[with love Heidi]

I’ve been making more pillow cases for a friend. Not my favrouite sewing but good monotonus sewing. I’ve started cutting a penguin backpack from LTTS.

[Tamara]

Oh I had every intention to sew – in peace – today but didnt get that opportunity unfortunately! The moment I “escaped” to the sewing nook, I was followed by one child or the other, asking me for one thing or a hundred others (as just about everyone on this forum would relate to I’m sure). Instead I was busy inspiring myself by watching more “lessons”. I was hoping to get back into the nook tonight but it is my telly watching night so I won’t after all.

Needlewoman, I basically have no choice to get it out of the way as it is supposed to be on my daughter’s bed as her “summer” quilt. I had intentions to get both quilts done for the kids for Christmas but I grossly underestimated the time the quilting alone would take. I am working with a full sized quilt with the blocks of 8.5 inches but quilting each block takes two hours! For this one I am doing the “bed of roses” design from Leah Day’s blog. I have decided not to do the sashing because the roses design flattens it out that much I want a bit of puffiness. The border will be done with a continuous lollipops design as she is our sweet tooth. N’s quilt is made but I have to sandwich it and quilt that too. I want to do radio waves on his blocks and railway tracks on the borders as he is our “train buff”. If I work on them once a week for a good 6 hours at a time, it will give me three blocks a week done and that will hopefully have me putting them on the kids’ beds by winter – we can only hope. It isnt a job to rush though but I do have other quilts I want to do in order to show this year at the local Ag shows in the area so I essentially have to get a wriggle on with these.

We have a long weekend so I will hopefully be out of bed real early in the morning to snatch a bit of sewing time and hopefully get some quilting done then and for a good length of time tomorrow.

I’m hoping to get three pairs of field trip cargos cut out for N tomorrow aswell.

I can see the light at the end of the thread pulling tunnel Meleliza – hang in there!

Needlewoman, that chair sounds amazing!

[meleliza]

Finished the thread pulling! Hooray! At least for now anyway. I might have to pull another one for the dolly dress I’m making to match, but that is at least smaller. I actually got to sew yesterday. Most of the pin tucks are finished and I have to press on attaching the collar, lining and setting sleeves. Then the skirt, the zipper and the hem. There is a photo shoot scheduled for Saturday! And I need to have this dress finished. It’s going to be tight, but that’s when the photographer is available and I don’t want to waste the opportunity.

My only concern now is how quickly these children grow. I had a very good fit on the muslin and I allowed extra length in the skirt, but when we tried on the bodice just a few weeks later, it was snug across the belly! I unpicked the side seams and let the front belly out as much as I dared. I suppose I could let the front darts out if I need to, but I’m afraid the fabric may not recover if I do.

[Mama_Knowles]

Thank you for the link on the roses! I will be giving them a go this week before the dress kit comes in the post. I am wanting to make a Music Class blouse with the bullion roses on the collar. I think it will be lovely for spring time.

I just finished up a bubble outfit for the baby next onto a School Photo cord dress! I have been dying to make this forever so I can’t wait to get started on it. I have this to finish then onto Easter sewing for the older three boys. They will be wearing the Sketchbook pattern again this year.

[Tamara]

I have visions of check sketchbook shirts for both kids this year. I found some red gingham and ran it by N for his approval to which of course he agreed. I have some Shelburne falls check for miss 10 which will go with both the blue and the purple drill I have earmarked for more cargos and if I can squeeze a skirt from each as well that would be excellent.

But right now, after I finish my coffee, I want to go and find a jelly roll and experiment with this new block (new to me anyway) to see if I can actually make one with a view of it turning into something like the piano stool cover or something for the home. Just the top today and then quilting it after the current one is done.

Sharon, be sure to do the bullion rose on a block of fabric with the collar piece traced on. The piece will really stretch completely if it is cut before embroidering. It is a perfect place to try them out.

[Mama_Knowles]

I thought so too. 🙂

[Tamara]

And interface – of course! Hope it is going well.

N said to me last night that he was disappointed the long weekend was going so fast! I am inclined to agree! I didn’t get to sew for the whole day which was the absolute intention but I did sew and I guess that was the point of the exercise.

Had a little go at the foundation piecing in the craftsy class (BOM 2012) and they worked out well. I might make it into a table runner or something and then make another one using the spider web design – the one I really wanted to do but got carried away with the strip block instead. I am just using a jelly roll seeing as we needed strips – it was right there on the table and I didn’t have to sift through the scrap box under the ironing board.

I was on my sewing goals list for this year to make something for the house so why not learn a new technique while I am at it – might even quilt as I go!

