Wensleydale Quilt for My Son

At the end of last year, I decided to make a quilt for my oldest son. Sure, I made several quilts and blankets for him in the past, but not as a grown man. The great thing is, I already had a pattern in mind. It was Wensleydale by Jen Kingwell. Jen came to town last August and I attended her trunk show with my friend. I enjoyed looking at all her quilts, but the Wensleydale quilt stuck out to me and I thought to myself; that would be perfect for my boys.

Scrappy Strip/String Quilt

I remembered that I didn't get around to posting this quilt I finished in November. I used the same method that I used to make strip pillows in October. I used 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" tissue papers for the pillow, but I used 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" papers for this quilt, that's it! It is done by exact same technique, just bigger. If you are in interested in the tutorial you can click the link.

After I finished piecing, I wondered how I wanted to quilt it. The options are:

A. Ask someone with a longarm to quilt it for me.
B. Quilt it myself with my machine. I am not that good at it, but it will be good practice.
C. Hand quilt it.

I tossed and turned... well, maybe not that much, but I finally decided to hand quilt it with thick thread and big stitches. I was second guessing myself while I was working on it, but I actually love how it turned out!

I like using pieced fabric for the back of the quilt. It is more work, but I love the small surprize when you turn the quilt over. It adds more interest and character. The hand quilting is more visible on the back side and I love it!

If you have lots of scraps, this quilt is perfect for them. It is easy, quick and fun! Do you want to add it to your "to make" list for this year?

Christmas Tree Wall Hanging Tutorial

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree... every year I see fun Christmas tree quilt ideas online and want to make one, but a year passes by so quickly and poof! It is already December. I tried coming up with my own pattern around October. I was sketching and experimenting with fabrics. After a few tries, I came up with this tree pattern. Wouldn't it be so pretty if I made 300 plus blocks and made a quilt with these cute trees? I was looking at several projects on my table and decided not to do that this year. Instead, I made a small wall hanging!

Cutting the fabric might be a little tedious, but once you get the hang of it, this project goes quickly. It is not too late to whip this up to be part of your Christmas decorations.

* YOU NEED

4 different kinds of green fabrics
5 different kinds of red fabrics
White fabric

* HOW TO

1. Cut fabrics. The picture shows the parts you need to construct a block and the measurements are written in the picture. I only listed the measurements on one side because it is symmetrical.

2. Start from the bottom row. Lay green fabric down right side up and lay white 1 ½" x 1 ½" square on both ends right side down. Draw a diagonal line and sew on the line. Trim the excess and open the white fabric. Press with iron.

3. For the rest of the three rows, repeat the same process and add extra rectangle pieces to the sides.

4. Sew all four rows together and trim the block. The block should be 4" x 4 ½". 8 more blocks to go!

5. Cut 24 pieces of 1 ¼" x 4" strips from white fabrics and 16 pieces of 1 ¼" x 1 ¼" squares from red and green fabrics. Piece the strips with the tree blocks as shown in the picture; make the rows first.

Then, make the "skinny rows" with the white strips and colored squares.

6. Piece the tree row and skinny row together. Press with iron.

7. From the white fabric, cut 2 pieces of 2" x 15 ½" for the side borders and cut 2 pieces of 2" x 17" for the top and the bottom borders. Sew them on, press with iron.

8. It is totally up to you on how you want to finish the quilt. I have been doing machine quilting on my last few quilts, so I decided to do hand quilting on this one. I used white, red and green thread. It was a lot of fun deciding which color to use where. One of my dream sewing machines is Sashiko from Babylock. I know; it is a one letter difference from my name. When I first glanced at the machine, I thought, "Wow! The machine has same name as me!" haha. Sashiko machine stitches are uniform and consistent, making it easier and faster to finish your quilting projects (there are many other ways to use this machine, too). You can achieve a hand quilted look with this machine! I LOVE doing hand quilting, but when I am older and it gets harder to hand quilt, there is still hope. :)

I hope you will have a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for visiting!

Babylock Decals

Look at these fun decals I received in the mail! Baby Lock came out with some decals to decorate your sewing machine with. They are also great to use on your laptops, phones, water bottles and much more. They are not available online, but you can find them at your nearest retailer so go check them out.

