Sewing-related Updates, and I joined the Quilt Guild!

I still haven't had time to sew, but I have some fun sewing updates to share with you!

A few weeks ago, I went to a wedding with a friend and wanted to make this dress (View B, the funky white one).  I had a few metres of good quality orange cotton/poly broadcloth, and I managed to get it cut out and all the markings made.  But in order to finish it, I would have had to do all the sewing on Saturday morning before the wedding.  I had a busy week and was tired and decided to be nice to myself and sleep in instead.  I wore an A-line skirt and a nice t-shirt, and I was comfortable and looked nice enough.  I don't enjoy killing myself over sewing deadlines, so I put this one aside.  I'm happy with my decision and look forward to finishing this in the near future.

 It's still cut out, laying on my cutting table, buried under a mountain of junk.  My sewing room desperately needs to be cleaned before I sew anything.  And while I'm cleaning, I think I might as well just pack everything up.  Which brings me to my exciting news about my mom's giant basement craft room.  She suggested I move my entire sewing room to her basement and just do my sewing there.  Between her and I, we have 6 sewing machines and 1 serger.  When I first thought about this giant sewing room, I was inspired to invite all my sewing buddies over for sewing nights and they wouldn't have to bring anything but projects.  I have more than enough machines and tools, and my mom has an unbelievable collection of quilting paraphernalia.

Out in my hometown where I work, I stay over quite often in the fall/winter.  I go to bowling and a few fitness classes in the evenings.  On quiet nights, I have a whole plenty of time to sew and invite my sewing buddies over.  We have quite a varied group, and I can't wait to start this new venture!  There are 3 pros, including myself, 1 intermediate, and 3 beginners.  I love that I won't be the only pro, and will have help teaching the newbies.

We're going to have so much fun!  We'll be sewing quilts, PJ pants, bags and purses, hoodies, UFO's, repairs and alterations, and of course, garments!  I'm not sure if it'll be possible to have "theme nights", but that's one of my ideas.  I absolutely can't wait!!!  If I have time on Sunday, I'm going to try and pack up a few things and take them with me this week.

And I found lime green serger thread on sale!  These were $2.50 each.  My orange serger cones are getting a bit thin, and I wanted another fun colour to sew with.  Sue is going to literally sew everything with this.  It's her favourite colour.  :)

On Thursday at work, Avril mentioned that she was going to the quilting meeting that night.  I was staying over and had no plans, so I spontaneously decided to join her!  I have a lot of connections to this group.  My mom was one of the founding members 10 years ago, and they used to have meetings at our house in the big basement before the upholstery shop infiltrated and took over every spare inch of space.  When I showed up, I was familiar with about half of the group, and personally knew a handful. All I have to do is tell them I'm Raylene's daughter, and they know exactly who I am.  I decided to join, even though I'll probably miss all the monthly meetings because it's on the same night as my church choir practices.  They also have monthly quilting classes, so I signed up for one in September and am planning on attending the January one as well.  And there's a shop hop in October!

On to the pictures!  Avril brought 5 different projects for show and tell.  This is a Christmas quilt that she designed herself.  There are an infinite number of creative ideas floating around in her head, and this was one of them.  She sewed green and red stripes in a square, and then chopped them in pieces and arranged them until they made these funky X patterns.

I think she's absolutely brilliant, and she doesn't believe me.  But she is.  I absolutely can't wait to siphon that creativity out of her head when we sew together.  She's a brilliant seamstress at the upholstery shop, too.  I am already learning so much from her.  Love you, Avril!

 She made a whole bunch of pillow covers that look like presents.  They are so cute!  This was my favourite.

 This was a show and tell from Glenda.  Funky!  I think I squealed when I turned around and saw this.  :D

This is my best friend Corrin's mom.  She's showing off a doll made by Sally (above left).  I think she's the president.  I really like Sally.  All these women are so creative!!!

 Our first quilting course at the end of September is taught by a designer!  Her name is Shauna Case, and I can tell I'm going to like her.  There's topstitching all over her quilts!  :)  The ladies were saying that they've learned a lot of great shortcuts about appliqué from her, and I'm excited about that, because I've only attempted it twice, and I wasn't a big fan.  It's a bit fiddly.  

She's giving us 5 designs to choose from!  Can you guess which one I picked?!  I squealed when I saw this, too.

They are all really cute.  I would love to make them all eventually, and I can't wait to peruse the rest of her patterns.  Check out her website and have a look at the cute details!

This is the quilt they will be teaching at the November course.  Unfortunately, I'll have to miss this one, but I will get my hands on this pattern!  

This is a bargello quilt, and my mom taught a course a few years ago with a bigger design, and I am fortunate enough to have it hanging in my basement.  I love it.  It's a work of art.

