Waves (or Dunes) Quilt Finish

I've been really productive in the sewing room lately. Things are still pretty busy at work as well, but I'm very determined to spend as much time as I can sewing in the evenings and on weekends.

Today, I am happy to share a new quilt from the book Southwest Modern by Kristi Schroeder. This is my 3rd quilt from the book and I have more planned! I already shared and blogged all about Rustic and Marfa Lights.

The pattern is Dunes, but because I used blue fabrics for my version, I decided to call this one Waves. All of the fabrics are from my stash - I don't remember what the prints are but the background is Kona Cloud.

The backing is a navy print I think I ordered from Connecting Threads a while ago.

The quilting is my favourite wavy horizontal lines quilted with the walking foot. I thought the design would be perfect for a "Waves" quilt.

I used leftover strips for the binding - I love doing that. No waste, no need to order additional fabric and the binding is guaranteed to go with the quilt top.

The details:

• Pattern: Dunes from the book Southwest Modern by Kristi Schroeder
• Size: 63.5" x 66.5" 
• Fabrics: Kona Cloud and fat quarters from my stash 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 (light grey) in 50 wt

The Seamwork Clarke - Another Finished Top

I'm back with another garment! The Seamwork Clarke is a tank top you can make with either woven or knit fabric. I chose an ITY print from Fabric.com for mine (no longer available).

The Good:

This is a very easy pattern to put together. There are only a few pieces - 2 front pieces, 2 back pieces and then the facing pieces.

Per my measurements, I should have made a size 16, but because I chose a knit fabric, I went down a size and made a straight size 14. And the fit is pretty good.

The Not so Good:

There is a little bit too much "swing" to this top. I'm not crazy about all that extra fabric and the "tent" happening in the front. I will be wearing this tank top with a cardigan most of the time, so I'm hoping the swing will be minimized.

And this fabric isn't structured at all - I can't imagine how this would look on me in a less flowy cotton for example. If I were to make this again and go with a woven, it would have to be something with lots of drape - like a rayon perhaps.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my new tank top. It looks pretty good with a pair of jeans and it is really comfortable. It'll also be very nice in the summer with a pair of shorts.

2019 FAL - Quarters 2 and 3 Winners!

 The time has come to officially announce the winners of Q2 and Q3 of the Finish-A-Long and award some wonderful prizes from our fantastic sponsors.  We had 398 finishes for the second quarter of 2019 and we had 400 finishes for the third quarter which is really brilliant, keep it up!

Without further ado, here are the winners picked by Random Number Generator for Q2 and Q3 of the 2019 Finish-A-Long:

The Q2 winner's choice of One Large 12 Spool Collection from Aurifil goes to Mary who blogs at Quilting is in my Blood.  She finished this beautiful "camping quilt" that they actually use while camping, and isn't this photograph stunning?

The Q3 winner's choice of One Large 12 Spool Collection from Aurifil goes to Amanda on IG @sew.bake.stitch and she finished this lovely Swoon quilt.

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The Q2 $80 Gift Certificate from Sew Sweetness goes to Sara who blogs at Sew Little to Say.  She completed this lovely tote bag and it's her own design.

The Q3 $80 Gift Certificate from Sew Sweetness goes to Carina on IG @carinascrafts and she finished this bag that she cut out 10 years ago.  Way to go on getting it done!

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The Q2 $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Karrin and she blogs at Karrin's Crazy World.  She finished these two quilts that will be donated to the Mercyful Quilts charity.  Not only is that lovely but so are these quilts.

The Q3 $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Kat who blogs at Craftaholic Kat and she finished this lovely quilt that was for her son's seventh birthday.

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The Q2 $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Me A Song goes to Kathy who blogs at Kathy's Quilting Blog.  She completed this Crown of Thorns quilt which also will be donated to charity, Jack's Basket.

The Q3 $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Me A Song goes to Kris who blogs at Krissies Kollections and she finished this scrap quilt made from charms she collected throughout the years.  She estimates this 91" x 91" quilt used 19 yards of fabric!

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The Q2 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Carol who blogs at Quilt Schmilt.  She finished this lovely pink quilt that was for a golf club fundraiser.

The Q3 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Vasudha who blogs at Storied Quilts and she finished this beautiful art quilt inspired by Indian folk art motifs.

