Hand sewing & new sewing machine & a little family history

Last week end I attended the MQA Summer Gathering in Pearl, MS.

I drove down Friday morning and joined the group about noon.

I signed up for the hand sewing class 

because I didn't want to lug a sewing machine and all the extras.

This class was all about hand piecing and quilting.

I had never hand pieced a quilt. I always machine piece my tops.

Our teacher was Cynthia R. who will be the president of MQA next year.

She lives on the coast and is a member of a Gulfport guild.

We worked on a pattern called Seven Sisters.

It is made with diamond shaped pieces and some triangles.

Cynthia used stamps to mark the fabric. She made kits with needles, pins,

thread, beeswax, stamped fabric, and a handy block display board.

Our class was four hours on Friday and four hours on Saturday.

In class I finished the center block and 6 blue stars.

I cut out all the stamped diamonds when I got home.

I'm steadily working on the stars while I watch TV in the evenings.

When I got home I made a template from card stock

and used washable marker to trace the pattern on fabric Cynthia gave me.

Yesterday I took my project bag (also furnished by Cynthia) to Joey's.

Kenton was intrigued with the shapes and possible ways to arrange the pieces.

Above is one of his designs.

In other news, my second Pfaff 1473 started having problems.

I have a small machine that I take to sew-ins but it is not my favorite machine.

I decided that it was time to buy a new sewing machine and started looking online.

I found Baby Lock Brilliant had all the features I wanted.

Local stores didn't have one so I checked The Cotton Blossom in Ridgeland.

They had exactly what I wanted and it was ON SALE!

I bought it online and talked Cotton Blossom owner Lisa about picking it up 

when I was in the area for MQA.

Here it is at home in my sewing room.

I'm learning how to sew with a new machine and I love it so far.

One of the other class participants, Fran, was from Polkville. I told her my dad was from there and we talked about family connections. Her husband, Randy Gray, is related to me from both my grandmother Cora Lee and my grandfather Roscoe. We are second cousins on both sides. 

Fran texted me this family information when we got home.

It was a fun week end.

Next up-

A summer dress for me and a dress make-over for Ava.

Happy Sewing!

 

More costume construction

Miss Ava and her mom are going to NYC for a girls' weekend.

One of the activities is attending the Harry Potter play.

So, a Hogwarts cloak was needed.

After checking the costume collection at our house, I decided to make a hooded cloak.

I found a free pattern to download and bought fabric.

One suggestion was to accent the sleeves with pink lightning bolt fabric leftover

from a dress I made for Ava last year. I found a 2 inch bias strip.

I cut it into 1 inch strips and added it to the cloak.

Above is the finish.

It has a frog closure - hand stitched.

 

Side view.

Showing the front facing.

The neck seam was exposed so I whipped down a velvet ribbon to cover it.

This girl was so pleased with the cloak.

She said it was the best!

Ready for the show.

Update- Brother's version is finished.

I made a neck facing for Kenton's cloak.

The hood had a small adjustment in the pointed end.

After I sew on the frog closure this will be ready for Master Kenton.

The second one was quicker to make because 

I made the side and sleeve seams last.

It was easier to sew the hood and facings with the garment flat.

Happy Sewing!

July mixed bag

This mug rug is for a sweet young lady who was my first and only confirmand.

She will be a freshman at Mississippi State where I received my BS & M. Ed.

I hope she has a great experience.

I am concentrating on my Midnight Garden quilt.

I use a design bed instead of a design wall.

I have played around with all the blocks I have finished so far

Now I have an idea of how many blocks I need.

It takes a while to make each paper pieced block.

I made a couple of things for myself.

I bought a panel containing four bandanas.

It wasn't enough fabric to cut into a blouse,

so I made my own pattern.

I like the finished on point flutter top.

I also bought this floral knit.

It was thinner than I expected but worked well for this quick to sew dress.

I keep trying to make something for Kenton but can't find the right pattern.

These shorts fit Ava perfectly.

Another bucket hat.

I like the free pattern I found at Sweet Red Poppy. 

I'm working on the AQS wool challenge block.

A good hand sewing project.

