Wednesday, May 6, 2015

coming down the pike



We gave the quilt to Matt and Marin right after the wedding rehearsal.


Needless to say,
they loved it
:-)



(Since it's almost time for the Spring Quilt Festival, I'm going to wait and do a full quilt post then.
Don't want to drive everybody nuts with two posts
practically back to back...)



As soon as I knew I was definitely going to finish it time,
and all of my remaining work was hand sewing,
which I do in the evenings,
I got started on my next quilt.
My first QAYG, which is proving to be quite fun!
The knowledge that by the time I have the top together
the quilt will be just about finished
doesn't hurt any either ;-)

sorry - it's a surprise ~ all you get is the back of the batting for now
Then,
 the graduation announcements started coming in.
We generally give a bit of cash,
but for the girls,
instead of putting it in a card,
I like to sew up a little pouch of some sort to tuck the $$ in.



It barely costs more than a card, right? ;-)
And it so much more useful.


And fun...

I'm not crazy about how the flap flips up the binding on the back.
I think next time I'll add a bit of length so I can sew it to the pouch just under the binding.

(I was tickled to discover it fits an i-phone (which the recipient happens to have) perfectly)


The pattern calls for fusible fleece,
which I used,
because, you know I am such a  rule follower...


It's a bit pouffy for my taste, so I think for future bags I will just use interfacing.



As soon as I received the next recipient's announcement,
I knew this was the fabric for her
(I hope I was right!)



I liked the binding bit at the top of the Anna pouch,
so used the same technique on my second bag.
I would have used the Anna pattern for it, too,
but I felt like that bike fabric needed plenty of space to shine,
so I just made the bag up as I went.


I used Noodlehead Anna's open wide zipper method to install the zip.
I use it on most of my pouches now,
but I think it works better on a bag without the binding.



I still have one more pouch to make.
The girl's mom told me she loves red and black,
which is just perfect, 'cause I have tons of scraps of both :-)

I'll use this pattern for it, I think.


This week, I've been muslining.
(Yes, that's a verb, why do you ask?)


I plan to take my TNT Lady Skater pattern and change up the bodice a bit (by adding a curved yoke)
for a coral dress with a lace overlay for the next (and I think last) wedding of the season.
(I think I may lengthen the yoke by 1/2 inch or so)
I added a bit of flat piping (which I won't be using for the real dress) for two reasons.
First, my whites weren't exactly the same color, 
and I'm hoping for a wearable muslin,
so I thought breaking them up might be nice
and secondly, I just wanted to try the technique.


I consider myself pretty careful with measurements and seam allowances,
and yet, 
my piping is clearly narrower in some spots.
I guess if I use piping on a for-real it-really-matters project,
I need to be a lot more careful
than my usual care-full-ness.

fabrics for the real dress, purchased in LA :-) :-)

Oh ~ have you heard that Cotton + Steel has a black and white line??
I sure could have used that a few months ago!

As soon as I saw  C+S B&W,
I said to myself, "I hope they did the kitties!"
I love the kitties / tigers,
and have put them in my cart several times, but the colors just don't seem quite right for my needs, 
so I've always passed on them.
When I found myself needing a few more fabric choices for my current quilt
(the one you only get to see the back of for now)
well, I just couldn't help adding a yard of this to my cart, too :-)


Lily is hoping for some scraps.
I told her good luck with that.
But then I felt bad, so I may let her have a piece. 
Maybe....

Linking up with Lee's Work in Progress Wednesdays ~ my favorite of the linky party places.


7 comments:

  1. I love the black and white kitty fabric! I would slide a yard in my cart too! ;) I thought I recognized Sotak's bag pattern, it's so distinct with the 2-in-1 layout. It turned out beautiful, I'm sure the recipient will love it!

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  2. Lovely little pouches - especially like the hand stitching around the top binding. I need to make some of those but I'm so nervous about fiddling with zippers and small pieces...

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  3. What a great idea for a graduation gift! I am always trying to figure out unique gifts! I look forward to your "official" post about the wedding quilt.

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  4. thanks, ya'll :-)
    Ann, don't be afraid of the zipper! They really aren't as tricky as we talk ourselves into believing that they are! In fact, when I helped my daughter in law learn to sew, her very first project was Noddlehead's open wide zipper pouch.
    I *do* like the Anna bag, and her instructions are great, but I'll admit it's a bit fiddly and takes a lot more time than a simple zipper pouch, so I probably wouldn't start zip-bag-making with it. (the zipper and binding part wasn't fiddly, but the 2 pouches in one was a tad tricky, as were all those tucks in the corners because they are all sewn separately before you put the pouch together)
    If I remember correctly, Anna (Noodlehead) doesn't have you interface your fabric (or maybe we just forgot to buy some?) but I do recommend using interfacing, as your bag won't stand up nicely without it, unless you use a sturdier fabric.

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  5. Your quilt is so beautiful Tracy - I'm really looking forward to reading about it in a week or so with your festival post. Hoping to have my current quilt done in time to share too.

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  6. LOVE this quilt!! (But you already knew that.) I'm curious about the big date I see on the back. Was that part of your label? How did you do that? Could include a close up (ish) of that on your festival post? (Good thing I'm not demanding, right?) Also, love the little pouches. So much more personal that just a card.

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  7. Lovely projects! That quilt is stunning, and I really like the pouches you made. Lucky peoples receiving those.

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