Gayley Girl Gift

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gaylebagMy New Year’s resolution is to have only one project going at a time. And that translates to “finish what you start.” I can be a tad ADD, i.e. “Look at that pretty piece of fabric; I think I’ll sew that today.” And my Very Bad Habit is to throw each new pretty thing onto my cutting table. And the mess begins. If I can stick to my resolution—and 15 days into the year (half a month gone already?!), so far/so good—I can get rid of the clutter and mess and feel more at peace in my little basement haven.

Jas and our travel pals and I had the most wonderful NoCal vacation in September. And one of the best memories is of a sidetrip to Capitola and lunch with one of my cyberfiberfriends, Gayle.

To say Gayle offered us lunch is an understatement. Gayle was incredibly generous and opened her home to us and shared herself and her talents (and her very talented and musical husband). I wanted to return her gift in kind.

Gayle sews – beautifully. So what could I make to say “thank you” that wasn’t something she could make for herself? The answer came as two lightbulbs went off in my head.

Lightbulb #1: While working at the Bernina store, one of my tasks was to arrange all the store samples of bags and accessories onto a wall. One of the bags was the Amy Butler Reversible Sunday Sling. This is a cool bag—verrry large and perfect for carrying a stash of fabric to a class or a lunch-worth of veggies from the farmer’s market. And did I mention big? The pattern has two sizes and I chose the larger one.

I’ve made a number of bags, but I’m never content with the weight of the bag. By weight, I mean the way it will stand when you place it on a table or the floor. I have yet to find the interfacing or inner construction that makes me happy. Amy Butler and her team have hit a home run with this bag, IMHO.

Lightbulb #2: On the shelf at the Bernina store, I found the perfect fabric to craft this bag for the consummate foodie. The exterior would be Makower “Cook’s Kitchen,” the interior would be Timeless Treasures’ “Gorgeous Gourds,” with a little accent of P&B Bear Essentials Two Green Bubbles.

Cook's Kitchen

Cook’s Kitchen
Gorgeous Gourds

Gorgeous Gourds
Green Bubbles

Green Bubbles

Here’s the review:

Pattern Description: “Stylish & sweet and easy to sew! This reversible modern design is great for beginners – with simple, large pockets, tie handles and pleats. This gorgeous bag makes every day as easy as Sunday.” (From pattern page on Amy Butler website)

Pattern Sizing:
Small Sling – 18” wide x 14 1/8” tall (28” tall with Handles) x 3 1/4” deep
Large Sling – 23” wide x 16 1/8” tall (30” tall with Handles) x 4” deep

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, but verbose. A lot of reading.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Loved the stiff interfacing in the base. A sturdy and well-designed bag.
The downside is how difficult it is to turn rightside-out when you’ve finished attaching the inside to the outside. Because you’ve got layers of batting and interfacing and stiffener for the bottom, plus layers of pockets, you’ve got a lot of fabric to pull through that small hole. Take a deep breath and take your time.

Fabric Used: 100% Cotton (see my website for exact fabrics)

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Changed up the pockets somewhat. On one of the outside pockets I added a contrast binding. On the inside big pocket, I added two zippers. I made the tuck in the cell phone pocket smaller, as phones have increased in size since the pattern was designed.
For the handles, I cut four of the inside fabric and four of the outside, as I liked the look of the handle matching whichever side is out.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I bought enough batting and interfacing to make another for myself, but am not giving it a high priority, as it was a lot of work! (But so worth it — conflicting emotions!)

Conclusion: Great tote bag, nice design, clear instructions. Makes a wonderful gift for someone you really like.

A few more pictures. The bag will go into the mail on Monday. Jas looked at it again as he left for work this morning and said, “Gayle is going to love that bag!”

Bag front, full view

Bag front, full view
Outside, back view. Contrast trim on large exterior pocket.

Outside, back view. Contrast trim on large exterior pocket.
Inside, look closely to see the cell phone pocket.

Inside, look closely to see the cell phone pocket.
Inside, full-width pocket, seam up the middle to create two pockets, each with zipper closure.

