Practical Bag for QuiltCon

This is my second time making Tanya Whelan's Practical Bag pattern. I love this pattern, as it's an easy sew and the size and shape of the bag is perfect for a sweater, water bottle, and notebook....all the things I needed to carry around for my QuiltCon lectures.  Lightweight interfacing, fused to the Echino linen print adds a bit of extra stability to this bag. Another Practical Bag in an organic canvas with modifcations for longer straps is in the works for a beach bag!

What is your favorite go-to bag pattern?

Have a Happy Day!

Lynsey

Habitat Quilt Top Complete!

Two winters ago Jay McCarrol and Free Spirit Fabric donated fat eighths to each member of the Modern Quilt Guild, in each local chapter's colorway choice. At the time, I lived an hour and a half away from the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild and attended their meetings. Our goal was to finish our quilts in 3 months (I think...maybe it was 2?). With very good intentions, I went home after the fabric was distributed and made very simple improv blocks, outlined in Kona Ash, which until last week sat untouched in a laundry basket full of unfinished projects. Last week, I finally trimmed and sewed them up, adding a border in Kona Ash for a bit more negative space and to make the quilt a nice lap size, squaring it off at 52 inches.

For the back, I plan to use leftover blocks, more Kona Ash and maybe some Ikea, Numbers too.

Also in the works- this mini quilt with a single strip of sewn together rainbow ordered coins. 

Have a happy day!

Lynsey

Simplicity 1690 + Dobby Dot Voile

I used up the last of my 'greige' dobby dot voile to make this top. The pattern is by LeAnne Marshall, a fashion designer from Portland, OR, who also happened to win season 5 of Project Runway. I just love her patterns. Her lines are so clean and modern!

This top was a breeze to sew up since there are no set-in sleeves to sew. Sewing and cutting time took about two hours. I finished the neckline with bias binding, flipped it inwards and sewed it down. I made a size 10 (next time I would make a 12. I also added 2 inches to the length of the top, as I am 5'8. The measurements for this pattern were accurate-I just assumed it would run large. You know what they say when you assume...you get a shirt that's a bit too tight ;) :D!). Next time, I would make the sleeves a bit longer and fold my fabric in half instead of towards the center to accommodate them. In other sewing news, I finished my Habitat quilt top!  What have you been sewing up?
 Have a happy day! Lynsey

Gardening in the Desert

I must say...this gardening in the high desert stuff is not easy. I was lucky enough to have my garlic, herbs and radishes survive. Everything else I planted from seed, sprouted and died from the heat. This fall I plan to try again and plant broccoli, lettuce and radishes. If any readers have tips for high heat or dry climate gardening, I would be grateful! On a happy note, my garlic is almost ready to dig up! I planted them last November (2012) and they started flowering the last week in June. I planted large Amish varieties, along with a spanish variety, claiming to be amazing in salsa. How is your garden growing? Any tips? Have a happy day, Lynsey

My Favorite Dress Pattern and Self Drafted Variations

I have to say, these Anna Maria Horner Museum Tunics are just addicting! I dare you to make just one! The first one I made, I used an organic gray dobby dot voile. I cut it to the specifications of the Little Folk's panels used in Anna's tutorial. This was sort of my practice dress, as I did not want to ruin my gorgeous little folks panels!

Then, I moved onto the real deal. The fabric was so flowy and perfect. I think this one turned out a bit better; don't you? I took this one in a few inches, as I went down a size in between making the two dresses. I did elastic smocking on this one, as oppossed to the sewn in zig-zagged elastic. I like how the smocking turned out much better than the sewn-in elastic. It looks a bit more polished.

I then got wild ;) and made this self-drafted version with a scoop neckline. It has the same flow as the museum tunic, but is a bit more modest around the bust.

I have to say, these sew up very quickly. I made my second Museum Tunic dress in about two hours start to finish. My first took about two afternoons. What is your favorite dress pattern? Have a beautiful day, Lynsey

2012 is in the Bag Baby

This has been a great year, despite some serious struggles. I learned I could either see these challenges, as challenges, or an opportunity for growth.....I decided on the later. My biggest blessing this year is Andy not renlisting in the Navy. He got a wonderful civillian job as a Technical Writer for an aeronautical engineering company before his last term was even up! Luckily he had a couple months of vacation saved up and the Navy gave him some extra leave and he was able to take the job! I now have him home for holidays, dinner and mundane everyday stuff! Okay enough about that....let's move on to SEWING! I am technologically challenged, and thus can't make those cute little Flickr mosiacs all you hot tech savvy sewist post (anyone want to teach me :D?) Instead, I will share the bags I made in 2012, and will move onto dresses and patchy goodness from 2012 in a future post. Let's start with the Everything Bag from heather Ross' Weekend Sewing. I love this pattern so much, I've made it three times! It is a quick sew and really does hold everything! With her reinforced handles and roomy interior, you truly can bring your standard sized sewing machine to meetings or sew-ins in this bag! The darker bag is modeled by my mom. I made this for her as a birthday gift. The green and pink one is modeled by me and was made for my grandma, also as a birthday gift. Everything Bags,Template in Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing

Next up is the Amy Butler Swing Bag pattern. Also,a very quick sew! I used essex linen and Lotta's Echo line for this bag. I decided to not make it reversible, instead opting for an inside pocket.

My new favorite pattern is Tanya Whelan's Practical Bag Pattern. I made this from my out of print Ginseng home dec fabric and lined it in gray woodgrain from the same collection.

What is your favorite bag pattern, either for esthetics, or quick sewing? I hope you all had a wonderful 2012 and have an even better 2013 friends!!!!! Have a beautiful day, Lynsey

First Project of 2012

I finished up these pillows on New Year’s Day using Anna Maria Horner’s Drawing Room Fabric (which I have been collecting and hoarding for years!). Using this fabric symbolizes not waiting for the perfect moment to enjoy something (whether it be fabric or life), but rather just diving in and cutting right to it (pun intended). Often times, I find myself waiting until the next moment (or as a military family the next move) to fully allow myself to enjoy life’s gifts and create opportunity for myself. I thought cutting into this out of print collection would be a great way to actualize my quest for living in the moment.

Contemplating my bad habit of always looking towards a better future, instead of making the present more enjoyable strengthened my resolve to make 2012 the best year ever. I plan to live out my resolutions in their entirety; giving the present a fair shot!

1. Understand the economy is bad, but no one can take my education away from me. Instead of swearing every time my student loan bill comes, I am going to be thankful I finished my degree and have a job in this economy.
2. Be more consistently grateful towards my husband. I landed a great husband! He is supportive, funny, smart, brave, kind, affectionate, loyal and extremely generous. I want him to know I feel this way about him, even when I am in a bad mood.
3. Take care of my body. A lot of you know my nerve entrapment and inflammation were the reason I went back to working a 9-5 job, giving up being a self-employed crafter. At the end of this school year, I would like to go back to crafting full-time. To do this, I need to eat properly and not over extend myself.
4. Just say no! I don’t want to be your free tailor, but I am happy to teach you to sew. Give a man a fishing pole, not a fish!
5. Be creative everyday. I will make time to sew, plan or destress with creativeness each day.

What do you hope to accomplish in the New Year?