Sprinkle!

I didn't think I'd like this finish as much as I do. I mean, obviously, I liked the pattern because I bought it, but I was afraid my fabric choices wouldn't be great. When I purchased the pattern, I really wanted to make it out of the same colour but in different values. My stash, however, didn't have enough fat quarters of the same colours to make it work and I really didn't want to order fabric for this.

Anyhow - I went with solid fabric in a bunch of different colours and Kona Ash as the background.

The pattern is Sprinkle by Monica Solorio-Snow. It's a pretty simple pattern and comes together fairly quickly. I had a lot of fun making this quilt.

The quilting is what is almost becoming my trademark now - wavy lines with the walking foot. I used Aurifil Dove (#2600) for the piecing and the quilting.

The back is a really fun print I purchased from Fabric.com a little while ago. 

The binding was pieced from a bunch of leftover strips. I love a good scrappy binding!

The details:

• Pattern: Sprinkle by Monica Solorio-Snow
• Size: 48" x 72" 
• Fabrics: Kona Ash and solid fat quarters from my stash
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 in 50 wt

A Second Go at the Arden Pants

After making a pair of Arden pants that ended up being a little too big, I decided I really needed to try the pattern again in the correct size. I re-cut the pattern in a size 18 and chose to go with another stretch woven from my stash: a really nice stretch suiting from Minerva.com in a dark grey.

This pair turned out much better! I made no other adjustments and followed the pattern exactly. This is such a nice, easy and fun pattern to make. All those years of quilting really came in handy with all the topstitching. 

The pants have nice large front pockets and I love the straight legs.

And at the risk of sounding really vain, I kind of like my butt in these pants with the patch pockets! :-)

I think I found a pants pattern I'm going to want to make over and over again. The elastic waist is really, really comfortable but there's no bunching or huge gathers. In fact, I very rarely tuck tops in my pants so when wearing a sweater, you can barely tell there's an elastic waist under there.

The details:

• Pattern: Arden Pants by Helen's Closet
• Size: 18
• Fabrics: Stretch Suiting from Minerva.com

The Toddler Quilt

Back in April, I told you about a stack of charm square packs I found in my sewing room and how I wanted to use them up. I did make a few charm square quilts over the last few months and I would like to share with you my latest one!

This is the Toddler Quilt by Patty Wright for the Moda Bakeshop. I made this pattern once before, for a work friend's baby boy. It is really fun to sew up and really quick too.

I used charm squares from the Simply Style collection by V and Co. The sashing is Kona Ash and the green accent and binding is Kona Spring.

The back is an inexpensive flannel - I can't remember where I got this from though...

The quilting is a square meander with my favourite thread - Aurifil Dove (#2600) in 50 wt.

The details:

• Pattern: Toddler Quilt by Patty Wright for Moda Bakeshop
• Size: 34" x 51"
• Fabrics: Simply Style by V and Co, Kona Ash and Kona Spring 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove) in 50 wt

Another finished quilt to add to the pile for charity!

A Helen's Closet Outfit: Gilbert and Arden

I made a shirt... with a collar... and buttons!! 

Well, I made a whole outfit which I had high hopes for, but the pants are a bit of a failure (not due to the pattern because it's amazing).

All right - let's start with the shirt. I used a gorgeous viscose linen slub from Blackbird Fabrics and it was an absolute dream to sew. It's also really comfortable. It's going to be amazing to wear next summer but over the next few months, I can easily wear it with a cardigan on top.

To say that I'm proud of this make would be an understatement. I made a million mistakes while putting it together and it's far from perfect, but I love it to death! This was my first time making anything with buttons and my machine behaved so well when sewing the buttonholes, I had to ask myself why I waited so long.

Helen's instructions, just like in all of her patterns, are super detailed. She really holds your hand through the whole thing, adding some tips and tricks along the way. And I love that her patterns just seem to fit me so well. I made a straight size 16 (D-cup) based on my bust measurement. The tie makes it very easy to fit at the hips so I didn't bother grading at the waist or hips. 

The details:

• Pattern: Gilbert Shirt by Helen's Closet
• Size: 16 with D cup
• Fabrics: Viscose Linen Slub in Navy from Blackbird Fabrics (sold out right now)

Now let's have a very quick look at the pants shall we? This is the Arden pattern, also from Helen's Closet. The pants have a straight leg, elasticated waistband and optional ankle cuffs. I decided to go with View A (no cuffs). I made a muslin from pretty stiff fabric in a size 18 based on my hip measurement, but I found them to be a little snug in the bottom area and thighs. So I made my final pair in a size 20 thinking I could take a bigger seam allowance at the side and cut my elastic short enough to fit my waist.

