What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 With blue being the RSC colour for January, there certainly was plenty of blue in my week.  I have  added another RSC to the mix.  You may remember that I stitch up draw string bags for foster children from time to time - they use them for toiletries, pencils, or to keep treasures in.  There is a big bag sitting by my sewing machine on the floor, stuffed full of small pieces of fabrics, lining, and cords.  Any interesting small pieces of fabric which I think might be suitable gets put away, as well as random quilt blocks.  Why not use ...

…or Click Buy Now. 

I signed up for a demonstration of the Lutterloh pattern system that took place at Stitchin’ Post the last Friday in September. I have known of the Lutterloh system for many years (it was established in 1935). Before the scheduled demo, I checked out the tutorial video and thought it was not for me, but at the demo something clicked (that darned Buy Now impulse) and I bought it.

Sewing clothes for myself is primarily about getting the right fit, and using the fabrics I want. When I was in my teens, fitting was not an ...

On this live show Vanessa is answering all your questions about her NEW knit shorts/pants sewing course for beginners! Tune in and see if this class is for you. If you have a sewing machine that can sew straight and zig zag stitches this would be the perfect beginner sewing course for you!

You will be able to make your own pair of actually wearable wide-leg knit shorts, culottes or pants! Just follow along with Vanessa’s clear and concise step-by-step video instructions.

• Sign up for my NEW Jalie Sylvie Shorts/Pants Sewing Course: https://craftygemini.com/shop/jalie-4129-sylvie-knit-shorts-pants-video-course ...

We are half way through the year already. Are you happy with your fabric usage to date?

I’m pleased with how much went out this year. I haven’t added fabric since August 2024. I’ve made an effort to buy less this year, and I feel a lot better about creating in general because of it. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.

I finished the Laundry Day Tee last Sunday.

I’m happy with how it turned out. It fits well through the shoulders and bust, which is usually a problem area for ...

No change in the numbers.

I’m close to finishing the Laundry Day Tee. I still need to hem everything and add the neck band. I expect to finish it this weekend.

The only other thing I worked on was Northern Bluebird by Crossed Wing Collection. It measures about 3 inches.

It’s coming along, likely a July finish.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

Net Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

I’d hoped to post a Short List this week, but that didn’t happen. Work continues to be all consuming, something I expect to last through the year.

I moved on to the next clothing project. I decided to sew a knit t-shirt, and then found I didn’t have a pattern. It was the first of what I’m sure will be many at a loss without Joann’s moments. I ended up catching a sale on the Love Notions site and bought the Laundry Day Tee and got the Classic T-shirt pattern ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the shirt for fabric out.

The pattern is McCall’s M8042. I lengthened the sleeves and shortened the body.

It fits, but I won’t make it again. The construction is unusual, which made it very difficult to adjust while sewing.

McCall’s patterns tend to be out of proportion with my arms and shoulders. They just never sit quite right on me. I’ll chalk it up to experience and move on.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

Net Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

How did you do this week ...

So --- did you give any thought to those almost completed UFOs that could be done in 60 minutes or less? 

I stared around Studio B, and oh boy—the number of projects I found in that category would blow my mind. I'm not even tempted at this point to group them. So this is what I started with. Two pet mats were sitting beside the serger; all they needed was one seam to close them up and tuck the ends in. 

Two pet mats - DONE

And now they are done and sitting in the Pony Express area. Seriously? That ...

No fabric in this week, a miracle since my Guild had their annual fabric sale. The fabric just wasn’t speaking to me. I bought this stitching frame instead.

I’m not sure how that ended up in the sale, but I’m grateful to have it.

At the thrift store later, I found this Hinzeit pattern with the charms. DH is an avid fisherman, and the charms made it too cute to pass up.

In the sewing room, work on the shirt continues. I’d really like to finish it this month.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 17.25 ...

Happy Mothers Day! I hope you do something nice for yourself today.

No change in the numbers.

I’m working on lots of projects. The afghan is close to a finish. Sorry about the weird sun spot in the photo.

Fairy Tales Live on Roofs is moving forward, slowly.

This shirt is in progress using this fabric.

And just because I wanted to, I started something new. Look at me stitching on 28 count lugana instead of aida.

All those projects and not a quilt in site. I may go back to a UFO once I finish the shirt. It ...

I saw some progress on sewing projects this week. I finished the boro bag.

