Twitterbee :: December Block #1, originally uploaded by earthchick.

So I’m currently in two virtual quilting bees, both scheduled to end in March. I have really enjoyed doing these and have learned so so much in the process.

These are my most recent blocks, made in the last few days for knittingbybicycle/Andrea . She sent this gorgeous assortment of fabrics in light and dark aquas and sunny yellows and golds, along with a chocolate brown, and asked for Mod Mosaic blocks based on this tutorial from Oh, Fransson. What a fantastic and fun block!

I’ve discovered over these last several months that I have two favorite kinds of blocks – the mod kind that invite an organic approach to layout and don’t rely on extreme precision, and the paper-pieced kind that make extreme precision possible.

I loved this block enough that I definitely see more of these in my future. And I loved this palette enough that I might have to copy it some day.

YIP.6.18 – collaborative crafting, originally uploaded by earthchick.

(Yeah, I realize Father’s Day was two months ago. I’m behind on my bloggables, okay? And I still have a birthday party – from May – to blog!)

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Amanda Blake Soule’s second book, Handmade Home , every since she announced it was in the works. It came out last week and looks great (though I don’t own it yet, since I might’ve blown my book budget lately on Sookie Stackhouse – yo, a girl deserves a few guilty pleasures on vacation, doesn’t she?). Before the book was released, Amanda offered a free pdf of these self-portrait bookmarks on her website. I thought they were a perfect Father’s Day idea.

The above bookmark was a gift for my dad. That’s Little Buddha’s self-portrait (drawn directly onto the fabric, then embroidered by me, and then sewn into a bookmark), with his name written on the left (from top-to-bottom). My stitching skills leave something to be desired, plus I am crazy-slow, but otherwise it was a great project.

We also made one for My Old Man.

You’re supposed to mark the edges off with masking tape so that the child leaves a half inch border inside the rectangle. I didn’t do that, and not only did Little Buddha fill up space within that half inch border – he drew beyond the original rectangle. So this is a super-wide bookmark. Still, I think it’s a great little memento.

Tiny Dancer didn’t want to make any. He hasn’t demonstrated near the interest in drawing (and arts and crafts in general) as his brother has, and I didn’t want to pressure him. But while we were on vacation, he did finally draw his very first stick figure.

I kind of love it.

YIP.7.27 – new skirt, new bench, originally uploaded by earthchick.

Hello from Georgia! We are on our summer travels right now, and I am without much internet access, but thought I’d take a moment to pop in and show off my new skirt – one I’m finally thrilled with.

So the Summer of Skirts continues. This is #4 in the series I think (#5 this year) and the last thing I finished up before our travels (I have sewed one more skirt while on vacation, which I hope to show soon). I haven’t been all that thrilled with any of my skirts so far – there’s always something I’m not wild about – but this one is a huge exception. It came together exactly as I’d envisioned, and it is so cool and super-comfortable.

This is Simplicity 2609, an elastic-waist yoked skirt. It includes three options for tiered skirts (sort of gypsy skirts) and two that are four-panel skirts). This is View D, the longer of the paneled skirts. The fabric is a beautiful white crinkly cotton with white embroidered flowers on it.

I got it at Joann’s in March and held on to it until I found a pattern that I thought would do it justice. And I think I have!

It’s a perfect casual skirt for staying cool and keeping comfortable in the Georgia heat and humidity.

Now all I need is a glass of iced tea!

YIP.7.15 – Summer Blouse, originally uploaded by earthchick.

I should’ve studied everyone else’s photos and notes before making my own, because it turns out that I had the same problems other people have had, but I was so anxious to get this done before leaving on our vacation that I just plunged ahead when I finally got a few moments with my machine.

This is the Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. It’s the third thing I’ve made from the book, but it was the first thing that caught my eye. It is exactly my style, and quite similar to my favorite store-bought summer top.

Notes and mods:
1 – I didn’t do a button and loop at the top of the neck, because with this high of a neck I will never, ever button it. (if I make this again, I will be cutting the neck lower)

2 – I reduced the placket by about 4 inches (I did read other people’s comments enough to know that I didn’t want the placket cut as low as the pattern calls for). Even with the length I made it, I will have to wear a cami underneath.

