Saturday, April 30, 2011

Retail Therapy

We've been potty training--learning--what-have-you my daughter. As you all can imagine (or even know), at some point, it gets shocking and a little, yes, disgusting. After a particularly messy day that left both her and I completely traumatized, I decided I needed some serious compensation for all my hard work.
And the happy thing is this: there are more packages coming! This is just the first wave. Monday will be glorious. Since I bought so much fabric, I need to do something with the stuff I already own. I went through and washed (or re-washed) the fabric dogeared for clothing. My goal is to make several dresses between now and Friday. I want at least 4-5 dresses completed. If only to prove to myself that I can. I even started already. Someone might remember these lovelies:And I only say that because I promised myself back in JULY that I would make my daughter a dress out of this. At least I managed to do it before the year anniversary, LOL!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Things to Do

Since Easter my space has been a hectic mess. I wanted to say 'artfully askew' but I'm falling just short ;D The Monday following Easter, several of my pending swaps arrived and they've been trickling in all week. Since I've been trying to keep it all straight; I kept the fabric out where I could see it. Some of it is mine. Some of it is new.
Amongst the mailers waiting for recycling and spirited away Easter remnants, I also have some projects waiting to start. Namely, I want to make the girl a new dress for mother's day. Which brings me to my next point. I know I said I didn't love it, but I am a collector by nature.
And to set the stage: I needed more bias tape to make another Kyoko dress. It was free shipping day if your spent 25 dollars or more (which is better than the coupon I had). Bias tape is only 1.99. I ordered 3. As you can plainly see, I had no choice. Might I also say, this was the morning of the first day that DS Quilts Fairgrounds & Picnic was listed of the Joann's website.

The box arrived today. Funny thing. The bias tape does NOT match the fabric I'd selected for the dress. But, in an odd turn of events, my fabric is actually cut straight (something that never happens when I shop in the store). I was not shorted any fabric (also another something that happens all the time in the store but I don't realize 'til I get home).

I want to make a smocked sundress out of the plaid. The dots? Not sure about them yet. I'm sure something will occur to me. The more I look at the fabric in person, the more I am beginning to like it. I think the blue/green plaid may be my most favorite of the line.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Misadventures in Swapping

Boy, I really didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to try and freshen up my stash by trading some of the stuff I wasn't using. I don't know how people do this on a regular basis! I currently have something like 8-9 swaps going on right now. Talk about nerves!

My post office won't allow me to purchase DC on anything but priority mail, so once it leaves me I'm in limbo until someone tells me it arrives. And then there's keeping everyone straight! I made my first booboo and slipped the wrong FQ into an envelope. Luckily, it was just one FQ and not a complete mix-up (ya know where they each receive the wrong FQ). I'm usually so OCD about this stuff and quadruple check the envelopes (and obsessively measure and remeasure), but today I was just off my game (if one can call being crazy 'game'.)

I'm hoping that's the first, and last, one of those I make :/ Though, it's kind of like the cosmos is patting me on the shoulder and telling me it's going to be okay. I thought I only had a half yard left (so it was easy to cut another FQ and make up for the booboo). I actually had 3/4 of a yard left! That was nifty. I couldn't remember how much I ordered. It seems I had bough 1.25 yards. So I don't feel so bad about the loss of a FQ any more.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Rainy Days and Easter Eggs

Tomorrow's Easter and it's RAINING very hard in my region of the world. My mind is scrambling because this means no outside Easter egg hunt! Last year, my daughter didn't get it at all. Why couldn't it have rained last year, instead? This year, she gets everything. Halloween was awesome. Christmas memorable. But Easter? I am at least hoping that the rain stops sometime this afternoon, and maybe the ground will dry enough for her to dash around in her sneakers. Though, I really don't want her running around in this:
Once I got her in the dress, she wouldn't take it off yesterday. All very good signs that she likes it ;) I'm glad. Thankfully, with the sash on my mistakes are camouflaged. After I'd gathered the skirt, I tried to re distribute the panels in the back and the thread seized! So one plaid panel is large, the strawberry panel is off centered, and the last plaid panel on the back is too gathered. I was too tired to take the threads out (a third time since I had my first 2 sets BREAK mid-gather) and do it again.

