Abstract Wrap Dress (NL6097) & More Baby Shower photos

I needed a dress for the baby shower so on Thursday night, I decided to make New Look 6097. It had the casual look I wanted and the pattern is rated highly at Pattern Review.  The fabric is from my May 2012 PR weekend in New York. I think it came from Metro Textiles but I'm not positive. The pattern needed 2.5 yd and I only had about 2 1/8 but with some very clever fabric placement, I squeaked it out. I thought I lined up the stripes perfectly but alas, the side seams are off a bit. Not so much that I won't wear it but enough that I won't wear it to any functions with my sewing friends!

I agree with the other reviewers that this was easy to put together and sized well. I made a 10 on top and graded out to a 12 at the hips. I had plenty of room. The sweater knit was a little sheer so I ended up underlining the skirt with a lightweight black knit that I had. If I hadn't decided to underline, I estimate the dress would have taken about 2 hours to sew. I don't love the fabric belt but that's my opinion about all fabric belts to be honest. I will wear it with a black belt next time.

More shower photos:
My daughter, her MIL and me (the two Grandmas!)

 My two daughters, my mom and me.



The adorable cookies made by a friend of a friend.  They were delicious, too!

Baby Shower Loot

As I've mentioned before, my daughter and son-in-law are expecting a baby in December. I made some things to give her at the baby shower today. 

They decided on a policeman theme for the nursery (daddy is a police officer) but couldn’t find much in the way of bedding / accessories so we decided to design something as described in a previous post. My daughter ok'd all the designs and picked out the fabrics.  After piecing the quilt top, I took it to a local quilt shop to do the actual quilting. I was very happy with how it turned out - $35 well spent! Using some tips I found on various quilters’ blogs, I used my machine to put the binding on and added a little tag for my future grandson.

 

I scaled down two of the designs I created for the quilt to make a couple appliqued bibs. Rather than make the bibs, I purchased some fingertip towels at Big Lots (removed the monograms) and created over-the-head bibs by cutting a hole and serged ribbing to the neckline.

Other goodies include a University of Cincinnati bib (mom and dad’s alma mater) and another onesie (like this one) made from Jalie 3133 and an old t-shirt from dad.

 

I made coordinated Christmas stockings for my daughter and her husband last year and used the same pattern in different colors to make a stocking for the baby. Purchased Christmas socks will go with that present. I also knit a hat but it turned out way too big. 

The final project was a diaper cake. I used instructions found at this tutorial. My version took 67 size 2 Pampers, a 14” cardboard cake base, about 3 yd each of a wide and skinnier ribbon, and a BAZILLION rubber bands. I found the cute little Fisher Price police car on eBay and some blue pacifiers for accent. The bibs and onesie were also included as accents.

Sunshine Skirt (M6402)

I purchased a black ponte skirt for one of my daughters back in the spring but I liked it so much, I kept it for myself (Bad Mom).  I've worn it a few times and always seem to receive compliments so I thought I would make another out of a small piece of yellow ponte knit I had.

Originally, I wanted no waistband but couldn't find a pattern like that and didn't feel like converting a pattern (Lazy Mom). I found this skirt pattern that I liked WITH a waistband that had woven and knit options.  I finished this about a month ago but never got around to photographing and blogging.  It really has more of a summer vibe to it so I missed the boat for this year.

Details:

• McCalls 6402, View A
• Size 10 Ok, so I was a bit optimistic due to recent weight loss and a 12 might have made more sense but with some Spanx, it will be just fine. But I am KICKING myself that I didn't check the length. I'm a little over 5'3" so normally I have to shorten skirts / dresses but this one is SHORT. The length is ok for going out but I wouldn't be comfortable wearing in a business setting. I may make this again in a more conservative color for work but will add 2".
• Fabric: Yellow Ponte knit remnant I picked up at Banasch. I think it was only 3/4 yard.
• Conclusion: It was a little tricky matching the 4 points but I'm happy with the results. It went together fairly quickly. Mark thinks is looks "hot" so I'm calling it a success.

More baby sewing

And this isn't even for my daughter's baby! But her boss just adopted a little boy and she wanted to give her a hand-made gift. I offered to make yet another bathrobe like these and this and this. While we were picking out the bathrobe fabric, my daughter saw some University of Cincinnati fabric that she liked. Both she and her husband graduated from UC so we picked up a yard with no specific idea in mind. On our way home, she asked me to make a bib for her co-worker's baby in addition to the robe.

I don't love all these teeny tiny seams and corners but whaddya gonna do?

 

 I just noticed I took the photo before setting the little black snap on the bib.

Quilt Top Finished

I've never been fond of the actual quilting process and always find my results to be too amateur looking. So for Brady's quilt, I'm sending it to the quilt shop to do the quilting. I was happy to hear that I didn't even have to baste it; they are going to do that, too!

Here's a look at the finished top laid out on my cutting table.

T-Shirt Onesie - J3133

One of my friends made an adorable onesie for her granddaughter to wear to a fair - the onesie was made from a t-shirt purchased at the same fair in a prior year. It was sooooo adorable! It gave me the idea to try it using a t-shirt from my son-in-law's police department. My daughter "stole" the shirt from his dresser. But before I cut into it, I figured I would do a muslin using a t-shirt that I didn't care as much about. I found this old Harley Davidson t-shirt that I never wear and figured it would work.

So here is the before....

Front

Back

And the after (still need snaps):

 

Front

Back

Raglan T - McCalls 6288

8/30/12 Edited to add final photo. I LOVE this pattern. I think I will raise the neckline in the front another 1/2" or so next time I make it so it is more appropriate for work.

