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.

A little bit of everything

I suppose I may be spreading myself too thin sometimes.  But as they say 'variety' is the spice of life!  It keeps those grey cells churning :)

Blessing Baskets Quilt Top.  Designer: Temecula Quilt Co. (freebie)  Size: 17" square

 I am trying out utility stitching on the April Challenge Quilt by Kathleen Tracy.  There was some discussion in the group about using utility stitches to quilt these doll quilts.  Crow Footing / Fly Stitch, Mennonite Tack etc were discussed.  I found a blog post here that gives some simple explanation of these stitches.  Also another member of the group was explaining how she uses the cheapest flannel she can find as batting for her quilts.  So I gave that a try too.  Cheap flannels imported from China can be got easily here in KL.

Close-up of Crow Footing / Fly Stitch

I used Perle Cotton No. 8 in DMC 414.  These big stitch concept sure is my cup of tea, since it quilts pretty fast.  I finished quilting this quilt in one sitting. Although the quilting on flannel doesn't give the puffed up look that we love, it sure wins on drapability!  I use the hera marker to mark my grids.  I can't eyeball for nuts.

I just got one block done out of two for the Craftsy April BOM.  I may make another but I will wait for the other blocks to complete to see how the quilt is arranged.

I managed to squeeze another knit blouse from the left over fabrics.  This time I used Loretti 5922.  I did make a few changes of increasing the side seams, lengthening the torso and sleeves to 3/4 sleeves.  No facing were used for the neckline.  This fitted me better and I can see myself improving on the pattern some more.

A couple of nighties.  Easy peasy ;)

I also purchased a couple of cotton applique from this Etsy dealer.  Some grosgrain ribbon for waist stay or maybe for trimmings.
 

I am almost finishing the Quilt Sampler by LHN.  I enjoyed stitching on it again.  I was listening to Uncle Tom's Cabin while stitching.  BTW a very thought provoking piece of literature. I cried, I got angry, I got disgusted ... phew ...  I am now slowly catching up on reading these classics. I have never appreciated books in my school days or in my youth.  Reading was a drag ... what more classical literature!

 I made this tofu dish for lunch yesterday.  Easy and tasty.  You can get the recipe here.

 That's a wrap for now.  Thank you all for coming by my humble cyber abode.

Christmas Gift and Needle Keep

Lillie sent me a lovely Christmas pin pillow yesterday.  It's really cute.

I finished my needle keep complete with pockets, wool felt pages, button and loop.

Size: 4-1/4" x 5-3/4".  Cotton batting, hand quilted.

 

Preparing for Build Houses from Scraps that will begin in 2012.  I've cut out the templates, gosh their really small. I may enlarge the block to a 4" ... let me have a go at 3" and see if I'm okay with it.

 Over the weekend I sewed a sleeveless blouse and a pair of shorts for home wear. 

Got a bit of a headache figuring out the inseam pockets!

 It's been raining here most days hence the darkish pics.  I've received two packages from my swap pals Elyte and Merilyn in Australia.  The deal is to only open it on Christmas day ... So glad that it's just 3 more days otherwise I am not sure if I will keep to our agreement! :)

Merry Christmas one and all!

Quilting away ...

The Depression blocks quilt has been 2 1/2 years in the making.  I was quite determined to not let it get into 2012!  So here it is all quilted, bound, washed and on my bed!

Depression blocks quilt.  Size: 58 1/2" x 76 1/2". Batting: Polyester (Soft & Bright).  Fabric: Harvest Home charm packs and brushed woven for backing by BBD for Moda.  Scrappy binding  (actually only two, interspersed). Quilting: Hand quilted (big stitch) with Pearl No. 8.

 

Am now quilting on Lori's Cheddar Cheese & Crackers and a needle keep for myself.  I find I am using many different type of needles lately and wool felt pages will separate them nicely.

Auditioning some lace for the needle keep pockets

And a little Christmas stitchery for my toaster cover!

Designer: Bird Brain (freebie).  Floss: DMC

Thanks everyone for coming by.  The year is closing so very soon, time to sit and reflect on the year and list out some 2012 stitchy goals.  Speaking of which Jeanneke will be running a QAL on Building Houses from Scraps.  I've signed up but I just intend to make enough houses for a doll quilt.

