My foray into Patchwork...

I've made one patchwork quilt in my life and the experience was, well, let's just say 'unforgettable' and not in a good sense of the word!  It was a lot of work and there were quite a few hiccups along the way - I fogot to add seam allowances to some pieces which threw the whole thing out, Sam the handsome (but manic) labradoodle chewed holes in several places (which led to a whole lot of extra patching and a bit of freeform applique (lol!)), and all in all there just seemed to be lots of going back and fixing up. Not really my cup of tea.

So it might come as a surprise to hear that I've stepped up to the mark for another quilt! The idea of making a quilt for my 15 year old daughter has been floating around my mind for a while now, something she could keep as she travels, goes to Uni, moves into her first flat, etc etc, and just recently I saw a picture of a quilt in a housie magazine that I thought she'd like: red, white and blue with a bit of denim thrown in. Unfortunately there were a couple of practical issues that raised their head: there wasn't a pattern, just a picture; I couldn't find a pattern similar to it; and the picture shows the quilt draped over a chair, artistic but not the easiest way to try to copy the pattern!

So I winged it. I started by drafting the finished shapes, starting with a 6" square (because my quilting ruler is 6 1/2" - I like to make things easy!) and then drafting various 3, 6 and 9" rectangles and squares. I added seam allowances then played with making up repeat sequences to form long row blocks the width of a single bed. On the planner (left) I coloured in the rows to distinguish them from each other. It all makes sense in theory but as we all know, 'there's many a slip 'tween the cup and the lip'!

The Big Quilt

Being surrounded by people who quilt, and love it, I decided to give quilting a try. I love sewing, right? What could be more natural than to to progress from sewing garments to sewing quilts? I hated it.

Simplicity 3624 (again and again!)

I made this top recently in an apple green wool challis, loved it, wore it, wanted one for summer. You can see the full review here.

I have made it twice more since then, here it is made from a flocked cotton viscose - gorgeous drape, as you would expect - shortened by a good 10". Its' comfortable and cool to wear, perfect for our Australian summer. I'm just hoping those flocks don't come off in the wash.

In the final version I made it in a beautifully soft cotton jersey for winter, it goes perfectly with jeans.  You can see the review for this one here.

Design and Sew 4 (In the Studio)

This pattern is for six ponchos in a variety of shapes and styles (available in one size only), by Lois Ericson. Although the black and white line drawings on the pattern envelope aren't exactly inspiring, with a little imagination you can see the potential.
It was quite funny the way I came across this pattern ... I actually saw someone wearing the poncho and fell in love with it but thought it was a boutique buy - it wasn't until I complimented the lady wearing it and got talking to her that I found out she'd made it and there was a sewing pattern for it! :-) Here in Australia I purchased this pattern through Perpetual Patterns but I couldn't see it on their website last time I looked so here is the link for an overseas supplier.

This is a very simple pattern to make, it is essentially a large diamond with offset opening and two triangles of fabric laid over the diamond to jazz it up. I chose to make the poncho in a leaf green, stretch mesh lace. The pattern is so economical I used the leftover pieces to make a tee (see the review here).

I love the "boho" design of this poncho, a bit funky without being too young and girly. If I had one beef with it, it would be that I just don't believe that "one size fits all". In my experience there's a style reason as well as a size reason why patterns are graded and I think the proportions of this poncho would suit me better if it were 10% bigger - it feels a little skimpy the way it is.  In fact, after living with this poncho for a while, and not wearing it, I decided to give it to my petite-sized sister-in-law.  It suits her much better than it did me and I'm convinced it's because of the scale.  What a shame, I won't be making this pattern again :-(

Christmas

The holiday season is almost upon us - wow, that crept up fast! - and it's time to get cooking in the kitchen, pruning in the garden and sewing on the Husky!

In the kitchen for Christmas this year I'm going to try my hand at baking some macadamia and white chocolate shortbread, hopefully a nice little treat for my neighbours who have been a fantastic support network for me over this past difficult year.

The garden is an absolute mess and could do with a bomb, spring having sprung into summer with a vengeance, might be time to get one of the leaflet-dropping maintenance men around. Ah well, at least the gardenias are out! I love to gather up big bunches to bring inside and enjoy their perfume.

On my sewing radar is a short jacket/shirt pattern by Butterick, #5223,that I'm going to make from a polished cotton. Often in summer it's too hot for anything with extra fabric like sleeves or collars but I love the style lines of this top and, what the heck, I'll wear it in autumn!

View Butterick 5223

Simplicity 3624

I absolutely love this pattern, it suits my apple shape, cleverly disguising my thick waist with long lines and a bit of ruching. I particularly like that the top is loose but there are no unexpected 'pouffes' of fabric that can sometimes make a top look and feel 'maternity'. I also like that you can heighten or lower the neckline through the centre front ruching by lengthening or shortening the front band.

View Simplicity 3624

This tunic length or short top has an empire waistline and centre front ruching detail with a variety of sleeve options (see the full review here). I made a size 14 with a full bust adjustment and it fit perfectly. I've recently started using the Palmer and Pletsch method to fitting patterns for a full bust and I'm very happy with the results. Their logic just makes sense to me - if you add width at the centre front to go over the bumps horizontally you also need to add length to go over them vertically!

I really love this top, it's easy to make and comfortable to wear. Although it's quite distinctive I think my wardrobe can stand it if it's made in different fabrics. I can see it as a top for work in the middle of our hot Australian summer. I plan to make the tunic length with the tiny little sleeves.

My First Blog!

Blogging seems to be all the rage these days - and I must admit, I love to trawl through other people's happenings, so I thought I'd be brave and set one up for myself. Who knows where it might lead??!