I Made an Apron!

 I had been seeing those cross strap aprons all over the internet in the past year. You know, the ones that are long-ish and criss cross in the back, but have no apron strings? I have seen many that I love, but being able to sew, I wasn't about to buy one. So I googled patterns. I found LOTS of patterns.

The one I ended up choosing was a free tutorial from Susan of aboxoftwine.com. She is also on Instagram as @aboxoftwine. She mostly does crochet and such, and her version of this apron has a cute crocheted pocket. I decided to take this tutorial and make my own version of it.

I found a gorgeous canvas from Rifle Paper Co. on Fabricworm. Linen was Susan's choice, but I wanted something colorful, and a print as well. This is not a very heavy canvas. I pre-washed it, since I know canvas is prone to shrinking. I had decided to line mine, whereas Susan did not line hers. I used and Art Gallery print called Lyricist's Diary from the Raise the Volume collection. I chose Art Gallery because it's so light weight, plus I love the print. I added the two pockets to the front.

Here's a shot of the back. I am so happy with this and once I train myself to wear it all the time in the kitchen, my clothes will thank me. I cook and bake a lot, so I needed this. Also, it's a nod to my Great Aunt Charlotte, who I am named for. She almost always wore an apron. Every day. Check out the tutorial if you are interested in making one.

Thanks for stopping by.

Goin' Bowlin'

So I have a grandson who is into bowling. He bowled in a league last year and really seemed to like it. So for his birthday this year, his mom suggested I make him a bowling shirt. She sent me some screen shots of a few styles and told me his color preferences and I was off and running.

I used my Oliver + S pattern that I had used in the past, but with a few modifications. I selected this bright green and a black fabric from Art Gallery Pure Elements. They are a bit thinner than my usual favorite Kona, and have such a nice drape.

 I decided to applique this fun little element onto the pocket. I think it adds just the right touch.

And then, with some green buttons and the name satin stitched above the pocket, he's going to be stylin' for another season of bowling. I did have to add to the length of the pattern, as he has gotten quite big in that regard, but everything else was just perfect.

I can't wait until I go visit and give it to him in a few weeks. I know he will be surprised.
Have a great Friday.

A Little Garment Sewing

I got my start sewing clothes for myself and my two younger sisters. I loved sewing even back then. I consider myself a quilter, but also a seamstress. An old fashioned word maybe, but my grandmother taught me to sew and she was a seamstress. So here is what I am up to now, and yes there is still quilting going on as well.

 This is a Geranium dress for Miss N. I love this pattern by Rae of Made By Rae. It comes in a bunch of sizes so you can continue to use it as they grow. Also now there is an expansion pack that includes sleeve for winter and fall wear. I think I will have to get that too.

 I love the details on Rae's patterns. Take these sweet pockets. Girls need pockets as much as boys do. There is also a version that puts the pockets in the side seams for older girls. N is still a toddler, so maybe later on that.

 This is the back. It needs buttons and button holes, but there will be a whole day for that very soon.

 Here is a shirt for my little man B. I saw this Art Gallery fabric on sale somewhere and the color is his favorite so I just had to do it. The pattern is by Liesl of Oliver +S. She is another pattern maker that does a great job with instructions and details. I have used her patterns before.

 I love this pocket. I think it makes the shirt look like a man's shirt and B will love that.

 Another great detail on the back of the shirt is the box pleat at the yoke. This is so cool.

 And Liesl offers multiple sizes in her patterns too, so this one goes from size 5 to size 12. So of course I had to make a cool one for my young man V. I hope he thinks it's cool. The fabric is Kaffe Fassett.

 Look at the detail she gives you for reinforcing the pocket. Such nice touches are always in her patterns. I put the pocket stripes going in the opposite direction for fun.

 The back has the same great style. I still have a bit of top stitching to do on this one, and buttons of course. One big button day coming up.

So now I have some clothing done for my little gang. I still need to make something for J, but I need to consult with his mom to see what would be good. Maybe some shorts, or another one of these shirts. Sky is the limit here. Retirement makes for more sewing time for sure. Talk to you soon.

Fawning Over Fabric

It has been awhile since I showed pictures of fabrics I love. I used to participate in Sunday Stash every week, but now, I seldom buy new fabrics. I have tons and am trying to sew from stash as much as I can. Also, not very many fabrics speak to me right now, a leftover condition from so many months of no creativity, I am sure. But this one is a beauty! Paperie by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics. I fell in LOVE!

 I first saw some on a blog, can't remember whose. I rushed to look it up and find out what this lovely fabric was. I am not often that inspired.

 The colors are so soft and pretty. Not my usual bright rainbow hues at all.

 I have accumulated seven of the nine limited edition prints. I usually buy half yards or fat quarters where I can, but I bought a whole yard of each of these babies.

 The top one in this photo is a border print that I am saving to make a little dress for Miss N when she is a wee bit bigger. The tiny navy flowery things that are sprinkled all over this really make the whole thing, I think.

 The pinks are so much prettier than my photos suggest. The creams are creamier too.

 This is the print that first grabbed me on that blog. I had to find it and see what else went with it. You get that, don't you?

 Ready to piece, quilt and label something, I just need the right project for these beauties.

If you love this as I do, hurry and get some, because it is, after all, being a limited edition, not going to be around for long. Don't miss out!
See you soon.

