Sew La Ti Embroidery [Search results for fabric stash]

Do mosquitos ever keep you up at night?

Last night Casey went to bed a bit before I did. When I got in bed, I was laying there and Casey starts scratching all over, swatting the air, and slapping his face. I observed this behavior for a few minutes, then I asked if he was awake and if he was okay. He said that there was a mosquito that was biting him and buzzing in his ear. He got up, put anti-itch cream all over and came back to bed. We lay there for ohhh, a good half hour in which I finally started hearing said mosquito. During this time Casey covered himself entirely in the sheet with his face poking out, kindof amusing. Casey had had enough and jumped out of bed declaring that he was wide awake because of this damn mosquito (yes I just typed damn) All I could do was laugh and tell him that the mosquito found him to be delicious. He ran to find our electric bug swatter pictured above, and started swatting it everywhere a bit violently at 1:13 this morning. I was hysterically laughing, he killed the mosquito and we went to sleep, finally :)

Yesterday I decided to make a baby quilt, I just have to finish hand sewing the binding down. It was a rather satisfying project that used up a good amount of my stash for one project, I see more of these in the future, next time will be a boy one.

I'm always telling my husband that I am not going to make anymore fabric purchases, easier said than done, especially when I have mula I made from the farmer's market :)
Here is a bad picture of some recent fabric purchases, no sun here today, it's seriously been raining so much here, we'll get like a day or two of sun and then it starts raining again, it feels more like a really rainy April then June.

I'm really loving the bird cage fabric from Laura Gunn
and I seriously splurged on the Japanese fabric on the right, how could I resist fabric with button cards printed on it? I purchased it here.
Kay, I just checked to make sure I linked it right and now there is more cute stuff that wasn't there when I made my purchase! Why does that darn japanese fabric have to be so cute?

I hope you are having a nice day and that the mosquitos won't keep you awake at night :)
Intermediate Pattern For Colette Macaron Dress

Oh, hello there. Nice to see you. Notice anything different? Anything intermediate? Yes, that's right. I have successfully completed an intermediate pattern. We're talking darts, facing, curvy sleeves, and bits that match up.

And, while I'm (obviously) pretty chuffed with myself I can't take all the credit. Colette patterns are just so damn good. I mean they come in book format. They have a glossary. I know I've praised Colette pattern's organised awesomeness before, but it's worth another shout out.

What I changed?
I used a single layer of fabric for the sleeves and hemmed them instead of using two-layers as the pattern suggests. I think the curve would have been nicer with two-layers, but I was feeling rebellious. I also used a regular zipper instead of an invisible zipper because apparently I live in the deserted wastelands and dark blue invisible zippers over 5cm are rare, exotic gems.

What I like?
Despite my rebellion, I adore the way the sleeves turned out. They're incredibly feminine in how they mimic the bust line. The secret pockets hidden beneath a pleat. We're talking hidden, deep, comfortable pockets that don't change the shape or bulk up the dress. Genius. Someone get Sarai a nobel prize, stat.

I'm also really happy with the fit of the dress, especially the bodice. As usual, the pattern had to go through some epic changes to fit me properly. I originally cut a 4 in the top and 6 in the bottom (holla for the badonkadonks!), lengthened the bodice 3.5cm (1.4"), took in the waist, adjusted the skirt to match, blah blah blah...

What I'll do next time?Match the waist band pieces. Ssssh. Just don't look at them.

So, my verdict is love, love, love and I can't wait to make it again. But, I know you might be wondering... what does my macaron have to do with a field track? Well I was at Uni wearing my dress, so I thought I'd take some photos while out there. And, the reason I was at Uni?

So I'm a graduate with intermediate sewing skillz. Could I be any happier? No. Probably not. Unless I had a chocolate milkshake. Then my life would be complete.

Macarons On My Table
Saying a sewing project is on my table is a bit of a lie. It's really on my floor, with a sleeve on the table, a skirt front over a chair, and a back yoke who-knows-where. But it will come together, with the it being my new, nearly completed Colette Macaron dress. You've probably seen it out in the google-sphere on other talented ladies (or men?). I'm using the same japanese cotton from my Welcome Spring dress... and my present bag.