I think that is all for now.

Happy Sewing!

 

June projects

 Wow! June has been a busy month. Ava, Kenton, and I spent a fun week GUMC's vacation Bible school. I led preschool music all week - 5 groups every day. Kenton enjoyed being in gran's music class each day. Ava had fun with the elementary rotations. Martin was our chef for lunch and afternoon snacks. No sewing that week.

I ordered some knit yardage because knit is the fabric of choice for some kiddos.

This navy and white stripe was my first attempt of a T-shirt. Lovely fabric but it did not fit.

The red and white stripe shift was a win. 

It was so easy and quick to make.

I used the back pattern piece of VFT's Maude tween with sleeves from another pattern.

Ava loves a simple dress.

The American Quilt Society and Wonderfil Threads is having a wool applique' challenge.

I bought two kits and started working on a design.

The large circle was cut into four pieces to make the wings of the butterfly.

The six sizes of smaller circles were used for other elements.

This close up is showing the edge stitching made from a whipped running stitch.

A very easy stitch.

I shared my start with UTQG this past Tuesday.

Hope some others want to join this challenge.

Below is my third mini house quilt for Habitat for Humanity.

On June 13th all of the mini quilts were displayed at a reception for new home owners.

Each family chose a mini quilt to take home.

Two of my minis are in this view of the quilts.

My first attempt is above my third.

The presentation and stories of the donors and recipients were very inspiring.

I'm glad I was part of the celebrations.

Happy Sewing!

Bucket Hat Blitz

 

I downloaded a free pattern for a bucket hat with multiple sizes.

I planned to make several different colored hats 

to wear in water aerobics.

I cut out this hat from quilting fabric.

The free pattern had directions but not for the reversible hat I wanted.

So, I just sewed the crown and sides of the outer and inner fabrics.

Then I sewed the outer and inner brims together.

When I sewed the top to the brim, it didn't fit right.

The top part had stretched and the only way to fix it 

was to make tucks in two places.

It's wearable but not too pretty.

I finished the raw edge of the lining by turning under an eighth inch and stitching it down.

I cut out another pair of hats.

This time I used canvas fabric that is 

much heavier than quilting cotton.

Also, I looked at some video directions 

for making reversible bucket hats.

Success! I made each hat -crown to brim - then sewed them together along the outer edge of the brim.

I left a 3 inch space open to turn the hat right side out.

I topstitch around the brim that closed the turning space.

I stitched several times around the brim. 

Tada. A reversible bucket hat.

After looking at my photo above I decided the hat was too tall.

I compared the side section to a similar hat I bought.

It was about a half inch shorter.

So I shortened the pattern and made one more.

 

Perfect! The above fabric is leftover from dining room curtains.

And the one below is from a tablecloth I made.

I offered to make some hats for L & D but they passed.

Too bad ...

They could have been invisible in front of the curtains like me.

The takeaway -

Canvas is a better fabric choice for hats.

Make a practice one or two when using a free pattern.

Now there is a box of knit fabric calling my name.

Happy Sewing!

How to make a Friendship Star Flower

At the end of May my term as president 

of Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild will be over.

Members make out-going presidents a block to remember the year.

I liked this Friendship Star Flower block but could not find directions.

So I am writing the directions here.

Fabric requirements:

Fabric A - (3) 5" squares any flower color

Fabric B - (4) 5" squares any flower color

Fabric C - (2) 5" squares green preferred

Use any quilting cotton, solid or patterned.

The variety will make it special.

Mark a diagonal line on the reverse side of the B squares.

Pair two A squares with two B squares and 

pair the other two B squares with the two C squares.

Make half square triangles from the pairs.

Sew a quarter inch seam of each side of the marked line.

Cut the two halves apart between the parallel seams.

Now there are four half square triangle blocks in each color combination.

Trim each square to 4.5 inches including the center square.

Blok Lok is helpful with the half squares but not required.

The star can spin either way.

After trimming, sew the squares together like a 9 patch block.

Below is a finished block.

Remember to sign the block.

I like to spin the seams.

The block should measure 12.5 inches now.

Thanks! Happy Sewing.