I really hate gathering, LOL!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Prince Charming

Tula Pink put a sneak peak up on her facebook a few days ago. I scoped on it the day she did, and I was instantly in love. To me, Prince Charming is more like her Moda works than Parisville. I just couldn't really get into Parisville. Even though I admired some prints, I still haven't bought (or swapped for) any of them. I probably won't get any until it's on clearance (I do like the tonal lacey/foliage print). Prince Charming on the other hand? OMG I want. I lust for. And now I'm coming to the realization that my 'Into the Woods' quilt just won't be complete until it has some Prince Charming in it. I already went and bought some more Nest to go in it (green nest/egg & some green tracks). Seeing the green froggies makes me realize I absolutely HAVE to get some green owls. So far I have the following Tula Pink lines represented in my quilt:

Full Moon Forest, Flutterby, Nest, Neptune, & Hushabye

I am only missing her newest ranges. This line is debuting at Market, but I wonder when the release date is? Maybe I should just buy a FQ of some Parisville while I wait.

This quilt will NEVER been done, LOL.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Kyoko!

Oh, this was an adventure. This is the first pattern I've done from ModKids/Patty Young. As with any new pattern, there's a learning curve. I found one or two parts of the instructions a little awkward. As in I had to contemplate them for a few minutes before I could begin to visualize what exactly was intended. I think the pattern could do with clearer pictures, but from what I've seen; I think this pattern has been reprinted so maybe the newest printing of it does.

Naturally, though, none of my mistakes had anything to do with muddled instructions, LOL. They had everything to do with me forgetting parts of the instructions or being inattentive (by the way, I'm not done with the dress yet. I should finish tomorrow).

My first mistake:
I decided to do short sleeves. And then I forgot to flip the pattern and made two of the same side. Oops. It was easily remedied though since I made the short sleeve. If it had been the long? OMG I probably would have cried.

Okay, tangent time. When I bought this pattern I went looking for yardage requirements so that I could order the pattern and the fabric at the same time and reduce on shipping. I found a place (I think a seller on Etsy) that listed the requirements as being 2/3 for the bodice and (2) half yard cuts for the skirt for the view B (aka the dress version). Let me say that 2/3 yard isn't enough yardage for the bodice with long sleeves. And the back of the pattern is misleading. For 2T view B the materials are listed as being 1 yard and and optional 3/8 yard for the lining. The instructions *inside* the pattern clearly say to cut 6 strips (3 from each fabric design), but the material list doesn't reflect the need for 2 half yard cuts. The pattern piece for the long sleeve measures ~11.5 inches for 2T. After cutting the 2 sleeves (lets say with a half inch buffer from the top and between pattern pieces), there are only 12 inches left (11.5+11.5+1-36). The length of the strips for the 2T is 14 inches. So I am thankful, at least, that the seller had it noted that you needed 2 additional half yards.

On to my next mistake? Sure, why not!You may or may not be able to see, but I sewed the skirt to itself while I was topstitching. Luckily, I caught it after a few inches, LOL! It was pretty late when I did this, and it was signal that I *really* should go to sleep instead of sew. I just wanted to make sure this project was done in time for Easter. I ended tonight with finishing the skirt construction. I just need to gather it and attach it to the bodice. I already made the obi sash. I started with it to get it out of the way.

