house on hill road

Tova, take one

I thought I'd pop back here with a photo of the finished Tova shirt and answer some of the questions about it that came up after yesterday's post.

I made the size L - which according to the size chart is a 10/12 (bust 37"/38"). It fits great in the shoulders, the length is fantastic, and it just skims my hips. I chose to make the L because I knit sweaters and when I buy commercial patterns for tops, I do so based on my bust measurement, which is 38". The finished Tova is *slightly* too tight on me across the bust. It fits my dress form (a size 12, 38" bust), but there isn't much ease under the arms and across the chest. I think it's hard to tell that from this photo, but trust me, the ease is not there. I think if I were a size 10, 37" bust, it would fit pretty well. My guess is that it fits the smaller of the two number sizes better than the larger. Just a guess. So I am going to re-trace the pattern and cut an XL, figuring from my experience, that this is probably going to do the trick in the bust. I'll take in the sides if I need to.

As far as fabric goes, this is a quilting cotton called Meadow (in green) from the Sarah Jane collection from Michael Miller. I was pretty smitten with the ditsy green floral and had to use it even though quilting cotton is probably not the best fabric for this top. Shirting fabric would be ideal and I really think that Liberty Tana Lawn or some gorgeous Anna Maria Horner voile would drape beautifully and be absolutely stunning.  I just wasn't willing to cut into the good stuff for my first try. And actually, I'm not going to for the second try either. I'm going to use quilting cotton again, knowing that if it fits, I'll still wear it. Fingers crossed that it will and then Tova take three will get the good stuff.

The sewing portion of making this was very straight forward. The pattern is well written and there are some good photos which helped me wrap my brain around a couple parts. I did serge my seams, as suggested. If you don't have a serger, I'd suggest using the overlock stitch if your machine has one or zigzagging the edges. French seams would be a good option for everything except for where you sew the sleeve to the body because of the added bulk. But I don't really know - that's just a guess. It came together fairly fast for me, but I have been accused of being a fast seamstress, so take that with a grain of salt.

I also bought the pattern in the smaller size range so I could make the dress version for the girls. They are both making the transition from girls' clothing to the world of juniors and I find it especially difficult to find age appropriate clothing for them both, but especially for Kate who is fourth grade and 5'1".

Any other questions? I'll happily answer them in the comments.

On Making

The Princess Leia costume is finished. I tried to take some photos of it, but a white robe on a hanger is well, um, boring. I'll make sure to get one of Jane wearing it. Adding a hood to an angel's gown took a little creative thinking on my part, but I got it done (on the first try!) and the finishing looks good. It fits her well and she is happy - I can't really ask for more than that!

All the costume making following the garment sewing in NYC following a finished quilt got me thinking. Making begets making. It is so much easier for me to create when I am already in that mode. And, hey, even if some of the things I am making (Halloween costumes, ahem), aren't my most creative work, or heck, even very exciting, they do keep me on that making path. I lost sight of this at some point. While having this blog has been a great place to share what I like to do, I often get bogged down by the idea that everything I make needs to be super creative, or outside the box, or even just really, really cute. I'm letting go of this idea. I want to sew, knit, cook, make because it is what I like to do. I want to enjoy making for making's sake.

That said, I made this Tova top yesterday. It's too small. I'm still going to finish it and then make another, one size bigger. This one will go to a friend.

One down, one to go

I'm talking Halloween costumes.

It's been years since I've made two costumes. Most years, I end up making one and buying one, or heck, even buying both. It's what I have worked out to keep myself sane at the beginning of the most hectic two months of the year (birthday after birthday after birthday and then the holidays, you know). Because after Dorothy and Glinda, I was d-o-n-e. And this year wasn't going to be any different. I planned on making Kate's costume and we were going to throw together a black cat ensemble for Jane per her request. That is, until she saw Star Wars for the first time.

You know where this is going, don't you?

I sewed Kate's flapper dress yesterday. How she came up with the idea of being a flapper beats me, but her heart has been set on it for a few months. I used a simple a-line dress pattern that I got for 99 cents at Jo-Ann's and added 10 yards (!) of fringe that I bought in NYC earlier this month. We plan on adding a headband, a long strand of pearls, a feather boa and calling it done. I wish I had enough fringe to cover the entire dress, but I think it still looks cute. It fits her and she loves it. Win-win.

This afternoon I'm going to wrangle 4.5 yards of Kona white into something that Princess Leia would be proud of. I'm just not going to tell her that it's really an angel's robe with a make-shift hood sewn on. I'll divert her attention by pointing her to the you tube video on how to make the buns. The key is a pair of socks. Who knew?

P.S. I'm secretly loving that they will actually let me sew them something, even if it's something I know they will only wear once.

