sencha blouse

Continuing my Colette addiction, I made the Sencha blouse. The only alteration I made was to take it in a bit at the waist. I wish these pictures were better, the fabric actually has a pale green in it that is hard to see here. This was a nice, simple pattern and I look forward to wearing the blouse. (When it's a bit warmer!)

colette beignet skirt

I finally made another Colette pattern, this lovely high-waisted skirt called beignet. I had some sizing problems again, had to take it in a bit. Other than that, I really enjoyed making it. I took the pattern's suggestion to make bound buttonholes, with the help of this great tutorial. The fabric is Heather Ross for Kokka, I believe. It is a lightweight canvas, which is a little stiff but works ok for this pattern. The sweet vintage buttons I found at Soutache suit the skirt well, I think. Might make another in a smaller size and a lighter fabric a well.

finished triangle quilt

I finally finished my first full-size quilt, hooray! I made a whole bunch of bias-tape with the black fabric in order to bind the edges. It took forever, but I think it's worth it to have the fabric match. I'm going to do some more sewing, including another Colette pattern - this time the Beignet skirt. I love the high waist.

oliver + s pattern: sunday brunch

I have two 2-year-old nieces, one on each side, so for Christmas they each got a "Sunday Brunch" outfit (in different colors). I should have taken more pictures of the skirt and jacket before I gave them away, but as usual, I was frantically scrambling to finish all my holiday projects. The skirt has pockets and the jacket has a bias-tape lining on the inside that matches the skirt. The fabrics I used were lightweight courduroys, which I think worked well for the pattern. I really enjoyed making these and will definitely try an Oliver + S pattern again, since I seem to have so many little people in my life right now.

patchwork pillow, cheese extravaganza

I've been really bad about not posting because I was totally distracted by the anticipation of and participation in A Super Rad Wisconsin Cheese Weekend with a couple of my cheesemonger friends. We went to the Wisconsin Cheese Originals Annual Festival in Madison, where we tried lots of delicious cheese (Rush Creek Reserve - hooray! If you like stinky, gooey, washed-rind cheese, this is the one for you) and shopped at Fromagination, pictured above. Aside from lovely cheese, they also carry these beautiful marshmallows from a company called Butter. I bought some rose flavored ones and devoured them all myself. What a great weekend! We had some great meals at Nostrano and Sardine and just pigged out generally. Then I came home and made this little pillow from bits and pieces of all the lovely fabrics I've been collecting. I put it in my shop on Etsy, and I will definitely be making more.

another horse dress

I guess I really like horses, because I made another horsey dress. I found this cool corduroy on sale at Joann's. I have a better picture of the dress on the dressform, but I just liked this one with Pete doing yoga in the background.

colette chantilly #2

This is the second version of the Colette Chantilly dress that I made. I went 2 sizes down this time, but it was still too big! I think I have to take it in around the bust a little more, but I still think it is a very nice pattern and a pretty dress. I just wish the sizes worked better for me.

more pinwheel quilt - basting

So, I've finally finished basting the layers together and have started quilting! First I taped the quilt back to the floor, wrong side up, then I put down the batting (Warm and Natural - doesn't it look cozy?) and smoothed it out. Next I lay down the quilt top and pinned the whole thing together. After it was pinned, I basted the three layers together with red thread in a grid pattern across the whole quilt. Phew! I am actually sore from crawling around on the floor for four days. Listening to Cadfael helped, but what I just did is probably my least favorite part of making a quilt. Now I have started to quilt by hand, using black cotton thread, a plastic frame, and 1/4 inch tape to mark out the distance from the seams where I want to sew. This is my favorite part.

pinwheel quilt top

Finally finished the quilt top, yay! Next I will piece the back, then put all the layers together.

horsie dress

Finished the Colette Chantilly dress with the horsie cotton lawn, yay! I did find it somewhat frustrating however, as the size I made was WAY too big, even though the measurements listed for that size matched mine. I had to take it in quite a bit, which was annoying because it is fully lined. I think it would have looked better if I had just made a smaller size to begin with. Next time I try this pattern I think I will go down 2 sizes. Also, I think the lining I used was a little too bulky, will go with the thinnest possible next time. I did find a couple of mistakes in the pattern. First, you need to make sure you leave the seam open for the zipper on the same side for the top and skirt of the dress...the illustration on p. 12 is misleading. Also, Step 2 on p. 6 seems to be superfluous. Other than that, I liked the way the pattern was made into a little book. It was clear to read, well-illustrated, and even had an index in the back. I would definitely try another Colette pattern, keeping in mind the sizing issue.

dresses

I just finished this little purple silk dress. I originally intended to wear it to a wedding until I found out the bridesmaids were wearing purple. Oops! Opted for red instead. It aint perfect, but it has been a long time since I made a dress (half-assed Halloween costumes aside), so I'm somewhat proud of its completion. Now I want to make more dresses!

Have been eying these gorgeous Colette patterns online for a while, and yesterday I finally picked one; "Chantilly." I couldn't choose between two fabrics at The Needle Shop, so I bought both! The tiny horsey one was a bit cheaper (due to a misprint), so I'll do that one first.

Both are lightweight cotton lawn, perfect for summer. I'd better get sewing before it gets cold again!

quilt backing

I found a lovely print at The Needle Shop for the backing of my pinwheeel quilt. It has all the colors from the patterns on the front, plus a zig-zagging gray design that intersects the organic elements. Yay!

Pinwheel Quilt Progress

Here is the progress I've made on my new full-size quilt. First the quilt blocks ready to be sewn, then the first finished block. There will be 72 of them! So glad to be done cutting out tiny bits of fabric and on to the piecing. I ran out of black fabric, so some of the blocks will have a different pattern on the dark triangles. This doesn't bother me too much, as I think mismatching is part of the charm of a patchwork quilt. I hope!