The charity project for this year is to make quilts for teens.  Organizations like the Stollery Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House usually get lots of donations for babies and children, but not a lot for teens.  I have so many funky fabrics that are absolutely perfect for this, so my goal will be to make two twin-size quilts, one for a girl and one for a boy.  I'll be using a much simpler patchwork pattern, but this was a cute design they shared as an idea.  This stuff is right up my alley!

At the October course, they will be learning to make fabric pottery.  Isn't this amazing?  

Avril had to model it for me.  What a goof.  :P

I had so much fun at this meeting!  I'm looking forward to learning lots more about quilting and making new friends who sew!

Closet Shopping! Huge Score!

I was so excited to have a free weekend and finally get some time to sew.  But for some reason (maybe it was the pile of junk on my cutting table from the last 6 weeks of un-use?), I was drawn to my closet and decided to start decluttering.  I made a pretty good dent, and one of my best finds was a box of UFO's (unfinished objects), and oh my goodness, what a box!

First, though, I'll share some of the pants I discovered (in the same closet) shortly after I reached my weight loss goal.  I haven't been able to wear these for years, so I was pretty stoked.  I've already gotten a lot of wear out of all of them.  Yay!

First up is a pair of funky cotton pants.  These ones have surfing frogs on them, and they're the only pair that I ever put a cargo pocket on.  I wear them to the gym a lot.

These are a pair of grey poly/twill cargo pants, but I love the fact that they look like dress pants.  Now that I'm "managing" the upholstery shop, I'm trying to dress a bit nicer (but not so nice that I can't get dirty, right?), and these I really like.

I made them from this pattern.  I made the version with the higher waistband, and once I got them to fit, I played around with several pairs, and they all have different cargo pockets, etc on them.  They were my TNT pants back then.

I love these blue hawaiian ones.  They are made out of the thinnest cotton, and they're so comfy, they feel like I'm wearing nothin' at all!  I wear these to the gym, too, and I wore them a lot when we were camping.  I shrunk out of almost all my shorts and capris, so I decided to wear cotton pants like I used to, and by golly, they're pretty darn comfy!  They were all I used to wear in the summer.  You may also recognize these from Get Your Dance on 4 Hope.  Orange and blue are my favourite colours to put together.

As you get to know me better, you'll discover that I love camouflage.  These have 2 cargo pockets, and they are the darndest thing for wearing to work.  So handy!

My favourite grey ones were in the wash today when I was modelling all the other ones, so I grabbed this pic from the "sign hanging" episode.  I wear these pants more than any of the others.  They're light enough to wear in the summer, and they fit me just right.  They also have 2 cargo pockets.

These are my favourite pair of jeans that I have ever made.  I was absolutely over the moon when they fit me again!  I've washed and worn them so much, they have the genuine wear lines like all RTW jeans have.  When you sew your own, you know it takes eons to get that look.  These are also from the Alice & Olivia TNT pants pattern.

 That's it for the pants I found a few months ago.  Now we're digging into the totally awesome box of super cool UFO's (and some that are actually finished).  This skirt matches those jeans.  I think I made the skirt first, and then did the same pocket design for the pants.  These have never been washed or worn.  I don't think I was happy with the way the A-line skirt hung.  But you know what?  I don't really care anymore.  I think it's a cute skirt, and I'm going to start wearing it.  

This is what the pocket design looks like "freshly sewn".  I kinda like the way stuff looks when it's brand new.  Not to mention that I did a pretty darn good job on the topstitching.

This is the pattern I used.  In the photo, it's the red skirt, in the drawings, it's the orange skirt, view F.  I also really like View E, the blue skirt.  I'll have to make that someday.

I did made the belt loops, so I suppose I could wear a belt like this with it.  But it's likely that you'll never see the waist of this skirt, so why bother?  A lot of times I'll omit the belt loops for that reason.  I don't like wearing belts.

OMG!  You'll never guess what I found in my super awesome box!  70's bell-bottom jeans!  I am in love.  These are the coolest things I've ever put on.  I don't know what my problem was back then, but I'm assuming I gained a bit of weight, cuz they fit perfectly now!  All that's left to do is put on a button, and hem the bottoms!

There is a bit of gaposis at the back, but the hips fit so nice, and the waist is high enough, that I really don't care!  I might just stitch a piece of 1" elastic inside the waistband and call 'er good.

My dad always says I was born in the wrong decade.  I love the 70's.  And I love the way these fit!  The hips are nice and snug, and the waist hits just below my belly button.  Love, love, love!  

I'm very happy with the side view, although my face doesn't show it.  I took so many pictures today, I didn't bother getting "perfect" ones.

