I just realized there was some unfinished business around here, namely that I never told you all about the one handmade Christmas gift this year. I think I mentioned it was a quilt, right? I made this one for my niece, Evelyn. She was born last May, ending the nephews-only run that we had been enjoying for the past 10 years. While I have enjoyed making many, many things for the little fellows, I was secretly (or may be not so secretly) thrilled to have another, littler girl to sew for.

The quilt is made entirely of half square triangles. I used the better part of 2 charm packs for the prints and a solid white from Moda for the, um, white. I chain pieced it using this method described on the Purl Bee and then set about piecing. Jane helped me with pattern placement - she's got a very good eye for color and balance. I completely eye-balled the size - just went with something that looked proportionate and a little bigger than crib size. It's backed in a pink solid and trimmed in a small aqua print. The quilting is straight lines 1/2" on each side of the diagonal seams (Does that make sense? I think it does, but let me know if you don't get it).

My very favorite part? I free-motion quilted my niece's name in the bottom corner. It's super subtle, almost invisible. And pretty dang sweet, if I say so myself.

Ok. Unfinished business now finished. Back to whatever it was you were doing.

I pulled out the sewing machine and made a tablecloth. And although a tablecloth would not appear to be very newsworthy, I'm giddy with myself and the finished product. I've had this idea in my head for a long time - way too long, actually. Like six months too long. It's the first of the household projects that I want to complete in 2012. And, really, I don't know why I didn't tackle this one sooner. I am already so happy that I have it and we used it tonight, me sitting at the table eating my broccoli soup smiling the whole while. And smiling again afterwards when all the little soup spills were wiped up lickety-split. Love that.

The construction was very straightforward. I contemplated writing up a tutorial, but I didn't get enough photos while I was making it. I think it took about 3 hours start to finish, including a little break when I sewed through my finger. (Yes. I know. OUCH. But, really, I'm fine.) Injuries aside, it was a great one-day project. My table is 48" in diameter so I cut a 49" circle out of this laminated cotton. The fabric is 58" wide so it's perfect for a small-ish dining table. The laminated cotton can be sticky and tricky to sew. I used a walking foot when I could and pressed with low heat and a pressing cloth. Sometimes it was just as easy to finger press so I did that, too. The skirt is made from four - 8" widths of the fabric, hemmed on one side and sewn together and pleated every 6 inches (the depth of the pleats are 2"). I made some piping using the scraps and then I sewed the skirt to the circle with the piping in between the two layer using a 1/2" seam allowance. That's it - pretty much a perfect fit. In my mind, the pleats were crisper, but I know that is a function of the laminated cotton and my lack of pressing the pleats. No biggie. I'm thrilled with it just the way it is.

And other happy things? Season 2 of Downton Abbey starts tonight. Love that, too.

The people at Cabbage and Roses, an English fashion and housewares company, asked me if I would want to partner with them to do a giveaway of some fabric from their new quilting line Northcote Range for Moda. The collection is full of vintage florals in a soft palette with some stripes and solids, too. Who doesn't like pretty fabric? Right. I jumped at the chance.

They sent me a yard of this green and cream floral and a fat quarter of a small red print. The colors reminded me of Christmas and with the holidays fast approaching, I thought it might be fun to make a stocking. I've had this idea percolating for awhile now and it was great to see it come together like I had it in my head.

I added the green velvet ribbon from my stash to tie it all together. I'm pretty pleased with the end result and it was a quick, satisying project. I might just have to make a few more!

Now it's your turn...Cabbage and Roses are offering a bundle of fabrics (1 yard of a green floral, 1 yard of a matching green solid & 1 quarter yard of a green stripe) to one of my readers. Tell me what you would do with the fabrics if you win. I'll keep the comments open until Sunday, November 20th at 5:00 p.m. EST. I'll announce the winner next week.

You can learn more about Cabbage and Roses through their website, blog, facebook and twitter.

Enjoy the weekend.

fabrics for camera straps...

hat patterns for stashed yarn...

backing and binding options.

And you? What are contemplating today?

It fits!

I took this photo right about ten minutes after I finished making it, wet hair and all. Then I decided that I didn't really want to blog this photo because surely I could get a better one without the wallpaper/fabric clash. And one where the bust line actually sits on the bust, instead of higher up because my arm is raised, holding the camera. In the meantime, I haven't gotten a better photo and it's wet and cold outside so I don't feel like taking off my sweater to try to get a better one. So, basically, I'm over needing a better photos so here it is.

This Tova is an XL. I broke my own rule about not cutting into the good stuff and just went for it. This Liberty fabric has been in my stash since our June 2010 London trip. I've been saving it for something for me and a shirt is just the thing. I wore the top all day long, got multiple compliments on it and not a single person asked me if I made it - win, win, and triple-win! It's super comfy, albeit a tad bit big on the sides. I will probably take it in a smidge, but I wanted to wear it first before altering it too much.

(I got up and put it on the dress form, you know, for a better photo. If only....)