[Mama_Knowles]

Sounds like fun!

I just got two Dr Seuess quilt kits for the two middle boys in the mail. I think they are more excited than I am about these. Wyatt has been wanting one forever and they were marked down 50% off. These will have to wait though as Jacob needs clothes and Easter is so close too.

I did get the School photo dress all cut out and hope between today and tonight to have it done. Tuesday I will need to go out and buy fabric for Easter for the older ones. I not completely sure on what fabric to use for their pants yet but I know I want blue long sleeve dress shirts.

[meleliza]

Today, zipper. Tomorrow lining and sleeves. All the while I’m dreaming of easy Easter dresses. I simply can’t wait to get my hands on the Attaché dress. I have some really lovely spiriting waiting for it. Then I want the roller skate dress. I feel like it won’t need too much fabric and I can do some stash busting with it.

[Sarvi]

Ditto, and that’s exactly what I need for Spring, a few serious stash busts.

[with love Heidi]

Justsewit, a few days ago you mentioned that you had a discrepency between the measured and back of pattern waist meausrement for the field trip pants. I found I did too when I went and loooked. I wrote a whole entry but lost it as my computers playing sillies. But I did find that the measurements of the shorts I made from the field trip had almost the same back of pattern measurements as the sandbox pants.

[Tamara]

What size were you making Heidi? I’m interested to know if it concerns smaller sizes as well as the 12. I measured mine at 34.5 inches instead of the packet saying 38 (I think) don’t have it in front of me.

I have done the size 10 digital pattern for the cargos so I think, given I only have a small space of time tomorrow, I will cut them out then. They are quick to cut out so I am hoping to have three pairs cut in the space of an hour.

Yay! Meleliza, home stretch now!

[with love Heidi]

Justsewit, I made size 6.

[Tamara]

So I sat down today and made two mat tops for the new piano. So now I will work to get some backs on them and hand stitch the binding while at piano lessons (listening not playing) tomorrow.

Then I think I will work out a larger version to make a seat cushion for the (rather hard on the backside) stool. This will have a slip to go over the lid and some elastic to hold them onto the legs.

Can’t wait for these new patterns….

[needlewoman]

Finished cutting out my first Family Reunion dress tonight, and bought thread to match the blue green background of the floral fabric. Size 8, and only had to lengthen sleeve by an inch so spent extra time matching the facings and ruffle to the fabric as it’s landed on the main dress pieces. Yes, I know what you’re thinking but that’s how I am. I’m also the sort of woman who grills the poor delivery man when a box of O + S patterns arrived yesterday. They turned up so much sooner than I expected that I literally couldn’t remember that I’d ordered them – well, I was expecting an envelope. So, I also spent quite a bit of time “reading” about the Music Class blouse, the After School outfit, and the Apple Picking Dress.

Finished and mailed the peasant blouse and skirt to Miss 7 in Victoria (the FR is also for her because as her mother noted there still seems to be a lot of summer left. We have another week of 34C and over forecast, and hot nights 🙁 Oh well, there’s always the movies if I start to go stir-crazy. So many new ones coming on because it’s supposed to be autumn, and because of the Oscars. While neither the blouse or skirt are O + S, I very pleased with my work, and hope you will all take a look at them on Flickr.

The big event was the return of “Mum’s” chair. It’s been repaired, and recovered with Laura Ashley’s Villandri in ‘Amethyst’, and looks just great!! As usual with home stuff, most of the money was spent on the stuff that only I know has been done but now it looks lovely, and I won’t have to say “Don’t sit there” for fear the castors will collapse. A metre of fabric remained so I’m having another little chair done too. (It’s a Victorian child’s chair covered in an attractive tartan but it will look lovely, and lighter in the mauve/lavender fabric.

Like your idea for the piano seat cushion, Just’it. They are rather hard to sit on for any real length of time but the polished wood they are usually made of makes it hard to keep a cushion there. Your quilting plans sound lovely if rather complex; no wonder it’s taking more time than you anticipated; however, I’m sure you’ll feel very pleased with yourself when it’s done. MK, and Mel: really really looking fwd to seeing the quilts, and the communion dress. MK, home schooling is going to eat into your sewing time, isn’t it? My closest cousin home schooled her boy and girl all their school life (she did train as a teacher). At that time, it was pretty unusual in Oz for kids who didn’t need to do correspondence lessons; however, it’s all worked brilliantly. Both kids, now in their 20’s have steamed through university, traveled and worked OS (the girl at the UN), and are both well-adjusted and well rounded adults. So, I hope it works as well for you.