Inside, full-width pocket, seam up the middle to create two pockets, each with zipper closure.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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Brrr!It took the winter of 2014/15 a little while to set it, but it’s here now. Boy, is it here. The temperature for much of yesterday was right around 0°, with wind chill temps in the minus-teens. Tomorrow the wind chill temp is supposed to drop to about -24°. One does not go outside without gloves, even just to take the bag of used kitty litter to the garbage can! (TMI? Sorry!)

At the Bernina/quilt store where I work worked until noon today, we’ve had two shelves of Shannon Cuddle just lingering on the shelves. Shoppers would come in and say how soft and lovely it was, but then move on to other fabrics. As I wrote yesterday regarding the Cuddle infinity scarf, there were bits of it going to new homes, but much of it is still on the shelf.

When I picked up the Winter issue of Stitch Magazine, and saw this cuddly lounging jacket made from Shannon Cuddle, I felt inspired. Taking advantage of the employee discount at the Bernina Store, I bought enough to make a jacket for my DIL-Equivalent and one for myself.

Here’s hers:
IMG_8720The reversible jacket requires about 2¾ yards of two colors of microfiber fleece. For Leslie, who lives in Amarillo and whose family has a long history of ranching and farming, one of the sides had to be “My Lil’ Buckaroo” in camel. For the outside, I chose Cuddle Embossed Vine in brown.

When I laid the pattern out to cut the fabric, I discovered an error in the pattern. I wrote to the designer and got a quick response, ensuring me that the error was the publisher’s, not hers, and that the publisher had agreed to fix it and reload the PDF pattern.

Jacket backThe pattern is marked “one size fits all,” but I beg to differ. Really, one size fits up to about a normal size 14, and that’s snug in the sleeves. On Leslie’s version, I had to take scant ½” seams and the sleeves still were probably too tight to wear a t-shirt under the jacket. On mine, I will try adding a bit to the shoulder seam and slash-and-spread the sleeve to give myself more room.

HoodMy only other complaint is the lack of a “sew here” button marking. I sewed those buttons on three times and still wasn’t happy with the placement and the way the jacket falls in the front. I doubt I will ever wear it out in public. This jacket—for me—is going to be something I wear in my drafty old (1927) house to stay warm in these brutal and long NE Ohio winters.

And how cute is this hood? Very! Now to finish one outstanding project downstairs so I can cut into the black classic and ivory vine Cuddle yardage that’s waiting for me in the sewing room.

Edited 1/12/2015

Note: I’ve exchanged several emails with designer Cheryl Bush regarding problems I had or errors I discovered with this pattern. Here are her comments:

The sizing should be marked S-L (One Size Fits Most between sizes 0-14).

To determine the best placement for the shoulder buttons, try jacket on at when completed. Smaller sizes should sew a button onto one side of the front, about 1 inch in front of the armscye, just under the hood seam. Larger sizes may prefer buttons to be 2 to 3 inches below the shoulder seam for a roomier fit. Do the same on the opposite shoulder, but this time on the inside lining.

If you find tacking the neck seam together after sewing the inside and outside together, you might sew the hood seam together from the outside as invisibly as possible for about an inch at the center back.

Cheryl noted “This is content that was included in the submission to Stitch Magazine, but omitted by the editor.”

Thank you, Cheryl! I’ll look forward to trying more of your patterns.

For Gifts and For Me

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CowlOne morning about two weeks before Christmas, I walked into the Bernina store where I work and noticed several women lined up holding bolts of Shannon Cuddle, a microfiber fleece. Benartex makes a similar fabric named Minkee. I believe Minkee has been around longer and is more well known. The variety of microfiber fleece that people are most familiar with is the dimpled version, frequently used in making baby blankets.

IMG_8617My coworker had seen a video for an infinity scarf over the weekend and made one out of Cuddle. It was so beautiful that everyone in the store wanted one for herself and one for her best friend.

The video linked above shows the scarf made out of a lightweight wool and in greater dimensions. My coworker had modified the instructions just a little, but the scarves were perfect in the Cuddle.

