Eclipse

Did you see the eclipse tonight?


I saw the beginning but then it got cloudy. My brother was able to get some pictures.

Black Dress

Tonight I decided to finish up the black dress, same idea and plan as the pink one.


If you hadn't noticed I have had a lot of time lately...yes Mike is gone training in China Lake, this means I have some spare time to work on a few projects.


I also realize that taking pictures after dark in side does not give the best result color wise, the dress looks much better in person. I can't wait for the weather to warm up and finally get to wear these!

Summer Dress

I found this fabric this weekend at Jo-Ann's and loved it.


The fabric comes with this elastic ribbing type stuff at the top. It reminded me of the jumper type things I wore when I was about six years old.


Basically all that needed to be done was sew a seam up the back to join the raw edges and voila, you have an almost instant dress. I also got some ribbon that was part of the excellent clearance and sale at Jo-Ann's for President's Day. I attached it to the top and now I have a dress. I got some more coupons from my Mom today and went back to get another pattern of fabric to make a second dress. I will post some pictures when I get it finished.

Shopping Bag

In the effort to cut back on the plastic bag brought home I decided that it was time to make some bags. There are many patterns available on the internet, I used this one. Next I searched for fabric on eBay and have gotten some red and turquoise canvas type fabric. I also picked up some web straps for handles. I did not use piping, I just didn't want to figure out how to use it. I am still making this sewing thing up as I go along. So first I cut up the fabric using the measurements on my cutting board. (You can see the fancy scissors I got for my birthday last month too!)


Then I marked the center of the side and main piece, aligned them and started pinning.


Here is the first side pinned and ready to sew.


Sewing the corners was a little tricky and I can't really explain how it came together, needless to say I was impressed that they actually turned out decent.


After adding the straps I have a finished product! Not the greatest picture but you get the idea. Had I used the piping the bag would have had more structure and stood on its own, also the fabric was not a very heavy canvas to that might be part of it too.

Joel Dewberry Quilt

For my second quilt project I wanted to use prints from Joel Dewberry, I really like his prints and saw today that he has a new collection coming out soon! I started by laying all the prints out in the pattern I wanted on my living room floor. On the Amy Butler one I just did it random. For this I had gotten squares (4 inches) in two color schemes, one was red and black the second was a brown and yellow. I wanted to alternate the colors and not repeat too much in each row. There were a total of twelve rows. Once I had sewn the squares into rows it was time to sew the rows together.


Next the seams need to be pressed down.


After the top was ready (yesterday) I went to JoAnn's again to find some batting and fabric for the back. I selected a red of course. The technique I use to put them together is to lay out the batting, then the backing and the top on top with the wrong side up. I had to use a 20/80 batting this time ans am not a fan of working with it, previously I used all cotton batting and it was preferable. It is all pinned together and trimmed then I sew the edges, leaving a space big enough to turn out right side out.


Once the seam is sewn and its turned I like to press the edges to make sure it is flat. I then sew a seam around the edge to keep it all together, this also closes the opening I used to turn it out.


After the edge seam is done its time to "quilt" it. I made a line of stitches down every two rows. This Time I wanted to try something new (to me at least) and I put a red thread in the bobbin and kept the off white on top. The result was the stitches on the bottom were red and the top the off white. I think it looks good like that. Here is a close-up of the prints.



A look from the top. This one is actually long enough to totally cover my legs and feet!


A look at a bit of the back. You can see the off white stitches around the edge and the red blend right in.


I one other project I worked on the last few days too, but wont be putting any pictures up for awhile since it is a gift for a new arrival coming soon. Since this is a long weekend I expect to be able to get a few other things completed so keep an eye out for more posts soon!