Unfinished Projects

 I had some unexpected time off the day job in April and I was able to start multiple projects.
Will I finish them?

UFO's are unfinished objects in the sewing room.

 Except for this one.
My daughter came to visit and brought this dress with her. Somehow she had obtained it for free but it was a tad frumpy with full-length sleeves. She asked me to put pockets in. When my kids ask me to jump, I immediately reply, "How high?"

The dress is a sheer overlay over a base fabric. Both float free of each other in the skirt. Unpicking the side seams of both  to insert a piece of pocket went well. I happened to have a pocket pattern piece out for a dress I'm working on (crap, forgot to add those photos to the laptop).
We drafted it a tad longer to accommodate our penchant for carrying our life in our pockets.

I promptly installed the first pocket upside-down. Did I mention the outer fabric was a sheer and fraying like crazy? Had to un-pick all the seams and re-install correctly.

This dress also had sheer long sleeves that ended in a wide 'cuff' that was elasticized. Very frumpy. So dd chopped them off neatly. Her solution was fine as she will always wear a cardigan in her office. But I was on a roll and offered to finish them with a silk rayon vintage bias binding to make them neat - just in case she were ever to encounter hot sunshine in alaska.

 This is my other project I'm working on. I referred to it in a previous post. It sat in time-out until I could  visit Pencil Girl (DrawnToSewing on IG!!!).

I like the back pleat but the whole shirt was too long for my 5'3" frame. So she helped me figure out the length and tinker with the neckline.

 I am going to utilize the mesh around the neckline.
I originally placed a triangle of mesh at the back neckline but I will make that a more shallow design detail.

 Pencil Girl said this was a bit short (about 5" shorter), I may hem it a little longer. Between Papa Bear long and baby bear short.

 I'm mostly all done with this Sunshine Wristlet, aka, a nice cross-body bag for me. A little large to be called a wristlet, it's the perfect shape for my crap. I'm not a big purse gal.

 This strap is to hold the wristlet in your hand and place your fingers underneath. I have zero intention of doing that but it turned out to be a nice detail.

I still need to make the cross-body strap. I don't have enough cork to make the strap lengthwise with the grain. I have enough to make it the other way - which stretches a bit. I'm figuring out how to stabilize the strap so it doesn't stretch.

I also made another little bag but haven't take photos yet. I'm kind of excited about it. It needs a finishing detail as well.

As you can see, multiple projects just needing one or two more steps to finish.

slip pocket on backside added to drop phone into

I did make a set of greeting cards from my dd's awesome photos. Sunset and Sunrise at Turnagain Arm in Alaska. If you're interested, they are in my RunningWithHandmade Etsy shop.

Four photos - four cards. Blank inside.

I have another week off in May, so I'm sure I'll be sewing like crazy.
We'll see if we make some finishes.

Wee Braw Bag

 I might have had a moment a few weeks ago when I purchased three PDF sewing patterns.

God knows I dislike PDF's. Having to print out the pattern myself, tape it together.

I need to sew a dress up for myself and the pattern I liked only came in PDF form.
In a moment of madness, I went with it.

This wee drawstring bag is only five pages of instructions. It's all rectangles so you don't need a pattern piece for this. For the dress - more than 80 pages. Thank goodness it came with a copy shop option for a commercial printer to print it out on the big sheet of paper. That will be another blog post right there.

i was in a mood to sew something new and for once, I didn't have the energy to figure out the dimensions myself.

I took the pattern and ran with it.

It's fairly smallish but will hold a sewing kit. With pockets on the inside as well as the outside, it organizes small items quite well.

I just happened to have that orange and black striped trim in stash (think OSU Beavers possibilities). which jumped on the zebra bandwagon very nicely. The blue fabric is a cotton/poly that coordinated well. The zebras were purchased at the recent SewExpo so that's nice to use one item I bought already.

The picture on the wall is a needlepoint purchased at a garage sale. In fact, I recently found another that is similar. It's isn't framed, so now I'm looking for a similar frame at a garage sale so I can hang the other sewing-themed needlework art.

 WeeBrawBag: A Sewing Pattern by Laura Zuckerkuss   https://payhip.com/b/gmI4

The other two pdf patterns I purchased are The Fringe Dress  and The Augusta Moto Pant


I almost forgot to add dd's newest Study In Blue photos.
Byron Glacier, Alaska.

