Gotta get my coat done!

Last week I went to Mary Joe's Cloth shop in Gastonia NC with 3 friends.  It took about 4 hours to get there, but we had such a good time together it didn't seem like it was that long.  I bought a couple of fabrics for a coat I'm working on.  Then we went to the thread shop and of course bought a few threads I just had to have!

The coat I'm working on will be my winter coat, as I've been wearing a "ski" type jacket for the past oh hmmm maybe 15 years!!!  How can it be that long?  Well I think it is.  I guess I deserve a new coat.  This coat is an artsy kind of coat.

This shows that I cut out little pieces from my fabrics to see if I liked the placement of them.



Since the patterns NEVER fit me there is a fair amount of revising the pattern so that it will come close to fitting me.  I first fit the "lining" as it was one piece in the back and one piece for each front.   then I needed to find all the corresponding pieces of the outside and make the changes to them.  This became a LONG process.  It took me two days just to get the pattern pieces the right size and so they would fit together.   Previously I had pulled out a number of fabric from my stash that went together.  However I was missing a couple and those are the ones I bought at Mary Joe's.   OK so now it is time to cut out the fabric.  I laid all the  pattern pieces for the back on the floor, and laid all the fabric out on the floor.  One by one I picked up the pattern piece and laid it on the correct fabric.  I did the same for each of the fronts.  Then took each fabric and cut it out.  I had to decide how I wanted my stripes to go as well as the nap on the corduroy.  So I didn't always follow the grain line on the pattern.  All this took me a couple of days as well.

cut fabric laid out, didn't like this

This is sewn with newly cut fabric pieces

this is the front, trying out the bias fabric

I didn't like the fabric placement of all of the back pieces, so had to re cut some of the pieces.  Then I found one piece wasn't long enough so had to re cut that one as well.  The back is together, each front piece is together.  I tried out different bias binding on the various appliques and have settled on the same fabric as the applique.  That's where it sits now.  The jacket is supposed to be reversible, but I'm just putting in a lining.  I need to cut and sew that after putting on the bias strips and the sleeves.  I'm hoping I will continue to like it after putting this much time into it.

Round Robin Quilt:
I have two sides of the borders quilted.  I'm getting close to the finish line!

Sew that's it for now!  Bette

How Time Flies!

I can't believe my last post was the first week of October and NOW it is the last week of October!  I've got to do better at getting the updates on here sooner.

I've been really busy this month. I 've taken a day trip to Crozet, VA to attend their Fall Art and Craft Festival with some friends.  It was a beautiful fall day.  The art was fabulous.  The company superb!  On the way home we stopped at a "Gourmet" Grocery Store.  They had tons of pumpkins and winter squash outside.  Perfect for picture taking ops.

Again another day trip with friends to Ferrum, VA, the Blue Ridge Folk Life Festival.  Again the day was perfect.  Tons of people there.  We watched mule jumping and coon dog swimming races.  Had a yummy BBQ sandwich and soaked up the sun.

Blue Ridge Folk Life Festival Mule Jumping

Just a portion of people watching Mule Jumping

Corn shucking machine

Coon dog water races

I have continued to work on the round robin quilt.  I've got a little bit left in the 6th block to quilt, then it's on to the borders.


I assembled the last block on the MaKenna Ryan "Beach Walk" quilt.  Now I need to stitch the pieces down, sew the blocks together, then quilt and  bind it.   I plan to have it done by the time our Quilt Guild has our quilt show next year.  That's my plan anyway.

I also finished my second quilt for our guild yearly challenge.  All to be shown at the December QG luncheon.

Birthday Week!

     I have been busy since the last post.  Also the Internet slowness is driving me crazy as I've been trying to post since Monday.  I've been continuing to SLOWLY hand quilt the Round Robin quilt.  I've got three of the six blocks done and have started the 4th one.  For pictures see my post labeled More Tee click here .  I've also finished my tee that I've been working on.