But please, hear my case. I have a totally legitimate reason. You see I bought the fabric online, and my cautious nature thought "I'll get a touch extra, just in case". I then discovered the Simplicity pattern was a big fat lying liar pants and I needed way less than suggested. So I gotta-lotta fabric. Two dresses and a bag's worth, actually. The Macaron pattern is labelled 'intermediate', but to be honest I haven't found too many issues... yet. It just requires patience.

I have also checked a technique. Look at this facing, it's so facey! I can't believe it took me so long to do facing. I literally stared at it for about an hour. You know what else this facing is? Serged. Seriously I am now considering my life in two parts: Before and after owning a serger. With the latter obviously being far greater and magical.

It makes everything so clean. So neat. So finished. I'm going a little serger crazy. This is going to be the neatest goddamn garment in the land I tell you. Oh, I also have a new addition to my treasured sewing family. Yesterday was my birthday and, what can I say, my boy knows how to buy a good present. I haven't used it yet, but I feel pretty pro just having it in my possession.

Colette Violet

Yeah, things are getting Colette-crazy around here, and next up is the beautiful Violet blouse. I've had this pattern for a while but never mustered the courage to attack those intimidating button holes, or that menacing peter pan collar. I'm sure I'll find, just like every other time I check a technique, it will be fine and I have nothing to fear from a little Peter Pan action.

I'll probably use one of the three fabrics below as they're already in my stash. I'm petrified of creating one of those prevalent space-devouring stash-monsters. That all looks rather pink, doesn't it? The first two I bought at a vintage fair, and the third is a liberty of London fabric I got for my birthday. Spoilt much? Yes. I've never sewn with liberty fabric, but it's been a dream of mine. I'm not embarrassed to admit I've spent hours just holding onto this little strip of fabric, rubbing it against my cheek.
Which one would you use?
VIA Intermediate Pattern For Colette Macaron Dress
What I Did Today

Today for my birthday i wrapped myself up and rolled around in my fabric!!! Maybe not literally, but with just as much pleasure. I cleaned out my fabric closet. I should have done it long ago. i got such a thrill putting everything neatly in rainbow/color order, well, it just is not normal. And all the fabrics in the front of the shelf are the stacks that are meant to be used together. Bundled up nicely with string, waiting for their turn. It makes me giddy to tell about it. But any ladies with a stash of fabric(or even yarns) know.

I had to clean it all up because there was not room for any of the fabrics i have had sitting out on my fabric table, which has to go away for selling the house, since it is in the middle of my living and dining room. :o( Putting it all away feels a little like i am killing the inspiration to make or sew. But i suppose i can take it out as i need it while we are selling. Anyway...it is not as though i have no projects to do...I have a birthday quilt to finish before friday. Yikes! I get the feeling that that deadline is going to come and go. Sorry little baby man, i am trying.
Vintage Primaries

It is so nice to be sewing and having time to sew. I finally took out all of my quilting stuff, and spread out all over my kitchen table.

There seem to be a abundance of babies being born to many of my friends...close and far away. So i started making the fabric stacks to see what i could come up with.

My stash of vintage reproduction fabrics did not disappoint me. I was able to make almost two so far form what i have in my stash! A little stash busting is good for the fabric closet!

I seem to be being drawn to very primary bold colors at the moment. Here is a little sneaky peak of what i am working with right now. I hope that the new owners of these quilts will like them as much as i do.

Aren't scrap piles so pretty?

It is a small visual reminder to me of the work i am getting done. It feels good to be excited about a project again...looking forward to how it grows and changes with each step. Maybe tomorrow i will have a few more pictures to share of the second top.

Leslie
Friday Finishes in Paint and Fabric

My modern barn quilt canvas is finished! I am really pleased withh ow it came out and with the colors i chose. I had originally intended to do some accents in hot pink and yellow but now i am glad i did not. I could have changed and modified it a hundred different ways...another strip here or another color there... but at some point i had to choose to just walk away and let it be what it was.

I really enjoyed the process. It sat on my counter and periodically over a couple days i would just walk back and forth and tend to the next part of the project. Peeling off that painters tape was always a thrill. I think there might be some companion pieces in the future...perhaps a wonky star or something like that.

