Wild Flower Top

This is my first make from the Just Add Jeans Bundle I purchased awhile back.

It is the Wild Flower Top by Blank Slate Patterns.  The fabric is from a binge purchase that I made from GirlCharlee.com this spring.

In all honesty, this top was the one in the bundle that I was least excited about.  So why I chose to make it first, I have no idea...but I'm glad I did.  I love the way it fits!!

I chose to do the short sleeves which I think makes all the difference.

The gathering at the bust is actually very flattering but does require that a shirt be worn under it to prevent an indecent amount of exposure. 

I can definitely see myself making more of these!!

Let's Link Up

It's that time of the month again ladies!  Don't forget that this month you can link up both the Lucky Mint Denver Bag AND the Chandelier Swing Bag...

(Photos used with permission of Martingale Publishing.  Photograph by Brent Kane.)

Once again, we had a crazy month around our house and I wasn't able to get any bags made myself :( so I will be living vicariously through your makes.  Link up below to show me what you've been working on.

Shopping in Style

I recently had an old schoolmate ask me for a shopping cart cover for her adorable new little boy.

She picked out the supplies, dropped them off with me, and this is what I came up with.

I added a pacifier leash because we all know how easily they fall onto the dirty floors.

 I added some little ribbon "taggies" to help amuse him.

 A pocket for his sippy cup/bottle.

And slits for the belt to keep him properly secured in the cart.

Hopefully it will keep him happy and cozy during many shopping trips to come :)

Puppy Love!

My poor puppies haven't been getting nearly as much attention since the kiddos came into the picture (don't worry they are still well cared for and loved).  They have handled it pretty well though :)

I picked up this charm pack quite a while back.  I'm thinking that maybe I even won it from Quilt Taffy...?  It's the Max & Whiskers line from Basic Grey.  And it is absolutely adorable.  As soon as I got it I knew I wanted to make something for my pups but it got put aside in the chaos and was forgotten. 

I came across it again when sorting fabrics for a destash and decided it was time to put it to use.  I simply sewed the charms together to make a top and used some fleece from JoAnn's for the side panels and bottom.  It is stuffed with the huge pile of leftover batting scraps that were taking over my sewing space and is super comfy (or so Squeak tells me).  I couldn't get them to sit on it long enough to get a good photo (my dogs are SUPER energetic!) so this one will have to work.

I'll leave you with this collage of cuteness :)

Amy Butler Anna Tunic

My clothing kick continues today with the Amy Butler Anna Tunic.  When I first started sewing I was in awe of Amy Butler, her fabrics, and her patterns.  I scooped up everything I came across.

I have now broadened my horizens a bit but when doing some housekeeping in my sewing studio (sounds fancy, huh!?) the other day I came across this long forgotten pattern.  I also had a good chunk of yardage of one print from Pat Bravo's Carnaby line.  

Side Note:  Pat Bravo is to me as Tula Pink is to lots of others.  In other words, I love every fabric line she puts out even if they aren't in a color palette I normally go for.

Anyway, back to the Anna Tunic...

The fit is just okay and may need to be adjusted.  

I'm not crazy about the way I styled it but that can be fixed :).  I'm thinking with a pair of navy leggings and a cardigan of some sort it could be pretty cute.  (Cardigans are so wonderful when it comes to covering up slight flaws with the fit!) 

I managed to put the top together fairly easily.  There was a bit of time spent with the seam ripper when it came to putting on the yoke but nothing too bad :).  Overall a fun pattern and a bit more advanced than the usual patterns I've tried.  I wouldn't rule out the possibility of another version of this in a voile sometime in the near future...

Custom Order Complete

This quilt was made at the request for a former customer.  I had her two other quilts using Amy Butler fabric in past.  I never managed to put up a post about them but I did manage to find a couple of photos...

 

She wanted me to use up the scraps left over from the quilt in the top photo.  This was really the only layout option based on what I had left.  I think it turned out pretty cute :).

She wanted a lightweight quilt that would fit in her daughter's backpack so we decided to skip the batting and use a soft flannel for the backing.

