First Pieced quilt

This is the first pieced quilt I have completed.  I gave it to my daughter earlier this year but hadn't blogged about it.  It was a 2013 Buck a Block from a the Quilt shop the "Back Door Quilts and Fabrics"  in Greenwood Indiana.   I had a lot of fun making this from  thangles and the provided black and white fabric.   The shop had a sample done in the bright colors which I really liked so I make mine similar.  The blocks are 12",  the sashing between the blocks is 1-1/2 inch and 2-1/2" on the outside of the blocks The border is about 7".  That makes the finished quilt about 70 x 100 inches

I was really happy to find the border fabric which has the same colors as the pieced blocks.

 

 I took a long arm class with the Back Door and as part of the price, I received free rental time on the machine.


Here is a sample of how the quilting looks on both the front and the back.  I used grey thread top and bobbin.  I am really happy with how this turned out, it made a perfect and much loved Birthday gift.  I actually finished a project that I started and it was fun!

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    I  will be doing another quilt soon so I'll get more practice on the long arm.

Indianapolis Museam of Art

 January 2nd,  I went to the Museum of Art with  Laurie and Lisa, we had a great time.  First we did a bit of shopping downtown.  The parking was via meters that had a minimum charge of $1.50 then .25 per every 10 minutes.  I think this is expensive.  The Global Gift Store was fun and I couldn't resist a few things there.

The Owl is from Peru, the worry dolls are so cute and hopefully the salsa mix tastes good.  We then had our lunch at Bazbeaus Pizza which I recommend, it was fast, good and reasonably priced.

The parking was on the museum grounds and a reasonable $5.  per car, there was no charge to get in to see the main exhibits but there was a $15,  for the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit which we chose not to view.

This was one of my favorite pieces of art, it is made of clear bugle (tube)  beads.  I can't imagine how long it took to string them and then getting them to form as the artist wanted. 

 This beautiful view was much more interesting than the exhibit that was on my side of the glass.  If you look in the distance you can just make out the LOVE sign.

This was also one of my favorite modern art pieces. It looks like bacteria!

There were a couple of sound installations that I thought were kind of creepy  and then more floors of art including African, Asian, American and others.  We really didn't get to see everything so I plan on going back.

It was fun spending the day with one of my best friends and my daughter and a great way to start of the new year.

McCalls M6751

 I saw this pattern and thought my daughter might like this made up for her.    I used a light weight silk like poly  I have had in my stash for so long I don't remember where it came from.

I made view B,  which was simple and quick  to make. I happened to have matching bias tape so I used it to finish the straps and key hole opening.  Even though I don't usually like bias tape bindings this worked out perfectly and kept the bias edges from stretching out of shape.  I would show you this detail but I am unable to find her shirt (must be in the laundry or the bottom of the closet).  One thing to notice is that the straps on my version are much larger making the keyhole opening smaller.  It probably has something to do with my lack of trimming but I am happy with how this looks on Lisa.

She really likes the shirt so we are both happy.

Fabric  detail but the color is more royal blue like the pictures below

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Week 1 of Me Made May

 

 

Nothing exciting here, I love this skirt and as soon as I find the pattern I'll make another one and blog about it,   There is too much black in this out fit.  I did have a long necklace on but had put it up as soon as I got home so I wouldn't get attacked by Cricket.

 

 

This is a fun shirt to wear Simplicity 3634 blogged here

On Saturday   we went to Southern Indiana and played in the dirt with my in-laws so I wore old clothes not made by me but I made PJ bottoms  so I think that counts.  This is probably McCalls 2476 just a basic elastic waist pattern that I have made countless times.

The nice couple that cleans our office just had a baby so I used the red minkey and children's knit for a quick blanket.  Best of all both pieces were from my stash.

Me Made May

It is time for a challenge, last year I did the Me Made May and wore at least 1 hand made item each day for the entire month.  I made it and like others the biggest challenge is taking daily pictures.  I wanted to participate again this year and thought about increasing the number of wears for my hand made items but,  I really need to make some more items, my wardrobe is lacking in several places and I don't want to wear to many repeats  so I will need to keep the challenge doable for me and get busy sewing.

I actually figured out how to get the badge on the blog, amazing.

'I, Darlene   sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least 1 me made or refashioned item each  day for the duration of May 2014'



Tomorrow it starts!

Big Dog Bibs

Last week I got a new customer, a big customer that drools a lot and needed some new bibs as her current bibs were worn out from frequent washing,

The bibs are made of 2 layers of terry cloth and are about 15" across.  I didn't have any trouble coming up with some "girl" type prints for the binding and made 6 bibs 2 of which are duplicates

And here is the baby with one of her new bibs.  If you look closely you can see that the bib has already been field tested.

Vogue 8634 again

This is actually the 3rd time I have made Vogue 8634, see my last version here

I made this version with a light weight fleece fabric that I wanted to use before it started getting warm outside.  This top is warm and very soft, but even though the fleece is a stretch knit I should have made this bigger.  It was comfortable to wear but you can tell I need to adjust the size by the back view and work on a back adjustment for all my makes.    Funny, my teenage daughter really liked how this looked on me but I think it must be because the color suited me rather than how it fit.

I really like this pattern, it goes together quickly, something I appreciate during my late night sewing bouts.