July 19, 2014

Hexie update

Remember all the hexies I had prepped? Well here are all the ones I have sewn up so far. Not quite enough to make a quilt but its getting there. I've been working on them here and there when we go on road trips. 



Two Mabels and a Moneta




Have you tried Colette Patterns new knit patterns Mabel and Moneta? They are wonderful to sew and wear.
I was lucky enough to be a tester for the Mabel skirt and this black one is the one I made to test the pattern. So easy and simple! And super comfortable.



I had some issues with the tension of the double needle I used and the first time I wore it the hem popped. By the time I got around to fixing it I had thrown out all the knit scraps I had and I needed to test the tension before sewing the real thing. So I grabbed a t-shirt I never wear and used that, but then I had a great idea, make a skirt out of t-shirts I never wear!

Its got a polka dot lining!
My husband and I used to be in the same union and between the two of us we had about six union t-shirts. He is no longer in that union and doesn't ever wear the shirts, and I really only need one of them. So I cut them up! And made the longer version with the kick pleat in the back. I wore the skirt to a party with a bunch of activist friends and told them that I had made it out of t-shirts and they thought it would be fun to make political t-shirt skirts where you leave the graphic in place. That would be pretty awesome. A project for another day!

Here is the back with the kick pleat.
The Moneta Dress is amazing. I only have one, but I would like a closet full.
I bought the fabric and the pattern at the book launch party Colette hosted at Modern Domestic. The fabric is an organic cotton bamboo blend and it is absolutely dreamy.
The stripes are a little wonky around the waist. I’d like to take it apart and re-do it so they are a little tidier, but for now it works.



I’ll make a few changes the next time I make it up. the neckline is a little wide, my bra straps often show which is annoying when I want to wear this to work. And the waistline is a little low. I think next time I will chop an inch or two off the bodice so it hits me a little higher. Have you seen all the collar variations you can add to Moneta? I really want to make a three quarter sleeve length with the tie collar for fall. Possibly in a forest green. I think it would be really cute for work with boots.




These are both great patterns, and I can’t wait to show you my take their new pattern, the Myrtle.

Rainbow Quilt


So a few years ago the mother of one of my best friends was clearing out her sewing room and got rid of a ton of scraps. She gave them to me since I was quilting a lot at that time and she knew my budget was tight and figured I could use free fabric. Of course! I have used a ton of these scraps to make a few different quilts over the years and much of the fabric for my duffle came from these buckets.


But there was a real gem buried at the bottom of one, a nearly finished rainbow quilt. I have know for a while that it was there and really should get completed but I had other things taking up my time. This week I decided I needed to bring it closer to completion.





When I found it there were five pieces plus some strips for the border. A few of the outer pieces had part of the border attached but not all of the border was there. It looked like her original plan was to have the rainbow quilt and then a solid gray border and then a black and white checked outer border.



For now this is as far as I’m going to get, but I would like to finish the quilt the way my friend’s mom intended. I’ll have to find just the right piece of gray for the border. And any thoughts on what I should use for the back or binding?



I’m thinking this would make a really fun baby quilt so I’ll definitely need the back to be something on the darker side of things so that it can go on the ground and be a play-mat and not show too much dirt. Maybe the same gray that I find for the border?