Far Between

My recent posts haven't been. Starting a new job this fall has taken some of my creative efforts. My cousin Roxanne has been unavailable for our weekly sewing efforts, since she has been taking the tests to earn her doctorate. I'm very proud of her, but I hope she hurries up & gets done. I miss sewing with her, and that regular crafting time.

I have been more active with the Society for Creative Anachronism, and since I'm the current Arts and Sciences officer, I should share some of those activities here as well. For instance, I had the idea to make bunting to go around our area for the local Ren Fair (and to use at other SCA events as well). Here's how it turned out:

spiffy bunting!

I've been busy making bags and fabric baskets. Many of them are/will be gifts so I haven't felt like I could post them yet. I did, however, turn this                                  into this

septagon

tote for Roxanne

I can post it, even though it's a gift because Roxanne isn't likely to come and look.

She and I did get a chance to sew for a little while over the long Thanksgiving weekend, though. We worked on some fabric baskets, which made both of us happy. a great gift, and a great holiday decoration!

'tis the season!

They can hold all kinds of things, like for instance, the basket on the right is holding pieces for some more baskets!

Crafting of other kinds has been worked on, too. I've got some crochet to show off soon, and I've even done some cross stitch, which I'd set aside for several years. Just, nothing has been consistent or something. I'm getting back into the swing of it, though, and will be sharing more, and more consistantly. 

Swirly Skirt

Roxanne was very happy with sewing this weekend because she got to finish her new swirly skirt. I had cut it out the week before, and done the construction one evening. It is a very simple pattern to put together on the serger. She had the longer jobs of the hem (there was quite a bit of that) and the not as long waist band.

view A in yellow on the bottom row

This is the pattern we started with. After I showed her the denim version I made over the summer, she wanted to use this pattern, too! I modified hers like I modified mine, since the pattern misses fitting either of us. I lengthened the waist panel to fit. Then, to keep the skirt part smooth at the hip, I cut that part in half, and added a panel that fit to the waist piece at the top, and added some additional flowy-ness to the hem. We both like the longer length, to hide a multitude of sins.

While my fabric was a very soft denim, Roxanne had picked out a very colorful and swirly print.

colorful swirls

I wasn't sure about it, but it was Roxanne's skirt to love and wear, so I cut it out for her. As I sewed it up, it started to really, really grow on me. Those swirls of color looked great in a flowy skirt, and there are so many possibilities when it comes to matching a top. I mean if you have the color, it is probably in there. There are a lot of pinks, which Roxanne likes, but there is also turquoise blue and lime green, along with simple black, white & grey.

On the denim skirt I made, I just rolled down the fabric to create  the casing for the elastic. Since Roxanne is taller than I am, we decided to keep all the length possible, and used some wide bias tape that I had in my stash (no telling for how long) as the casing. I did that for Raine's pajamas this summer, and they have done really well, so it is a technique I will use from time to time from now on.

So, here is the finished product. As you can tell in the photo, Roxanne, is very happy with the final result!

Roxanne and her swirly skirt (and my purple T)

Ok, it isn't actually the final result, I took this when she was trying it on for length, to make sure the hem line was pretty even. Still, she looks happy, doesn't she...

Cross Stitching Again

It has been a while since I've done much cross stitching. The last projects I worked on were left to me by a friend, and I really wanted to finish them for sentimental reasons, but sometimes it just is the wrong thing to pick up where someone else left off. Between those projects, where the "this spot shouldn't be filled yet... what thread IS that?" and getting used to progressive lenses, the experience was rather frustrating, and - of course - I put them down.

This summer, with traveling and all, I thought I should look through my stash of kits, and find something that looked easy and pretty and try once more, starting fresh. So I did. Last week, I finished it. Very pleased with myself.

Happiness... a fitting title

I knew there were several kits in the set, so this evening, I looked through them, and this is what I found.

Beauty, finished by Lou

My friend had finished one, and it looks fabulous, even if it does need a little ironing/stretching.

Lou started Prosperity, and I will finish it!

I love the border on this and I am looking forward to stitching it!

The rest of the set.

Aren't they fabulous? Won't they be a great grouping somewhere? Isn't it nice to rekindle an old love?

Experiment

I know, a month almost, without posting here, and then two in a row. I think that shows (maybe) that it hasn't been a creatively dry summer for me. I've just had trouble sharing. Or something. (maybe a couple of weeks of vacation in there helps explain SOME of the dry spell.

Well, I know my obsession to make this summer has been tote bags. There are just so many posts I can write on them, though. Right? Well, maybe.

Earlier this summer I entered a give-away on one of the blogs I follow, and I won! Woot! I got a nice set of plastic triangular rulers to use as patterns when cutting fabric for quilts, etc.

Awesome prize!

