Progress on Primer Quilt & Sewing for Ava

This will be brief since there is much to do today as we prepare to move.

I added the blue flower border to the Sally, Dick, & Jane quilt top.

I'm going to use the yellow birdhouse print for the binding.

I pinned the backing, batting, and top together on my dining table. 

Since the quilt top hangs down on each side of the table I rolled it to pin each side.

Then I rolled and folded it to transport it to the new house.

It may be a few weeks before the new sewing space is ready for business.

The backing was in my stash and there was enough for the whole back.

It is an alphabet print of different printing types.

I took a break from packing to make this dress for Ava.

I altered a McCalls pattern to make a play dress.

The original is a wrap-around dress with bias binding accenting all edges.

Ava likes a dress with a zipper so I changed the back.

The top was not lined but I think lining makes the dress more comfortable.

Ava and I are going to have lots of fun designing dresses when Mr. M and I live close to her.

Thank you to the readers who left comments last week.

I tried to reply and had no luck.

Happy sewing!

 

Resurrecting an old project - Sally, Dick, & Jane

When I started quilting the first quilt panel I bought was based on the first grade reader: 

Sally, Dick, and Jane.

I remember learning to read with this series of primers.

On the panel there were 10 large pieces 7" X  8" and 10 small pieces 3.75" X  4". 

I started framing the blocks over ten years ago. When I pulled the half started pieces out I could see how much I have improved my quilting skills. So I ripped off the frame fabric and started over.

I decided to make all the blocks 12.5" square.

Above the panel blocks are finished.

I wanted to make the quilt bigger so I decided to make 10 scrappy blocks.

Above are the different blocks - two scrappy blocks with pinwheel centers,

ten small center panels, ten large center panels, and at the top eight blocks with 16 squares.

One possible layout. My mom would say that is one BUSY quilt.

Maybe plain white sashing will calm things down.

Close up of top for reference later.

May switch some blocks around.

Below is the bottom half for reference.

I missed the link up with Wendy's Quilts and More.

The layout above kept bothering me.

Before I could get to sleep I thought of another way to order the blocks.

I'm still working on this. I have added white sashing.

The rows are sewn but I'm still working on the order of the rows.

Look for more progress next time.

Happy Sewing!

 

Under the Sea outfits

A side trip over to clothing construction for Ava and Kenton.

This short overall is reversible with a cap to match.

The cap is also reversible. Fish on one side - submarines on the other.

I used buttons instead of snap tape. I had to figure out how to make space for buttonholes.

This is the back of Ava's dress. I love a button back.

The tulip hat is reversible but not the dress.

Below is the front of the dress with the other side of the hat and the matching cap.

I bought the fabric last summer in a fabric shop in Hilton Head, SC.

The pattern is VFT Georgia - sleeveless and with the simple skirt.

Playtime with Grumps, Gran, & Dad.

The Japanese Garden at Memphis Botanical Gardens.

Kenton LOVED the fish.

We closed on our new home. It is only a few minutes away from Ava and Kenton.

We will move in about a month.

There may not be much sewing until we get settled.

But there will definitely be time for reading books.

Happy Easter, Passover, Ramadan to those who celebrate these special days.

 

Liberty of London Sewing

In 2005 our family went to London, UK for Christmas.

We had a great time - attended a Christmas concert at St. Paul's and the Christmas Eve service at Westminster Abby. But one of my fondest memories was buying fabric at Liberty of London.

Over the years I have taken the fabric out and enjoyed looking at it and imagining what I would make.

Last week I decided to use three pieces to make a blouse for myself. I want to cut back on buying new clothes and either make clothes from my fabric stash or recycle/refashion things in my closet.

So... why a photo of thread?

I chose these colors to add decorative stitches to the blouse I made.

I took the photo and looked at it in black & white to figure out the intensity.

After that I used the yellow and fuchsia on the neckline and yoke. 

The pattern I used is on the shelf. I made a few changes to the yoke and sleeves.

I made the front yoke straight across to the armhole.

I shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length.

The front yoke and lining was one fabric. The back yoke and lining was a different one.

The sleeves and main front and back was a third fabric.

When I bought the fabric I was thinking quilting, not clothing.

I bought a meter of the lighter fabric and quarter meters of the yoke fabrics.

Front view above.

Back view below.

Decorate stitch around neckline and across the bottom of the yoke.

Up next - a dress for Ava.

I'm making a sleeveless version of the Georgia dress by VFT.

Ava likes sleeveless dresses. This one has buttons in the back.

The fabric is an undersea border fun fabric.

The light print will be the lining.

From the same fabric line I'm going to make Kenton a reversible short overall with fish 

on one side and submarines on the other.

Progress from Saturday and Sunday sewing.

This side looks cutest. It will be reversible but I'm going to promote this version.

The mystery of this quilt's history has been discovered.

As we are getting ready to move and going thru stored things we came across the box

that held this quilt when it came to our house.

I knew a cardboard box was not a good home for the quilt but didn't realize the quilt's history was written on the outside of the box. Now we know that the quilt was pieced by Ruth Jackson Tucker and hand quilted by Clara Jackson Cate and Fan Jackson Ford, my husband's mother and aunts. Not sure of the year.

It's about time for choir practice. See you next week.

 

Big Stitches Finished/Next Up

Of course the photos loaded in reverse order.

Here is the back of Hey June - Which way is up?

The big stitches are more visible on the back.

The label will be filled out tonight.

Machine quilting shows, too. 

Quilted on the diagonals and straight across and down.

Can you see the big stitches?

How about here?

I used pearl cotton size 5 in green, pink, yellow, gray, lavender, dark lavender, and burgundy.

Sometimes I matched the color of the block.

Sometimes I used a different color on each half.

Next up - A dress for Ava with the under sea fabric and a matching short overall for brother.

Hats with the leftover fabric? Maybe. 

Some secret sewing.

I'm trying wool appliqué with fancy embroidery.

So far I have two blocks started but a little nervous about the fancy stitches.

In other news, I cut some of my precious Liberty of London yardage to make a blouse.

I'll show photos next time.

Happy sewing.

 

Remembering Helen Jean & John Parham on their birthday

Today is my mother's and her twin brother's birthday.

A few years ago I found their birth announcement in a 1925 Brookhaven newspaper

at the Mississippi Archives in Jackson.

Here are some early photos of them dressed up for a Brookhaven Ladies Club party.

Mom said they were portraying George and Martha Washington.

Not sure the costuming is very accurate - John's hat looks more like Lincoln than Washington.

I think they were about three or four years old.

This year they would have been 97.

Miss singing "Happy Birthday" to them.

Family resemblances can be seen in photos of brothers and cousins and grandchildren at the same age.

Love the memories.

 

Trying some wool embroidery

In the fall I decided to take part in Sue Spargo's Tinsel Block of the Month.

I'm interested in attending one of her workshops in person and thought this might be a way to try

her instruction before committing to the time and expense of a trip to a class.

The first block arrived near the end of January.

I was working on the quilts I recently posted so I waited to start Tinsel.

There are strict rules about posting the blocks to social media - Don't!

There is a closed Facebook group for posting blocks and asking for help.

One thing I am very pleased to have purchased are the sewing needles.

No words to explain how excellent these are.

I'm in love with them.

Since I can't post my blocks here are some supplies that I'm using.

The freezer paper sheets are from my mom's stash.

I almost gave them away but so glad I kept them.

The sheets are very easy to use to make the pattern pieces.

I flagged the pages in Sue's book that I will need for the first and second block.

I'm keeping the monthly instructions and fabric in a binder.

The extra wool fabric is for practicing stitches before I make them on the blocks.

I pre-ordered the thread for the embellishments but did not order the wool thread for

appliquéing the wool pieces onto the blocks.

Now I'm waiting for that thread order to arrive.

Meanwhile I'm still sewing the big stitches on my Hey June quilt.

Have a good week!