Photo Update

Thought I'd post some photos of things I've recently finished, gets boring reading masses of text after a while so here are some photos I can use to look back on.

This is the planned layout for my rainbow solids HST quilt. It took an agonisingly long time to decide this! Unfortunately I tend not to start off on easy projects, so this is going to be for a double bed. 

I also screwed up the measurements as I've never quilted before and I'm not following a pattern - so my intended 3 inch squares are actually 2.5 inches once they have been trued up and sewn. Oops! 

Craig and I spent a good hour trying to decide on the layout, colour order and square size. We dithered between 3, 4 and 5 inch squares but thought 5 inches was a bit too big. I wanted a bright, happy quilt so we chose the 3 inch but should have gone for 4 really - less cutting out!

As mentioned in a previous post, here's the boxed out tote bag that I made in a masterclass at The Stitching Boutique with Tamzin using Lotta Jansdotter fabric. I used a mustard yellow from the same range for the interior, which you can just about see poking out (but my camera didn't handle the colour very well).

It also has a pocket inside. We ended up running out of time so I made this bag far quicker than I would have thought possible, but that did mean ignoring trimming all thread ends and unfortunately I completely forgot to shorten the handles a little. I would also like to sew down the pocket to divide it into 2 partitions if I make this bag again.

Speaking of bags... here's one of the two zipper pouch bags I am making for Sian & Mariam. Sian picked out this fabric and zip combinations - the side tag is made from the lining fabric. I bought it to supplement the HST quilt but decided to stick with bright solids rather than graduating the rainbow, and luckily enough it perfectly matches the pink of this exterior fabric.

I managed to impale myself on the machine needle when trying to ease a fabric jam out of the feed dogs - so I need to wash or replace the lining as I've bled on it! :S

I'd like to say I'm getting better at putting zips in but I actually messed this up a lot and I'm still not 100% happy with the topstitching. I'd like to get it a little closer to the previous red zipper pouch. This bag's zip was much harder to sew than the first attempt, which I made on my old machine. Unfortunately the zipper foot for the Janome is MUCH wider than the narrow zipper foot I used before and isn't compatible as the needle wants to strike the foot. I need to do some shopping for a similar version because I think it made quite a difference. Here's a picture of the red pouch for comparison:

Both used 7inch zips so the top stitching is definitely much wider on the brown & pink version. However I think the finish is neater overall, I've boxed the sides up and my corners are better on this version compared to the red pouch. One more bag to go so I'll have another practice.

Sewing Plans

Hello!

I spent 3 days making half square triangles for a rainbow, solid brights quilt the week I bought my machine. There's an awful lot of work that goes into each square!! I don't have a desk or table big enough for my cutting mat, so I do all my cuttings kneeling on the lounge floor. After 3 days I have pretty impressive kneeling bruises and a very sore back!

I got a bit disheartened at the fact it took 3 days to make some squares which took me only 3 hours to sew into a 4x12 rectangle! I initially sewed them into long strips, but couldn't match the seams over such a long distance. The quilt will be around 80x90 inches when finished.

We had some friends over last week and I got talking about sewing. Long story short, they both picked out fabric and zip combos for me to make them a zipper pouch make up bag each. I made one that night but cut too close to the seam while clipping the corners so I need to go back in and fix a small hole in one corner.  The other will be done this week.

Yesterday Craig and I wandered into Calico & Co. and decided on some fabrics for curtains. We weren't sure if our measurements so went home, then returned too late as it had closed. We'll be going back this week, hopefully I can get the pair for the lounge made up by the weekend when we have friends visiting for my birthday BBQ. Photos to come!

I also impulse bought some cheap jersey and crepe du chine fabrics from eBay, which I have plans for. My sewing list is getting longer and longer, but I want to try knit fabrics before I get too stuck into women's then feel too afraid to sew with knits.

Have a nice week!