Quilting begins

It's a long weekend here due the the Eid al-Fitr holidays.  So I got off my butt and thread basted Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilt.  I use my sewing table to baste and was standing all the time with many breaks.  Pretty tiring.  I am using flannel for the batting.  I basted from the top to the bottom.  Ensuring the layers stay flat as I go.  My fingers are a little sore now :(

The quilting starts from the centre out.  Outline quilting it with Perle Cotton No. 8 using big stitch. My plan is to quilt one block a week.  Still unsure how I'll quilt the sashing. 

I made an A-Line skirt and a blouse for my sis.  Will wait for her fitting before I proceed with more sewing.

I've tied up the remnant garment fabrics.  Some are enough to make a sleeveless blouse.  Maybe I could use them as trims in the future.

And lastly my progress of LHN's Love Your Neighbour.

Civil War Quilt Top Completed!

Blocks designer:  Barbara Brackman  Size: 76" x 87"

Woo hoo!   I've been working hard on piecing my Civil War quilt blocks and finally I have the top done.  I used only 42 blocks out of the 52 offered by Barbara Brackman.  The pic is not so great as the porch blocked the evening sun.  The inner cream sashing is 1/2" finished and the outer black sashing 1-1/2" finished.  The border is 5" wide.  It's huge for my puny sewing machine to quilt so I suppose I'll most likely hand quilt it, and that will take even more time.

  Completed the small quilt by Jo Morton.  It's a freebie on APQ.  Love all the variety of reds and shirtings.

The Quilt Sampler.  Designer:  Little House Needleworks  Floss: DMC as charted.  Linen: 32ct Cream Belfast.

 I came across frames with 50% discount at Parkson supermarket and I thought it would be a nice size for the Quilt Sampler.  Unfortunately the glass is reflective.  Most of my other framed cross stitch pieces use non-reflective glass, then again they were framed by professional framers.  Nevertheless I still do like framing some in these store bought frames especially for small pieces.  I did not use glue but instead lace the back with thread as tightly as I can.  This method also provides room for some shifting.

Shaker doll 13-1/2" tall

In between working on the Civil War blocks I've been fooling around with doll making.  I tried out this Shaker doll by Miriam Gourley, just to gain some courage before trying out Gail Wilson's doll.  I like how her nose was shaped.  I use muslin and stuffed her with polyester filling.  The stuffing fork that I got from Gail is an excellent stuffing tool.  The instructions that were given in Miriam's book were quite basic and minimal, on the other hand Gail's can be overwhelming.  Gail says that way she ensures her dolls are made successfully.    

A folder to organize the doll templates

 

The Feed Sack doll is coming along.  There were umpteen steps to follow before the stuffing stage and more after.  I'll have to work on her step by step and I expect it to be an interesting journey.

Here's a start to some hexagons for Kathleen Tracy's October Small Quilt Challenge.  I used 100gm weight paper to print the hexagons.  I quite like EPP and it can be quite relaxing.  So I've ordered a small pack of 1" hexagons from Paper Pieces.  They are having a free shipping promotion.  An EPP hexagon quilt in the future perhaps? :)

 I finally got my strips organized for the progress of the Jacob's Ladder blocks.  I've been cutting strips as I go and just setting them aside.  So now their all organized for eventual piecing.  I've also been thinking of starting some 3" (finished) 9 patches blocks.  Maybe as a leaders and enders project.  And just build up the blocks slowly.

Sashing CW blocks

Finally I got my sashing for the CW blocks figured out.  I really like all those corner stones that other quilters have incorporated into their quilts.  There's a round of 1/2" cream sashing followed by 1 1/2" black.  The going is slow.  Some points had to be cut off because I didn't piece the block well.

I stumbled into a blog tutorial here which stretched one charm pack into a lap sized quilt.  I've always wondered if this could be done.  I've got 2 more borders to add still and I just got the binding too. I don't know if you have noticed the fabrics for the charm packs are thinner as compared to yardage of the same line.  I don't think I've had this issue previously.  Frankly sewing with thin fabrics can be quite fiddly and to make things worse some are cut off grain, not happy at all.

Blueberry Crumb Cake charm pack with Kona Natural

The Couture Dress is still in the muslin stage.  Long way to go methinks.  The rules change when sewing a dress.  The waist was too tight and so I dismantled the muslin and reconstructed it again but this time only working on the bodice.

And this is my first attempt at sewing knits.  Quite scarry but challenging at the same time.  I dropped two sizes because some of the reviews said that it was big but now it's too fitting for my liking.  I think it'll fit my sis better.

Lydia (Burda Style)

  I still need to mock serge the sleeve and hem.  Will have to use the twin needle to hem them, also my first time.  There's a good tutorial on sewing knits at Dixie DIY.

