Blog Hop Winner and Some Finished Stockings

Oh my, I just realized I had this post written and ready to go and never published it...

First off, we have a winner for the Quilter's Blog Hop Party over at the Quilting Gallery! 

There were 154 entries (thank you all so much!!) and the winner was entry #152

Who was:

 

Congrats Prairie Stitcher, I have sent you an e-mail!

I also have finished one set of Christmas presents, a set of burlap Christmas stockings for my friend.  I made a matching set for her and her husband, with hers having a ruffle on top and her husband's having a white cuff with wooden buttons.

One present down, about 10 to go :)

How to Make a Quilting Design wall

I took over the guest room, turning it into my sewing room about 6 months ago and for the last half a year I either used tape to hang blocks on the wall or used my "design" floor.  The design floor was obviously disadvantaged as the daughter or the cat always seemed to rearrange and mess up the blocks.  On the plus side, once I had the layout set, I always sewed the blocks together quickly to avoid the cat and daughter's influence.

After seeing Christa's tutorial here, I decided that it was time to create one of my own. 

I bought a one inch thick polystryrene house insulation board from Lowe's.  It was about $17 and was 4 feet by 8 feet.

The husband cut off the top foot to make the board 4 feet by 7 feet using a very sharp exacto knife.  I got out my roll of batting (queen sized) and started to wrap the board.  (I used about a yard and a half.)

I decided to go with the duck tape versus staples so using duck tape, I wrapped the batting to the back and attached the sides first then did the corners. (I did this while the board was on the floor, I stood it upright to be able to get a better pic of it)



And here is my design wall in action, my daughter loves that fabric sticks so well to it and so the bottom 3 feet have all sorts of scraps all over it as she"designs" her new quilts.

Thanks for visiting!

Washi Dress #1 Finished!

Well I did it!  I finished my first Washi dress, my first garment I have ever made for myself. 

This is officially a muslin because I got this fabric for $2 a yard at JoAnn's.  I figured using it was actually cheaper than muslin and if it worked out maybe I could actually wear it. 

I made the small size and did not alter the bodice or skirt pieces at all.  I was lucky enough that the neckline and bodice fit without any alterations (because I don't think I could make any successful alternations).  I used Rae's free directions on how to add sleeves, though I drafted my own sleeve pattern because the one included was a little too billowy (I added a little ruffle at the end because it looked a little unfinished plain).

Here are some of my thoughts on the pattern:

• I was a little worried about the shape of the dress as I have not worn an empire style dress since I was pregnant and did not want to look pregnant again.  I was happy the way it came out though my husband was not convinced of its shape.  I think that maybe lengthening the bodice a little will help with this.
• I bought the paper version of the pattern and was happy to not have to tape a million pieces of paper together.
• The part I was worried the most about, the shirring, was probably the easiest part of the whole pattern.  The hardest part was just finding it in Joann's (it is by the elastic not by the thread if you are looking for it).  I just wrapped the elastic thread around the bobbin without stretching it and started sewing.  It worked wonderfully.
• I love the pockets, so easy!
• I did not cut out the keyhole in the neckline, I felt like it would be a little low to be comfortable for me.

So Washi #2 plans (yes, I am already planning my next one):

• Use "real" (aka more expensive) fabric, the Chicopee print I got from Denyse Schmidt or else try a wool plaid and make the dress on the bias.
• Use my 3/4 sleeves again
• Lengthen the bodice a little
• Add a few extra lines of shirring

I don't think that I'll have time before Christmas for my next Washi but maybe I'll be able to make it between Xmas and New Years.

Thanks for stopping by!  I also have a giveaway going on here for the Quilter's Blog Hop Party.

I am linking up to Link a Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Take a look Tuesday, and Sew Cute Tuesday.

Quilter's Blog Hop Party!

 

This is my first time joining in on the Quilter's Blog Hop Party over at the Quilting Gallery and I am very excited!  For those who are new here, here is a little about myself (for those that are returning, thank you!).

My name is Cheryl and I am a chemical engineer/patent agent by day, a quilter at night, a mom to a 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter, and wife.  I love designing quilt patterns, writing quilt instructions, and doing quilty math combining my quilting skills with my engineering and technical writing backgrounds.