I originally planned on doing simple, wide-spread, straight line quilting but couldn't resist trying something a little different in the end.   The finished quilt measures approximately 44" x 42".

The binding was machine stitched on for the sake of durability.  Daycare can be rough!!

All in all it was quick and easy.  Hope the customer is happy!!

Plantain Tee #2

After my first Plantain Tee I knew I wanted to give it another try.  So a couple of months ago I grabbed another fun print from my stack that I bought from girlcharlee.com, reprinted my pattern, taped it together, and cut a larger size (not really sure which one though).

The verdict:  It's definitely not too tight.  In fact, it's quite loose and looks a little sloppy.  BUT you know I'm still going to wear it ;).

The Perfect Plantain

It took three tries but I finally found the perfect size Plantain for me!  

I have printed and cut the pattern twice and I honestly can't remember what sizes I used.  My first version was a little too tight in the upper arms and bust area.  Not horrible.  Still wearable (and I have many times) but not as comfortable as I would have liked. 

For my second attempt I reprinted the pattern and cut a larger size, again no I idea which one.  It turned out a little too big and looked sloppy.  This of course does not stop me from wearing it...  No photo of this one since I apparently haven't done a post about it yet (whoops!!)

 (I can't take a decent photo so I might as well ham it up, right :) ?)

For my third attempt I pulled out a piece of solid black knit that I bought years ago with a maxi skirt in mind.  I had pulled out my treasured Echino Deer to use in a different project (again, unblogged) and had a small piece left over that had a single deer on it.  I couldn't let it go to waste so I used a pattern piece from the Belcarra Blouse by Sewaholic (another finished project I've yet to show off) to fussy cut the perfect little pocket.

I didn't want to bother with taping the pattern together again so I decided to use the one I already had and just use a slightly larger seam allowance.  It worked perfectly!!  I now want one of these in every color.  

At first I thought the pocket might be to bright and in-your-face but the more I wear it, the more I love it!!

(I apologize for the boob shot but I love this little pocket!!)

This pattern really is great and only uses 1 yard of fabric!!  I highly recommend it for seamstresses of all levels!

As you can tell I have many, many projects that are finished and simply need to be photographed so be on the lookout for them in the coming weeks...

Calling All Pattern Testers

I already have a few girls testing some patterns for me but I have several more ready to go and would love your help and input with them.  I'm looking for 1 or 2 people to test each pattern.

If you would be interested please leave your e-mail address and which pattern(s) you would like to test. 

TGIFF

I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging and of linking up to all of the fun parties that are out there.  With that being said it is TGIFF and I just happen to have something to show off :)

I was given a fat eighth bundle of fabrics for the Michael Miller project through our local MQG several months ago.  In my typical fashion I put it aside because I couldn't figure out the perfect project for the fabrics I had.  I'm sure your not surprised when I say I missed the deadline (but only by 2 days!).  

I'm on a strict fabric budget right now so I had to work from my stash to make this project happen.  The background is Moda's grunge, which would have disqualified me from any prizes anyway, and the inspiration behind it was a great pillow cover I saw on @crabapplequilts feed on Instagram.  I was trolling on there for new people to follow and came across her page.  Wonderful stuff!!!  As soon as I saw her pillow cover I knew that's what I wanted to use my fabrics for. 

 

I sat down, did a little quilt math, and got started cutting.  I had forgotten how much I hate trimming HSTs :(.  

 Even after I pieced together the top I was still struggling with how to quilt it.  I had seen the spiral quilting (is that the correct term?) and wanted to try it so I started quilting before I could change my mind.  At first I thought I had made a big mistake.  It just wasn't looking right.  But my loathing of the seam ripper kept me going.  And in the end I love the way the quilting looks!  The binding is an orange I found in my stash.  Possibly left over from a solids swap we did at the Guild?  No idea what brand it is though.

And I used my left over pieces to put together a back.  I didn't have any long zippers so I went with an envelope closure.  I'm pretty pleased with how this side looks too :)

Thanks to Michael Miller/Moda for the fabrics.  I always enjoy the challenges.

Linking up to TGIFF.

