Sunkissed Fabric...Nearing the End

About 9 years ago I found the internet quilting world. I also found on line fabric stores. My very first purchase was Sunkissed by Sweetwater. Now, maybe that's the reason why it remains my all time favorite fabric, but whatever the reason, I am still smitten these nine years later.

 I loved this fabric so much that I bought this art piece to hang in my sewing room. It shows 12 of the fabrics from the line, but there were many more. I bought yardage of some and a jelly roll so I could have at least a little of every fabric.

I made this quilt from the Moda Bakeshop to showcase the fabrics. This was my first "modern" quilt that I ever made. I love how cheerful and springy it is. It is still a favorite quilt and has had much use since I finished it in 2011. If you look in my archives for March you can see the beginnings of this quilt. I finished it in September, so there are more posts about that.

 Fast forward to today. I am making a 36 patch quilt and have decided to use ALL my most favorite fabrics and designers so I will always have a bit of them. It makes it easier to let some of this fabric go into other projects.

These are the two blocks that represent my Sunkissed crush that I have been nurturing for these many years. I don't think I have enough to do one more, but I might.

 So with my whole 'letting go' process I decided to make a new dress for Miss N. She needs one for spring/summer and this definitely fits the bill. I feel nothing but happy to finally put this fabric into something that will get some use, instead of sitting in my stash.

This pattern is the Geranium Dress by Made by Rae. I have used it countless times to make dresses for my girl. There are lots of variations so it doesn't always look like the same dress.

And now my Sunkissed tale has come to an end. There are still some small scraps that will get used up eventually. I have asked both Sweetwater and Moda if they will ever consider reprinting this line, but so far, no luck. But if they ever do, I will be on the lookout to purchase some again, because it is still my most favorite fabric ever. Tell me, do you have a fabric line you feel that way about?

Have a lovely weekend my friends.

A Christmas Dress

So much of Christmas sewing is secret, but the dress I made for Miss N is not. Her mother knows about it and as an almost 3 year old, N doesn't read my blog, so I can show it to you here.

I used the Geranium Dress pattern with the expansion pack for the collar, sleeves and the sash. I have long wanted to do a dress with a sash. I loved sashes when I was a little girl. The fabric is Sarah Jane's Peter Pan line. When I first saw it, I just knew the plum and pink had to be a Christmas dress for N. It's hard to tell here, but there are also gold metallic stars on this fabric.

 I found the perfect fancy buttons in my button jar. They add a bit more holiday sparkle to the dress. You can see the gold stars better her.

 And here is the lovely sash all tied up in a bow. It gathers at the side seams where it is attached to the dress. I also had just a bit of pink left so I put a small border around the bottom of the skirt. I love that detail.

And of course, there had to be pockets. My girl loves pockets. I cannot wait to see this on her. We will be there for Christmas this year, so I will get to see it in person.
Have a great Thursday and I'll see you soon.

Sewing With Knits

Have you ever sewn with knits? I have, but just a little bit. Most of the time it has been successful. Just recently, though, i decided to make myself a nightgown of knit. I used the Gemma Tank pattern by Rae.

This is the final product. The original final product was a shirt tail hem that hit mid knee. I loved it. It was perfect. But I didn't pre-wash the fabric. I should have. The knit shrunk a good 4-5 inches in length. The width didn't shrink more than an inch, so that was fine.

 So I took the leftover fabric and washed and dried it to shrink it. I had one long piece going vertical and a bigger piece going horizontal. I pieced them together to add to the bottom of the nightgown.

I pinned them in a (fairly) straight line under the gown, just above the shirt tail hem, leaving it loose on the outside. It looks like a little flap of fabric. I haven't hemmed the bottom yet. I want to wear it a couple of times and wash it again before I do, just to be sure.

 Even after the wash and dry, the under arms were a wee bit droopy. I can live with that, but I am going to make another one and fix the problem.

 I think it stems from not doing the darts. I should have taken it in a bit more than I did. I will the next time. And I will prewash and shrink my fabric first.

The last little bit is this "label" I stitched into it. This is just to help me to easily find the back of the gown. It works great for that. So tell me, have you ever sewn with knits? Any tips?

Talk to you soon.

Weekend = End of Week

Made it to the end of the week and I did make forward progress on some things. I love it when I can see the progress at the end of the week. Weekends I usually only do some hand work in between all the chores and errands.

 Remember these balls of fabric "yarn" from the other day? Well I have to say that those crocheted up pretty fast. Even I was surprised how fast.

And they made this cute little semi-oval rug for my honey to land his feet on in the mornings. It will really matter next winter.

I hand stitched the binding on this little sweetie one afternoon. I didn't get a picture after the clips were off, but trust me, it's cute and is hanging up already.

