Hello!  I finished piecing the hourglass quilt top this morning.  There was amoment last week when I thought that I would have to rip out a numberof squares and re-do them, but it came together surprisingly well.  Phew.  I'mhoping to get this basted and quilted this week.  Then it's back to thestring-x one.  I've been (over)thinking about what to do for the back.  I've got a quasi-plan so once I get the backing finished, I'll be ready to quilt it, too.

Also, I am looking for some vintage sheet scraps.  Nothing too big, say from 6" x 6" to 10" x 10".  If anyone has any they are willing to part with, I'd be happy to send you something little in return.  Drop me an email and I will forward on my address.  Thanks.

but I knew the word before I received the envelope.

Really.  Truly.  I told my friend, Caroline.  She'll back me up.  I just had a feeling that Jen would choose this word.  And I am super excited she did!

Bloom!

Gossamer is a great word - soft and ethereal.  But, man, it is challenging, too. I looked up the definition right away.  I knew the sheer gauzy fabric part, but not the bit about cobwebs.  That little part stuck in my head.  I could not get spiders out of my brain.

My first thought was to knit something super lacy out of soft mohair yarn.  There was that problem of my wrist and how I really can't knit right now. Then I planned to use the yarn and fabric and make some kind of multi-fiber collage/web thing, but I had to give up on that too.  I couldn't find a suitable fabric.  The closest I saw was a silk chiffon, but I didn't think it would hold up to applique.  In retrospect, I probably should have at least tried. In the end, I turned to paper and my sewing machine and my gocco.

My inspiration came about two weeks ago when looking out the kitchen window, I saw the teeniest, tiniest lime green spider, suspended in mid air.  Looking closer, I saw that she was suspended from her own thread right there behind my screen.  At first glance I had seen right through it.  And there she was, getting ready to spin a web perhaps.  Maybe not - she may have been traveling from one point to another.   Regardless, gossamer popped into my head.

First, I drew a graph to make the window screen.  I printed this on vellum using the gocco.  Then, I stitched the spider on a piece of muslin using free motion quilting.  After I copied it, I made my second gocco screen.  I printed the thread portion in white and the spider in green.  The white is hardly visible, you really have to look to see it. 

I printed the screen grid  on one side of the paper and the spider on the other side.  I was going for transparency - I hope I got it.

When Shari gave us this word, I would have never imagined it would lead me here.  In my head this word is so floaty and ethereal and what I made is not.  Plain and simple, I am a bit disappointed with the outcome.

I tried amending this print - adding to it, mounting it, but I think it is best its simplest form.  I know that part of my disappointment stems from uneven printing.  And because I am a procrastinator, I didn't have any time to try it differently.  But, as Emily reminded me, wordplay is about the process.  It's interesting to look back and see how I got to this point.  I can't help but wonder if I didn't have tendinitis, would I have gone a different route?  If I hadn't spent half of the six weeks down in the dumps, would I have seen inspiration elsewhere?  What if I had bought the silk chiffon?  If I hadn't seen that spider, what would I have done differently?

The next word is in an envelope I received from Jen.  I'm going to open it tonight.  I can't help but wonder where it will take me.  Emily and Tracy, are you ready?

Today I am working on my wordplay project - due tomorrow, of course.  I swear, I think I will never learn.  To add a little excitement to the last-minuteness of all this, I found out last night that my kids are out of school at noon today.  What?  I didn't see that coming.  A big thanks to my sister-in-law who is stepping in to watch the little ladies so I can actually get my hair cut.

And the black ink surprised even me.  But, if it works out like I have it in my head, I think it will be good.   Fingers crossed.

I told you that I couldn't get it out of my brain.  So now it's on my table.  And just so you know, I'm officially in love with chain piecing and charm packs, too.

This quilt block is for Courtney.  She sent the teal, russet and off white solids and asked us to make a square bordered in the off white.  I added two plaids from some of Fatty's repurposed work shirts and the strip of polka dot.  I really like this square - I think her quilt is going to be a knock out.

OK - it's Monday.  I've got a lot to do.  See you later.