The decal that popped out to me is this one,

I went to New York City at the end of October, and I am kind of obsessed with New York right now... the design of this decal reminded me of the famous "I ❤ N.Y" sign. hahaha.

Several styles of packages are available. They will make a fun Christmas gift for Baby Lock sewing machine lovers!

McCall's 8044 Skirt with Linen

Hello! How have you all been?? As I mentioned in the last post, I had a pretty busy summer and I didn't sew much... I just wanted to spend more time with my children. They are growing up too fast, but they seem to not mind that at all. I was having a hard time catching up with the speed. Now that my middle son has left home and my youngest has gone back to school, I am getting my sewing mojo back! There were a few things I wanted to sew, but I decided to try the McCall's 8044, pattern first.

When my family and I took a quick trip to Colorado this summer, I visited a fabric shop called Fancy Tiger Crafts. They had a great selection of linens and I picked up a Terrazzo printed linen without any particular project in mind. When I was looking at the pattern, the fabric came to my mind right away. I was drawn to the picture of style C on the pattern, but I didn't quite have enough to make that, so I went with style B instead.

I used my Babylock 5/8" adjustable seam guide foot again to ensure the accuracy of the seam while I was sewing. It not only sped things up, I feel like I could sew with confidence.

It is hard to tell with this fabric, but there are buttons on the side. I like how this pattern doesn't require that much fabric, the skirt drapes nicely and also looks slimming.

Since this is made with thin linen, I won't be wearing it during the winter, but I could enjoy it a little bit longer with the right layering. I pulled out a cardigan from my closet and got ready for the evening.

A New Dress from Casual Chic Clothes/ きれいめカジュアル服

It has been a while since my last post. I hope you all had a great summer. You might be asking what I have been up to and here it is... In the beginning of summer, I was planning to sew many clothes using my stash of fabric. I did sew a couple of things for myself and did some charity sewing, after that the desire to sew sizzled down. It was not gone, but sizzled down, way down. I was wondering why that was and I analyzed myself. I was busy working to finish our basement, I just wanted to spend more time with my kids as much as possible while I could instead of sewing or quilting. My kids are older now and my oldest is currently serving a two year church mission in Japan, and my middle child has been getting ready to go to Japan as well for two years. He is leaving this week. My youngest just turned 16 this summer, driving, more time with friends, extra curricular activities, dating etc. she is ever so busy. I realized that the gate with a sign saying "empty nester" is getting closer and closer by the second. Yup, the realization is setting in. I cooked their favorite meals, we went out together, played games, watched movies, just sat and talked and sometimes I hung out with their friends too! I have no regrets how I spent this summer. I am going to get back to a normal schedule soon and start sewing more and I am excited about that now. Meanwhile, Let me share a dress I made at the end of June from the Japanese sewing book "Casual Chic Clothes"

There are many things I want to make from this book and the first thing I wanted to try was this dress. I love the design so much and I happened to have shirting fabric in my fabric closet; there is no reason not to try!

As I am getting old... I mean matured in my age, I say "nah" to somethings that are "too cute" or "too fluffy"; but I felt like the sleeves are exceptional and I really love them. I also think using gray and white thin striped fabric instead of pastel color helps tone down the cuteness of it.

When I looked at the pictures, I realized that the waistband is sitting lower than the natural waistline. I have a short torso, and I wanted the waistband to sit on my natural waistline, so I shortened the patterns close to a couple inches.

Also I added a thin liner for the skirt; that added more volume to the skirt than I wanted, but oh well.

I love how it turned out and I wore the dress several times this summer. I would definitely go back to this pattern someday once I make other things from my "to sew list".

Red Heart Quilt for My Friend

A few months ago, I found out that one of my dear friends for over 23 years was going to have open heart surgery in August. I wanted to do something special for her and pretty much immediately, an idea to make a heart quilt came to my mind. I talked to our mutual friends about the idea and they were all on board.

When I went through breast cancer three years ago, I was gifted with a special pink heart quilt from a talented group of friends. I was so surprised and touched with everyone's generosity and every time I wrap myself in it I feel so loved. It is one of my prized possessions still to this day and it will be for a long long time.

That is where I got the idea to make a quilt, but instead of pink, I decided to make a red heart quilt.