3 – I made the bias trim for the neck out of the contrast fabric, but it would’ve looked better out of the main fabric.

4 – In fact I should’ve done the placket in the main fabric as well; I’m afraid the contrast fabric (a light green with tiny chocolate polka dots) doesn’t work as well as the main fabric would’ve.

5. I was not able to cut the pattern pieces from the amount of fabric indicated as laid out in the book. I had 1 1/2 yds of 43″ fabric, whereas the book calls for 45″ – but I don’t think it would’ve worked with 45 either, or it would have been very very close. I will post pics on flickr of how I finally did the lay out – as a result of it, I had to make the sleeves 2-3″ shorter than the pattern called for, which actually made them just right.

6. The length of this is a problem. As others have mentioned, it is pretty short. I really didn’t have any fabric to spare, so there’s not much I could’ve done about it, even if I had realized ahead of time. This shirt would be perfect for me except for the fact that it is about 3 inches shorter than I like to wear my tops. I hemmed it as minimally as possible, but it still hits higher than I like – much higher.

7. It’s pretty blousy, which would’ve been fine if it had been a bit longer. As it is, I might decide to add some darts in the sides or the back.

I’m bummed out about the length since I really LOVE this fabric (another cheapy cotton from Joann’s!). I could’ve easily bought more had I known at the time that I should make it longer (and that the pattern pieces weren’t going to fit on the fabric).

Other than that, it’s a quick, fun, easy pattern. I will likely make it again, with a few mods.

Oh, and since I sort of declared this my Summer of the Skirt, I did whip out another one of those, for the 4th of July.

Just a plain old drawstring-waist A-line skirt from red polka-dot cotton, drafted from Sew What! Skirts. I’m not wild about the fit, but the fabric was just too summery to resist.

Hope you are enjoying these long summer days!

52.2 – Happy Bench Monday!, originally uploaded by earthchick.

I started this skirt in April, with plans to wear it with my modified February Lady Sweater for Easter. But the lime green fabric didn’t look as good with the blue sweater as I’d hoped, so I stopped before putting in the waist and doing the hem (and made a white one instead).

I finally got back to the skirt last week and finished it up. It is such a simple little project – an elastic-waist, 6-gore cotton skirt. The fit isn’t as flattering on me as a classic A-line or basic straight skirt, and I always look better in a fitted (zippered) skirt than in one with an elastic waist.

I had thought I’d relegate this to my fabric pile, to use for something else some day. But after trying it on again to take some pictures, with a simple cami and no hose (would y’all believe I almost always wear pantyhose when I wear a skirt or dress?), I realized that it makes a great knock-around-the-house/play-around-the-back-yard kind of skirt.

And so it will be.

pattern:Simplicity 4138, view E
fabric: very cheap light green cotton with tiny flowers, from Joann’s

So I decided that maybe tee+skirt+sandals would be my new summer uniform. Which of course meant I needed to make some more skirts. And since Joann’s was having it’s big Firefly Sale last week, I was able to score some new $1.99 patterns and some cheap fabric. Several years ago, I spent a summer making a new pie each week – I started thinking maybe this summer I would make a new skirt each week. Except that I probably have too many other projects (including many other things I want to sew besides skirts) to be that committed.

Anyway, this is Simplicity 2611 – one of their "1 Hour" patterns. It took me longer than an hour, but I did bang the whole thing out this afternoon, so, close enough. It’s a yoked drawstring skirt – there are just four panels to sew together, then the yoke (with buttonholes for the drawstring). I had a hard time figuring out what size to make, because the finished measurements indicated in the pattern made no sense whatsoever – they were based on the size of the skirt before the drawstring had been tied, I guess?

So I ended up making it too big, which is better than making it too small of course. I know for next time to make this at least a size smaller, maybe two. (I will take this one in so that I’ll actually wear it – but I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit of a pain because of the yoke). I’m pretty sure that even when it’s the right size it’s going to be a fairly full skirt, so I’m not sure if it’ll be the most flattering fit. We’ll see. I’ll be doing more skirt experimenting, I’m sure.

YIP.5.31 – Pup Tent, originally uploaded by earthchick.

Having finally conquered the birthday quilts, I was looking for some quick little something to sew for the boys’ birthday. This pup tent from Weekend Sewing fit the bill.

