Time to get it done

I love starting new projects but only like finishing them half as much.  Finishing them doesn't seem to be nearly as exciting.


Looking at the mess that my sewing room is  I think it is time to get serious and  either finish projects or pitch them.  I am not promising that I wont  start any new projects but I should finish an old project before starting a new one.  I picked out a few of the started projects I intend to get done next.  There are plenty more where these came from!

Quilt top  I made SEVERAL years ago that needs to be quilted

Quilt top was given to me by a friend, I quilted it and am now sewing the binding on



I have this already cut out for my daughter



This was given to me already cut out

I started this maybe 3 years ago.  It shouldn't take long to finish

I did get a couple of things done this week.  The red and white block is the last block in The Back Door Quilt shops 2013 First Saturday Block of the month.  Now I will have to get the setting blocks and borders together.

 The fabric to the right is the scrap from the flannel PJs I made for my fathers birthday.  I was afraid that they wouldn't fit because after I cut them out I realized I had used a woman's small rather than a mans small.  I went ahead and sewed them up  ( instead of leaving them on my sewing table)  and thought I would give them to my mom and make another pair for my dad.  I didn't have to worry, he said they fit fine and actually wanted the legs narrowed some.  I am going to make a personal pattern for each person I make PJ's for  then I won't have to worry about size or  length.  I think the time invested will pay off  saving me a lot of time and worry in the long run.


Darlene


Simplicity S0642

I really liked this pattern,  It was a quick make with no problems.  As always I made this at the last minute and didn't take much time for fitting.  I will defiantly make it again and spend a bit more time on fitting next time.

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 I lengthened the sleeves but should have made them either longer or a little shorter, I can see where I have stretched the sleeves out at the elbows. I used the wrong side of the   fabric to make this top because I wanted to mute the purple and soften the look a bit.  The Rayon fabric is very comfortable to wear but does wrinkle after wearing it all day.

 

 

 

 

Crazy Cricket

 

 

 

 The simple back neck opening is quick to make but I don't think it was necessary, the v neck allowed enough room to get on and off over my head.

New Look 6294 Fail

Unfortunately  this pattern  and fabric did not work well together

The pattern

The wadder

When I saw the fabric I liked the print, Grey, tan , black and cream.  I thought it would go with a lot of items I already own.

I modified the bust lowering the seam to allow for a mature figure and raised the neckline.   I really did not like the finished look.  I felt the angled seam line made me look droopy and I just wasn't happy with how  the center front. seams came together.  The pattern of the fabric is not an exact stripe or plaid, it has a sort of fluid look to it,  because of this pattern   the center front opening looks like I cut the fabric off center and that look is something that would bother me a lot if I were to wear this.

I previously made this pattern  out of a linen gauze  that I did like quite a bit  But the current version is a wadder.

old version

I am not sure when I will try this pattern again if ever.


Darlene

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.