I used fusible fleece instead of interfacing because I wanted the bag to have enough structure to protect the project inside. It added a lot of bulk, the trade off for getting what I wanted.

I also cut out a shirt. I must have washed that fabric a couple months ago. Let’s hope the sewing goes faster.

I didn’t add any fabric, but did make a final trip to Joann’s. My usual store is one that got a truckload of yarn. That took ...

Now you see why I'm not a gardener! I got the names of these flowers wrong. These are hyacinths, not hibiscus. Why did I do that? I know these flowers, but obviously had a moment. Oh yes - flowers - love them, but not my thing! I just enjoy the beauty! Thanks for catching that! I went back and changed it! 

Hyacinths!

And I spotted another TREE that's in bloom. What kind of tree? No clue! And I don't really care - it's just pretty! 

A blooming tree in the neighborhood

A lot of things happened yesterday! If you ...

No change in the numbers.

A lot of progress happened this week. I finished as much as I plan to do on the sewing room declutter.

I replaced the binding on a second blanket.

I finished a Craftsy class, 20 Things to Know Before You Sew. I’m taking a break on classes for now.

I turned the corner on the afghan. That puts me close to the halfway point.

I chose the next sewing project, washed the fabric, and made all the pattern choices.

I have a nice little rotation going with my three projects. We’ll see if ...

I've been totally lazing in bed this morning and not getting my butt up to write the blog! It's OK to be lazy every once in a while. 

My presentations went well yesterday, except that I brought the WRONG cable for the projector, so I had to run out at lunch time to buy a new one. That irks me as I have plenty of these cables at home. So it's a lesson, don't just grab and put in the bag - double check the ends! I have no one to blame but myself. 

At the end ...

No change in the numbers.

The week was a bit of a mixed bag. Busy work days kept me out of the sewing room more than I planned. I also decided to alter a shirt I made a few years ago. I wanted to wear it, but the drape was a little off. Once I figured out how to fix it, it didn’t take long. The figuring took a minute though.

Then I indulged in some browsing through kitted projects and WIPs, trying to decide what to work on this month. I bought some sock yarn last week and ...

My July OMG was making a shirt from red fabric I bought several years ago. The pattern was Butterick 6170, one of my favorite patterns from the 1990s. I sewed a straight XS, no alterations.

It turned out fine, but I had a lot of trouble with the grown on sleeves. Machine hemming them trashes the drape and causes them to do unflattering things. I ended up hemming them by hand to work around it.

This pattern will go in time out for a while. I’d like to try some different styles.

For all the other OMG finishes, visit ...

I didn’t add any fabric this week, although I had many buying opportunities. I finished the shirt for almost a yard out. All the shirt details will be in a separate post.

We went to the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Quilt Show yesterday. Hundreds of great quilts, plus a gift shop and vendors. If you live in the area, the shows continues today from 11am – 5pm at Washtenaw Community College.

While we were out and about after the show, I found a screen printing screen at a thrift shop. That was a first. I’ve wanted to learn ...

No fabric in this week. I pulled another yard of fabric to donate.

When I was digging through a closet looking for something I found another bin of fabric. I couldn’t bring myself to look through it. I’ll sort it when I do the declutter challenge again in 2025. That has to be the last of it.

In addition to quilting Remember Me, I cut out the red shirt and started sewing it. I need to buy more thread this morning. I use neutral thread for piecing and either rayon or polyester thread for quilting. As I use ...

It’s now the second half of the year. I’m happy with what I’ve completed so far, yet it feels a bit unbalanced. The rest of the year could use a wider variety of projects.

I finished stitching and framed Summer Flowers in June, then started a new stitch project.

I began The Short List many years ago to create short-term goals and a way to focus. I change things up as my priorities and interests change.

Project 1 (Stitching): Peace on Earth by Cottage Garden Samplings. This is the first I’ve stitched one of their patterns ...

FREEDOM!!!

OK -- so I'm not entirely off the hook as I have urgent paperwork to do this morning, but I spent most of yesterday just puttering and doing what I wanted, and it felt glorious! 

I am determined to keep things under control - OK - until the next crisis hits, but if I keep myself organized, those deadlines shouldn't be an issue? Perhaps I'm deluding myself. That's OK - I can live in a dream world. 

But the biggest issue for me is keeping the space clear. Why is that so hard? I seem to need a table ...