I finished stitching my Daisychain Sampler this past weekend. I enjoyed every last stitch! This project was a great reminder of how much I love handwork. I am on the search for my next take and go embroidery or crewel work. I also might just design my own!

The sampler will be framed and hung in Jane's room which is undergoing a bit of a makeover. Two summers ago, I painted it and made her new curtains and then moved onto other things. I'm back to finishing her room - we've added a bookcase, sent fabric out for an upholstered headboard and bought new bedding. There is a bedskirt to make and furniture to paint. Still, I couldn't resist starting a quilt for her. I hope to finish cutting it tonight and start sewing tomorrow.

I promise to show and tell when it's all finished. I'm also sprucing up some other corners in the house. More on those later.

Fatty and I are back from a little vay-cay. It was so nice to step away for a week, spend time with my husband and my parents, eat great food, see great sights, and sleep in. I needed that.  Right before I left, I made this skirt. And when I say right before, I mean the day prior to leaving when I should have been packing my suitcase and cleaning my house. So not the time to start a sewing project, but, hey, that's how I roll. Besides, the packing and the cleaning got done in time so it was a win-win, you know?

Anyhow, back to the skirt. It's Anna Maria Horner's Flirting the Issue Skirt and I highly recommend making yourself one or three, if you are in need of skirts. And maybe you should still make one even if you don't need skirts because it's that fantastic. The construction is simple and you can probably whip one of these out in an afternoon. The most time consuming portion was threading the elastic through the channels for the waistband. After first fit, it was too big (which I am pretty sure was a measuring issue) so I just shortened the elastic. It was a super simple fix because I hadn't sewn the channel openings closed. So if I have one suggestion, it'd be to try it on for fit before you hand sew those four little openings shut. And actually, I have a second suggestion. Have someone else take your measurements so as not to have a fit problem in the first place. I should have done that.

As a few people noticed on my last clothing post, I have a dress form. Sweet, huh? Fatty and the girls gifted it to me for my birthday. Although I haven't really had time to really use it properly, it sure makes photographing finished garments super easy. Silly, but true.

Now back to the blog hiatus - see you here again sometime soon.

Before school ended a few weeks ago, I made these tote bags for Kate's teachers. I love bags like these. They are perfect for just about any use - books, groceries, pool, projects. I made them out of canvas from my stash and left them unlined so they really came together quickly. I took photos as I made them so I am happy to share the pattern with a tutorial. Yippee! The Teacher Tote Tutorial can be found on the Tutorials & Patterns page or go ahead and click this link to download it now.  If you make one or more, please post a photo of it on the House on Hill Road flickr page so I can admire your good work.

A few notes: If you wanted to make this out of quilter's cotton, you should probably line it. It won't be sturdy enough if you don't. I didn't go into details of how to do this, but it's basically the same as constructing the exterior of the bag.  Cut your lining pieces 2 inches shorter in length than the exterior pieces (so 17" wide by 18" long), sew the lining like the exterior and then place it in the bag BEFORE you hem the top edge. Line up the side seams and fold the exterior of the bag over the lining. When you topstitch the top hem, it'll catch the lining and keep it in place. Easy peasy.

Additionally, you'll see on the tutorial that you can make and sell as many of these as you like. It's a basic tote, not original to me by any stretch. Just please, PLEASE, don't use my photos or content without asking me first. I don't think that is too much to ask, do you?

I'm going to take a little blog hiatus. Back here in a couple of weeks, if not sooner.

I stumbled across the Sorbetto Top over on Grosgrain and wanted it to make it right away. It's a freebie by Colette Patterns so I figured it was worth a try. I pulled this blue and green print out of the stash. I've had this piece of fabric for a number of years, but hadn't done anything with it. It was something like $2.00 a yard making it perfect for a muslin.  And as much as I would rather skip this step, I know I have to make the muslin. So I did.