My fabric finish is for one of our wee little friends. There seem to be many babies being born, and shouldn't every one have a quilt of their own? i hope to mail it out to the intended family soon. i hope they will love it as much as i do.

You can read a little more info on this quilt here. I finished it with some fairly random straight line quilting and bound and backed it in a fabric from my stash that just happened to be the right blue. Another reason to have a stash!!

Leslie
Finally Proof

When i got home from my sisters this week i was feeling especially motivated to get some sewing done. Perhaps the old adage, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", applies to my sewing machine too! I went right to work finishing this baby blanket i had started with a honey bun of Hello Betty fabric.

i considered all sorts of ideas for how i would quilt it but in the end i just went with my old standby... straight line quilting. It is fast and rather uncomplicated. Every row of stitching is about 2 inches apart. I got the binding on and sewn last night and this morning, my favorite part. It is a baby gift for a neighbor, so i hope she will like it.

I did not want to buy more fabric to back it and bind it so i went to the trusty stash closet to see what i could find, and that closet sure did not let me down. I, at some point or another, had bought a baby curtain on clearance in the hope that someday i would be able to use it for backing since it was so big. And that is precisely what i did. These elephants were just too cute to resist and i love them with the fabric of the quilt.

Now this last shot is just to show that i am already working on other things...trying to be real with myself about the projects i have started and seeing if i can just go ahead and finish them from where they are. Sometimes i think i am too ambitious with what i want to do....so i start a lot of things but don't really get many them finished. Craft ADD anyone?

**It is time for me to get back on the sew and tell wagon. So i am going to go ahead and link this up to amylouwho's to share with the ladies there. take a minute and go check out what everyone else has made this week. I don't know about anyone else but i feel productive, finally.**
My fabrics for the quilt along

Confession: I hoard fabric. Specifically what I call expensive fabric.
I just want to look at it and feel it, but really I should be using it to make awesome things.
So I made myself pick out expensive fabrics from my stash for the Quilt along.
There is even japanese fabric in there, see the little bicycles? And yes that is the only one that is not floral like. I haven't picked out the back yet, I'll probably use some of my vintage linens.
For me...

I got a wild hair and decided that i needed a 4th of July bag. I don't make a habit of making things on a whim and i don't usually make things for me. I am a compulsive over thinker!! But yesterday morning i stopped thinking and made this little tote bag. I no longer have excuses for my other bag taking me so long. This one took about an hour or hour and a half. It was very easy to make. I went hunting through my fabric stash for anything red white and blue and i found this denim i had bought for...something.... and this pretty red and white. Thanks to my new bag model. She did a very nice job!
WIP Wednesday

Welcome to a WIP Wednesday where i actually have a few things to share.

First is my WIP. I have been working through the blocks of a Amy Smart pattern and i am loving it so far. I am hoping that it continues to go as smoothly as it has to this point(knock on wood). Last night i laid out all the strips, today i hope to get the whole top done

And I wanted to share a few shots of my latest finish...which was a WIP until this past weekend when i stayed up way too late 2 nights in a row to finish it. These blocks were made using a jelly roll of Salt Air fabric and a pattern i found on the Missouri Quilt Company blog.

It is backed by my new favorite fabric. I had thoughts of hoarding this one for the stash, to be used at who knows what point. I had mentioned this backing was coming in another WIP post. I hope it was not too anticlimactic! But i really do love it!

I was going to just simply straight line quilt it....but i was getting too caught up in trying to follow the lines of the quilt....and as you can tell by looking at this quilt, following lines would not be easy. I decided i was over thinking everything and ended up just going for it and free handing some wavy overlapping lines that i followed with my walking foot. The quilting might be seen a little easier if you click on any of the pictures.

I am really happy with it. This feels like it was a really productive week for me. I am getting back into a sewing groove and it is nice!

Head over to Lee's and see what everyone else has made.

Leslie
Sew and Tell Friday

How does a week sneak up on one so fast? I have been a day behind all week, and nearly forgot that today was sew and tell. I had this in the works so i just got to sewing like crazy so that i could share this top with you all. I see a color trend in my life. The rooms in my house are blue and green...furniture...and the fabric colors i gravitate to are usually in the green and blue family somewhere. I wonder what a color says about someone?

