Art, Craft and Needlework, July, 2012

[Nancy]

I've gotten progress on a knitting project I was sort of stumped on no more yarn at the store so I had been given enough for a striped project so that's what I'm going with. Yep another shawl.

[Harmony]

Stripes are good, Nancy!

Quilt is in the rack.

[BookSaver]

I've been writing and editing this post since the sewing retreat July 12-14. I was also dealing with car problems throughout, so I was glad the retreat was so much fun in contrast. All skippable, I'm just using this as a journal to help me remember what I did!
*****
(start of post July 15th)
Speaker Tuesday night did not demonstrate everything she told me she was going to, but was still lots of fun.

3-day sewing day camp Thurs-Fri-Sat is over, much too soon. I am key holder for the building so I needed to be there first to last 8AM to 9:30PM each day. I worked this one again same as the spring one, setting up tables & power cords, helping prepare meals, kitchen clean up, general go-fer throughout the event, then clean up at the end. We didn't have to put away tables & chairs this time because the next group in the room needs them all, so that made clean up a lot easier.

I never expect to get much sewing done at these events. This time I actually got more done than usual.

Before retreat/day camp: Sorted through piles of patterns, sketches, and notes to pick out projects. Ran into car trouble which interfered with preparations. Ended up packing at the last minute and throwing a bunch of stuff into tote bags. Did additional sorting the first day of camp, which was very helpful.

Retreat projects:

1) Cut 9 nylon net strips to make dish scrubbies. (These are all I use on my cast iron pans.) Sewed 3 and put the rest of the strips in a baggie to sew at home. Gave the rest of the nylon net to DH to give to his mother today at the family picnic. [He forgot to give it to her. ]
* I had already committed to this sewing day camp before DH's family decided the date of the picnic. I see them often enough that I didn't feel the need to cancel sewing camp. *

2) No-tie scarf from a class. Drafted pattern from chart in a purchased booklet, cut it out of red/white polka dot silk, sewed, finished the scarf. Now I need to learn how to loop it together for the different shapes in the booklet. Need to make another in a color that will coordinate better with my usual blue/purple palate.

3) Studied glove pattern and cut apart pieces. Pattern is for dress gloves, not winter gloves. I have a couple chunks of practice fabric. Need to trace the pattern pieces onto something stronger so they can be used multiple times.

4) Showed clothing design idea binder and vintage patterns to other campers. Shared design ideas. *An on-going and constant procedure all 3 days, sharing ideas and advice when asked.*

5) Figured out how to use circle rotary cutter. Cut circles from old Tshirts to be used in a funky scarf pattern found on the internet. Results: circle rotary cutter doesn't work that great on stretchy Tshirt knit, but was faster than drawing circles & cutting with scissors. Bagged circles and instructions to finish at home since it is hand sewing.

6) Simple jacket pattern: Sewed together pieces cut out at spring retreat. Tried on, analyzed fit, took apart sleeves and re-sewed. 2nd fitting, feels ok but not great, and I don't like the color of the practice fabric so I'll probably only wear it at home. Made notes for cutting 2nd attempt in a color I'm more likely to wear.

7) 2nd simple jacket pattern: Discovered that the pretty batik fabric I packed was not a big enough piece to cut out the jacket. Need to find a coordinating fabric in my stash to be able to follow the instructions for "jacket with bands in contrast color."

8) Studied pattern included in purchased kit for a purse with a flower decoration. It's going to be more complicated than I thought, but looks fun to do and the kit was on clearance sale.

Actually, the purse doesn't look very difficult to build, but the flower decoration has 120 individually-cut petals.

9) Figured out method for quadruple (or 4-sided or 4-faces) placemat. Made one to fit inside a metal Christmas tray so it can be used year-round. Result: it is cute but fiddly to do and thus time consuming. I'm not sure of the usefulness unless you are really short of storage space, such as in a camper. Needs to pressed each time it's flipped to a different side. Will probably not make it again.

*****
Best part = talking with everyone else about their projects and admiring their work. Totally inspirational!

Other people sewed:
Intricately pieced quilt top
Blouse with complicated sleeves for granddaughter
Hand-sewn flower embellishments
Fall table runner, Christmas gift placemats & potholders
Nightgowns and misc.
Large yoga mat bag with bias trim
Pillowcase dresses for Haiti
Small fabric box & patriotic banners
Dog leash flags & covers, jelly roll pieced quilt top
... so you can see we have varied sewing interests in our group.