When we all first met 23 years ago, we lived in the same neighborhood and we had a great time together. One by one, we all moved away, but our friendship has lasted through the test of time. These are the group of women who had their own life's challenges and heartaches,but dealt with them with grace and a determination to move forward. I look up to each one of them and feel so blessed to call them my friends.

We were able to get together for lunch before her surgery and we gave her the surprise quilt. She loved it! I embroidered everyone's name with their favorite colors (my favorite color is white, but it won't show on white fabric, so I had to compromise)… we are all different, different backgrounds, likes, political views, but we have many things in common too. More than anything, we care, respect and enjoy each other's company whenever we could get together. I hope we will still be friends when we are older and more gray. Ha Ha!

Her surgery was over a week ago, We are still praying for her smooth and speedy recovery, but I am happy to report that it is going well!!

Nova Coat Pattern + Rifle Paper Co. Fabric = New Favorite!

I think it was about two years ago that I purchased the Wildwood fabric by Rifle Paper Co. I love it so much that it was sitting on my table for a while and every time when I walked by, I looked at it, touched it and thought about what to make with it. A tunic, a top, a skirt??? I didn't want to mess it up or didn't want to regret not making something else after I used it. My indecisiveness was in full swing and I had to put it on the shelf and wait.

After I made Sapporo Coat (Nova coat now), I decided to use that fabric and try making a quilted coat. it was bit scary, but I was more excited since I set my heart on a project with Wildwood fabric.

Since I have to machine quilt each piece, it was more work for me, but I enjoyed the process. It was like taking myself on an adventure! I really had to see the finished quilted coat that I saw in my mind's eye. I had already decided what quilt design I should do and at what scale.

I would say that the most challenging thing in the whole process was to make sure that the patterns of flowers would line up nicely in the back, sides and on the sleeves. I laid the pattern pieces in different ways to make sure that they matched up nicely.

To be honest, I didn't even think this would be a challenge. If I thought about it in the beginning, I may not have chosen this fabric. If you are thinking about making a coat, and you are still new at this, I advise you to choose solid, or small patterned fabric, you don't have to stress about matching the pattern.

I am happy to say that the coat turned out exactly how I imagined!

I used a blue woven fabric for the lining and I like how it is softer than quilted cotton. The coat is bulkier than the wool coat I made, especially around the armholes, so I wanted to use something less stiff.

The flower border lined up nicely at the pocket and the sides as well. Yes!

It is getting warmer, but there are still cold mornings and evenings where I live. I think I have few more weeks to enjoy this jacket, until I will put it away 'til fall (then I have something to look forward to!). I took the jacket for a test drive.

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. I would love to do patchwork piecing with small pieces next time when I make a quilted jacket. Don't you think there are many possibilities for the patterns and colors?

Light Weight Denim Dress with Simplicity 8910/R10183

I had this light weight denim forever and there were a few times in the past that I almost sewed something with it and then changed my mind. When I had Simplicity pattern 8910 in my hand and was revisiting my stash, I felt like they were a great match. There are many reasons why I adore the design of this dress pattern. I love the simple shoulder with modest puff on the sleeves little above the wrists. I also love the thick pleats in the front and the back. I feel like these pleats have a slimming effect compared to other similar dresses. Another aspect I love is these unique slash pockets and how they compliment the pleats nicely. The only change I made for this pattern is that I brought the neckline up higher.

 

After I tried on the finished dress, I realized that I wanted the top portion of the dress slightly shorter; if I am going to make this dress again in the future. You see, I have a short torso and long arms. That is why I normally don't buy petite clothing even though I am a short girl. The sleeves will be too short for me. One of the greatest aspects of sewing your own garments is that you have some control over how the clothing fits you. I already made an adjustment to the pattern and made the top front/back 1/2" shorter.

 

The air is getting cooler, so I decided to do a fall coordination with a shawl. Because of the nature of the fabric, I feel like I could wear this dress pretty much all year round. I also think that my daughter might even be willing to wear a shorter version of this dress if I sew her one.

 

I sewed quite a bit during September; mainly light weight dresses, I still have some similar dresses I want to sew lined up, but part of me wants to start working with thicker fall material. Well, you might start seeing a mix of these posts in the future! :)