I waited until the Memorial Day Sale at Joann’s to pick up some outdoor canvas (because otherwise, 54″ home decorating fabrics are kind of pricey!). This pattern calls for 2 1/2 yards, and I think my final price was something in the low $20 range – much better than the $45-ish it would’ve been without the Sale coupons. (I have a thing about avoiding paying full price for fabric at Joann’s, because you can almost always catch something on sale there – either outright on sale, or with the use of a coupon – if you are willing to wait just a bit). Anyway, I thought this colorful striped fabric was just perfect for a backyard tent. Doesn’t it just scream “Pottery Barn Kids”? (I mean, except for the price tag – because if it were PBK it would be something like $99, yes?)

The pattern is straightforward, simple, and fast. Basically you sew three pieces together, make some loops out of bias tape, and sew the hems (with loops inside the hems). Get yourself a rope and some tent stakes, et voila! You can have yourself a campout. The book indicates that you can use aluminum needles instead of tent stakes. While that is a cute idea, it also costs twice as much – unless you happen to have some knitting needles lying around that you don’t mind jamming into the dirt. (I bought a set of 4 tent stakes for about $3.49, and priced out similarly sized aluminum knitting needles at $3.69 a pair – and of course you would need two pairs). There is enough fabric left over to make a matching outdoor cushion. I have the pillow form and plan to do this, eventually.

The boys got new sleeping bags from their aunt for their birthday, so we are just waiting for some good weather so that we can have a backyard camp-out.

Fairy Tale Quilts, originally uploaded by earthchick.

So these were supposed to be for the boys’ fourth birthday. I worked on them with feline supervision.

I ran into what I thought was a calamity when two of the fairy tale fabrics I ordered turned out to be canvas. But then Ashley told me I could totally use canvas for a quilt. So I did. (The one on the right has the two canvas fabrics – Jack and the Beanstalk and The Gingerbread Man – picked out by Little Buddha.)

I didn’t get these done in time for their fourth birthday. And then, having missed the deadline, I stalled out. I finally got them back out last month, and finished them with 8 days to spare before their fifth birthday. I love them very much.

pattern: Easy Lap Quilt, from Bend-the-Rules Sewing
fabrics: various, ordered from the folk tales section of reprodepot and some picked up at Joann’s
dates: late-April 2008 to late-May 2009

I really like the backing fabric, which is a mix of tales – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, etc.

I love pulling a new quilt out of the dryer, when it’s all freshly crinkled, and then folding it up, so that it’s all squishy.

The quilts are great for using on the ground outside.

And they are perfect for cuddling.

I better get moving if I am going to finish reviewing 2008 by the end of January, eh?

<a href="“>

Turns out I have a few unblogged sewn projects. I kept thinking I would get around to it, but they were all such disappointments I kind of didn’t want to revisit them. I sewed three pairs of pants in a row, all Simplicity 4023, with modifications. I had success with that pattern in 2007, resulting in a pair of pants that is still one of my favorites. But I wanted to improve the waist, which was a drawstring. So for the light green and light blue pants, I installed a side-zip zipper. They fit okay but never felt quite right. Then the strawberry pants I did in such a rush (on vacation, in fact, in about an hour). I put an elastic waistband in them, made them too small, and made them too short in the rise. So, an all around bust (except for the adorable print).

Second verse, same as the first – I made My Old Man’s son Chris a pair of flannel pjs, per request, in December, and those ended up with a rise that was too short as well. Clearly my measuring abilities are impaired.

The odd black thing in the next-to-last square is a sort of stole that I made frantically at midnight before we left for our nephew’s wedding in November, just in case my Moonshadow Stole didn’t work out (thankfully it did). The fabric was a really pretty black and silver brocade that I intend to repurpose for something else some day.

I did the bulk of my sewing in February through June. Then my machine gathered dust until those last two items in November and December. I sewed only half as many things in 2008 as I did the year previous. I always have lots of things I want to sew, and I often buy the fabric for them too! But in the end I seem to be mostly consumed with knitting these days.

The only real sewing goals I’m setting for 2009 are that I want to learn how to use my serger and I intend to finish my boys’ birthday quilts before it’s their next birthday!