WIP Wednesday 5/15/13

Life if crazy busy for me right now. Yesterday was the only Tuesday in May that I was/will be home and not traveling for either business or pleasure. I’ve had some increased demands on my time, mostly because of work, and I’m sorry to say that other aspects of my life have had to be put on the back burner. I’ve been trying to sew whenever I can find the time, but blogging about what I’ve worked on is another matter.

Anyway, on to a quick recap of current projects.

Last year for Mother’s Day, I made myself a 241 tote. My sister is constantly telling me how much she loves the bag so I thought I’d make her one for her birthday last month.

I used this Jessica Jones print that I got at a steal back in the fall as well as this text print from Mama Said Sew.

On my original bag, I made an adjustable strap, but decided to forego that alteration on my sister’s bag. I used décor bond for the interfacing based on Leigh’s suggestion, and I really like the added structure it gives to the bag. It was a beast to topstitch though and I wish I’d either changed thread or not topstitched at all. Oh well, another learning experience.

I also got this huge quilt for the mister basted and it's ready for quilting. I hope to get it done by Friday.

There are a few other items in the works, which is no surprise, but I'm getting closer to my goal of finishing all my WIPs before starting new projects!

Last-minute flannel skirt

For Christmas, we bought my four-year-old daughter her own sewing machine. Technically, we bought it for our two older kids to share, but our son hasn’t gotten into it very much. The Middle, however, asks on a regular basis if she can sew.

Last night, I asked her if she wanted a new skirt to wear. She jumped up from the couch and ran to my fabric, where she pulled out the last little bit of this Anna Maria Horner Folksy Flannel print. This is my favorite AMH print. I got a 39” remnant earlier in the year and used most of it to make a pillowcase for myself. The leftover piece happened to be the perfect size for a 4T skirt…no cutting even required!

I happened to have a 1 ½” wide elastic in my line of sight, so I made a larger casing for the skirt than I usually would. A quick hem and voila! A finished skirt for my fashionista.

Lucky Square Quilt Top

I was planning to post on my FINISHED Gradated Mod Mosaic quilt. However, I forgot to change a setting on my camera so the photos I took were blurry. I should have looked at them on the computer right after. I sent the quilt off for a quilt show the next day, so I sadly won't be able to re-photograph the quilt until it comes back to me in a couple weeks.

Instead, I'll show you this quilt top I finished piecing today. The pattern is called Lucky Square by Jessica Kelly of Sew Crafty Jess. You can find it for sale here. I offered to test Jessica's pattern for her, and it's shamefully taken me about four months to get to this point. I used a fat quarter bundle of Lizzy House's Castle Peeps fabric that I've been hoarding for two years. I'm taking my machine in for a cleaning tomorrow, so I'll have to pull out my backup and get this guy quilted.

In the three years that I've been quilting, I haven't made a quilt for the mister. This one is for him. He's pretty excited for me to finish it up. It's huge and will be a great couch quilt.

Finally unpicked!

It took forever, but I finally finished unpicking all that quilting! Now to add a bit of fabric to the backing and it'll be ready for round two.

Lost my mojo. Photos brought to you by Instagram.

That's right, ladies and gents, I've lost my sewing mojo. I was on a roll, going strong for the first couple months of 2013, but I've hit a wall. And here's why.

Back in January, I shipped my Gradated Mod Mosaic quilt out for quilting services. I was hesitant, but also excited. I gave clear instructions for the directionality of the top and backing, including pictures for the quilter to refer to. Unfortunately the quilt came back with the backing flipped 90 degrees. {Sad face.} At first I didn't notice that it was on wrong so I squared it up in preparation for attaching the binding. Then, I just happened to turn it over on the side where the label was and saw that it was on sideways. I notified the quilter, let the issue settle for a night, and then requested a refund since I decided to unpick the entire thing so I could fix it. (If I didn't, it would always bug me. Plus, I think the quilt was stretched too much during the quilting because it looks poufy and it shouldn't.) The quilter was quick to return my money, and while I felt like a jerk asking for it, I was happy for the quick response.

I've been slowly chipping away at unpicking the quilting. It's slow-going and has left me feeling a bit deflated about this hobby of mine.



I've tried moving on to other projects, like this Lucky Square quilt for the mister (pattern by Jessica of Sew Crafty Jess). I've finished all 63 blocks and am working on the sashing strips. Hopefully, I'll have a finished top soon.



I also threw together my first pair of PJ pants since high school. These Transformer PJs were for my obsessed 6-year-old's birthday.



The Middle has also been asking for a new Easter dress, just like the one I made her last year. I found that it's fun to sew for your little ones when they're excited for what you make them.

I made the mistake, however, of sewing this dress when she was asleep and not trying the bodice on her before finishing the dress. It was a couple sizes too big.



But, take 2 worked out great. Adding a contrasting zipper to the back was the best way to have the bodice fit around her chest without the neck needing to be big enough for her large head.



I also took the time to do some therapeutic sewing. This "always" pillow was inspired by Amber of One Shabby Chick. While it won't be staying at my house, it was really cathartic for me to make. "Always" is particulary meaningful to me at this point in my life.



Hopefully, I'll finish unpicking the quilting and make some quick progress on the Lucky Squares quilt so I can get back in the swing of things and keep moving forward with knocking out my WIPs. My goal is to finish all my in-progress quilts by July. That'll free up the latter half of the year for new projects and Christmas sewing.