Here are the changes: instead of cutting 30″ x [width of fabric], just cut ⅓ yard (12″) and sew as shown. After turning right side out, hold one end flat, grab the other end and turn it over three times (effectively giving it a full 1½ turn – 180° + 180° + 180° – does that make sense?). Then, instead of trying to sew around the cut edges right sides together, fold one end to the inside ½” to ¾”, then tuck the other end inside that fold, making a full circle, and topstitch. The fleece has just the right about of thickness to its nap that you’ll never see the stitching, especially if you double (or even triple) the scarf around your neck.

Charcoal Chevron Embossed

Chevron Embossed

Paisley Cuddle

Violet Paisley Cuddle

I made five of these for Christmas gifts (reserving one for myself, of course). The first three, two in ivory embossed vine and one in charcoal embossed chevron, were cut at 12″, so when worn are 5½” wide (12″ – ½+½ seam allowance = 11″ folded in half).

At the end of the day in the store, there was only a generous half yard left of the violet embossed paisley, so I put that on my account, cut it in half, and it became two young-lady-sized scarves.

You want to see one on a little sweetie, don’t you?
(My younger son’s partner’s precious 4yo daughter, the lovely Miss C.)

IMG_8730

Common Interests

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Christmas cardI’ve been living in hell this week. While driving from Northeast Ohio to Western North Carolina two days before Christmas to see my 101-year-old mother and visit with my brothers and sister-in-law, I received a call from my SIL telling me we might have to move Mother from her assisted living facility to a nursing home. Damn!

You see, my plan includes: Mother living as long as she wants—in perfect health the whole time—and then just dropping dead, painlessly, of course, from a heart attack or other instant condition. So far my plan isn’t working so well. In fact, we’re way beyond it being possible.

So, starting at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I started tearing my mother’s ALF apartment apart and separating things into nursing home, charity, and Ohio. I took a little break last night to catch “Into the Woods” at a Hendersonville theatre, then continued packing until 11:30. This morning I was back at it. Breakfast at Dixie Diner, quick trip to spend a few minutes with Mother, then Wal-Mart to get packing supplies. Wal-Mart? On the day after Christmas? When the place is filled with frantic shoppers looking for cheap wrapping paper? That was a big Oops!

Throughout the day, I dropped some bags of clothing at the Rescue Mission, dropped a lot of things at Goodwill, visited Mother again, and stopped by my cousin’s house to drop some things off. In between those errands, I talked to clock people and movers and kept putting more things in the car.

But let me tell you the best thing that happened in the day. I was walking down the hallway in the ALF. The door was open to one of the apartments I passed. I glanced in and then stopped dead in my tracks. This woman was a quilter. A big-time quilter! I could see her inside watching television, so I knocked on the door, introduced myself, and we talked quilts for 20 minutes.

What a wonderful break in a perfectly awful day. Her collection—”I’ve given most of them away already”—included whole cloth and tree of life and adaptations of standard patterns and works she had designed herself. The small quilt hanging on her door (see picture) was her adaptation of a Christmas card she received years ago. It was precious and priceless.

The quilts are machine pieced and hand-quilted and have entailed thousands of hours of work. Her small bedroom contains a single bed and a table with her White sewing machine. She told me it’s a “Jeans” machine. She saw the dealer demonstrate it at a show. When he sewed directly from six layers of brand new denim to one layer of chiffon without a hiccup, she was sold.

And here she is in an assisted living facility, legs gone below the knees, getting around in a wheelchair.

She smiles. Why shouldn’t she smile? She’s surrounded by beauty and creates more beauty every day.

You and I should be so lucky!

Does a Manly Man Wear a Scarf?

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ScarfAs we were leaving Northern California after a wonderful week of vacation in September, I ducked into a yarn shop in Half Moon Bay and picked up two skeins of Noro “Cash Island” yarn (also called “Cashmere Island”). As I was writing this post, I learned it has been discontinued. Boo hoo! It’s a great yarn. I wanted to make more of these scarves. “Cash Island” is 60% wool, 30% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Can you say “soft”? Yep, soft.

When I showed it to Jas after purchase, he asked, “Don’t you have enough scarves?” I didn’t tell him it was designated for his neck, not mine. I waited until I was about 3/4 finished with the knitting and able to say, “Touch this. Isn’t it nice?”