My friend Deb, at Works in Progress, has been holding a charm square quilt a long. I was in!!!! What do you think Deb? She made a christmas charm quilt...so pretty. I really enjoy how diverse quilting can be and how different each persons quilt can be just because of the color and fabrics they use even when we use the same pattern.

I used a snippets charm pack and some other vintage reproduction fabrics that i had in my stash to get the total squares from 40 to 48...what Deb's pattern called for. I had to improvise in a lot of places on this one because i did not have enough of any one fabric, typical. I really really did not want to go to the store and buy more, so i just made do.

Today is sew and tell...good news Amylouwho is going to continue this through the summer with a little help...our motivation will carry on! Head on over and see all the other pretty's that are being shared. You are going to love everything. I am sure of it.
Here it is...

This is what i have been working on, my Farm Field Quilt. Inspired by this picture of a field at the CSA farm that we belong to. As soon as i saw this picture i knew it had to be a quilt. Chris convinced me to take my sewing machine and table out of temporary retirement so that i could work on it because i could not stop talking about it. I raided my fabric closet/stash to see what i had that i could use. I grabbed a pile of browns and tans, greens and a special blue green for the broccoli field. I did not want to have to buy any new fabric for it. I was really excited and got it cut and pieced within days of taking this picture.
Now I am at the critical point, where i try to decide how to quilt it and if i can do it myself without ruining it. This is also the point that tends to stall my quilting progress...analysis paralysis. I made a little one, doll sized, similar to it. That one i am probably going to hand quilt just to have some handwork to do. I have to admit that i really love it. This is, hands down, one of my favorite quilts that i have worked on. I laid out on my dining room floor for a few days and i just got excited about it every time i went by.
Fun stuff

This weekend was filled with the Farmer's Market, The Utah Arts Festival, shopping at The Bijou Market, watching Transformers, and lots and lots of sewing. I finished this square for The Stash Busting Bee, I was sent the turquoise flower fabric, and the rest is from my stash.

And I purchased this bike at the Bijou Market!!! I fell in love with it, it's new but looks vintage, and green my favorite color, so, so cute! I had to laugh at myself when I was test riding them, because I don't think I have ridden a bike since I was like 12 or 13. My husband has been teaching our kids to ride their bikes, and our next bike purchase will be for my husband, so we can go on family bike rides! I'm excited! I may even find a basket and a bell for it.

Now I must get back to my day, I have quite the list of things to tackle:
*dishes
*a batch of pillowcase dresses
*work on a baby quilt
*fold a batch of laundry
*weed the garden
*run a couple errands

Have a great day!
Fast Finish and Giveaway

By Sunday afternoon i had pinned the whole top of my Matroyshka Quilt....then i started asking myself. why so many other unfinished projects? The only thing i can come up with is that i was not terribly invested in this one. Mostly a stash buster with nobody for it to really go to...just made it because i liked it!

Avery got to be my holder this afternoon since she was the only one around. The wind was giving us a little trouble but it was the only minute of sunshine we have had in days. Almost did not know what it was!

When i went on the hunt through the stash to find something to back this with i was really at a loss....then i remembered this tablecloth i bought. I just loved the colors... but it did not match anything in my house. Turned out it was the right size and the right colors.

So i got to quilting...just a simple straight line outline of the blocks.

Now for the fun part....to make this quilt i only used one of my 5 fat quarters of this Heather Ross Matroyshka fabric. Simple math says i still have a few left...so i would like to share with all of you nice ladies and giveaway 2 of the fat quarters to one lucky winner. So all you have to do is leave me a comment, just say hey or whatever you feel like. I will plan to choose a winner over the weekend. Sound good? Please make sure to leave me your e-mail or some way to contact you.
Sew mama sew giveaway time!!

Yes it's that time again, the SewMamaSew giveaway day! Not only can you be in to win great prizes but it is a great way to find new and inspiring blogs. If you are a new visitor here, welcome!

For my giveaway this time around I have a pretty little charm pack of "Ruby" , the latest fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. This collection is oh so gorgeous and I really need to get some myself now that I have seen it in person to touch and see the lovely colour palette they have used.
Along with the handmade gift making that is going on in my sewing attic lately I have whipped up a sweet little birdie pincushion and a matching needlebook. The Birdie pincushion was made using this free tutorial here and is really so easy and satisfying to make. I think I will be making more of these in the near future. The needle book cover is made up of tiny little 1" squares of shabby chic fabrics with some coordinating wool felt pages inside taken from my precious stash of Heather Bailey felts.