How cute is this fabric?!! The French theme includes images of the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and a lovely french dame. I wanted to highlight the fabric in a simple t-shirt.

I love raglan sleeve shirts. I think that love stems back to the "baseball shirts" that were popular in the mid 70s. Remember this look? I had a few of them in middle school and thought I was ALL THAT when I wore them. How goofy. LOL

There don't seem to be too many patterns out there with this sleeve style, so when I saw a review last year for such a shirt, I looked up the pattern, McCalls 6288. I must admit I never would have noticed this pattern - the collection looks quite boring - but the t-shirt pattern is exactly what I was looking for.

 

There were a couple reviews at PR and I'm very thankful for the one that recommended raising the neckline and bringing in the shoulder edge (so bra straps don't show). I added an inch and you can see, it's still fairly low cut. I'm happy with the shoulders but I think I will raise the neckline a smidge more next time I make it. The top is not quite finished, still needs the neckline binding and a hem, but I am very happy with how it is turning out and will wear it with my red skinny jeans or maybe a red skirt as Sherril suggested!

Other Details:
Fabric is an ITY-type knit purchased from Spandex House in NY in May.
I cut a straight size 10. After basting, I decided it was a little too snug at the hips so I reduce the seam allowance from the waist to the hips to add an extra inch ( 1/2" on each side).

This pattern (as tweaked) will become a Tried and True for me.

My Sewing Machine Inventory

The chronology (I'm journaling this for my own benefit):

• 1990/1991 - purchased my first Bernina - the1020, a mechanical workhorse. It has never had a single thing wrong with it and it runs as well today as it did 20 years ago. I think I paid about $1000.    

         

• 1992 - purchased a Bernette Bernina serger in 1992 when I moved to Cincinnati. I think it was around $500. This entry level machine has also been very reliable.
• 2011 - purchased a Bernina 1300 MDC serger; My sewing machine dealer was offering great deals during the International Quilt Festival and I purchased for $1099. I still need to figure out how to use all the features!                                                         
• 2011 - purchased a used Bernina 1630 from a seller on Pattern Review for $500.  I decided I wanted a second machine to bring to Florida but after I received it, I decided to keep it in Cincinnati.

    

• 2012 - Was happy to find a used Activa 125 S on Craigslist within 60 miles of Bonita Springs. Purchased for $400.

• 2013 - Purchased a brand new Bernina 635 for $2700 (retail price $4600!!)  

• 2013 - Purchased a  used Babylock Coverstick for $745 including shipping (retail $1300 new)

So much more fun to collect sewing machines than say.... coins... or baseball cards..... Dontcha think?

Quilt Progress

Taking a little mid afternoon work break to post progress on my grandson's (boy does THAT sound weird - "grandson") quilt. After finishing the four-patch squares, I've moved on to the appliques. I started with the police badge squares. It's my least favorite of the three applique designs so I figured I would work out all my rusty applique skills on it. I'm happy with how it turned out even though I still don't love the design. Looks too much like a grinning badge to me but I couldn't figure out another design while keeping the lines simple. I finished both of them yesterday morning.

 

Next up are the car and hat designs. They are cut and wonder-undered and ready to be appliqued. I adore the hat and think it looks so much cuter in person. The striped fabric appears to be purple but it isn't. Blame it on the iPhone photo taken in artificial basement light. 

Do I remember how to quilt?

My daughter and husband are expecting a baby boy in December and have decided on a policeman theme for the baby's room in honor of his daddy. What a cute idea, right? We must be the only ones that think that because there is no bedding or baby items with a police theme anywhere. Fireman, yes. But no police. "No worries, darling daughter, I can sew." It slipped out before I could help myself.  You sewers know how that happens! I love quilts and have made a few but the last one was 18 years ago in anticipation of my youngest child. Ay yi yi!

How hard can it be, right? Well, it turns out there are no quilt / applique designs in that theme either. So, I had to completely start from scratch.  After looking at quilt designs that she liked, we decided on a mix of applique and simple four-patch squares for the quilt top. For the appliques, I found a very cute car design in "Quilts, Bibs, Blankies... Oh My" (adorable designs!!)

   

but no luck finding anything else police related (except for handcuffs and guns but we thought that might not be too child friendly!) I found a couple coloring book pages that I used to create templates for a police hat and shield.

 
I practiced with some scrap fabric until we came up with the final templates for the appliques.

I drafted the design (hee hee, that sounds so official for the chicken scratch shown below, doesn't it), calculated the measurements and converted to fabric quantities.

Next came picking the fabric. Turns out my daughter is quite picky when it comes to the colors she wants. She said blues and greens but that's not really what she meant. She meant very, very, very specific shades of blues and greens. Four quilt shops, hundreds of blue and green fabrics and three hours later and we had the fabrics. Four-patch squares are done. Appliqued squares up next!

Sunny Dress (Butterick 5780)

Edited to add a photo that better shows the lines of the dress:

I loved the lines of this dress when I saw the pattern introduced. In spite of the difficulties mentioned in the lone review at PR, I decided to make it anyway. It was a challenge!! The bodice construction was quite clever but I could have used more directions and/or illustrations in the pattern to help me through. I'm happy with how it turned out (but secretly, very glad it's done!!)

Particulars:
Pattern: Butterick 5780 with modified sleeve
Fabric: A medium weight ponte knit
Omitted zipper

 Jazz Hands for Nancy!


More details related to the construction in my PR review here.