Claudia Miller recently asked me if I would take a look at her Craftsy class on sewing machines, Sewing Machine 911. I said yes and I'm so glad I did!

Claudia does a fantastic job showing and teaching what is what with sewing machines. From how to wind a bobbin and thread the machine to troubleshooting issues that come up while sewing and how to clean your machine, this class is a great for both new sewers and experienced ones alike. She covers drop-in bobbin machines and front loading ones as well so you know what to do no matter which kind of machine you have. The class is packed with useful information including a downloadable chart that helps with troubleshooting problems. My favorite part was machine hygene. Cleaning your sewing machine is a must and Claudia shows you just how easy it is. Another great thing about this class? It's FREE. What an incredible resource for no cost! I highly recommend that you check it out.

I am also a big fan of the Craftsy.com video classes. This is the second one I've taken and there are so many other great ones available - sewing, knitting, gardening, jewelry making and more! Their platform is easy to use - you can skip around to different lessons and you don't need to sit down and watch the entire class in one sitting. There is also an area for you to jot video notes - great for looking back on! And finally, you have the opportunity to ask questions which can be answered by the instructor and other Craftsy users.

Have any of you taken Claudia's class? Or other Craftsy classes? I'd love to know what you'd recommend too.

Just some shots from Sunday.

I'm here. More soon.

I'm anticipating the end of the school year by lining up portable projects for summer crafting. The girls finish 4th and 6th grades next Thursday (I know - time flies!) and are gearing up for a busy summer. I'll be driving to and fro, as well as waiting during practices (field hockey and swimming) and taking some road trips so handwork is definitely in order. I also like to have something to work on in the evenings, in front of the TV - if I don't, my hands are busy feeding my mouth food I do not need. So really, it's a diet necessity.

First up, I am super excited about Blair's granny square sampler along. I took her advice and saw what yarn I had on hand. I have a good variety of Cascade 220 in my yarn bin. I pulled out all the cool colors - blues, greens and purples along with the dark gray and cream. After a trip to the yarn store, I was able to add the aqua, lightest purple and light gray to the mix getting what you see above. The two greens on the right? Only one will make the final cut - I'm waiting to see what other greens I can get my hands on before I make a final decision. The light blue may also be on the chopping block. I'd rather find a lighter aqua. Fingers crossed that the second yarn shop will have what I am looking for and if not, I'll be turning to the internet.

Second, I've enrolled in Rachel's Handstitched Summer camp/class. I'm looking forward to working on some portable sewing projects. The previews on her blog are getting me itchy to start. I can just see myself stitching poolside. Really. I'm especially anxious to begin work on the Modern Medallion quilt. For this one, I see more warm colors - oranges, pinks, berries. I've started auditioning fabrics and I'm desperately trying to stick to the stash for this one, although I may need to add some solids and maybe a couple more colors. This is a good start, though - I'm happy where it's going.

What about you? Do you have big, or small, summer crafting plans? I'd love to hear about them. Do tell.

People, I have been holding out on you.

I finished the Liberty quilt awhile back, three weeks ago give or take a couple of days. It has been happily residing on our king sized bed since and we have been slumbering quite happily below it. I love this quilt just like I knew I would.

It is backed in an aqua free spirit voile (water). I bought 7 yards and railroaded it with all the little Liberty scraps in a patchwork strip down the middle. The combination of the Tana Lawn on the front and the voile on the back is dreamy. DREAMY. It is super soft and a bit silky, with not much weight at all. To make sure that I didn't lose the airy, summer weight quilt I was going for, I used the lightest weight cotton batting I could find - Quilters Dream Cotton Request. It was a good choice - light and drapey, perfect for this quilt. I quilted it on my machine using the basic guidelines for an orange peel design as shown by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Frannson!, except that I found it easier to quilt side to side instead of up and down. The squares made for an easy quilting guide - bonus! I wanted something more than straight lines and I didn't want loops. I think this was a wonderful choice - it's not too busy, but still interesting and geometric. On the front, it's not very noticeable, but on the back - boy, oh boy! It looks like an entirely different quilt.

I machine sewed the binding to the front and hand stitched it to the back. I had a hard time choosing what to bind this with as I wanted it to compliment the quilt, but not compete with it. I ended up using this Liberty print that doesn't appear in the patchwork, but that is still floral and has some pink. I think the dark brown grounds the whole quilt well.

And because I know someone will ask, here it is on the bed, just as it is, no styling. I think some new pillow shams are in order. And maybe a switchplate? That's only been missing for 6 years. Ahem. But, best not to rush these things, quilts included. This one was certainly worth the 1.5 year wait.