I've been feeling like I should make a quilt and then donate it, and these would be perfect to make strips of triangles. I could alternate pieced and unpieced strips to make a quilt pretty quickly, and donate to the local Child Crisis Center. Summer is quickly drawing to a close, however, and this is a project I haven't started yet, however.

I got a brain storm yesterday, though. I wondered if the triangles would match up and "circle" up. I waded into my stash and came up with this.

Septagon!

If you look closely, you will notice that the blue piece is two half triangle pieces... so how cool is that? OK, so my points aren't perfectly matched. This is my first effort with these rulers, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I am thinking that maybe four solid and three print pieces might balance better... but then maybe not.

Now the question is, what to do with this? My inspiration told me to off center the point and cut a square, then put a border around that. I could picture a small quilt with those type of blocks being kind of cool. Or maybe altogether too fussy. Not sure which. Going to look at the square idea this week and decide whether to try it or just applique this onto the side of a tote bag.

School Clothes

For me. I felt like a new start at a new school deserved some new clothes. So I've weeded my closet, and now I'm adding a few things in.

I've been wanting to make a denim skirt for myself for a long while. I think I got the fabric for it some time last year. The year before? It is a lovely, soft, light blue colored denim and I wanted it fairly fitted at the top, and fairly flowy at the bottom. And fairly long, almost ankle length.

When I looked through my fabric for the denim, I also found this piece of leafy cotton, in several shades of denim blues. I thought Woot! A top for my new skirt (you know, because nothing goes with denim...). I decided something tunic-y, and thought of a top I've made a couple of times now that has a dart coming from the sleeve seam, and a round neckline. I have added sleeves to it, and made a keyhole detail in the back.

Here's a terrible picture of the result.

very blurry

The picture doesn't do the outfit justice, but I really wanted to post.

Happy Top

This top makes me happy!

Late last year, I cut out two tops from this pattern. The circled view reminds me of some tops I had once-upon-a-time that I remember fondly. I like the collar, and the no-button front, and that you can tie the v-neck closed somewhat. I'm not much of a cleavage person. AND I like that it is a longer top, covering the hips.

The fabrics I chose were also happy fabrics. Flowery, fun and cheerful. When I finished the first of the two tops, and got a photo taken, I was less than happy with the result. Sigh.

Less than flattering.

I did some asking of people who's taste I trust - sometimes more than my own, which can sadly be iffy at times- and did some thinking. The photo isn't flattering because of the angle. But that isn't the only problem. Ron suggested there was too much collar for my short neck. Hmmmm. I think he's on to something there. The collar has bugged me when I've worn the shirt. (of COURSE I've worn it!)

The other top languished in the sewing room for a while, but I pulled it out and looked at the collar, constructed in two pieces to be more than I really need. I tweeked it. I'm not afraid to do that, you know. I cut off that bottom layer and just attached the top layer to the shirt. I had a facing for the front, and in the back, I used bias tape to finish and cover the seam. I put in the sleeves, and the hem, and tacked down the facing, and tried that puppy on.  Since there was no one around to snap a picture, you have the joys of the ubiquitous bathroom mirror shot. Even so, I think it turned out better.

Now, this top makes me happy!

Just in time to take it on my summer vacation travels. Pay no attention to the goofy, I'm looking at myself in the camera screen and the bathroom mirror at the same time, yeah, I think its enough light, look on my face...

Totes & Baskets

Two posts in one week? Wow, must be summer. Yay!

First, I finished my first tote bag. I have been wanting to make one for a while now, and then I saw this fabric bundle, and it really spoke to me. Even so, the pieces sat around for a bit, waiting for their turn in the project line. I am very pleased with how it came out, and I've already got plans for others in the works. I think being able to do variations on embellishment and features (like pockets) is going to help spark creativity.

happy to finish my tote bag!

Even though it is finished, I will probably go back and add another line of stitching around the top. I find with the baskets that it helps with structural integrity. It also helps hold all the layers in place.

Speaking of baskets, Those were on the agenda yesterday and today. There weren't many scraps from the fat quarters I used to make my tote. Here's what happened to them...

baskets for guys

I was really pleased with how the one on the right came out with the fold-over of the lining fabric. I also added a couple extra lines of stitching around the basket, as it finally occurs to me that what it needs is basically quilting to hold the layers together somewhat. That is the last basket I made, of course. I hope the taller basket is useful. Again, it was an experiment in using the pieces I had left.

When my niece was here last week, I did some sewing for her, and she got to pick out a fat quarter when we went shopping. I put this basket together for her, with the leftovers from the top I made her as the lining.

butterflies and dragonflies!

The handles turned out to be a little long, I think (I actually trimmed several inches off - they WERE even longer!). They remind me a little of rabbit ears... but in a cute way. I hope she will like her basket.

So, between baskets and tote bags, I think I can get Christmas pretty well sewn up... (see what I did there?)