Returning to My Roots

In 1957, at the age of 10, I took my first sewing class at Fryback's Singer Sewing Machine shop on Second St. in my hometown.  It's a parking lot today, but I'm still sewing and this past week driven by frustration with ready-to-wear options, I returned to my first sewing venue -- making garments.

I have a undergraduate degree in clothing construction and retail business and a master's in textiles, but once quilting turned my head in 1972, I've rarely made clothing for myself.

Earlier this fall, I tested the waters by making this version of Indygo Essential's Easy Top and Tunic pattern. I've had lots of compliments (though I think the fabric is responsible for much of that) but I love the fit and enjoy wearing it!

So last week, it was time to try something more detailed and fitted.  I found this pattern via @Indie_sew on Instagram and it caught my eye as it is so similar to my favorite summer blouse which literally feel apart this summer.  The designer is Kennis Wong and her website is www.itch-to-stitch.com

It is a downloadable PDF so I didn't have to wait for it to arrive, but I did need to tape sections together after printing out my size.  The size range is extensive and the instructions on how to print out "my" size taught me a new Adobe Acrobat Reader skill!!  It has four sleeve variations and can be made as a blouse, tunic, or dress. I can get lots of mileage out of this pattern!!

I found this cotton/poly blend window-pane fabric on a recent shopping foray and bought enough to try out the pattern before using the Liberty lawn that I have hoarded.

To begin, I needed to change the thread on this bad boy.  I'd like to take a moment here to thank all the confused customers who bought Bernina sergers from me back in my dealership days.  You forced me to show you how to thread a serger so many times that I have no fear of changing threads!!

Here's a quick tutorial that might help you with this task.  Cut all the threads above the machine so you have at least 9" to 12" loose above the first thread guides. 

Then tie on the new threads with a square knot (right over left and left over right all you Scouting alumni).  That knot doesn't slip apart. 

After making a notation of where the tension dials are currently set, turn all of them down to 1 (no tension to speak of). 

Now hold the thread chain behind the presser foot, and run the machine very slowly. 

Gently pull the thread and soon you will begin to see the new threads appear.  The needle thread doesn't always come through the eye of the needle but even if that happens, it's still through all the correct thread guides.  Occasionally a knot gives way and I have to re-thread manually, but it's rare.

Don't forget to reset the tension dials!! 

I fused all the interfacing in place as needed and I was ready to stitch!!

I made steady progress, even used pins again (rarely do that with my piecing).  

I had a few ripping and restitching encounters while setting in the sleeves -- ah, the memories that brought back of sewing with my Mom -- "I think you should rip that out" meant do it right! 

And there was a major set back when I realized I'd made two right sleeves???

I'm blaming the fabric -- no apparent right or wrong side.

Fortunately, I was able to stay calm and remove one end of one cuff, undo the underarm seam, restitch and get back on track in about 15 minutes. 

Always do a test button hole -- my trusty Bernina 1031 does a beautiful buttonhole every time but one must be sure the length is right BEFORE stitching up a half dozen of them. 

It's getting late, but once the buttonholes are finished, I can stitch the buttons on while watching the first episode of Crown on Netflix!

Years ago, another seamstress taught me to "paint" the backside of my buttonholes with FrayCheck -- good tip for making them more durable.

And here we go!!  A finished blouse!  It took about 4 and a half hours to stitch -- that counts correcting mistakes and final hand stitching details.

Next up is either a batik version or that lovely Liberty print? 

If you haven't discovered all the young Indie clothing designers out there, Instagram is a great resource for finding them and checking out lots of sewists' versions of their patterns.  Try checking out #bonnshirt to see some lovely variations of this pattern.  While writing today's post, I discovered that Kennis has a tutorial about the collar construction for this blouse which I've bookmarked for the next time I make this -- my results were fair but could be improved.

I'm excited about making more of my own clothes.  In addition to creating my own look using all the wonderful cottons we already know about (think batiks!!), I have a stash of fashion fabrics that need a review -- there are likely some gems I've forgotten I own.  I'm also noticing a movement towards nice quality interesting fashion fabrics among manufacturers like Art Gallery Fabrics, Birch Organics (who print the Charley Harper fabrics), Cotton and Steel (check out some of the 900+ Instagram posts from earlier this fall #cottonandsteelcloset), and Spoonflower (probably should make a pot of tea before you start exploring this website!!). 