The pattern was free with purchase. It’s called “Basketweave Scarf” and was designed for “Cash Island”. So simple – 26 stitches, some seed stitch then a k4/p4 basketweave, finished with a little seed stitch. That’s as close as I’m going to get to violating Fengari’s copyright. The lawyer inside won’t let me get any closer. The scarf uses 2 skeins of the yarn and size 10 needles. As I hadn’t taken any needles along on vacation, I picked up a pair of Crystal Palace size 10, 26″ circs on the store owner’s recommendation. Totally love these needles, even though I had vowed never to buy bamboo before ’cause I just didn’t love them. These are different!

Here’s the shop’s website.
Here’s a “Cash Island” listing on Etsy. I believe this is the same colorway I used. Watch Etsy and eBay if you want to get some of this yummy wool.
Wool scarfA little info on Crystal Palace needles.
Ooh, ooh – here are some 10s for $5.95!

You love the picture of my manly man posing at his desk, don’t you. When we left yesterday morning to run down to Columbus for a late Thanksgiving celebration with his mom and brothers and their families, he grabbed the scarf. When we got home an hour ago, he folded it carefully and put it on the coat closet shelf. I told him I wanted a picture, and he quickly replied, “People don’t wear scarves indoors.” “Girls do,” I responded. “Men don’t,” was his immediate, firm comeback.

So he wouldn’t pose for a portrait like I would had I been wearing the scarf. He had to sit at his desk and pretend to be working. Haha. Didn’t fool you, did he?!

And—by the way—it would make a fine scarf for a girly girl, also.

Fail/Pass

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Rayon VogueBack in 2012, I made one of Marcy Tilton’s jackets, Vogue 8709. I dipped into my stash and pulled out a rayon woven in rust and black, and found an old silk/cotton woven for cuffs and collar. A lot of work went into this top, and when it was done, it cried to live in someone else’s closet.

Thanksgiving dinnerLast summer our friend, Diane, invited it to live in her closet. When we arrived for “orphan’s dinner” at their home on Thanksgiving, she was wearing it and both she and the top looked very happy. Isn’t it nice when a fail is passed to someone else and becomes a success?!

And look at the beautiful dinner table Mike and Diane set for our group of close friends. What a lovely evening.

More Little Gifts

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Microwave BowlAt this time of year, I’m always looking for [quick] cute little gifts for holiday party hostesses and (even more importantly) my grandchildren’s teachers.

Shortly after starting to work at a quilt shop, someone showed me the microwave bowl mat. Brilliant! You know how the microwave dings and you grab your soup bowl and then cry out in pain because it’s so hot that it burns your fingertips? Some brilliant crafter figured out a solution.

Microwave bowlI’ve read ten or fifteen tutorials, and the one by Lisa Lewis Koster was the one I liked the best. (I’ve removed the link to her blog. Unfortunately, there’s a problem with third-party photo sites and her service provider. I’ve copied the page and converted it to a PDF. Leave me a message below and I’ll send it to you.) I recently won a pack of Cotton & Steel fat quarters from Gotham Quilts. Two fat quarters yield two microwave bowl mats and two little zippered bags. Cool! The prints I chose were: A) from the Hatbox line by designer Alexia Abegg, the Hatbox print in cream and the All the States print in coral; and B) again from Hatbox, the Palm Springs print and the All the States print, both in aqua.

imageThese mats are a little more time consuming than I like, but I can control that by the amount of quilting I do on each piece. When I start out again in the morning on the other three bags that I will take along to my friends at “orphan’s dinner” tomorrow, I’m going to be more judicious in the amount of quilting I do! Bet on it!!

Think 100% cotton. Cotton fabric, cotton batting, and cotton thread. Very important for something you’re going to “cook” over and over again.

Thrill for Twill

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vestbuttonWe have some bolts of fabric at work that have been around for a few years. The shoppers who come in somehow don’t envisage these fabrics as quilts or bags or any other sewn item. So they sit.

I’ve been making it my mission to get all of these fabrics photographed (or find the pic online, although for older fabrics, that’s not an easy task), and make them available to potential online purchasers. In a sentence: what a shopper cannot see does not get sold.

