobody's business! And you know, the Halloween and Christmas collections are coming out...

Not been in a sewing kinda mood...

BUT, I finished my quilt. I have to admit, I ended up rushing this, and machine sewed the binding, which is supposed to be hand finished. For SHAME! I know, I know. Maybe my next one. I don't know why this quilt became such a pain to me. The excitement of finishing it though, crappily, even, did get me motivated. I want to start a new project right away. I will do something that will not take a bunch of time though. I will be making some Amy Butler lounge pants for my long suffering sis. I might run by the quilt shop to pick up some more fabric to make a couple of pairs. I'd like to make my mom some too, and I could always use another pair to lounge about in. I've found that they come together SOOOO quickly, that it seems a good idea to cut several pairs out all at once. I can knock out several pairs in a couple of hours. They are that quick.

I also recently bought Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Love it!! There are so many great projects in there, I don't know which one to do first. Also, I am TOTALLY coveting this pattern by Anna Maria Horner, who also has to DIE for fabrics. It looks a little complicated, but I definitely want to try it. I have a ton of Amy Butler patterns that I really need to use, and of course make some more things for Emi. Plus I have a fairly simple looking quilt I'd like to make with some fabrics I've already purchased for that very purpose, and a kit I bought a few months ago when I fell in love with a quilt I saw in a quilting magazine. Whew! Wish me luck on my lofty goals!!

Quilt top...done

It's amazing what you can get done when you actually sit down and make time to sew!! I haven't done a lot of that lately, and today, I did. The house is clean, there were no trips to the grocery store I needed to make, and only the occasional transfer of laundry from the washer to the dryer. I hit shuffle on ITunes, and sewed away. All my blocks and sashing and border...riddled with mistakes I assure you, but, my goodness what a learning experience.

Now, I need to measure it, and get batting and backing laid out, pin the heck out of it, and then quilt it. Then all I'll have is binding, and since I FINALLY know how to to do that, my quilt will be complete. I hear that the machine quilting takes a while, as does hand sewing the binding. But that is okay. I have a million more sewing projects that are piling up, but I do want to finish this quilt, since it is my new year's resolution!! Then, on to the pair of Amy Butler lounge pants I've promised my sister FOREVER. Those will take mere moments compared to quilting!!

Sew, Sew, Sew...

Whew, I've been busy. Here they are, in all of their imperfect glory. I still have 3 more blocks to make. Then I will sew on the sashing, and border. Our last class is next week, and they will teach us how to do the binding, and give us some pointers on actually quilting it. We won't be doing that in class because there isn't enough room in the classroom. I'm pretty excited. I can't believe I will have made a quilt!

And so it begins...

Here it is, the beginning of my first block. Three more of these, sew them all together, and then the first block of my first quilt will be complete. Yay!!

A New Year's Resolution...Kind of...

I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions in the traditional sense. It hasn't always been this way. Oh, I've tried to change huge things in my life and usually failed within a month. So, several years ago, I decided that if I make any kind of resolution, it would be to do something fun, and potentially new. One year I went parasailing. Another year I finally took tennis lessons, something which I've wanted to do for a very long time. This year, I wanted to attempt a quilt. For a sewing novice this is a pretty daunting undertaking, so I signed up for a class at a local quilt shop. I had my first class, and it was fun, HARD, and kind of exciting, knowing that at the end of five weeks (in theory!) I will have a quilt.

I picked fabrics, which was difficult. Five fabrics and I was sweating and stressing. I'm not like other people. I have a severe fabric-go-together deficiency. I was not born with this skill, and after agonizing in not one, but TWO fabric stores, I picked these fabrics. All but one are Amy Butler. Our homework is to cut the fabric for two of the blocks and then sew together the first one. So, I am excited, and I'm glad that I picked fabrics that I love, and that will feel wonderful running through my hands as I feed it into the sewing machine. And my husband is in total agreement, since he said that quilts are something that stick around much longer than say...an article of clothing. "This quilt you are making, it might end up in Emi's house one day. So, buy the good stuff." Boy, I love that guy! So wish me luck!!

She has a name, too...

I finally finished this doll using the Wee Wonderfuls Pattern for the Chloe doll. It was long, painful, and riddled with mistakes (the least of which was not over stuffing the doll, or sewing the legs on the wrong way...). But I learned a lot. Like I have a HUGE amount of respect for doll makers. I always have, but I'm sure you've heard the phrase about walking a mile in someone else's shoes. Um yeah, I TRUDGED!

Anyway, I ended up painting the face on the doll, and it turned out really well. I was really dreading cutting up tiny bits of felt, so I thought paint would make a nice alternative, so I used some acrylic craft paint, a teeny little brush. My little girl loves coming to the fabric store with me, and I usually let her pick something out. One time she selected a bunch of fat quarters, and the dress was made from one of those. I was so frustrated by tiny little clothing that I didn't put sleeves on it. Frankly, I ran out of steam. For the whole project, not that it would have taken very long had I kept at it. I fell out of love, but persevered, and voila!! My little girl now has a new doll, and upon seeing her, christened her...April. I don't know where the name came from, but here is April in all of her mistake riddled glory. Emi doesn't seem to mind and April has been a constant presence in her bed since she was finished.

I wish I was as talented as Hilary from Wee Wonderfuls, and I'm sure with more practice, my dolls would improve, but the frustration level while attempting this is still too fresh in my mind. In six months I will have forgotten the sailor-mouthed diatribes and try again.