And I love the back view!  I did awesome topstitching on these, too.  I must have been on a roll back then.  I think I sewed most of this stuff between 2002 and 2004, after college when I was living at home.  I don't know what pattern I made these from, but I have two 70's pants patterns in my stash, and I'm going to figure out which one made these!  I think they were plain pants and I drafted all the jean stuff onto them.  I'm so excited!  I can't really wear them right now, because we finally got our summer heat wave, and the humidity is crazy.  But once it cools down, I can see myself wearing these all the time.  *squeal!*

Next in the box is a pair of jeans that does not fit so good.  I've had some bad luck over the years finding good pants patterns, so I'm quite thrilled that I fit into my Alice & Olivia pants pattern again, because I need a TNT.  These, however, are awful.  I know it doesn't look that bad in the photo, but scroll down.

Baggy, shapeless, old lady pants.  Yuck.

I should have gotten a clue from the pattern photo.  I'm much more savvy now.

But they make those drawings so darn cute!  Oh well.  You live and learn.  Never make a new pants pattern without a muslin.  Or you'll end up with a wadder.

Like, gag me with a spoon.

Thankfully there was only one wadder in the box.  Anyways, onto better things!  I found a onesie!  I have no idea what size it is, but it's for a toddler.  I'm going to finish it off with ribbing at the cuffs and neckline, and give it to my friend's daughter, and she can wear it when she grows into it.  Cute!

I made a penguin sweater!  The sleeves are too short, and the body is a smidge too big, but I can fix both of those with ribbing.  

I'll probably wear this around the house in the winter, or as a layer under my winter coat.  The yoke line at the chest is way too high, and the zipper is so short, I can barely get it over my head.  Probably why I didn't finish it.  But I'll finish it and wear it anyways.  I love penguins!

Does this look familiar?  These fleeces are from the same leftover stash that I made my colour-blocked Jalie hoodie out of.  This one isn't quite as awesome, though.  The body fits better than the lime green/penguin one, the sleeves are a little bit longer (but probably will still need ribbing), and thanks to the hood, I can get this one easily over my head.

I'll for sure wear this one around the house.  I wear hoodies all winter, so I'm happy to have some extras!

I found another finished object!  This vest is pretty cute.  Albeit, it's too short and too big for me, so I'll find someone appropriately sized and give it away.  It has pockets, as you can see, and another cool zippered pocket on one chest.

Look what's inside!  More penguins!!!  

Boy, I was creative and productive back then.  I was working for dad in the shop at home, and I made a couple things out of upholstery fabric.  First, we have a garment bag.  This is another finished object!  Score!

And a drawstring backpack.  It has a big pocket on the outside, and the bottom is a circle with piping so it holds its shape fairly well.  I am so wearing this when we ride our bikes to the farmers' market!

UFO: vest for dad.

UFO: bright orange linen bell-bottoms!  I hope these are cut from the same pattern as my 70's jeans.  I guess I'll have to sew them up and find out!  Saweet!

UFO: long straight camouflage skirt.  I'm positive I didn't finish this one cuz it was too tight.  The fabric has some stretch, but not enough that I could get away with it until now.

With side slits!  I think this one kinda screams 90's, but I don't care.  It's light and airy and perfect for summer.  I just have to attach the waistband facing, and hem the slits and the bottom.

UFO: denim messenger bag.  I think I ran out of red bias tape, cuz that's all that's left.  

I was just thinking about making a sling bag.  How perfect is this?

But look!  I cut one out in denim and orange camouflage!  I originally intended to use the orange camo as the lining, because I can see the tracing lines for the inside pocket.  But I'm totally putting it on the outside.  Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!

UFO: denim shoulder bag with pink hawaiian piping.  This is probably the only thing I remember that I put in the box.  I've been wanting to finish this thing for ages.  I'll have to sew most of it on the upholstery machine, because of the piping.

And holy crap, I made my own bias binding!  I just noticed that now!  Woot woot!

Here is the pattern.

It will eventually turn into view A.  Cool, huh?  I also like B and C, but I'm pretty sure I'll never have time to get to them.  I've been using the same little purse since 2004, so it's not like I need a bunch of different bags and purses.  I don't like the word "purse" anyways.  If I finish this one, I'll use it as my purse, er, backpack.

I can't get over how many cool surprises I found in this box!  Last but not least, a penguin quilt made by my mommy!  I might use it as a lap quilt, or if I can find enough wall space somewhere, I'll hang it up.  This is like Christmas and birthday and every special occasion all wrapped into one!  I should declutter more often!

This was not in "the box".  It was in a big bag of perfectly good towels and sheets, all of which I washed and am going to use again.  I love to crochet, but like many other things I love to do, I don't have time for it right now.  I think I made this in the summer of 2001, before my second year of college.  I remember having this on our couch in our townhouse.

I would love to make a granny square skirt someday.  I think these squares came from a skirt pattern, actually.

I need to make a pillow and finish this one off.  These are made from the same square design.  I call this one Fire and Ice.  Fire:

and Ice:

Wow, what a lucky girl I am!  I feel like I gave myself a time capsule!  Stay tuned as I will update the UFO's as they become FO's.  I don't mind that I didn't get any sewing done this weekend.  My closet is clean, and I got a whole bunch of presents!  *big smile*