Friday Finish-Belle Waves Quilt

I must start out by saying, I.Love.This.Quilt. So very soft, great colors and I know it will make me smile and keep me cozy all winter long.

 This is a free quilt pattern I found on line, by Faith of Fresh Lemons. She designed it for the Fat Quarter Gang and Art Gallery Fabrics. So of course it was perfect to use with my saved Art Gallery fabric that was waiting for the "perfect" quilt. I love the color and the movement.

 The quilting is a bit hard to see, but I started here and quilted the echo of the flower shape, around and around out towards the edges of the quilt.

 I can't stop looking at it. It is one of those types of quilts. In the time line of quilts, I think this one got done pretty quickly for me.

 For the back I chose this wonderful dusty pink flower print I found on line somewhere. I had 2 yards, but that wasn't enough.

 So I auditioned lots of other fabrics to go with it and settled on this print from the Eight Days a Week line.

 This quilt, after a trip thought the washer and dryer, is so very soft. Art Gallery fabrics have such a soft hand anyway. The white is Kona white.

The edges I decided to bind in white. I rarely do that, but in this case, I love that it just fades away and doesn't stop at the edge of the quilt. Hope you have a great Friday. Linking up with Crazy Mom.

A New Quilt Started

As if I needed another quilt start. But, I have had some yardage of Lizzy House's Catnap line for quite some time. Always in the back of my head it sat. I was trying to find the perfect quilt design to show off those great prints. I never could get one I really liked, until now.  I saw a quilt the other day that had a kind of motion to it. It inspired me to sketch this:

It will look woven when it's done and there is some partial seem sewing to it. But the end result should show off the fabric nicely, which was my goal.

So I cut out a bunch of pieces. I have no idea how many blocks I will make. They finish at about 12 inches and I would like a nice size throw for my Cat naps on the couch. Here is the first block:

I think I like it. I am going to have to sew carefully on this so the strips match up. I might even have to use pins (eek!) And guess what else?
I am finally quilting this:

This is my Belle Waves quilt made with Squared Elements and the lovely flower print from Art Gallery fabrics. It is Essentials by Pat Bravo. Have a great day! See you soon.

Another Friday Finish

Seems like I am just humming along here lately. For so long I was working on things and now, I am getting things completed one after another. Here is today's finish:

 This quilt was not long in the making. My daughter bought this orange fabric several years ago and wanted me to make a quilt for her. Well it sat in my sewing room for all that time, until a few weeks ago when I pulled it out and said "let's get this done!"

 She shopped my stash for the blue and green fabrics for the accent stripes and the backing. The quilt design was chosen to match a quilt she had gotten from a friend a number of years ago Her friend was an art student and had spent some time studying with Denyse Schmidt. That quilt was so striking to me that I thought of it as the best way to use this orang fabric.

 An all over quilting pattern of swirls in a deep blue green Isacord set it off beautifully. I almost used the rest of the spool for all these swirls.

 And for the back, she chose this Amy Butler Alchemy print which we added a bit too. Sorry I can't remember the name of the purple dandelion print.

 She hasn't seen it yet, but after she picked the back, I had to add this green strip to get the length. It is from a Sweetwater line. The binding is more of the blues and greens pieced together.

 This will make for a cozy, colorful throw for the couch for this winter. Both sides I think are equally beautiful.

Have a great weekend. Linking up with Crazy Mom for Finish it Friday. This week's other finish is here. Take a look.

Sunday Stash #24

So I finally broke down this last week and bought some fabric I have been wanting ever since it was released. I saw it all over the internet for so long, and now a piece of it is mine. LiMa Sews had some stuff on sale in her Etsy shop and I went to browse. She had a 28 inch piece of Sweet as Honey by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics for $6!!

 And so as not to let that lovely travel to me alone, I picked up a couple of half yards of two other prints in the line. I hope to work out something they can all be in together. That would be cool.

 Then, I was looking for some textured or tone on tone pieces to go with my Science Fair fabrics for J's new quilt. I found these lovelies at Hawthorne Threads. This is Sketch, which comes in such a wide array of colors and Hawthorne Threads has them.

 And for point of reference, here is one of the prints from Science Fair that they were bought to go along with. I think I did a pretty good job. This gives me about 6 yards of fabric to work with. I am still trying to settle on a design.

Here's to a great Sunday and a great week of sewing adventures. Linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash.

Sunday Stash #23

My stash addition this week was through a winning draw. I so love getting emails that say "You're the winner." I receive a newsletter from Winter Creek Cloth, an on line fabric company with lots of beautiful fabric. They do a drawing of those who receive their newsletter each month and this month it was me!
This is what I won: an 8 fat quarter set of Jungle Avenue!

 It's no secret I love Art Gallery fabrics. They have the softest hand of any "regular" quilting fabric. Only Voile and Lawn are softer, but they are much thinner.

 Look at the cool prints here. The two black and whit prints are awesome and this picture doesn't really do justice to the brightness of the pinks. My hubby likes the dots and they way they are not perfectly white. Makes them not so stark.

Hard to pick a favorite of all these, but the flowers on the top right might just be it. Unless it's the elephants and the buildings on the bottom left. You need to get over to Winter Creek Cloth and sign up for their newsletter. Good things will come of it! Linking up to Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.