 Fabrics from Fabric Shack.  I needed to replenish my Kona Natural.  Also I have stopped on the Just Takes 2 QAL.  The paper piecing got to me eventually ... :(  But I still do want to start a bed sized quilt in red & white some time in the future.  And maybe a blue and white one too? :)  Part of the fun is finding the pattern.  I'll surely lean on the traditional blocks.  The black print on the top left is for the CW quilt, the Kona Amber Solid is for the BOM on Craftsy.

March Blocks - Foundation Piecing

Binwani's is shifting from Jalan TAR so they were having a good sale.  I bought some wool suiting.  Looks like some I need to dry clean and some can be hand washed.  So those for the dry-cleaners will be jackets, The Starlet Suit Jacket to be exact :)  The satin silk were very reasonable too.  So I bought some for linings.

Discounted woven cotton from Nagoya fabric store.  There's 4 pair of shorts there!

Got the Autumn and Winter design from 1-2-3 Stitch.  I had Summer for sometime now.  Since this is the Loose Feathers series, I better get them before their gone!

Piecing and the Couture Dress

I've been piecing and sewing this past week or so.  No finishes in the horizon yet though.

Just Takes 2 - Part 3 is done.  I could learn to like paper piecing!

 Craftsy February blocks are done too.

On the right will be my backing for the non-existent Civil War quilt top :p  Fabric Shack's sale fabrics are perfect for backings IMHO.

Linen and cotton linen blends that I bought online from a local fabric store Kamdar.  They sent me white instead of black :(  There was some mix-up on the website and it should have occurred to me to highlight this to them.  But a pair of white linen shorts should be nice too.  The black linen on the left will be for my fashion fabric for the couture dress.

The muslin work has started and I have switched my pattern to Simplicity 1914.  Learning some very interesting couture concepts.

I've still got a little way to go with the JJ blouse.  I am very happy with the construction of this blouse so far pretty methodical and neat.  Doesn't pay to rush these things.  When you're flustered ... just stop!  Come back to it another day when you're in a better frame of mind.

Happy New Year 2012!

May 2012 bring you much happiness and good health!

I've caught up with the Civil War blocks, at least with blocks that I want to piece.  I've omitted blocks with  applique, curves, Y Seams, templates and very tricky calculations.  I can't manage those and honestly I prefer not to!

#44 Union

#45 Port and Starboard

#47 Dixie tea

#46 Apple Tree

#51 New York

#50 Grapes of Wrath

#49 Yankee Puzzle

#48 West Virginia

#52 Christmas Star

#41 Red White & Blue (Paper pieced)

I did not make Block 41 initially and when I went over the comments on the CW Flickr Group, there was a link to make the star using paper piecing.  As I was telling Merilyn that my earlier paper piecing efforts leaves much to be desired!  This star looks easy enough ... NOT!  I had a terrible headache twisting my mind :)  I watched the TQS video of Carol Doak again to GET it ... even then I made mistakes.  Boy did I sweat over this baby!

I must confess that not all my blocks are 8-1/2" square, well some are but most aren't :(  But since I firmed up my thoughts on settings it's not too much of a do or die situation anymore.  I intend to sash every block with either black and light tan.  Alternating the blocks on the quilt top.  It's all in my mind right now.  I've even got the fabrics already and their drying on the clothes horse right this minute.  It will be a 6 x 8 blocks setting with 10-1/2" square each block (after sashing) which makes it 60" x 80".  Not sure about the borders yet but that decision can come later.

I will be re-doing some of the blocks some were pieced badly, some did not have a good colour combos so there's still some work to do. Here they are all together on my Flickr set.

Some fabric stashing was done too and there were some anxious moments during the Christmas rush.  A sewing book I ordered from Abe Books is not here yet, it's been almost a month :(  But for those that arrived I am relieved.

Plaids for Jan Patek's  'Lincoln's Platform' quilt that I have plans for

The 2 bottom left fabrics are for sashing the CW blocks

I've been thinking of making a red and white quilt this year and I bought these 1 yd cuts of an old Judie Rothermel fabric line called Quaker Quilts.  My idea was the Ocean Waves quilt.  But that has all changed.  After reading Lori's blog this morning she mentions about the Just Takes 2 mystery quilt.  And yes I am sold!

For a table topper I have plans for.  I know ... I am BIG on plans ...

When Gail Wilson was having her Christmas sale, I figured there's no time like the present to get the outstanding items I needed to make the Lottie doll ... and other dolls!  I asked Gail if she sold courage too.  She said that I've got to go and see the Wizard of Oz for that!  So here's to courage and maybe a doll in 2012?!