Well, I had forgotten that my fashion fabric is a stretch woven and has a little give. From the back, I think they look really good and they feel really comfortable. There are patch pockets on the back which I love.

But I find the front really big - I have a lot of excess fabric there and the gathering at the waistband is really not a good look.

So my next pair (and there will definitely be a next pair) will be in a size 18 and I'll once again use a stretch woven fabric... I mean - who doesn't want a little stretch in their life right now!

The pattern was a lot of fun to make. There are a ton of small details that just elevate this make - lots of top stitching, patch pockets, and front pockets sewn in the sides and waist so no flopping around.

The details:

• Pattern: Arden Pants by Helen's Closet
• Size: 20
• Fabrics: Self Pinstripe Stretch Woven in Beige from Minerva.com

Overall, I'm super pleased with the outfit. It's crazy comfortable, perfect for working from home and both pieces were great learning opportunities!

Tire Tracks Quilt

When Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl released her Tire Tracks quilt pattern back in June, I immediately clicked the Buy button. But then it took a little bit of time for the project to make it to the top of the queue.

For my version of the quilt, I chose to make the baby quilt size with Kona Ash as the background and Kona Cardinal. 

The pattern looks really complicated, but it's actually quite simple. I followed Yvonne's instructions step-by-step and even labelled my blocks as I was making them. So when it came time to put the top together, things went very smoothly.

The quilting is vertical wavy lines with the walking foot and Aurifil #2600 (Dove) in 50 wt. Super quick and easy.

The backing is another fabric I ordered from Connecting Threads. It's a wide back and I love those. No piecing necessary for the backing... just cut to size and you're done!

I used Kona Cardinal for the binding.

Not much else to say really! It's a great pattern, available in 6 sizes and it offers so many possibilities in terms of colour combos. I've been thinking about a queen size version in a navy background and silver pieces for my bedroom.

The details:

• Pattern: Tire Tracks by Quilting Jetgirl
• Size: 48.5" x 52.5" (baby size) 
• Fabrics: Kona Ash and Kona Cardinal
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 in 50 wt

A Red Table Runner for Max

My son Max moved into a new apartment this last July. Now that his apartment is decorated, furnished and he has a good idea of what his needs are, he asked me to make him a new table runner for his dining area. He didn't have requests in terms of design, but asked for red and white and provided very specific measurements.

I scrolled through Pinterest for some ideas and found a pattern which I thought would be perfect: the Log Cottage runner pattern by Fresh Dew Drops. I already had Kona White and the perfect fat quarter for the accent, which is black, so I searched through my stash for red fabrics. I found a few that would work along with fabric that would be perfect for the backing.

I managed to make this in just a couple of evenings and I'm super pleased with the results! I kept the quilting really simple with wavy lines. I used Kona Cardinal for the binding.

Max picked up his new runner earlier this month and I'm happy to report that he loves it!

The details:

• Pattern: Log Cottage Runner by Fresh Dew Drops
• Size: 12" x 96" 
• Fabrics: Kona White, Kona Cardinal and various fat quarters from my stash 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove) in 50 wt

The Seamwork Oliver

At the beginner of this month, Meg, from Cookin' & Craftin', blogged about her new top - the Seamwork Oliver. The sweater looked so good on her, I immediately logged into my Seamwork account to have a closer look at the pattern.

I had a 1.5 meter cut leftover from my latest Blackwood Cardigan and figured that would be the perfect thing to try the Oliver top pattern with.

I made a size 16 with no adjustments. For my next one, I will size down to a 14 - the shoulders are a little wide on me and there is a lot of room. I'll also shorten the upper sleeves by 1.5 inches. I removed 1.5 inches from the bottom sleeves and the fun sleeve detail looks a little funny because it's a big too low.

When I first put it on, I thought it was a little short, but now that I'm looking at the pictures, I like where this hits me so I might not touch the length at all on my next one.

I ordered a fabulous French Terry from the Fabric Snob a few weeks ago and it will be perfect for another Oliver.

The details:

• Pattern: Oliver by Seamwork
• Size: 16
• Fabrics: Liverpool from Minerva.com