The blouse was a nice break from the quilting project that is now my focus.  My APQS George and I are trying to get a vintage quilt top finished into a usable quilt for a young friend's new home.  More about that in a week or so (I hope)!

Raining here as I finish -- leaves coming down rapidly -- fall is waning in the northern hemisphere and winter is close at hand.  I'm looking forward to many pleasant days in the studio!!

Mary



Last Hexathon Blocks!!

Stack o'blocks anyone?
Here they are
-- 23 finished Morris Hexathon blocks --
3" on the outside edge, all machine-pieced ala Set-In Piecing Simplified!! 

Thank you once again, Mary O'Keefe for sharing your y-seam piecing idea with me!!

Barbara Brackman released block #26 this past Saturday and I also had #25 left to make. So one evening this week, I retreated to the studio for some stitching time.  I could only find one usable Marti Michell template for each of them -- the 3/4" hexagon from Set N and the 1" hexagon from Set G.

I applied strip piecing to #25, Sussex Cottage and I decided to paper piece the six sections needed for #26, Clouds.  I made a second copy of that pattern, cut out the six segments and began to prepare myself mentally for an evening of paper piecing (ugh!).

My brain froze up as I peered down into this hoard of 19th century reproduction prints and felt uncertain about picking two more scrappy fabric combinations.

Spreading out all the blocks was the key -- it just took one glance to see that I needed more pink or that pink one would become a focal point of the finished quilt.  And perhaps another brown block.

This should balance it out a bit!

I cut the three strips for #25 a wee bit wider than the measurement hoping to offset the shrinkage of stitching and pressing in the finished width of the set.  My strips were 1 1/8" + by 22" long.  After stitching the strips together, I pressed the seams in the same direction.  I planned to use my small 60 degree triangle ruler to cut the segments but H52 aligned almost perfectly with the pattern and was easier to use. Lining up the horizontal dashed line across the center of the template with the edge of the pattern page was the key. 

All six segments were quickly cut -- if you strip piece this segment, be sure to explore the impact that has on the design.  If you want the same fabric in each round rather than the alternating layout I have, you'll need to make a longer strip set and you'll have enough segments for two different blocks.

I compared the edge of the center hexagon (cut with N78) and determined I needed a little trim.

Just a sliver off each one and it was a perfect fit!! 

The seams in each segment are aligned just right for easy matching and the block went together quickly thanks to Set-In Piecing Simplified!

Here's the back so you can see the pressing up close.  Look at those perfect little tumbling blocks around the central hexagon!!

And the finished block!!

As I was digging through my stash of reproduction fabrics, this one caught my eye for the center hexagon on #26.  

My fussy cutting eye is getting better -- practice does pay off!  (A set of auditioning mirrors helps.)

Isn't this fun??

I precut all the pieces to the shapes needed for the paper pieced segments -- about 1/4" larger than the actual cutting measurements.  I used the template just for the correct angle, not the size.

For the parallelograms which are "rights and lefts", I cut two strips 18" long and layered them right sides together so cutting yielded a set for each segment. 

As I laid out all the pieces and sat down at my machine, it occurred to me I might not need to paper-piece!!  Those brown pieces are actually half hexagons that were rejects from a previous block!!

Because the tip of an 60 degree triangle is the same size no matter how large the triangle, could I piece the segments and then trim them down to the right size? 

It was worth experimenting so I pieced and pressed one segment.

I lined up the paper pattern matching the interior lines of it to my seams.

By lining up the 1/4" line of a ruler with the edge of the paper pattern, I was able to trim the unit to the perfect size.

Yes, it worked!!!

So cool!!  I'm feeling awesome and the block was together in no time.  Here's the backside.

And a finished block (though it's not very brown)!?!

Next step is to decide if 23 blocks are enough for something (there are actually 26 blocks in the set, but I wimped out on 3 of them) and start to contemplate a setting plan.  I'd like this set of blocks to move forward as a WIP rather than becoming a UFO!!

This weekend is a busy one here, but I'm hoping to spend all the free moments stitching!!

How about you?

Mary

Is it a "road block" or a "speed bump"?