 Then I whipped up this little set for Miss N. Thimbleanna had a cute dress on her blog for FinallyAGirl and when I saw the pigs I squealed and rushed to get some. Anna has an Etsy shop and sells this sweet piggie fabric. I had the perfect pink buttons too.

 And of course it needed shorts to go with the top. I only bought a yard of the pig fabric, so I looked through my stash and found the perfect pink, just by chance. I appliqued the little pig on the back of the waistband on the outside to show where the back is, and I love how cute it looks.

So here is the whole outfit. The top is the Geranium Dress from Made By Rae. The pattern offers a shorter look for a cut top. I cannot wait to see this on her. Going to try and mail it out this next week.
Have a great weekend. Talk to you soon.

Ombre Confetti Dress

I am being very good not buying fabric this year. I know it's only February, but still. The only fabric on my list of must have some was V and Company's Ombre Confetti Metallic. I never am attracted to fabric with metallic in it, but for some reason this just spoke to me.

As soon as Fat Quarter Shop notified me it was in, I place an order. I bought one yard of three different colors. It was so hard to decide which to buy, and I couldn't afford them all, so I also bought a jelly roll so I could have a bit of everything. And I was not disappointed.

So here is what I made first:

This is the fabric I selected for my first project. This picture doesn't even do it justice. It's much prettier.

I made a new spring dress for Miss N. When I saw that fabric I knew this would be one thing I would make with it. I really finagled with the cutting to get the ombre the way I wanted it.

And I was so happy to be able to get a section of the darker part for the collar. This is the first dress I have added a collar to. This is in the expansion pack for the Geranium dress by Rae. The collar was super easy to add and it really makes the dress, I think.

So one more shot of the finished dress. I am so thrilled and am now working on what to make from the jelly roll with all those beautiful colors. I'll keep you posted.
Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

My Beatrix Obsession

I think I have an obsession. Maybe more than one, but let's focus on this one for now. The Beatrix blouse pattern by Rae Hoekstra of Made By Rae. I searched for and found this pattern last spring. I was looking for something to make for myself that fit my style at this point in my life. When you are 60 and go shopping for clothes it is rough. I don't fit the younger look any more and I don't feel like an old lady just yet. Then I found Beatrix. I made 3 for myself, blogged here. Then, I wanted to know if I could make one without buttons up the back. And I can! I have now made two of them. This is the latest one:

 I found a new to me fabric shop called Imagine Gnats, through Rachel Hauser's blog, Stitched In Color. When I went to see what she had, I was wowed by this fabric. It is a Lawn, made by Alison Glass. I had never seen it before and I just had to get it.

 I did not buy it for myself. My daughter needs a couple of new tops for work and this one really seems like her style. It is a soft and lovely fabric with great drape to it. I sewed it without buttons up the back and sewed all the seams flat fell so there would be no raveling. This is the second one I have made with this technique and it seems to work well since the fabric is so thin.

 Strategic pattern placement helped to get the look I was going for. The navy top about the shoulders and the aqua closer to the hemline.

 I had a 5 inch wide piece left that actually ran edge to edge and decided to make a small scarf she can use to accessorize or she can wear it with something else. It is also soft and flowing.

So can you see why I am obsessed with this pattern? It is also very well written and easy to follow. Enjoy your weekend and I'll talk to you soon.
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

A Bouquet of Geraniums

I have to admit, I have fallen in love with sewing for children again. I used to do it when my girls were little. I loved it in part because it took so little fabric to make them things. Also, almost instant gratification for most things. A great combination for a mom who needs to sew. Now that I have a granddaughter, dresses are my thing...again! (I did sew for the boys but they are getting really big now.)

Rae's Geranium pattern is the best. Several options and so easy to make. I have made several, since the time N was a wee thing, but now that she is older and walking, she loves pretty dresses. Yay!! I have today, three more to show you.

 First, let me tell you this dress is white. Pictures were taken under the green umbrella in the heat of the day. This is a knit dress. I found that sewing with knit is not hard, but it does slow me down to keep things going correctly, which is fine. Careful is good. The little bit of stretch this knit has should help keep her in this dress for a while.

 And when you stitch in the ditch at the high waist it practically disappears altogether, which is great! The knit has a great drape to it as well.

 After I made the first knit dress, I wanted to do another and I found this one, actually Made by Rae, so it was perfect! N is going to love these doggies!

 The third one is a cute Dear Stella bird print I found on sale at Hawthorne Threads. When I got it, I suddenly decided to go through my stash and try to find something to pair with it for the top. I found this Dear Stella Confetti Dots in the exact color as the pink birds. How perfect is that? Many times a manufacturer will use the same colors making matching easier.

