Sunday, January 30, 2011

Dr Seuss quilt in progress

Back in October, I decided to pop into our local quilting store, as I hadn't gone in there for a few years.  That very week, they had just got in a new shipment of Cat in the Hat/Dr Seuss fabrics!  It was love at first sight!  I didn't have time to buy any that day, as I was on my way to an appointment, but I snapped a quick picture and stewed over it for a week so I could decide what I wanted to make and how much fabric to get.
The next week, I went in and bought enough to make a lap quilt using a very basic patchwork pattern called Yellow Brick Road.  My mom made a small quilt from this pattern, and I loved how big the squares were and thought it would be perfect to show off the bright colours of the Dr Seuss fabrics. 
Yellow Brick Road
I've been excited about working on this quilt for months, and in January, I finally dug in.  In approximately 4 hours, I cut and sewed 40 blocks.  I love quilting!  It's so fast, and talk about fun!  Woo hoo!
These are the fabrics that are in the blocks.
This will be the border.  
This will be the back.  The idea is to make it reversible.
When I bought my fabric, the sales lady asked me, "Do you have kids?" I said, "Not yet, but this is my kinda fabric anyways!"  I love bright primary colours, and have always loved Dr Seuss books.  I'm going to enjoy this quilt so much, and when the time comes that I have a little one, it will be the perfect size for a toddler bed.  


I can't wait to lay all my squares out on my bed and get them all put together!

Mom's Vest - Vogue 2450

I managed to finish all the PJ pants before Christmas, but I didn't get my Mom's vest done until January 21.  Oh well.  Better late than never!
I made this vest for myself a few years ago.  The pattern is Vogue 2450, and I made view C, which is on the far right side.  It's a little tight, as it's a 14 tapered to a 12 at the hips.  But I can still wear it comfortably.  The only thing I don't like about it is the collar.  I didn't interface it, and the inside layer is mesh, so it doesn't stand up at all.  Other than that, I absolutely love this vest, and I still wear it.  I'd like to make a new one a size bigger, but I want to find some outerwear nylon in a funky colour, and they don't have any nice colours here.  
My mom asked me if I could make one for her for Christmas.  I went to Davey Fabrics and bought some black Commander Nylon, and a chunky coil zipper.  In my stash, I had 2 short coil zippers for the pockets, black mesh for the lining, and interfacing.
The zippers I had for the pockets were exactly as chunky as the main zipper, and to my astonishment, they were exactly the right length!  I used what I had, and it turned out okay, but I would definitely recommend using a regular small coil zipper for the pockets, because they're easier to sew in, and they lay flatter.
The pockets are the trickiest part to sew, and once they were done, the rest of the vest went together very easily.  The zipper didn't even give me any trouble.  But I should have given myself an extra 1/8 of an inch beside the zipper, because it has a tendency to catch on the mesh on the way up or down.  It's one of those zippers that you have to stick your tongue out just right to get it to work properly.  It wasn't big enough of an issue for me to take out and redo, though.
This vest took me 7 hours to complete, and it went together smoothly.  I'm very happy with it.  Merry belated Christmas, Mom!

Christmas Choir Photo

One of the ladies in our choir emailed me a group photo we had taken before the first service on the day of the Christmas cantata.  Thanks, Arlene!