I have what seems like a gazillion things I want to do, but I can't seem to do any of it.  My brain seems to be working on overload.  So here's some things that I've been thinking about in the last twenty-four hours:

Molly's strawberry cup.

This quilt top by Amanda Jean.  This one, too.

Kids growing up.  Nothing says it better than this post.

How lucky I am to be a mom, even when it is less than perfect.  Thanks for reminding me, Kirsten.

And how lucky I am to have my mom.  Those are her hands supporting me.  They still do.

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Weekend.

Sew U Home Stretch came home from the bookstore with me a couple of weeks ago.  I read it right away and got pumped up to sew knits.   My experience with knits is non-existent and this book explains it all.  I felt educated and empowered so I went off to the fabric store and bought myself some green cotton jersey to make a dress.

Then I read the pattern.

OK, so I probably should have done that before buying the fabric.  I know, I know.  After realizing that the dress has some trickier things (facings, etc.) and guessing that my first knit garment may not be my best work, I changed my plan.  I decided to make a shirt.

Here's where it gets fun.  Wendy shows you how to make changes to the basic t-shirt, raglan and dress patterns to make different garments.  I was immediately drawn to this shirt:

I liked the v-neck and the little gathered bit at the bust.  I didn't like the sleeves, though.  I know from experience that they don't really suit me.  I flipped through the book more and came upon the basic tank.

This pattern calls for ribbing which I didn't have on hand.  For a second I contemplated going out to find some, but then the light bulb went off.  It was so bright, I swear you could actually see it in the bubble above my head.  I got out the tracing paper and made my own pattern, combining these two tops to make my very first knit tank.  Yup...Built by Erin.

Feeling part genius and part sewing geek, I got it done.  I would be lying to you if I said it was smooth sailing.  It wasn't.  But, boy oh boy, I learned A LOT.  First, altering patterns is rather easy.  I invested in a french curve to help with this step - this is crucial.  It makes it soooo much easier.  I followed the shirt pattern and made the deep V and added 2 inches length.  I then followed the tank pattern and adjusted the armhole.  Second lesson learned:  check the size.  I knew from Melissa's post that the t-shirt pattern that comes with the book runs big.  I pulled out a tank that fits me well and held it up to the pattern.  It was hard to believe, but it looked like I would need to cut out a size small (in store bought t-shirts, I wear a large).  Third:  knits are hard to cut out.  This one is a rayon, cotton, lycra blend.  Super soft, a bit stretch with a lot of drape.  The drape made it hard to lay smooth and after about twenty minutes of fiddling with it, I got the two pieces cut out.  All this before I even started sewing!

When I moved the fabric to the sewing machine(s), I realized I had missed a crucial bit.  The neck and arm edges are bound, much like a quilt.  Back to the scraps I went and managed to eek out just enough to cut 1 inch strips to take care of that.  I used my serger as much as I could, but there were some bits that needed the regular sewing machine, too.  I had to move my aqua thread back and forth.  Next time I am going to buy two spools because it was a pain and a huge waste of time to re-thread both machines multiple times.

The little gathered bit is done by sewing elastic on the reverse side and pulling it as you go.  It took me three tries even though I first did it successfully on a scrap.  Besides making me cuss like a sailor, ripping out that elastic twice left some tiny holes in the fabric.  Bummer.  I almost gave up, but plowed on.  They are tiny so if I didn't tell you, I'm not sure you would notice.   The binding part was easy enough - I first tried to attach it with a straight stitch, but it looked super sloppy and it didn't catch everything in back so I switched to a zig zag.  I think it looks mighty fine.

The fit?  Well, when I tried it on the first time, it had big gapes under the arms so I took that in about an inch on each side.   The V is a bit too deep for my comfort level.  I think I would make it about 1/2" less than I did.  It is too long - I don't think I needed to add the length which is unusual because I have a long torso.  It is tight around my hips - making it shorter would take care of that, too.

So will I wear it?  Yes.  Probably as pajamas (it is comfy!) or to the pool over my swim suit.   And I will make it again - trying to adjust the fit to make it better.   I can see this being a summer wardrobe staple.  So now, time for the dress.  I'll let you know how that works out.