[BookSaver]

Wow, the site actually let me post all of that epic.

Here is a link to the purse pattern:
http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/av ... y=ourPicks

I'm not sure how to post just the picture.

[Harriet]

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that, BookSaver! I could just imagine you smiling as others took an interest in your ideas on clothing design and pattern collection. I'm glad you weren't constantly worried about the car trouble. Even if you ran into snags on the jackets, you made progress to learn this much. Gee, a shame you had to stop on the second one, though. Batik is lovely with contrasting fabric, so you'll probably love the eventual jacket. Are you lining it? I would be tempted to find an alternate way to make a flower decoration for the purse. Wow, what great projects all of you were doing. Those pillowcase dresses for Haiti ...... aawwwww!

Nancy, yep, when in doubt, use more colors! Stripes will give a nice look.

Harmony, you said a lot when you said, "Quilt is in the rack". I know it will be a lot of work, but part of me envies you the pleasant activity there at the window. (Are you still near the window?)

[BookSaver]

Thanks, Harriet! Both of the jackets are unlined.

The 1st one is for a stretchy knit, 3/4 sleeves so it's meant as a loose fitting layering piece like a light sweater for cool nights.

The 2nd one is a travel jacket with "hidden" pockets. It is for woven fabric, and will fit more close to the body. I'm a little concerned about the sleeves, because I usually have trouble with upper arms being too tight, especially with a fabric that doesn't stretch. It's probably a good thing that I couldn't cut the pretty batik yet, I really need to make a practice one out of less expensive fabric.

Here is a link -- Flounce About Jacket by Saf-T-Pockets Patterns

http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores ... em_ID=1197

Isn't that cute? I took a class from the pattern company owner a few years ago at a sewing convention. She had a sample of this jacket in her vendor booth. It was made in a smaller size, but I held it up to myself and could see how flattering the shape is.

Luckily the purse will look fine without the flower decoration (they are actually separate patterns). I really like the look of the flower, though, and I don't mind doing handwork. Once the 120 petals are cut, it will make a good project for watching tv or riding in the car. I have a hard time sitting still without a project in my hands.

Pillowcase dresses for Haiti & Africa -- the free instructions and a 5 minute video showing how to make them are on that Nancy's Notions site with the purse pattern.

Oops, correction for "other people's projects" -- someone just sent me photos and they weren't placemats for Christmas gifts, they were casserole carriers. A square with a long strap that loops through to carry a dish. I didn't see her pattern or watch her making them so not quite sure how they're done, but after they were cut out she made 3 of them in about an hour.

[Harmony]

Wow, that's a lot of sewing projects, Booksaver. I'm a little envious! I love the flower on the purse. It definitely makes the purse.

Where I sit at my rack, the sliding glass door is behind me, another window is at my left side a little further away. That whole room has a lot of light. I have an overhead fan light that I use in the evening, though the natural light is definitely easier to sew by. I also prop up a table lamp on the back of the love seat I'm directly in back of and it shines right on the quilt.

I gotta say, though, I'm loving this batting I used this time. I've always gone for all cotton or mostly cotton batting to achieve that "antique" look. I love that look. This time I went for the lightest material I could find and it ended up being 100% polyester. I immediately saw the difference when handling it. It's all light and airy...but puffs up nicely under and around the stitches. It's way easier to quilt through too; I don't have to push the needle so hard to get through...and I'm having a much easier time with my "receiving" fingertip. Since I'm not pushing the needle so hard, the needle hardly hurts my fingertip at all. I hope the washability of the quilt will be ok with this batting...and if it is, I think I may never change back to the cotton again.

[Nancy]

That project is done, I finished it up last night. Dgds agreed the orange was too bright so it's more of a baby blanket size but soft and looks great! Got the crochet edging done also.

[Nancy]

I've started a new puppet making project first round done so a few more to do I"m 1/4 of the way done with this batch for the S.S. kids at church.

Ripped out failed projects as well.

[Nancy]

I have eight puppets in the bag for this project.
Took a break and cut out & sewed up a costume for spinning demo. I used an old off-white sheet it will fit me over clothing; or if I need it for something at church they are going over various Bible characters, I found a belt that might work with it too. Or will be on the look out for a striped one that would be great!

That got me to wondering where the costumes are that they have used in the past if they are still there in the church or not. Christmas in July has me thinking about things like this. It's a good time so if needed costumes for the holidays it won't be a scramble.