 Buttons are all done on all three. My button hole struggles are getting better. I have done so many lately that I am starting to understand the machine and the button hole foot.

Last minute I decided to add a pocket, just one. It fortuitously sits right below this sweet little bird. How cute is that?
If you like sewing for little girls, I would highly recommend this pattern. Now there is an expansion pack available that has sleeves and collars and I think I would like to get that so I can make some for fall too. Have a great Tuesday and I will talk to you soon.

Very Productive Weekend

I have been so very productive here the last few days. I have been sewing up a storm and so happy to be ticking things off my list. I love it when it works out that way. Here is what has been happening:

 This is the ribbon block for the Penny Sampler quilt. I have all the parts up on my design wall in their more or less correct places so when the new assignment comes out I can see what is needed color and fabric-wise. I thought I just needed some red. Something that would POP and draw the eye in, before it starts to look around the quilt. This is a busy quilt. I LOVE the way this block turned out. I took my time and pinned, sewed and pressed carefully and I am quite pleased with the way all the points came out.

 This little six inch block is much smaller and easier to piece, but still I was careful to make sure to pin and press to get the points to line up.

If it wasn't for the ribbon block, this would be my favorite. I love how this came out. I love the colors and the style. If you haven't figured it out yet, this whole lesson was about HSTs and matching up the points. The best advice I can give is go slow, pin and press. Trim carefully too.

This was a most enjoyable lesson. I wanted to get it done, as the rest of July will be busy with family visitors coming to see us in our new digs. My goal for this project has always been to stay caught up, and so far, I am. Yay!

 When the hourglass blocks were done, there was one extra, since they are done in pairs. So, taking a page from Amanda Jean's book, I made another little pin cushion. These are so much fun and I love having pin cushions around the room wherever I may need them.

 The final thing I finished was another Beatrix blouse with the pattern by Rae. I have had this cut out for a few weeks, so when I was ready to sew, it was just GO! The back doesn't completely match up, but I knew that would probably happen and I don't mind. I am not using this to dress up, just for daily wear.

 The front turned out very nice. I love the way this fabric works for this blouse. I think this turned out better than my last one. I felt more confident when I was making it.

And for this one I opted for the shorted sleeves. I am not a big fan of short sleeves as I am getting older and don't like the look on me, but these are not too tight, so I think they look good. I do recommend this pattern and also the Gemma. They make for a nice summer wardrobe, but I am planning a Beatrix with 3/4 sleeves for cooler weather. Again, it is all cut out for whenever I have the time to sew it up.

I also finished a quilt top, but I can't share that yet as it is a gift. So, a very productive weekend! Have a great Wednesday. Talk to you soon.

Gemma...and More Gemma

I know I've said this before, but I love Rae's patterns. They are easy to make and the directions are very well written. I bought my pattern for the Beatrix blouse awhile ago and I have made one and I have two more cut out, one with short sleeves and one with 3/4 length sleeves. But summer is coming on early and strong here so I need something cooler and sleeveless.  Enter Gemma.

It's as if Rae read my mind, for the very day I needed such a thing, I received a post in my email suggesting the Gemma for summer sewing. I was so thrilled I bought the pattern and after reading the fabric suggestions, I ordered fabrics for 4 Gemmas!

The first two are done and I love them so far! Here is what I have made:

 This Gemma is made in Boardwalk Delight Jersey knit Ice Cream Shop by Dana Willard for Art Gallery Fabrics. I haven't sewn a jersey knit before, but with careful handling and a few google searches for handling advice, I think it worked like a dream.

 I like the way it fits and the drape of the jersey knit is wonderful. This is a very comfortable blouse and pretty easy to make.

 This is the first one I made, in Kaffe Fassett Collective Shot Cotton in Ice. This light weight fabric just screams summer time cool. This has a great drape to it as well.

I think it will get lots of wear, as it goes with everything. I must confess, I did not make a muslin as suggested, having done so with the Beatrix. I found the pattern to be true to size for me. I like my tops loose and flowing, pretty much. If you have never made a muslin, you should, just for the experience of fitting a garment.

The last two Gemma blouses are not made yet. But I wanted to share the fabrics with you anyway.

 This one is Hudson Bay Rayon Challis. It too has a light swishy drape to it. I love that for summer. I thought the colorful pattern would be a nice switch from the solids. I love solids, but I need some diversity, you know?

This last one is my favorite. This is Kaufman's Manchester Textured Yarn Dye Shirting in Poppy. Can you see the great texture created by the weaving process? This is going to be beautiful! I look forward to this one the most! I think it will be kind of dressy. And all of these can be worn with a cardigan or jacket to dress them up when things get cooler.

I hope you are having a great week and I will talk to you soon!