The pattern is a pdf download (25 pages - you have been forewarned!) that you cut out and tape together.  Trust me on this: trace your pattern from the taped together one. This will allow you to trace another size if you need to without having to tape those pages together again. I'm so glad I did this because, as suspected, I will be making changes for fit. I went with the size 10 which seems to be the right size for me overall. The darts are too high and I need to add about 4" to the length, but otherwise it fits.  I think it would be more flattering on me if the neck line were a bit lower and more scooped. That should be easy enough to change, too.

The top came together super easily and really fast. The directions are very well written and I love the way the bias tape is applied and joined. I'll be using that trick again! I did use pre-made bias tape because I had it right there, but I think I will make my own bias tape on the next one. The pre-made I had on hand is too wide at 1/2" folded. 1/4" folded would be much better.

If I play my cards right, I might get another muslin finished this weekend. Gotta love a three day holiday! Hope you are enjoying yours.

Chambray and madras and patchwork? Yes, please.

I made this summer skirt for Jane. I got her approval on the fabric before I started cutting. It's a super simple skirt. And super preppy, which I love. I wanted something for her that wasn't heavily gathered or twirly because, at age 11, she prefers clothing that isn't too fussy. I drafted it this morning, cut and sewed it this afternoon. The skirt came together very quickly and it's so easy that I'll probably make a few more. It's a smidge a-line with a faux-drawstring in the front middle.  The waist is actually an elastic casing with the ribbon sewn to the elastic so it'll never fall out. Gotta love that.

I took some time to line up the seams and didn't have enough fabric to get the exact length I was hoping for. That bit about allowing extra to match plaids? Yep. I forgot about that. Anyhow, the length will be fine for this summer, but on the next go round, I'll definitely make it an inch or two longer.

The next two days are going to be busy, but I'm determined to keep up with my one hour of sewing a day. I'm also checking things of the to-do list. How's it going for you all?

Nightgowns!

I never got around to the Kids Clothing Week Challenge yesterday. I spent a lot more time dealing with the family room bookcases and didn't even finish those. I went to bed exhausted, but with a plan. I'd make up for day 1 by doubling my sewing effort on day 2. Check and check.

The nightgowns are exactly like the ones I made earlier this spring with the exception of the ruffled hem. I decided to skip that on this round. Please ignore the rumply look happening in the photo above. I was too lazy to find a place to hang them where there is decent light and, more obviously, couldn't be bothered with laying them out properly.  Anyhow, this time Kate is getting the dot and Jane is getting the floral. I started cutting at about 10:30 this morning and finished both of them by 12:20. Quick and relatively painless - I did have to recut my binding strips for the green one and mess around with the serger a little. Without those setbacks, I could have finished these in about 1.25 hours.

I still have to finish the bookcases and then check another item off of my other list - clean out the car, maybe?  I would love to squeeze in some more sewing later today as I have a good idea for a skirt for Jane. I'd better get chopping.

If you haven't heard the buzz yet, Denyse Schmidt designed a line of fabric that is available exclusively at JoAnn's. I went by my local store on Tuesday, but they didn't have it. The nice woman at the cutting table told me that their trucks come in on Thursday so the new merchandise is out on Friday. Good to know. I went back today and they were there. I was happy to see that they are beautiful quality and gorgeous colors. I haven't bought any fabric this year other than a couple of solids and the backing for the Liberty quilt so I splurged and picked up some of each. I have no plans for it at the moment, but Natural Patchwork arrived this week and man, oh man, there are some inspiring numbers in that book.  I also have my eye on a few projects in Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  Another awesome book.

I've finished sewing all 54 blocks, each made of 15 squares.

I've laid the blocks out on the floor, moving furniture to make enough room. I didn't fuss too much about what went where - just changed the place of a couple and left it at that.

I ordered 7 yards of fabric for the back.

Now to sew it all together and come up with a quilting plan. This one may have to be out-sourced to a long-arm quilter. It is one huge quilt!