Okay, another complaint. After I removed the selvedge, the pattern for the obi was longer than the folded fabric. I was very conservative when I removed the selvedge, too. I remedied this by shortening the sash. I tried it on Dulcie, and it still fit fine. Thank goodness :D Overall, I would make this pattern again. I'm a confident beginner and I felt it fit with my level of sewing. Now that I've made it once, I know the second time will be easier. And I will make sure to buy adequate amounts of fabric, too ;)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Day Out

Even though it's a rainy day, we ended up going to the zoo. It made my daughter very happy. She didn't mind the drizzle. She even went on the carousel (even if she did freak out just before the ride started). Afterward, we went out to eat, and since we happened to be in the area; I some how managed to talk the DH into taking me into Joann's. You'd have thought the man was in prison how he went on!

Let me start with this: I'm not a huge Denyse Schmidt fan. I think she does do a good job with reproduction type fabrics, though. I liked County Fair okay and liked 1-2 prints from Katie Jump Rope and Hope Valley. I don't like a thing from her other line, Greenfield Hill. Her latest line for Joann's (DS Quilts I believe is the label or something like that) has been a recent posting point on blogs and flickr. Since I had a 50% off coupon, I thought I'd take a peak.
My Joann's has 15-16 of the prints (I think there are 20 total). I'm not surprised since I think this Joann's is the closest to Denyse Schmidt's studio in Bridgeport. I really liked looking at what they had, I just couldn't really see myself making anything with it. That's been a reoccurring problem with me and her designs. In person, I just didn't *love* it. I did, however, find a warm spot for some of the blue/green range and picked up some quarter yard cuts along with some AH Farmdale that was on sale (enough to make my DD a new dress).

Maybe I should have bought more, if only so I could swap it on Flickr. I did like the red/blue range. The blue is a nice denim sort of blue with a dark red. I don't know, like I said: I just didn't love it.

Monday, April 18, 2011

One Thing to Another

I finished my 3x6 bee blocks! (I'm happy! So ahead of schedule, too).

Ahem. On to other things :) Easter is creeping up on us, and this next week I will be attempting to make my daughter something for the event. Namely a dress
Now, I have made her dresses before (largely Sandi Henderson's Analise dress), but I wanted something new. I've been eyeing this particular pattern for probably over a year now (along with the Freda pattern). My plan is to make the plaid the main fabric, the strawberries the coordinating strips, and the butterfly is the obi. We'll see how that works out. I've already looked over the pattern a few dozen times. The language seems fairly clear (except on one point) and the images are helpful. I just need to prewash my fabric tomorrow and start cutting!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Busy Bee

Quite literally :) I've been busy making blocks for the 3x6 Bee on Flickr. I'm alf way through(if I exclude the block I'm supposed to make for myself ;D). It's been really fun. I wish I'd chosen a different block. I should have stuck to something with plain squares, LOL! I'm signed up for next quarter in the Bee as well, so I'll definitely keep that in mind next time.

I also made a book cover for a girl I happened on in the forums for Paperbackswap.com (those who don't know, it's a place to swap gently used books for other books). I go to the site because there isn't a used book store in my area, and I LOVE books. Therefore I have many of them. The ones I realized I probably wasn't going to read again, I decided to swap out. Amanda (the girl in question) had made a request for a cloth cover, and I thought, what the hay! I'll give it a whirl.

Lemme tell you, life lessons here! Namely, remembering that not only do you need a seam allowance for sewing on the lining but you also need one for sewing down the book flap. As you can imagine, the last didn't occur to me AT ALL until the very end when I thought I was done. I'd already top stitched everything, too. I ended up just cutting off all the stitching with my rotary cutter and picking apart the seams to the parts I wanted to keep. Then I remade it to be the correct size.

I ended up with A LOT of scrap ;)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I won!

I won! by woodbines creep
I won!, a photo by woodbines creep on Flickr.

I sure am lagging on posting lately~ but yay :D I won the Neptune jelly roll, LOL. In order to let my daughter be more social, I've joined her in several groups for this spring (from the end of March through to the end of May). It's a trial to try and fit them all together--I'm still juggling them ;) Soon my world will return to normal! At least it has to soon, my niece's birthday is in 10 days and she needs a present!