Thursday, July 31, 2014

Gypsy Wife QAL – July Blocks



We are halfway through the quilt-along!  I love adding blocks to my box – the mishmash of colors is wonderful. 

Here are July’s blocks:

Star Block
An easy one.  I didn’t mean to at first but ended up going with a similar color palette as the original.  It’s bright and makes me happy.  Hooray for oversized squares, trimming, and starch!

Square in a Square Blocks
 I cut into my precious Japanese prints.  It was painful. 
When I saw the pattern I knew I had a vintage fabric that looked very similar to a couple of the square in a square blocks (the blue/pink/green/white print above).  This month was the month to use it!  It’s from a box of scraps that I got at an estate sale with my grandma when I was in middle school.  Yes, I’ve kept that box all these years. The batik on the other block is leftover from making sorority letter shirts in college. 

The bordered block had a slight mishap.  When I first assembled it the last strips came out wonky and not long enough (although they were cut correctly).  So I took them off, did a touch of trimming, and reattached them.  Second time was great. 

It seems there’s been a lag in enthusiasm for some of the quilt-alongers lately.  Summer is always hard for me with so much else going on (prime time for house projects, painting, and gardening around here), but I want everyone to be excited again.  There are great giveaways with the linkups.  In just another few months we’ll be assembling our quilt tops, so keep on trucking y’all!

Linking up to the July giveaway at Work-in-Progress Girl. 
The Flickr group will all the wonderful pictures is here.
Quilt-along schedule is here.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Farmer's Wife Friday - 7.18.14

This will hopefully be the last Farmer's Wife Friday before the reveal of the finished quilt.  Right now I'm in the hate stage, but I'm so close.  The feathers never end...

Stats:
- Bobbins used in quilting: on #37
- Hours if quilting: 48
- Blocks quilted: 128
- Left to quilt: finishing the border


Sunday, July 6, 2014

DIY Anthropologie Pattern Pop Top

This spring and summer I've gotten very into ideas for sewing clothing.  It's something I've always wanted to do but was scared of.  My body, especially after two babies, doesn't fit the standard measurements as it did back in high school days.  Knowing alterations were needed made me nervous.  But I've been reading tons of blogs and tutorials on measuring patterns, altering patterns, and researching patterns from "indie" designers that fit real women's bodies, and I've found courage. 
First up, a hack/DIY of Anthropologie's Pattern Pop Tee.  I saw this t-shirt refashion on Merrick's Art and loved it.  Seemed simple enough, but I had in mind a certain fabric.  I bought the Amy Butler voile online and dug through my stash to find a remnant of plum knit, very slinky and stretchy.  Luckily, they worked perfectly.  Fabric, check.

For a pattern, I figured I'd play with one of my many unused patterns - Simplicity 1463.  It had similar lines along the back, a little roomier in front (my belly thanks me), but I didn't have enough fabric for the butterfly sleeves.    

I took a t-shirt that fit well and used it as a size gauge against the pattern tissue which meant I made a smaller size than I would have otherwise.  Then I drafted some short sleeves that would work with my fabric remnant,made the hem more of a high-low shape, and went to town (sewing, not literally).

The shirt itself wasn't hard, but there were some puckers and odd shaping where the sleeves went in (obviously because I've never drafted sleeves before).  Something about my bust and that chest area just looked odd.  I had to rip that part out (major, major pain) and redo.  
The good news - it fits, and my sister and mother thought I bought it.  So I say success!  Probably the best garment I've tried to make for myself. 
The photo shoot, that was a whole other story.  I was aiming for the "golden hour" but my husband needed me to get supplies to fix a water tank, and by the time that was done the sun was setting and my pictures were dark.  Not to mention my husband making fun of me as I tried to take (somewhat) flattering pictures of myself with the remote.  But at least there were a few that weren't awful.  We'll aim for improvement next time.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Farmer's Wife Friday - 7.4.14

Getting close to the end of Farmer's Wife Friday posts!

Stats:
- Bobbins used in quilting: on number 30
- Hours of quilting: 39.75
- Blocks quilted: 112
- Blocks left to quilt: 16 (plus setting triangles and border)

And some of the pretty blocks from this week.




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