Randomly In March Already

 Spring is here. Most of the east coast and midwest are buried in snow drifts. We in the Willamette valley of Oregon are just sitting back and enjoying our four month show of spring flowers. Maybe a few gray, overcast days to break up the monotonous beauty.

I am taking photos and only a few are even making it to Instagram. A fellow employee retired clear back in October and we have yet to get another body hired. Lots of 12 hour split shifts for me. I was pretty sick since December and I seemed to pick up three versions of something and it's been difficult trying to get on top of the crud with so many tiring work hours.

I took advantage of being tired and played Library Bingo where you could just read four category books and win a mug or you could play all 16 (blackout!) and be in the running to win a Kindle Fire. For some reason, this hit me at the right time of year and I was very inspired to read not just quick novels,  but some new to me books in categories I normally don't read and that seemed to fit my energy level quite well.

Anyway, I took a week off last week to go to SewExpo (sewexpo.com) and used the time well. My son and girlfriend visited and my sis from MN flew in to help do some family (interventions). So the week was busy but not over the top which so often happens when my sis visits.

I also had the opportunity to be one of the first reviewers of a friend's foray into writing children's books. She is a talented illustrator. I don't know if you're familiar with Jan Brett but this gal has a similar style of making the illustrations tell a story beyond the actual story.  She hasn't published yet but is very close.

 This book is a version of the 12 days of Christmas. "...My true love gave to me Six Warthogs Wading...", set in a fanciful zoo of animals.

 Until the princess is surrounded by all these wonderful animals and has to call mom on what to do now.

 This book features a boy who drinks a sip of coffee and turns into a fanciful animal. A very simple story but gorgeous illustrations that are fun to ponder and enjoy on their own.

So, here I am with new fabric for a new quilt. The post office keeps saying since they "delivered' it to a parcel locker, the claim for insurance is denied. The not giving out keys issue is totally ignored. If you're new to this story, I made a quilt for my son for christmas. he never got a key to the parcel locker. My sis in MN also sent him a package that arrived the same day and also, NO KEY. If you can read between the lines, a few choice swear words were inserted.

So quilt no.2 is all sandwiched now and I have started the hand stitching. After that, I can bind it and re-send it either to their new house or via UPS since USPS is ridiculous in their no communication.

I was in sort of a denial place. Partly because I didn't want to re-make this and partly because winter will be over before they get it. And it was made for Christmas Wintery Cold.

And of course the fabric store didn't have the same fabrics - they had also moved onto Spring. Now I think I should have made a spring gingham but I am committed. Possibly I should be committed.

 Here's a picture for Kyle of the snow that shut down Portland. Bare ground. Schools cancelled the day before it even snowed. Gone by afternoon snow.  Portland did get hit much harder than my banana belt community.

And finally.
My dd nailed this photo of the Northern Lights. She's still up in Alaska.
This is what 3am looks like on a cold wintry night.

Sewing, Sewing

 I finally finished these QAYG (quilt as you go) bags.
Finally.

 I added a pocket specifically for essential oil storage. I have been on a scrap clean-up in my sewing room. I was guilted into sorting my scraps by color by two very OCD sewing friends and it came in handy when I needed four clothesline bowls in a hurry for gifting.

I figured I would sew together these turquoise and purple scraps too and enter Elm Street Quilt's Bag It   competition. Like, maybe, try to win some awesome prizes....

This project used up (not enough) scraps, one thread spool and one bobbin. 

 Last Saturday, I was able to hook up with Pencil Girl and I made her one of these super quick Pyramid Pouches. They are the size of a coin purse or a small  special pouch to hide some candy. (or a check for the 1/4 beef she lugged over for me)

We met up at Fabric Depot. They were running their warehouse sale. Pencil Girl was looking for fabric for Simplicity 1108. She almost suckered me into buying these two fabrics for the same cardigan. The floral would be the very drapey cardigan with the aqua blue being the bands.

Except I have little time to sew and this cardigan would force me to go buy a black/white tshirt and black jeans. Or something.  She is such an enabler.

I had a hankering for my Apple Cider Caramels. Recipe is from Smitten Kitchen.  ( I might come back and laboriously cut & paste all the hyperlinks in, or not)

 These are THE BEST caramels. They always turn out. They have that apple cider flavor from boiling down a quart of fresh northwest apple cider for 45 minutes to a thick syrup. The recipe is awesome.