Vest BackWhen I arrived at the store on Monday, eight bolts of Moda cotton twill were stacked next to the cutting table. Balanced on top was a handwritten note from the store owner: “Put in computer and label. Make something.”

When I went to American Sewing Expo in Novi, MI, a couple of months ago, I saw an Indygo Junction vest that I loved. In fact, many shoppers loved it. One of the woman associated either with IJ or with the store booth that was featuring IJ was wearing a denim vest from the pattern. She got so tired of stopping to answer the question, “What pattern is that?”, that she pinned a copy of the pattern to the back of her vest so she could just point! I purchased the pattern, but also bought some of this beautiful, soft denim IJ has developed. My intention is to make the long vest from the soft aqua denim. But I’d been eyeing this olive/black/red striped twill ever since I saw the vest. Wouldn’t that go together nicely? And it did!

Here’s the review:

Vest patternPattern Description: The Modern Silhouette Vest is styled with subtle shaping for a flattering fit. Only four pattern pieces combine with an array of construction options to create a variety of looks. Three lengths are offered: a cropped, upper hip number, a mid-hip variation and a lower hip adaptation with a decidedly free-spirited point of view. All have staggered hemlines that taper gently to the back with a concealing extended center back panel. Stitch your pieces together with exposed, serged seams or overlap and topstitch your pieces for an out-of-the-ordinary rendition. If you don’t have a serger or prefer an alternative finishing technique, use your zigzag stitch to cover and accent the raw edges of your garment. The pattern showcases a self-fabric tie option, an easy, single button closure and a vest unhindered by closures of any kind. You’ll also find instructions for deconstructing denim jeans to repurpose as a smart new vest.

Pattern Sizing: Offered in sizes S – 3XL.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Easy peasy! Construction time probably under two hours.

Fabric Used: Moda cotton twill . The store owner found eight bolts of this twill sitting around and said, “Somebody please make something out of this.” So I did. 🙂

vestsidefrontPattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Such a quick and easy vest. Side front and side back seams serge-finished, then sewn WS together and seam allowances pressed open. I love the subtle contrast of the wrong side showing on the side front/back seams.

Vest

Shoulder seam, with side front/back seams

The only seams sewn RS together are shoulder and side. I topstitched those seams from the outside at 3/8″ just to keep them flat. I personally like the insides of a garment to look as nice as the outside.

Vest

Left front snap

I used the Collins C17 “jumbo” plastic snaps, 1/2″ diameter, and I wished I had used something larger. Went to Jo-Ann’s but the larger ones they stock are metal. I felt they’d be too heavy for this lightweight vest. I plan to make this again soon in Indygo Junction’s beautiful Crossroads Denim, and will order larger plastic snaps for that – or use metal.

“But I don’t have a serger,” you say? Don’t despair. Use any of the overlocking stitches or fancy stitches your machine offers. Use cool contrasting thread. Or even use double-fold bias binding or that cool folded elastic that’s available now (just don’t stretch it!). You don’t have to have a serger – that’s just how the instructions are written.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Absolutely. I’ll be leaving it at the Bernina shop where I work, as a sample for shoppers to see. (After I sew my label in the back!)

Conclusion: Cute, easy, flattering vest in three lengths, suitable for medium-weight fabrics and great for repurposing jeans. Highly recommend!

The picture at the top of the post shows the raku button I used. It’s been in my stash for about 15 years and was handmade by a lovely clay artisan who lived in Oregon at the time. She has since moved to France with her love and stopped creating these buttons. How sad for me and other sewers!

The button is sewn on to disguise the stitches on the snap inside the right front. After I secure that button, I run a couple more stitches and add little glass beads. Love to include creative touches like this.

And don’t you love the word envisage (in first paragraph, above)? My Good Husband, a passionate word nerd, had a word-of-the-day calendar on his desk at the Pentagon. The day he died, “envisage” was the day’s word. It means “To conceive an image or a picture of, especially as a future possibility.” Just telling you this brings back such wonderful memories—and brings tears to my eyes.

Oh, and a smile to my face.