Much Sewing

I had to look at my old post to remind me of where I left off ;) 

I needed some sleepwear so I sewed 3.  These were really easy and the patterns are from a Japanese book translated to Mandarin.  I don't know both.  That's the thing about these Japanese books, the illustrations are excellent.

The bodice had ruffles on the front of the original dress

Mine ... sans ruffles

Another similar to the above

In front is a sleeveless top also from the same book.  The other is my client's A-Line skirt in the making

Her selection of fabrics for the shell and lining.  Did not need to use the satin bias tape after all

Invisible zip construction.  Lots of pining, hand basting and then sewing

It is now finished and sent out to my client.  I added a little card with some info

Sewing for a client brings a whole different dimension to sewing.  You bloody well get it right! LOL!!  I sewed up a toile (fancy word for muslin) for her fitting.  There were some small adjustments here and there, the pattern was drafted again with these corrections.  The lining pattern was copied from the original with some changes.  Only then the proper cutting of the actual shell and lining fabrics are done.

I am recording all my sewing of garments with snippets of fabrics used and adjustments done on the main pattern.  And I slip these notes into the pattern envelope.  Gosh ... I don't know where all these organizational genius is coming from!

Drafting the pants pattern

Toile of my pants with the tailor tacks still intact

Next were my pants.  Talk about a challenge.  No wonder I had poor results with commercial patterns because they didn't cater to my shameful pot belly :(  I had to make quite a major adjustment to the slopper as you can see above.  The pants turned out really well except for it being a little loose.  Maybe if I added the zipper and the waistband it would help.  Okay it's a learning experience and once I get the slopper down I have a really good foundation of a pair of tapered pants!

All this little gem needs now is some binding love

Still quilting ...

 I can see the end now of the quilting for the Depression Blocks quilt!  I am on the last leg of the border.  Just 3 more sides ... just 3 more sides ...  Don't look too closely at my big stitch ... because they are MEGA!  I just can't wait to get this over and done with.

He's Coming to Town (freebie). Designer: Red Bolly

My second Red Brolly Christmas sampler is all stitched.  Love how it turned out.  I won't be doing the 3rd one as the design doesn't really appeal to me.  Now to think about the finishing.  Most likely as a wall hanging or a cushion cover.

Quilting a plenty

The quilts pin basted.  I used a hera marker to mark the quilting lines for the red and white quilt.

The binding all sewn together.  I am using a single layer binding.

Designer: Cheri Payne (freebie)

 I finally tried free motion quilting.  It was really scary but interesting at the same time.  The stitches are not perfect and their some jagged edges too if you look closely.  But I hope with practice the meanders will truly meander :)

Designer: Ann Hermes

I used the same colour scheme in the magazine instead of those in the instructions.  Straight line machine quilting in the form of a chevron.

Broken dishes block, straight line machine quilted.

The X-Quisite blocks quilt and Little Star blocks quilt (both are challenges on SQT) are all hand quilted and now for the binding.

It looks like I'm trying to clear all the WIP quilt tops that I have before I embark on a new one.  I've not done any piecing for some days now :p  But I think I need to pull out some fabric for some test Jacob Ladder blocks as done by Lucy.  

Peahen's Valentine. Designer: Appleseed Prim (freebie)

Tutorial for zipper bag found here.

  It's Margaret W's birthday today.  She messaged me to say she has opened her package.  It's a needlecase similar to the one I made for a swap recently but in semi-prim fabric Beach House by Blackbird Designs.  The zipper bag was easy to tackle but the bulk caused by the fusible batting was a concern.  I think I shall use regular interface the next time.  I made another zipper bag for Jackie W too.  Quite fun really!

The curtain is finally up but I think I need to swap the panels, too much red side by side.  A little busy if I may say so but I hope to get used to it.

I'll leave you with some tin whistle music.  Still working on Silver Spear :(  This is a basic The Foggy Dew but I hope to learn the ornaments and incorporate it into this lovely melody.