 We were at Fabric Depot to buy materials to make this gingham flannel throw.

It's gonna be 70 inches square and we found the fabrics very quickly. But then, I remember WHY I DON"T QUILT. It took nearly an hour to pick out the binding. Not to mention the backing.
Good golly.

 

I washed all the flannel when I got home. Hung it to dry and started cutting my big 10.5" squares right away. No problem on the 'white' which is actually a textured light gray. 

 Then I started on the black and realized it had shrunk widthwise. Instead of 44" wide material, I had 40" wide material. Grrrr,... The "white' had shrunk lengthwise (which is typical!!!)

Screaming texts to Pencil Girl found a solution. Piece the squares. No one will notice - it's flannel.

And the Gray - the medium gray - did the same thing.

I spent most of today sewing all 49 squares together - see - that was the appeal of this throw. Only 49 squares. What could possibly go wrong?

Let's just say my seam ripper and I had a bit of closeness today.

And did you know that flannel stretches when you rip a seam out? And also when ironing? grrr.
Note to self: No more quilts.That's when I found this:

 

Yes, a gray gingham Pendleton throw. At the church rummage sale.
Alas, when I got home and shook it out, it had wool bugs. With some minuscule munched holes.

It did not save me from making this throw.
However some interesting texts back and forth put the thought of felting it into my brain for an unknown at present project. Felting it would take care of any lingering bugs. It's sitting in the garage while I catch my breath from all this sewing inspiration.

 Anyway, my quilt top is finished. All seams sewn, and pressed open.

Leaving you with some more stunning photos from the kids.

Photo credit: DS, Donner Lake, Nevada 2017

Photo credit: DS, Lake Tahoe 2017

Photo credit: DD's friend. Cloud's Rest, Yosemite, California

Knit Knotted Scarves

 Pencil Girl sent this photo to me this morning from her 4-H sewing group.
They made these awesome scarves made from old tshirts.

 I immediately replied with "Off with their heads!"
lol
I try not to show faces - especially if I didn't ask permission beforehand. I also rarely post photos of me. Nor do I name people when I post faces. All part of my internet confusion game.

Anyway - aren't these nifty? They cut one inch strips from the bottom of tshirts and knotted them together with a pattern from Linda Lee. Kind of like a big macrame project.

 I also finished this week my (stupid*%$#@&##) hedgehog bags. They have a front zippered pocket with vinyl so you can see inside. I sell them as Lipsense bags in my RunningWithHandmade etsy shop.

I was chatting with another sewing blogger about how someone should make (and photograph) all the ways you can make zipper ends for toiletry pouches for a quick look at BEFORE you sew.

I picked the wrong way - which worked on the first bag. However, the next ones rebelled.
Which started to  make me very grumpy until I sat down with my seam ripper and made them right. 

So, there!

 Hubs is dorking around in the hangar. Making everything onto rolling stock (if it didn't roll before), re-painting walls, generally being crazy. But, both planes do fit inside.

That J-5 (orange) is so almost ready to start it's engine and take it's maiden voyage.

 I made four rope bowls for gifts this last two weeks. Two sewing peoples guilted me into sorting my scrap bin(s) and afterwards, it was a quick grab of the ziploc bag to utilize small scraps in the color I wanted.

 One went to Finland, Two to the UK (with second winging it's way to Ireland), and the final one to my CreativeGirl friend.  I discovered, I had been remiss in making her an orange one (her favorite color). I have one more to make (later, much later) as a gift to another sewing friend. We'll maybe call her MarineGirl.

 We had some 34' nights recently - a little early, so I made haste and cleaned off my back patio, throwing the houseplants into the garage. That frost was a little too close for comfort.

This frog is a particularly ugly lumpy brownish green color - not the cute spring green of my other frogs.

My dear daughter, is on a fall camping trip from Seattle down Highway 101 to Yosimite. She stopped off for a very quick 21 minute visit, hauling our Christmas Present!

 How perfect it is. Got the mountains, the fly fisherman, the river, the floatplane. All etched on ceramic tile and then hand-glazed. One of a kind perfectness. Might be the best gift ever.

This from my daughter who lives in Alaska.
This photo was taken recently on the way to Seward. I just love this picture of the mountains with their dusting of fresh snow and the reflection in the water.

I'm planning to make note cards from this image.

Linking to the 2017 Elm Street Quilts BAG IT event.