New Patterns Available

It's been a long time coming but I've finally gotten a few patterns ready and up for grabs in my Craftsy shop.  I had a little help from some wonderful testers :)

Kirsty at Moody Cat Crafts whipped up this version of my little seahorse.  From the looks of it she has quite a few paper piecing projects going at the moment so be sure and check them out!

CeLynn from CeLynn's Sunflower Patch (who is a regular with the monthly Big City Bags SAL) tested out the Treasure Chest.  Love the use of batiks in this one!

Jan, you can look at her Facebook page here, put together the Unicorn pattern for me.  The sketch makes a perfect body for a horse!

And last but not least is Heather's version of the Fairytale Castle.  Not only did she finish the block but she turned it into a pillow for her daughter!  I also have to give her credit for the unicorn pattern since it was her joking comment that got me to working on it.  Her blog The Beating Hearth seems to have a bit of everything on it...sewing, gardening, vacationing...so be sure to take a look.

I will be putting out a call for more pattern testers tomorrow so be sure to check back and see if you'd like to try any of them out for me :)

Quilt Math Question

Is there any easy way to calculate the yardage needed to make a quilt?  I'm really struggling with it...

I was asked by one of Hubby's co-workers to design a quilt based on a photo she found online.  The problem with the photo was that

1. It did not have a link back to the original post or to a pattern (or any information at all for that matter)
2. The quilt pictured was rectangular and she was needing a full size quilt

I managed to put together a pattern using QuiltAssistant but am stuck on how to figure out how much fabric to tell her to get.  The program has a yardage calculator but I believe it calculates it assuming that I will be piecing all of these tiny squares together instead of them being one large chunk.  Removing the grids is possible but has to be done manually, one tiny square at a time, and I don't have the time or patience for it.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!!!

Big City Bags SAL-The August Edition

It is once again time to go over the "rules" for this month's Big City Bags Sew Along.

I declared that August is a special month in the Sew Along.  By that I mean that you can link up both the Lucky Mint Denver Bag AND the Chandelier Swing Bag.  And I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it but you CAN link up more than one version of a bag as long as they are both made during the correct month for the sew along (I'll add that to the rules below).

 

(Photos used with permission of Martingale Publishing.  Photograph by Brent Kane.)

Just in case there are any new participants this month I will leave you with a reminder of the rules:

• We will be sewing the books in the order they are in the book.  Only the bag for that specific month will be eligible for the link up.
• The bag must be complete to qualify for prizes.
• On the first of every month I will announce a new project and prize. 
• You will have from August 25, 2014 until midnight on August 31, 2014 CST to link up your project for a chance to win that month's prize.
• You can link up more than one bag a month as long as they were both made during the corresponding month
• Join the Flickr group to see all the projects that have been made. 

This month's prize is courtesy of Blossom Heart Quilts.  Alyce runs a monthly Japanese FQ Club and she has offered up one of her monthly bundles to the winner.  And wouldn't you know August's color is pink (my favorite!!).  In addition to some super cute fabrics, she also has a couple of great quilt patterns for sale!

 

 Our Generous sponsors:

Fat Quarter Shop

Pink Chalk Fabrics

Pattern Crush

ByAnnie's Soft & Stable

LimaSews

A Material Girl Quilts

Cluck Cluck Sew

Happy Quilting

Blossom Heart Quilts

Sew Me A Song

Coats & Clark

Martingale  

 

And a special offer from zipit:  15% off of all orders for those sewing along

Use code sewingwithsqueak at checkout to apply the discount

Who knows, maybe this month I'll have a bit of spare time and be able to whip up a bag to show off!!

Three Lucky Ladies

This month's prize package worked out just perfectly!  There was no need for a Random Number Generator because Happy Quilting offered up three patterns to THREE different ladies and that's exactly how many linked up this month.

So congratulations to CeLynn, Betsy, & Judy!  I've put up a photo of each of their finishes but click on their names to read all about their experience with this patter.  I will be sending your e-mail addresses to Melissa and then you can claim your prizes :).

 

CeLynn made a gorgeous Lucky Denver Mint Bag.

 

Betsy made this great version

 

 and last but not least is Judy's amazing purse!

Thank you ladies for sewing along and I can't wait to see your entries for next month!!