(Other quilt details such as fabric, square size, etc. can be found in these posts: For the love of Liberty, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

Jane got a Tova of her own, but she didn't want a dress so I made her the top. Just like with Kate's, I sewed the bottom half of the placket closed. When she tried it on before I hemmed it, she thought it was too long so I cut 4.5" off the bottom. Once I had it hemmed up, I thought it might have been better a smidge longer. But, hey, Jane likes it and it fits so it's a win in my book.

I had a TON of fun sewing for my girls this past week. Thanks, Meg, for hosting a great challenge! I look forward to the next one...I've already got some ideas!

Thanks for all the nice comments and suggestions on my last post. I, too, had thought to put a tank top under the Wiksten Tank dress, but it still didn't work. Drat. My bet is that it will fit next summer and until then, it's mighty cozy for sleeping. Based on a couple of comments saying that the Tova is sized smaller than the tank, I went ahead and sewed the Tova dress for Kate. I cut it out and sewed most of it on day 5. On day 6, I sewed the collar on and it was done.

It fits!

I did opt to make it sleeveless so it'd get some wear immediately. It was easy to do. I just bound the armholes like I did on the tank. It's still a bit roomy which is fine - she'll get to wear it throughout the entire summer.

The other change I made was to sew the bottom half of the placket closed. I thought about using buttons, but went for the easier and faster route. Based on my experience sewing these two patterns for the girls, I'm realizing that their shoulder to chest measurement is much shorter than a grown woman's. Something to consider if you plan on sewing this for a tween/teen.

So here I find myself on day 7 of the challenge. I'm completely inspired to keep sewing. Fingers crossed that I get one more garment completed for Jane today. I'd love to keep going with some things for myself. I sometimes forget that sewing clothes can be fun once you have a few go-to patterns. The selfish sewing won't happen this week, though. I have to clean up my mess before my houseguests get here on Wednesday.

Happy sewing, you all. Check out the KCWC flickr pool for tons more inspiration!

I taped the pdf download of the Wiksten Tank together last night (day 3) and cut it out (size XS) and sewed up the dress version for day 4.

So cute, right?

It's too big for Jane.

I'm bummed.

I thought it looked kind of big when I cut it out, but I forged ahead because the girls were at school and I didn't have a body to try it on. The main issue is that the neckline is too low. It's also a smidge big overall, but if the neckline were ok, we could belt it and call it good. No go. Note to self: trust your gut.

BUT not all is lost - Kate had not yet tried it on. And although she is the younger sister, she is the taller and bigger sister so it may fit her. Worse case scenario, it'll be a nightgown for Jane - a plan she wholeheartedly embraces.

Also, it's a stellar pattern and came together quickly. It just not suitable for the big-little-girl-not-quite-woman body we have going on here. That said, I think I'll make the top for myself.

Which brings us to the rest of my list...based on sizing, I'm afraid the Tova is out.  (Insert sad face here). And while the Little Lisette dress is adorable, I'm worried about sizing on that too.

What's a girl (er, mom sewing for her girls) to do?

Day 1: Print PDF pattern. Print pattern again (forgot to click the no scale button). Gather tape and glass of wine. Assemble pattern. Go to bed.

Day 2: Cut out Jane's first pair of p.j. shorts (she's on the left). Sew 'em up and fit them on her to ensure the elastic is the right length (she like them loose). Success! Have Kate try on Jane's shorts to see. They fit her great, too. Cut out 5 more pairs, sew the front panels together, sew all the buttonholes, plop down on the couch and watch Mad Men with Fatty on the DVR.

Day 3: Buy more elastic. And some cute ribbons. Assembly line sew the other five pairs. Make girls jump on the bed for a photo shoot that doesn't work (too blurry). Have them stand against the white wall and keep Jane off of her tippy toes. Blog it. Done.

The Details:  The pattern is the Weekend Linen Shorts from the summer 2012 issue of Stitch magazine (on newsstands now!). I made the Women's XS for the girls - they wear anything from a girls' 14 or 16 to a women's size 0. When it came time to actually sew the shorts, I could not find the magazine anywhere in the house (or the car, for that matter). And I still haven't. But having sewn these types of shorts/p.j. pants before, I just jumped in. I guessed on the waist depth and the hems, but I don't think that is such a big deal if my guesses were (most likely) incorrect. The pattern does call for making a drawstring from fabric, but I opted not to do that. Instead, I threaded 1" wide elastic through the casing (my buttonholes are 1" as well) and sewed 2 short sections of grosgrain ribbon to the elastic on either side of the buttonholes. It's basically a faux-drawstring - all the ease of an elastic waist with the cuteness of the bow. I was able to get each pair out of 1 yard of fabric so the total cost was pretty reasonable (and especially since all of the fabric came from the stash!).

See? I totally let them jump on the bed. (I love having proof!)