Here are some pictures of my patterns.  They are listed in etsy and craftsy (craftsy also has a free pattern too):



Now on to the giveaway!! - (Giveaway now closed, thank you for entering)

This giveaway is open to anyone in the world and is for your choice of any three of my patterns (pdf digital copies).  This giveaway starts today (11/21) and will run until Tuesday (11/26)

To enter:

1.  Leave a comment, any comment.  If you need a suggestion on what to write you can tell me which of my patterns is your favorite.

2.  My followers, old and new, get an additional entry.  Please leave a second comment letting me know how you subscribe.

Note:  If you are a no-reply blogger then please include your e-mail address.  If I can not reach you, you can not win.

Thank you so much and I hope that you will decide to follow my blog and join me on my quilting, sewing, and pattern writing adventures.

Cheryl

WIP - Christmas Edition

Each year I try to make a few of my Christmas gifts instead of buying them.  I think that trying to make everything handmade would be too challenging and stressful so by just doing a few handmade items and rotating who gets them each year is a nice compromise. 

I will be updating this list every Wednesday with my progress.  I think that I may have a few too many items on this list, but I am hoping to get most of them complete.  It's still November so I have plenty of time right :)

My list for this year:

1.  Lap size quilt for my Dad:

I won a layer cake of Hometown by Sweetwater by Moda earlier this year (or maybe even late last year) and it has been sitting on my shelves waiting for the right project.  I decided to make a lap quilt for my Dad with it (I took out the few pink/magenta prints from the layer cake).  I was originally going to pick a pattern with some background solid fabric but when I auditioned some background colors, there was not enough contrast with white or cream and the dark gray did not really go.  Therefore, I decided that the best pattern would be one that used all of the layer cake prints with no background fabrics with a bonus of being simple and quick.  I used the YouTube video of the Double Slice Layer Cake pattern by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

I must say, if you want a quick and easy top that this is a great candidate.  I had the 6x6 block configuration finished in no time and there were very few seams to match.  My plan is to add a 6" border on each side to make the quilt a little larger and back it with a Target sheet (to save some $$).

2.  Lap size quilt for my Grandma-in-law

I decided to also make a lap quilt for my Grandma-in-law, Grandma Peg for Xmas.  She is 98 years old and has been a blessing in my husband and my life.  I used some fabrics here that I do not typically use, but I combined them in such a way to hopefully make them stand out and while still matching her decor of her apartment and giving me open space to quilt in.  This is a small lap quilt (about 42 x 55) as she is less than 5 feet tall.

I will be featuring this pattern when it is completed in its own blog post where I will highlight the inspiration to this pattern, how it was developed, and the final pictures.  I hope to draft up the pattern and share it free on craftsy. (The quilt top really has straight sides, an iphone picture from me standing on a chair makes for skewing of the image).

3.  Folded Star Wall Hanging:

I hope to make one of these folded star wall hangings for my sister who loves these folded stars.  I will be using this tutorial from Moda Bake Shop by Not Only Quilts with some green and red fabrics I have picked out.

4.  Christmas Table Runner:

Using some left over jelly roll strips from the Nature's Christmas collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda (left over from my Xmas Granny Square Quilt), I made some Daniela Blocks (using the strip tube ruler) for a simple Christmas runner for my Mom.  The dark blues in this line match her couches perfectly and I like how this collection of prints reads Christmas without being overly red/green typical Christmas.  I still need to add the sashing and border to this one to finish the quilt top.

5.  Rocket Pillow:

The last project I have for Christmas is to make a larger version of the Fabric Engineer's Shuttle paper pieced pattern for a pillow for son.

So there are my goals for Christmas.  Wow, now that it is all written down it seems like a little bit ambitious.  I also hope to have my Vintage Stars pattern and quilt finished and released by the end of the year (or maybe by mid-January).  It should be busy but fun!!

Also, check back tomorrow as I will be joining in on the Blog Hop Party Giveaway.

 

 

Linking up to WIP at Freshly Pieced.