In order to be in to win this wee collection of pretty sewing supplies just leave me a comment sharing one or more of your handmade gifts for this holiday season or perhaps a link to your favourite tutorial.

This giveaway will be left open till 16th December when a winner will be drawn randomly.

Overseas comments are most welcome and also please make sure I can contact you via email :-)
Sew and tell

I'm joining in on Amy's sew and tell this week! I am always sewing something :)
Here are some of the things I have been working on this week. Above are some Bird Cage Christmas ornaments, I love these, I made some for myself last year. The backs of them are vintage linens, and besides the cream fronts, the fabric for these came out of my scrap bag, which I love, I need to use up those scraps!

I have been slowly working on a quilt for my youngest Sage. I had my kids pick out their fabrics from my stash months and months ago for their new quilts. I feel bad it has taken me this long, but what do you do? I especially feel bad because Sage (who is 5) has never had a bed sized quilt of her own. What kind of a Mom am I? :) Stay tuned for the finished quilt though, I love, love all the fabrics each of my girls picked out, they are going to be so cute.

I also finished a batch of girls purses. That mushroom one is my fave. I am getting ready for all my holiday shows coming up. They start up next weekend!
Sassy Summer Duds

I made this for Avery yesterday. I started out with a plan to make another new bag, but when i was digging around in my stash i got sidetracked by this fabric. These two fabrics have been sitting side by side destined to be used together but i did not know what they would be until yesterday. Avery was wearing a cute little skirt from Julia and i thought that it seemed like it would be easy enough to make....so i just started cutting and sewing and this is the end result. I am afraid of patterns so it felt good not to use one this time, otherwise it probably would never have been made. Avery was a very unwilling model today that is why it is only the skirt in the picture not the grouchy face too.
Ladies, I Need Your Help!!

This week I committed to making a quilt for one of the ladies in my homeschool group. She is going through cancer treatments and i wanted to do something for her. I offered, on behalf of all of us in the group, to make a quilt. I did not know what else i could do. The idea was well received, so once i found out her favorite colors were, ironically, pink and purple i got right to work. I was not thrilled with the colors to work with not to mention i don't use them much so there were not many of them in my stash. What it definitely needed was a few other colors to break up and liven up the quilt. This one came together in one day. Not too shabby for a days work!

Here is what i need help with....how can i make the other ladies feel involved so that this is their project as much as mine? Oh wait there are more questions...should i use fabric pens or sharpies or should we hand embroider whatever messages or scriptures we want to put on it??? Does anyone have other ideas for personalizing the quilt for her??

I want to get this project done fast. I don't want any of this silly indecisive stuff to slow things down, so i hope you all can help me out. I can not wait to read all of your great suggestions!
The lost art of the hand written letter..........

No I'm not going to write a post on how we rarely hand write letters any more but it is something that we see less and less of which I think is a little sad since how special do we feel when we receive even just a handwritten note. Anyway with those thoughts in mind I designed this writing/journalling folder or "compendium" I think is the correct word for it. I used up some scraps of batiks leftover from the making of my 'Boho bag'. As you can see it has 2 pockets on the front for pens and closes with a fabric loop and handmade button (a miniature version of the button on the bag). Inside it has 4 large pockets for storing paper, journals and pens, 2 single pen pockets and 2 pockets for cards. Once again I used some African 'shwe shwe' fabrics for the inside. I really like the way these prints coordinate with the blue batiks plus the fact that they've been in my stash for a while now and it feels good to finally find the perfect items to use them in.
Just like the 'Boho bag' it is embellished on the outside with a variety of machine embroidery stitches....

Admittedly I don't write many letters myself but I do like to have paper handy when inspiration strikes and I also have recently started a journal for writing down inspirational quotes etc... so I think I need to make one of these compendiums for myself. This one is now for sale here in my Etsy shop and also here in my Felt shop.

Helmut Lang | Minimalist

My Girls and Their Blogs

Anja Rubik