Outstanding in the Field

Two weeks ago, Fatty and I, along with some friends, attended an Outstanding in the Field dinner on a beautiful farm overlooking the Ohio River. It was event that we had anticipated for many months and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening. From bourbon sweet tea and local wines, to the foods grown and prepared for us, everything was delicious and more. Tradition dictates that everyone brings a plate, thus allowing everyone to bring something to the long, outstretched table. It was a grand sight and sitting there, watching the sun set over the river, was an idyllic scene. I have always loved the idea behind Outstanding in the Field and I was happy that the experience lived up to that idea. Before too much time went by, I wanted to document that wonderful night. It was the first time in a long while that I felt like taking more than one or two or ten photos. I know this is a photo heavy post, but I had a hard time narrowing down my selections. These are my favorites.

It's all about the x's

I'm snatching every spare moment to stitch x's. I packed a small tote with needle, floss, hoop, scissors and this project to take in the car so that if I find myself waiting for kids, I can stitch. Then I tote it all back inside and place it on the couch, where I sew more while watching Friday Night Lights in the evenings. Rinse and repeat. I am anxious to finish, so excited to see the end of the making and the beginning of the using.

The pearl cotton is Anna Maria's and so is the fabric. Both materials are absolutely lovely as is the artist herself. She's a true gem, a fantastic teacher and an incredible inspiration. Plus, she's funny and nice and down to earth. I can't wait to show you what she helped me make. And I will. Soon.

Fab Felt Holidays

I've got something fun to share with you all today! Betz White asked me if I would preview her newest holiday craft course, Fab Felt Holiday Crafts. I jumped at the chance. I've taken her online workshops a couple of times before and they have always been fantastic. I didn't think there was much room for improvement, but Betz has managed to add even more to her offering. For this class, she has joined forces with Craftsy.com which has a wonderful, easy to navigate platform for online video class like this one. Once logged on, I was able to skip right to the project I wanted to make, watch those instructions, pausing as necessary and even taking notes on the screen. Cool, huh?

I made the character wine sleeve - such a cute little guy, huh? After watching Betz make one on the video, I was able to whip this up in a short amount of time - less than an hour! There are other great projects in the class and taking this online course at your own pace is the perfect way to get a jump start on holiday crafting. For a little preview of the entire course, click here. (House on Hill Road readers will receive $10 off the price of the class.) You can also see some other finished projects here and here. And follow the remaining stops on the blog tour to see even more:

Week of October 31st: Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Week of November 7th and 14th: Stumbles & Stitches
Week of November 21st: Elsie Marley

I'll be back here soon. Until then, take care.

 

Swoon!

It's finished!

The pattern is Swoon by Camille Roskelley and I knew when I saw the large stars that it would be perfect for Jane. I wanted something young and fresh that would stand the test of time and I think this quilt fits the bill.

And I don't think the photos do it justice. Jane helped me pick the fabric combinations keeping in our palette of aqua, pink and green. The prints are all from my stash and the white is Kona Snow. The value of a few of the fabrics is a bit on the light side, especially when you look at from afar. Up close, though, it totally works.

(Excuse the messy bedroom! That girl loves her books.)

I followed the pattern except that I made the sashing strips 1.5" wider than called for so it would fit Jane's full sized bed. Doing this allowed me to gain a total of 6" in either direction. The finished quilt is 86" x 86" instead of a 80" x 80". And if I didn't tell you, I don't know that you would see a difference. It is still very much in scale.

The back is made from a pink solid and some pieced strips from my stash. I really would have loved the back to be just the pink, but I was short and didn't want to spend any more money so adding prints was the logical solution. It works. The polka dot on the binding is a Japanese fabric that I picked up at Purl almost two years ago. I love, love, love this dot and used the last bits I had on this quilt.

For the quilting, I used my walking foot to stitch lines 1/2" apart. I started 1/4" from one piecing seam line and sewed from there. This allowed me to avoid the bulky points made by all those triangles and gave me a good guide to follow while quilting. Not all of the lines are perfectly straight and I am so good with that. It's nearly impossible to achieve and really, up close and in the moment I do notice those kinds of things, but now that the quilt's been washed it doesn't jump out at me one bit. Win, win!

I started this in July and finished it at the very end of September. It was really the only thing I worked on sewing-wise over the last few months and it feels SO DAMN GOOD to start something and finish it. I feel a crafting energy that has been missing for a long while. Dare I say that my mojo is back? I don't want to put the whammy on it, or anything, but it sure would be nice to take this motivation, desire and inspiration and see what comes of it. Heck, if it could just get me through this weekend in New York, I'd be excited.

Oh, I should add that Jane loves her new quilt. She's happy to get in bed and cuddle up every night. I just wish it was as easy to get her out from under it in the morning....