2022 a new start

At this time last year who would have thought 2021 would be the year that it was?  I changed jobs after some 17 years working part time for the same person to a full time position with less stress.  This has also meant less sewing time, and  sometimes even when I have the time - I just don't want to sew!  Horrors I know... but I have always said I sew depending on my mental state and sometimes the brain just switches off and sometimes my eyes just don't want to focus that much.

I haven't looked at my achievements from last year yet - I finished work on Xmas eve and between the statutory holidays and taking 3 days annual leave I started back at work on Tuesday.  Hospitality industries in the Bay of Islands are historically super busy from Boxing Day on and although this year is still somewhat flat compared to a normal year, visitor numbers  are healthy for the covid economy - meaning work has been busy.

So what have I been up to?

I have been plugging away at my The Scrappy Star Quilt Adventure blocks...

And routinely play around with placements on my design wall.

I pulled a random selection of solids and some neutral prints and started the Shape Up Quilt - a free pattern from AGF.  None of my fabric quantities match the requirements so this is going to be interesting.

The first block is 25" wide... so big and bold.  I think I will tackle one block per month going forward.

I joined the All People Quilt #apqresolution challenge - choose 12 current wips to work on this year (only 12 not 200??) and then follow the monthly number draws to see what to work on each month.

 

January was 12 so out came Patchwork City and a quick binding fabric selection... black and white stripes just about always suits a bright multicolored quilt.

I decided to try big stitch binding as it is supposed  to be quicker.  Yes it is!  I am about half way through.

For Xmas this year I split a rainbow fq bundle with my best friend with instructions to work with a different colour each month.

This is my purple January  block.  I have a plan ☺ and there is more purple.

This is Monika's block borrowed from her instagram.  Its going to look so cool 😍

In other super exciting news I bought  a new sewing machine!

A Janone M7 Continental.  I am in love.  Thats a 13.5" throat space.

I also sewed a clothes!  These are the Jessa flared pant by Tilly and the Buttons.  Hems and button still to do in these photos.

Although I did get the rest finished too... and they are all ready to wear.  My 16+ year old Bernette still does a good button hole even if I do need the instruction book every single time 😅.

I put together a new bundle of fabric.

I pulled out some random low volume scraps... made a big mess...

And sewed some wonky log cabins.  These may end up going in a different direction.

And last but not least I have decided to join Molli Sparkles in the Cut it up  challenge - don't save your  precious fabric for the perfect quilt, cut it up and use it.  So I have chosen a bundle that I purchased some time ago and am thinking about what to do with it.  Watch this space 😅.

Just a little skirt - The Allegro!

 It might just be a little skirt but I'm ridiculously proud of it!

Complete with naff photos!

I used a grey shot cotton for the waist band and pocket lining.  It looks very smart although the fraying aspect was a consideration which encouraged me to try using the binding to cover the seams.  Because I didn't have the right width elastic, I sewed a seam though the middle of the waistband and threaded two lots of narrower elastic through each channel.

Watching other makers has encouraged me to stretch my basic skills... basic skills don't have to be boring... some lovely yellow pre made binding looks super fab on the inside and helps to keep everything tidy.  These pockets are the perfect depth.

I just did a very simple folded and top stitched hem.

Which turned out nice on both sides... I did use a measuring gadget to attempt to get some consistency to the measurements.

I also decided to topstitch along the side seams...

This slightly overexposed photo shows the stitching better.

So on the whole I am very pleased with the finished garment.  Woohoo!  It's about time.  Now that this one is off my to do list I can concentrate on all the other projects that have been calling me...

A Little Bit More...

And so the ticking and sticking continues...

Line Dried section 5 complete...

While this quilt looks huge in the photo it really isn't... I think it's about 60" wide... and there is another row of sections to come along the bottom.

Not on the list but I've been adding to the Giant Granny Squares...

And inbetween it all adding a few more little nine patch plus blocks to the collection.

