In which I don't talk about some stuff, but I talk about other stuff

That pretty well sums up the way I feel these days. I've got several projects in the works including a really, really big one that I'll be filling you all in on later in the fall, but I can't talk about them. The funny thing is that even if the powers that make these decisions gave me the go ahead to talk about them I wouldn't because I'm so darn superstitious that I'd worry I would jinx myself.
So what does that leave me with?
This.


And this.


As my grandfather used to say, "vous?"which, by the way, is "what?" in Yiddish, not the formal "you" in French.
Anyway this is the beginnings of a king size version of my Twinkle design. Yes, you heard right, king size. I'm making it for a nice couple who found me through my etsy store. So far I have about 150 of these circles dyed, though not all have been pieced into the nine patch units pictured here. I've done the math people, and I'm going to need around 730 circles for the quilt to measure about 104x96". Luckily I do have until mid-December to complete this quilt and the piecing is pretty easy. I'm not too stressed about the quilting either because when I quilt these twinkle pieces I quilt each individual circle separately. It means that I have to break the thread a lot, but it makes the quilt much easier to handle.
It's already getting to the point where I don't have a big enough wall in the right kind of light to photograph it, but you get the idea.
I'll keep you posted on its progress.

Striped and stripped

I always have a hard time remembering whether the word meaning lines in a row is spelled striped or stripped. It's like the word tomorrow. It took me forever to ingrain the fact that tomorrow has one m and two r's and not the other way around. What does this really have to do with the pictures I'm posting? Uh...nothing. Except I guess that this quilt is striped(right?).


I've made this design before, but I repeated it for a very understanding and patient customer. The first time I made this quilt I listed it in my shop and it pretty much sat there for about 9 months. Then someone who lived nearby contacted me and, having seen it on Etsy, asked if she could just stop by and purchase it rather than go through my online store. "Sure," I said.


So, off went the first version to its new home. I didn't rush to delete the quilt from my store because it had sat there for months gathering virtual dust. I was more than a little shocked when a couple days later someone purchased it from my store. After I got my pulse below 100 beats per minute, I contacted my customer and told her what had happened. I immediately refunded her money and apologized profusely. She was very sweet and understanding and she still wanted a quilt like the first.


So I made some more striped fabric, pieced some more blocks and quilted another top just like the first.


And had enough fabric left over to make coasters.
I'm so in love with these stripes and I've had several requests for striped fabric in my shop, so look for that in the next couple weeks.

I told you I would

I told you I would...and I did. I said I was going to make my new favorite pattern, Burda 7798, as a dress and I did. Here's the proof:


I know I've already effused about this pattern, but I've got to go on some more. I ordered the fabric from Purl with the intent of making this dress, but I didn't get around to working on it until last Friday afternoon. True confession here: I'm not the speediest seamstress in the world. Despite that and probably because of the ease of this pattern and how beautifully it goes together, I still managed to finish the dress that same afternoon and wear it that evening. You were right David, I was going to blog about the dress.


And I'm not done with this pattern. I've already ordered more fabric for another dress. This time in a Denyse Schmidt print. I also have plans to batik and dye some fabric for a third version of this dress. Luckily, I live in Texas where summer temperatures will probably last through September, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to wear my new creations.

In which I do my homework and rescue action figures

I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I am in the midst of an 8 week online photography class. Every Wednesday I get a lesson and assignment and I'm supposed to upload those pictures within 10 days. First off, I am having a lot of fun taking this class. And I'm learning a lot. And I'm being forced to try new things.
This week's assignment involved adding impact to your photos through a judicious use of camera angles. I've been super busy this week and frankly did not get to taking pictures per this assignment until today. All week I've thought about the best locales to take these pictures. That's part of the fun, going around town like I haven't lived here for twenty plus years and shooting photos. Sadly, a cool location was not in the cards for this particular assignment. So, I was a little stumped as to how I would get these pictures taken.
Then I remembered Aquaman.


This poor guy has been baking outside for several weeks having been forgotten by Abi on the gas line cap.


Amazingly, his incredibly form-fitting tights are as green as ever.


And, based on these pictures, his will looks pretty undaunted as well.
After I took these shots I took pity on all eight inches of him and brought him into the shade of the front porch.


Here he is relaxing for a few moments before we washed him and returned him to his natural watery environs in the fish tank.
I hope this doesn't sound too boastful but I feel like a superhero myself having rescued Aquaman and turned in my assignment.

I have a new favorite pattern

For what that's worth. Everytime I sew a new pattern and it turns out even half decently, I think this is my favorite pattern. So, it's a fickle compliment, but Burda 7798 is my new favorite pattern.


I originally got it with the intention of making the dress version, but I was a little concerned with how wide the skirt part might be. I'm not that tall and I'm not a huge fan of big, billowy skirts. So, I decided to make the sleeveless top first knowing that it would allow me to preview the "skirt" part of the dress without committing to it.

I'm definitely satisfied that, had I made the dress, the skirt would not have been excessively full. I'm toning my enthusiasm for this pattern way down. I love this pattern and I can't wait to make the dress.
I did have to shorten the top as it was more tunic like than I wanted. Also, the next time I sew this pattern, and there will be a next time, I'll use a 12" zipper instead of a 20" zipper. That's just too much zipper for this top.
Since the skirt of this pattern is cut on the bias, it doesn't really lend itself to directional fabrics (if someone knows how to make directional fabrics work where one part is cut on the straight of grain and another is cut on the bias, please let me know).
I'm already mentally auditioning which of my hand dyed fabrics would work best with this pattern. I think you'll be seeing more of my new favorite pattern.

Big Pattern Love

So the big pattern love continues. I haven't done anything yet with the fabrics I stamped with the wooden stamp I got from Mary Louise, but I've been making big shapes with another stamp. Actually this stamp is just a cardboard circle, probably 5 or so inches in diameter.


At first I used it to create an all over pattern. But then I started thinking about limiting the patterning to a specific section of the fabric and how I could use that to enhance a design.


I've been thinking about making a wrap skirt for a while, but once I made this big circle fabric in turquoise and limited the patterning to one edge, I finally sat down,drafted the pattern and sewed the skirt.


And it wasn't too long after I finished the skirt that I started to think about sewing a big circle tank. I made this pattern last year, but this time I altered it slightly. The original pattern calls for a pair of ties to run through the front and back casings and tie at the shoulders. I wanted my tank to tie in front so I made a buttonhole in the front casing and ran one, long strap through the both casings.
This allows for the front to gather and makes the tank look better under a cardigan. Not that I'm wearing too many cardigans in this 100 degree heat, but I can dream, can't I?

English Paper Piecing

Now those are three words I never thought I'd be motivated to write about. But, boy was I wrong.
The other day I was wondering where I would get more Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks once I used up the ones I inherited for Great Aunt Irma. I took a while before it dawned on me that I could probably figure out how to make these myself.


I could cut out the hexagon paper templates.


I could pin them on to the fabric and iron the seam allowances towards the center.


I could even sew them together.


And add embellishment.
What I didn't think I could or would do was enjoy the process.
If you noticed that the pictures seem to get brighter as I got further along in the making, that's because I was so stoked about making this flower that, having begun the night before, I got up at 5:00 am the following morning to continue working on it. What's more, despite the fact that I had plenty of other things I "should" have been doing, I kept working on it until it was done.
One little tip I discovered along the way: it's very helpful to prep the fabric by ironing it with spray starch. It gave the fabric a nice stiffness that made cutting out the hexagons and folding in the seam allowances easier.
Now go out there and sew your own garden. But, be warned, this is seriously addictive.