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The Q2 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You goes to Karen on IG @thecreativeheifer.  She finished this fun and colorful baby quilt.  Isn't it adorable?

The Q3 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You goes to Jan on IG @snell.jan and she finished this blue scrappy queen sized quilt.  Another great photo, don't you think?

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The Q2 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts go to Jennifer on IG @crimsonconfection and she finished and framed this lovely little lucky cross-stitch.  Lucky indeed!

The Q3 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts go to Alison via Flickr and she finished this appliqued cot quilt.

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The Q2 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine goes to Jessica on IG @jessshullquilts_and_more.  She finished this fabulous Swoon quilt using Tula Pink fabrics.

The Q3 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine goes to Peggy who blogs at Quilts & Adventures and she finished these wooly mug rugs.

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The Q2 2 PDF Patterns from Bonjour Quilts go to Mariana on IG @denana1973.  She completed this wonderful Flora Supply Case for a friend.  Lucky friend!

The Q3 2 PDF Patterns from Bonjour Quilts go to Teresa on IG @misdosbichillos and she finished this one hour scrappy basket, isn't it a cute gift?

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The Q2 $30 Fabric Voucher from Hillstitches goes to Anne who blogs at Said With Love.  She finished this charming quilted table topper, and isn't the photo just lovely too?

The Q3 $30 Fabric Voucher from Hillstitches goes to Karin who blogs at The Quilt Yarn and she finished this funky bird quilt.  Isn't it is cute?

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There you have it folks, quarter two and three of the year are officially wrapped up!  Congratulations to all of our winners and a big thanks to everyone that played along so far this year.

The year is quickly wrapping up, work on those WIPS so you can link them up in the New Year! 

Marfa Lights Finish

I'm back with another quilt finish entirely made from stash and from a pattern I already own! Marfa Lights is from the book Southwest Modern by Kristi Schroeder. I made another quilt from the book a while ago: Rustic.

I chose two shades of blue for my version of Marfa Lights: Kona Celestial for the background and Kona Bahama Blue for the "lights". I didn't have quite enough of the Celestial to make the full 60 1/2" x 64 1/2" quilt so I made the top and bottom borders a bit smaller. The finished size is about 58" x 60".

I quilted it in wavy horizontal lines with my walking foot. I struggled a bit with the basting and you can see drag lines but I'm pretty confident these will all but disappear once I wash it.

The backing is the same as my last quilt finish: Big Blue Blocks. Except I didn't have quite enough so I used a beautiful butterfly print to make up the rest. I matched perfectly!

The details:

• Pattern: Marfa Lights from the book Southwest Modern by Kristi Schroeder
• Size: 58" x 60" 
• Fabrics: Kona Celestial and Kona Bahama Blue 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2780 (dark blue) in 50 wt

The Cielo Top - Practice Version

When I signed-up for Closet Case Patterns' Learn How to Sew Clothing online class, I also got access to three of their latest patterns. I already made the Pietra pants and blogged about them here and now I've made a practice version of the Cielo Top and Dress.

The good:

I really love how easy this top came together and the pattern instructions are simply fabulous. I like the fit at the shoulders and the length is good (I added 3 inches at the shorten/lengthen line).

I also absolutely love the crazy big sleeves!

The bad:

Because this was always going to be a practice piece to see the fit, the length and so on, I used an inexpensive cotton poplin in a pink colour that really does nothing for my complexion! It's also crazy stiff and doesn't feel great against the skin. Anyhow, probably not the best type of fabric for this pattern. It would probably look way better in something a little softer, drapier and flowy.

I made a size 14 based on my body measurements and because the fabric is so structured, it's hard to tell if I should have sized down. I have a really nice rayon that I purchased from Blackbird Fabrics recently that would be amazing for this top. I might try using that fabric next time I make this.

Adjustments I'll make for next time:

As I said, I'll use a fabric will a little more drape. I'm also going to try the top with the short sleeves. As much as I love those big statement sleeves, a short sleeves I can wear a cardigan over might work better for me.

I might also try blending a size 14 at the shoulders and arms down to a 12 at the waist and hips. I think I'll also lengthen by only 2 inches so it hits me right at the hip bone.

I'll share my next version as soon as it's ready!