STASH REPORT & '50'S PROGRESS

Monday, July 31

STASH REPORT

DRESSMAKING:

In:  1 yd

Out:  6 yds

QUILTING

In:  0

Out:  0

DRESSMAKING:

I finished the net petticoat.  Waistband, yoke and center front panel in costume satin and 3 tiers of petticoat net.  What a lot of gathering that was.  
Finished the tulle over-petticoat.  I cut and sewed that one with gores, then gathered it to a ribbon waistband with elastic.
On yesterday's trip to Joanne's for the center panel for the net petticoat I discovered that they had Butterick patterns for $1.99 so I got two Gertie patterns that I plan to try to combine to create the '50's dress I had imagined when I started this project.  It's cool enough now to work in the third floor sewing room which is better for dressmaking.  

QUILTING:

Nothing to report other than that I located the bin of background fabric for Lorelei's Piggy quilt under the ironing board.  I KNEW I had had more of that pale peach fabric but I couldn't find it until we moved the ironing board.  

SEWING ROOM PROGESS:

WHY did we move the ironing board.  DH has cut and trimmed the plywood topper that will create a 2 foot by 6 foot ironing table for up there.  I am so looking forward to having a big surface for ironing.  We'll stretch and staple the batting and dropcloth cover this afternoon.

More later,

Lynne

STASH REPORT

July 25, 2017

STASH REPORT:

Dress fabric in:  11 yds

Quilt fabric in:  1 1/4 yards

Quilt fabric out:  11 finished bird blocks ~ 1/2 yd

What I've been working on:

Quilting:

I've had to be a bit mobile with my sewing lately, leaving my 3rd floor steam oven of a sewing room with all of my good equipment and moving from place to place in the rest of the house with my Featherweight to find less heat and humidity.  I've been working or Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks - Silly Chickens facing right and left, two of each in each months colors, and Little Birds the same.  They're almost up to date and I have pulled the box of Piggies for DGD Lorelei's YOU GET TO CHOOSE quilt.  It's been fun, but it brings back memories of sewing as a teen, having to get it all out and tidy it all away at the beginning and end of each session so we can use the room for it's original purpose.

Dressmaking:

We've been invited to a Retirement/70th Birthday party in three weeks.  With a '50's theme.  

DH and I are a long time from being Bobby Socksers so I started looking for a nice look that was more age appropriate.  Pulled a bunch of pictures of Mamie Eisenhower and looked at several interesting necklines by looking a Pinterest.  I am certainly NOT an example of her figure type.  For DH we plan to hit the thrift stores in hopes of finding a narrow '50's style necktie he can wear with a short sleeved shirt a la Mr Cunningham.

I MUST use a pattern and dress fabric from my stash, but I plan to adapt things a bit.  Studied up, then went to the fabric store and chatted about petticoats with my favorite clerk.  She WORE these things.  Per my buddy Maisie, you need to wear a cotton or comfy petticoat UNDER all that net or you legs will be scratched to bits.  Then as many crinolines as  you can get.  Lucky me, I already had white muslin in stash designated to make a petticoat to go under some of my long skirts.  I purchased netting and tule to make two more petticoats that will live in the COS-PLAY category and three yards of tea died muslin in hopes of producing a moderately wearable fitting muslin for the dress bodice/shirt.  

I already had a very nice print of roses on a blue background and a shirtwaist pattern in my queue so I'll work with those.

From what I've read I should make the petticoats first.  Wish me luck.

More later,

Lynne

Starting up again in 2017

Hello,

It has been a long time since I have tried to use this blog.  It seems I need to have a place to post my pictures and things so that I can link them to the sites that inspired me.

A lot has happened and many things have caught my interest and led me down many paths.

I hope to create several projects in 2017 and link them to others with like interests.  And I have a massive amount of learning to do in order to "use my blog like a grown up."

March 2017 - 

DrEAMl!   - "for those quilt projects that just reach out and GRAB you, and what do you do? You go on and let 'em because oh! it's SUCH a knock-your-socks-off design, or oh-so-pretty, or you know just the person for whom this quilty project could be, and you have to make it for that person right now."     

seems to be a good place to start.  The concept seems to be that when an idea strikes you fancy, just drop everything and make it.  For me the idea is a prayer shawl for a friend in a lot of physical pain.  Sorry quilters this will be a knitted project.  My friend always says she likes best to see me doing Fair Isle color work patterns so I have pulled cream yarn from a donation box, pulled two greens and a purple from my stash and purchased a variegated purple/green.  Then a visit to gather charts from Drops/Garn Studios free patterns and some experiments with shapes.  Going to try for a rectangle with turquoise spacers where EZ would have had us increase for a Pi Shawl.  Might work, so far I have only frogged the whole thing twice.

BOM - so many options to choose from for BOM quilts now that I am interested 

I am starting with little piggies and happy birds for Rainbow Scrap Challenge but I might also start some houses.

Solstice Challenge - I have been faithfully printing off the patterns and will do my fabric pull this week.  This one had enough instructions to give me confidence as my skills grow and enough challenge to keep me interested.

My Shangri La bed project - I have a new headboard, painted with flowering plants and robins so I definitely need to make a quilt to use on the bed.  I am trying to use what I have been reading about.  And I have a long way to go before I can claim to be accurate on any part of quilt top making.  This one has 16" traditionally pieced blocks from one source (might be a Swoon block), 6" paper pieced corner stone blocks, and 6" x 16" Bonnie Hunter inspired strip pieced sashings.  My DH George says he can sit across the room and hear me saying "I am sure I can make this harder."  

I'll make links and post pictures as soon as I learn how.