My Sewing Space

I made this top for my daughter a couple of days ago and she was pretty excited about it.  She noted that it was pretty long and I told her it was called a "tunic." When she put it on the next morning, she ran to the Preacher and said, "Look, dad!  Mom made me a tooney!"  He was confused as a tooney is the Canadian $2 coin. I've had this fabric in my stash for awhile.  It was a pretty good match for a hand-me-down pair of leggings.  I really wanted to make a tunic with a hood, but didn't have enough fabric.  So, then I made a two-layer neckband to go along with the layered look of the sleeves.  The bottom layer was white and wider than the top layer of the pink print.  But, when I wanted my daughter to try it on to check the side seams, we could not get it over her head!  So, I took that off and put fold-over elastic around the neck.  I'm not as excited about how it looks, but I was being lazy and wasn't too intere...

I picked up my fair entries today.  All of my things were gathered up and waiting on a pile for me.  A woman, (who was a member of the committee responsible for the homecraft exhibits but not a judge) brought me over to it and then said, "Oh, this is your stuff!  This is beautiful work!  Especially this (pointing to the jacket ).  I had several people complain to me that this did not win first prize.  Anything with bound buttonholes should win first prize.  I was not the judge, but I still would like to apologize.  I just don't understand that judging."  She was very dramatic about the whole thing.  I thanked her and said I wasn't really upset about it and I had won several other prizes (share the wealth, eh?).  But, I did appreciate knowing that it wasn't just me that was confused by the judging in that category.

I make some small baskets and bags to sell at a shop in town and the owner asked me to make some wine bags, so this is what I came up with. This was the first one I made and then stopped in to show it to her and get feedback before making more. The strips are pieces of old neckties.  It was pretty snug and we thought the handles could be a little longer, so I made those changes and then made four more. The bottom of the bag is a circle, so this project wasn't as simple as just measuring height and width.  I had to dust off some math skills.  C = 2(pi)r .... remember that?  Then making a circle of a specific diameter meant I should really have a compass.  During my unsuccessful search around the house I found a roll of packing tape that looked about right.  I measured it and the diameter was exactly what I needed.  Perfect. All of the bags have a layer of batting between the outer fabric and the lining. For perspective, her...

Yay!  A different pattern to talk about!  A break from KS 2918!  My daughter is getting big enough to move out of the toddler pattern sizes, so I bought this pattern during the summer to try. image from www.kwiksew.com Kwik Sew did not disappoint.  I used size XS and added 1" to the sleeves.  The recommended fabrics are all wovens, but I used a knit and it worked just fine. Someone gave me this fabric years ago and I kept it even though I didn't really like it.  It feels like really old polyester.  But, the color worked pretty well with this skirt (a thrift store find) and my daughter liked it, so it was a go. The top looked pretty plain when I was finished, so I added the ribbon bows to the neck and sleeves.  I think the whole look might be a little too "peasant-y," with the tiered skirt and peasant-style top, but my daughter thinks it is SO pretty.  She "styled" the outfit all herself for the picture - necklace, headband, sock...

Drumroll please.... I did pretty well at the fair!  I was there today and checked everything out. Seven items placed first in their category: dress blouse sport shirt girl's jumper girl's blouse girl's nightgown doll clothes Two items took second place: child's socks boy's pajamas One item came in third: vest Which leaves four items that didn't place: apron , jacket , socks , scarf So, that means I won about $90.00.  I really enjoyed looking at all the things entered.  The quilts were particularly amazing.  Overall, I am pleased with how I did and I didn't find the judging too perplexing.  Well, except for one category.  The jacket.  Of course, I'm being completely and totally objective here, but I was ROBBED!!  There were only four jackets entered.  The first place one looked terrible.  The second place one looked better than it and the third place one looked better than the second one!  Really, I don't ...

Two more T-shirts.  I only took pictures of one because the second one is even less exciting than this one! They are intended to be worn under a hoodie and a fleece pullover (both hand-me-downs in great shape).  Do you remember me mentioning that the Preacher is rather particular about his T-shirts ?  Well, these tops are made from two T-shirts that he wore only once or twice and then deemed unacceptable.  The fabric isn't great, but for layering T's, it works fine. I used fold-over elastic on the neck.  This is the first time I've used it and I really like it.  It looks nicer than a ribbing neckband and is stretchier than a bound one.  Putting it on couldn't be easier - just fold the elastic over the edge and stitch it down.  It should be stretched a little bit, but not a lot.  Before putting it on, I sewed one shoulder seam and then sewed the other seam after the neckline was finished.  It seems easier to determine the best leng...

These baskets do move out of the shop in town so I made three more.  I tried to be a little more "fall-ish" with the fabrics and colors. The shop owner asked me to make some bags similar to these baskets, for wine bottles.  Sounds like a good idea to me.  I have a prototype finished, but it needs some reworking before I'm ready to make a few.  For dimensions, I used a wine bottle that I had and the bag turned out pretty snug.  It looks good for this particular bottle, but not all bottles are the same shape and size. I finished a couple more shirts for my daughter that need to be posted yet, but this project is more inspiring right now....perhaps because it is warm again and fall clothes don't seem so urgent.  Or maybe it's just a lot of fun to turn scraps into money!