I will definitely make another Tova for myself. I've got a voile all picked out and waiting. It's such a great pattern - I enjoy sewing it which isn't always the case when making garments. To that end, I'm also hoping to find time to start tracing the pattern for the girls this weekend. Jane wants a top and Kate wants a dress. Does anyone have a good online source for shirting fabrics? Jane would like some kind of plaid....

Happy weekend!

I thought I'd pop back here with a photo of the finished Tova shirt and answer some of the questions about it that came up after yesterday's post.

I made the size L - which according to the size chart is a 10/12 (bust 37"/38"). It fits great in the shoulders, the length is fantastic, and it just skims my hips. I chose to make the L because I knit sweaters and when I buy commercial patterns for tops, I do so based on my bust measurement, which is 38". The finished Tova is *slightly* too tight on me across the bust. It fits my dress form (a size 12, 38" bust), but there isn't much ease under the arms and across the chest. I think it's hard to tell that from this photo, but trust me, the ease is not there. I think if I were a size 10, 37" bust, it would fit pretty well. My guess is that it fits the smaller of the two number sizes better than the larger. Just a guess. So I am going to re-trace the pattern and cut an XL, figuring from my experience, that this is probably going to do the trick in the bust. I'll take in the sides if I need to.

As far as fabric goes, this is a quilting cotton called Meadow (in green) from the Sarah Jane collection from Michael Miller. I was pretty smitten with the ditsy green floral and had to use it even though quilting cotton is probably not the best fabric for this top. Shirting fabric would be ideal and I really think that Liberty Tana Lawn or some gorgeous Anna Maria Horner voile would drape beautifully and be absolutely stunning.  I just wasn't willing to cut into the good stuff for my first try. And actually, I'm not going to for the second try either. I'm going to use quilting cotton again, knowing that if it fits, I'll still wear it. Fingers crossed that it will and then Tova take three will get the good stuff.

The sewing portion of making this was very straight forward. The pattern is well written and there are some good photos which helped me wrap my brain around a couple parts. I did serge my seams, as suggested. If you don't have a serger, I'd suggest using the overlock stitch if your machine has one or zigzagging the edges. French seams would be a good option for everything except for where you sew the sleeve to the body because of the added bulk. But I don't really know - that's just a guess. It came together fairly fast for me, but I have been accused of being a fast seamstress, so take that with a grain of salt.

I also bought the pattern in the smaller size range so I could make the dress version for the girls. They are both making the transition from girls' clothing to the world of juniors and I find it especially difficult to find age appropriate clothing for them both, but especially for Kate who is fourth grade and 5'1".

Any other questions? I'll happily answer them in the comments.

The Princess Leia costume is finished. I tried to take some photos of it, but a white robe on a hanger is well, um, boring. I'll make sure to get one of Jane wearing it. Adding a hood to an angel's gown took a little creative thinking on my part, but I got it done (on the first try!) and the finishing looks good. It fits her well and she is happy - I can't really ask for more than that!

All the costume making following the garment sewing in NYC following a finished quilt got me thinking. Making begets making. It is so much easier for me to create when I am already in that mode. And, hey, even if some of the things I am making (Halloween costumes, ahem), aren't my most creative work, or heck, even very exciting, they do keep me on that making path. I lost sight of this at some point. While having this blog has been a great place to share what I like to do, I often get bogged down by the idea that everything I make needs to be super creative, or outside the box, or even just really, really cute. I'm letting go of this idea. I want to sew, knit, cook, make because it is what I like to do. I want to enjoy making for making's sake.

That said, I made this Tova top yesterday. It's too small. I'm still going to finish it and then make another, one size bigger. This one will go to a friend.

I'm talking Halloween costumes.

It's been years since I've made two costumes. Most years, I end up making one and buying one, or heck, even buying both. It's what I have worked out to keep myself sane at the beginning of the most hectic two months of the year (birthday after birthday after birthday and then the holidays, you know). Because after Dorothy and Glinda, I was d-o-n-e. And this year wasn't going to be any different. I planned on making Kate's costume and we were going to throw together a black cat ensemble for Jane per her request. That is, until she saw Star Wars for the first time.

You know where this is going, don't you?

I sewed Kate's flapper dress yesterday. How she came up with the idea of being a flapper beats me, but her heart has been set on it for a few months. I used a simple a-line dress pattern that I got for 99 cents at Jo-Ann's and added 10 yards (!) of fringe that I bought in NYC earlier this month. We plan on adding a headband, a long strand of pearls, a feather boa and calling it done. I wish I had enough fringe to cover the entire dress, but I think it still looks cute. It fits her and she loves it. Win-win.

This afternoon I'm going to wrangle 4.5 yards of Kona white into something that Princess Leia would be proud of. I'm just not going to tell her that it's really an angel's robe with a make-shift hood sewn on. I'll divert her attention by pointing her to the you tube video on how to make the buns. The key is a pair of socks. Who knew?

P.S. I'm secretly loving that they will actually let me sew them something, even if it's something I know they will only wear once.