What is REALLY exciting...... are you ready?   On Monday The Explorers Group in Lynchburg (I'm one of them) got together and tried our had at marbling fabric.  Some did the traditional style you see when you think of marbled paper or fabric.  However one of the recent Quilting Arts Magazine had an article on marbling non traditional designs.   We played with different coloring materials.  We found that diluted Setacolor did OK,   Tsukineko inks were fabulous, India Ink gave a fabulous pop to the colors,  the expensive inks sank to the bottom.  We tried sprayed fabric dyes that the craft shops sell, which worded really well.  Anyway, because we were so messy we did this outside and it's a good thing.  The pictures below show some of the fun.

L-R: Linda & Debra

Combing the colors for traditional marbling.

Patty adding inks for the non traditional marbling

Patty's results

Jackie dipping her fabric

Melissa trying alot of black.

Just about ready to dip the fabric

Melissa's results

Today was another hike with the Ridge Runners.  We hiked up a trail to the Devils Marbleyard, which actually is a hillside of huge rocks.  We climbed on them and had our lunch before descending on the trail back to the cars.  It was a beautiful clear sunny day, starting off cool but warming up as we climbed higher.

I can't fight the slow Internet any more... I'm going to post this with hopes that tomorrow will be better.

Have Sew Much Fun!   Bette

Otter Creek trail

I went hiking on Wednesday with the Ridge Runners on the Otter Creek Trail, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Lots of stream crossings.  Amazingly there were lots of fall flowers and mushrooms. 

 I've also been working on quilting the second block on my round robin quilt.  I've finished the water under the boat and now I am working on the sky. 

Later,

Bette

A little of this & that

This past week, I had another block of the month for the McKenna Ryan "Beach Walk" quilt.  It was the jelly fish.  Only one more block to go.  Last month was the beach house and Hollyhocks. 

The pattern calls for using Angelina for some of the jellyfish tentacles.  I tried one that way but they seemed to disappear into the background.  So the sparkle silver and pearlized lavender and cream worked out much better.  However, I did use some of the Angelina as highlights on the jellies.  The pattern called for only 4 jellies and I felt it needed one more.  I wanted that one to be fairly transparent, so I used fabric for the body and Angelina for all of the tentacles.

In addition to that I worked on quilting my round robin quilt.  I've got one block done and am starting on a second block.

I also stared to play with my challenge quilt.  But I can't show that in case any of the guild members look at this blog.  It will have it's showing in December.  Then you'll get a chance to see it.

All for now!
Bette

More Tee

Yesterday I worked on my Tee again.  I put in the side inserts, the sleeves and the neck binding.

I shortened the tee but still need to hem it.  It still needs some more work on the pattern, but the sewing part is almost done.

Last weekend, I started to work on my Round Robin quilt that the River Queen Bee's did.  As I looked at it I decided the lower right hand corner needed something more.

Since this is a quilt  depicting summer at Smith Mountain Lake I felt a striper fish would work well.  I went to Google illustration and put in fish.  When I had the profile I liked, I then put in striper.  Below is the drawing I used to make my fish out of fabric.  The pieces are fused together, and then fused to the quilt.

 Then I started to machine quilt it.  I guess it just wasn't my day to quilt.  The thread kept breaking.  I changed the needle and the thread several times.  No luck.  So I finally decided to hand quilt it.  The only thing I didn't try was adjusting the tension.  I'll try that next time.  but now I'm committed to hand quilting it.  It is not one of my favorite things to do, and you can see below I have a non traditional quilting "hoop".  the only good part about it, is that I can do it at night while the TV is on.

That's it for now.

Bette

Not Sewing

Hi,
Yesterday and today I've been working on some icing flames that will adorn cupcakes at a friend of mine son's rehearsal dinner.  Whew that was a mouthful... did you get that?

Anyway,  we were supposed to do this together, but she had to go to NJ this weekend to a funeral. 

Her son's wedding is a week from today... yes back in NJ.  she can't stay over as she has apts scheduled for Monday and Tuesday to get ready for the wedding.

So here's a peek at the decorations.  Oh you ask why flames?  Her son is a fire fighter.