Just as a reference to the scale... 19" blocks compared to 4.5" blocks :o)

My friend Monika and I went on a shopping road trip and I added some new low volume fat quarters...

Some homespun solids that just grabbed my attention (note neither of these photos actually represents the colours... probably somewhere in between).

I got a large section of fabric to start the pieced back for the Homespun magazine BOM top I completed using Tilda fabrics.

Some other random fat quarters...

A few more low volumes...

And this lovely mustardy coloured FQ.

While this week has been very low key... back to work after the school holidays and battling a mild cold which I've found draining... I have managed today to print off the instructions and pattern for a new skirt!!  It's the Love Notions Allegro, short skirt version (elastic waist and pockets - it's talking my language)... and I'm going to use the fine cord fabric I bought in June.

Ideally I'd like to get this finished before Winter ends as I think it would be great with tights and boots.  But we shall see what happens... no pressure!!

All the Stuff...

Sometimes life just has a way of getting in the way of things... doesn't it?  Three weeks ago I had a call from school to say my daughter was sick, at the sick bay (there were bugs going around) and needed to be picked up.  By the time I got there - less than 30 minutes - I was informed my son had dislocated his knee cap, and was waiting for the ambulance to arrive... so the last couple of weeks have been a bit up in the air - looking after Dylan when he needed extra care - checking in with Nadia who turned out just had a bit of a cold coming on which started with a high temperature and general crappiness - and finishing up the last week of work before the {well deserved} school holidays started.

Now almost at the end of the first week of the two week term holiday, Dylan has attended a specialist appointment about his knee {fortunately he seems to have avoided major injury - and just needs to be careful and avoid sports for another month before he can use it fully}.  Still a little bit sore at times and a bit swollen, he was very lucky!

Nadia and I have both spent the first week of the holidays doing bedroom cleaning, sorting and tidying.  Her room is finally moving from a childhood bedroom, into more of a teenage bedroom - a bit of a bittersweet moment. 

Nadia inherited the smallest room in the house - and we installed these shelves for all her little girlie stuff.  It didn't remain this tidy for very long - but it did look good, and keep track of a lot of stuff, for quite a while.

The toys have turned into clothes storage with sleek grey baskets.  Still a work in progress, but I am really hoping that this will be finished by the end of the holidays.  One week to go!

Before Xmas I located a fabric shop in the US that sold fabric in pre-cut bundles complete with a pattern that suited the fabric.  This was awesome because the hardest thing about buying dress fabrics is judging the weight - and matching it to the pattern requirements.  Although they didn't ship to NZ, they put me on to a shipping go between that organised that side of things.  And so finally, I had a rather large bundle arrive with three different patterns and fabrics enclosed (for quite an exorbitant postal charge I might add and I'll never do it again!)

 I chose a pattern for a jacket and black "sweater knit" fabric, half because I quite liked the simple nature of the jacket that I thought would be a useful addition to my wardrobe, and half because I wanted to know what "sweater knit" was.  I chose view A.

As the fabric was calculated for the view and size that used the most, I worked out there should be some left over as I was sewing the smallest size on the pattern, and chose the shortest, sleekest view.  With the left over yardage, I had the extra cool idea of seeing whether I could squeeze this Bibi dress from Tilly and the Buttons book Stretch from the same length of fabric - YES! I was off and running and I cut the two items out at the same time and commenced sewing.

 It turns out that sweater knit is just a relatively heavyweight, maybe double? knit.  Still not entirely sure.  I sewed up the dress in the size for my measurements - not noticing that it has negative ease, which means it is designed to fit smaller than your body measurements... not a look I was going for.

So, yeah... I made a dress that is too small... while simultaneously sewing a jacket that ended up too big.

I have some weird pulling on one side, and it hangs rather loose.  The collar also sits a bit weirdly at the bottom.

I am not completely disheartened by this, and next I'm hoping to make a dress from this book...

... from a grey and black stripe.

We shall see!