That's one of the questions I ask myself to determine how to deal with my UFQ's!

"Road block" or "speed bump"?

It's almost that time of the year again when I take stock of my UFQ's and try to decide what to do about them.  I've made great progress over the past 4 years but not the progress I envisioned.

It's time for me to ask the question again -- at what point did I stop working on this project?

And hopefully that will lead me to a list that will give me a clue about "why" I stopped.
Then the trick is to decide if the "why" is a "speed bump" or a "road block"!!

Think about it.  

Speed bumps are annoying, they slow us down when we want to go faster, but they don't stop us.

Road blocks on the other hand are different -- we can't get through them for one reason or the other and if we're lucky someone will tell us where the detour is.

At my peak (?), I owned 72 finished quilt tops ready to be quilted.  It wasn't enough to just know how many there were (yikes), I needed to determine the WHY? behind that stack -- okay, those stacks.

My first excuse was that I don't like to layer quilts by myself. 

I'm capable of doing it certainly -- after all I've taught quilters how to layer their quilts for close to 30 years.

So this is just a speed bump for me -- it slows me down because I have to whine and fuss prior to engaging in the process. 

Good news is that I found a strategy or two that has helped this part of the quilt making process become less odious.  One is to ask for help and the other is to layer two or three at a time because the "hardest" part of the process is starting.

Help isn't always available and so I marked the center of my "layering" table -- who knew such a small thing could be such a big help?

My layering table is an adjustable height folding table with a hard plastic surface.

I set it up in the living room so I can watch TV and layer -- time passes enjoyably and I'm distracted from the "odious" task at hand.   As long as it's up right now, I'm going to cut out a blouse this evening to stitch up next week.

I layered this quilt yesterday afternoon while watching a new episode of Midsommer Murders!!

There's another small quilt that I'll layer before taking the table down for the weekend.

For the most part, I've eliminated this speed bump that kept me from finishing quilts on a regular basis!!

Then there is the "road block" issue.

How to actually quilt a top?

I'm talking about mental paralysis here!

I would just stare at a layered piece for days and try to figure out what to do.

What I have decided is that there were two issues -- first I don't believe I can "visualize" the end result and second, I didn't have enough experience to be confident about my quilting.

Since I teach quilt making professionally, I feel it's important for me to be able to discuss the "how to quilt it" question with students so I'm more inclined to quilt my own pieces rather than to send them to a professional quilter.  So over the past 5 years, I have worked hard to find alternative routes to get the quilting done myself!!

Since small quilts are easier to do myself, I've turned to doing the quilting in "sections" (or quilt-as-you-go) for my large pieces.  The first one I did was terrifying -- layered up the four sections and looked at it for a full six months before I actually started the stitching. 

Now it doesn't intimidate me as you can see in this POST.

Marti Michell's Machine Quilting in Sections is my "bible" for this process.  Between the alternative finishing ideas and the 14 reviews of quilts finished using this approach, I always find the help I need!  (Marti has a Craftsy Class on this topic.) 

BIG STITCH hand quilting has also provided an enjoyable alternative to finishing some of my quilts.  I enjoy hand stitching in the evening while watching TV and "big stitch" is a stress free approach.  There are lots of tutorials and youtube videos about the process -- I just found this one on the Auribuzz blog which has great step-by-step pictures.  I love the look of it for my "funky" stuff!  If you haven't tried it, go with a small project like a pillow cover and see what you think.

Finally, I've quit following the quilting escapades of professional long arm quilters!

They do beautiful work and it's really inspiring but it intimidates me. 

I don't have the patience or interest in spending hours creating detailed quilting designs.

I want to piece, piece, piece!!

So I now look to "modern" quilters for my quilting inspiration.

They tend to have a simpler utilitarian approach and I can do that!!

 The results of these three strategies are beginning to have a positive impact.  My pile of tops is dwindling steadily.  I'm not sure I've removed the "road block" but I've found three good alternate routes. 

I still get off to a hesitant start, but I'm realizing that quilting more quilts is making it easier to find solutions to that big question, "How should I quilt this?"

I'm betting some of you have struggled with this aspect of making a quilt.  I hope you'll share your strategy for "just doing it" with the rest of my readers in the comments section!

Have a stitching good time this weekend!

Mary