fall colors

*Cross-posted at: Teathered Threads Block Party.

I totally thought "fall" the moment I saw the fabric for November's Tethered Threads Bee from Nicole. Orange, brown, yellow, green and it's November?! This is totally going to be a fall quilt.

My biggest effort went into making this fall colored tree. By far, this was my most challenging piecing yet. All those little squares were tricky to work with, but I learned a few new techniques.

On the second block I lost a bit of steam. So, for that one I went with a color frame with a cute little owl in the center. Quick and simple, but I was happy with how it turned out.

Can't wait to see how these all come together!

tethered threads - month 1

Things were getting down to the wire. I had knocked out the first of my two blocks pretty quickly. I had a flash of inspiration for the first block - a crown for the little girl's Hebrew name. And by luck, I happened to find a paper piece pattern for a crown. I guess in this picture the crown itself is hard to see. Darn. Anyways, I was quite proud of my paper piecing and started dragging my heals about the second block.

I wanted to do something with 'sea' for the little girl's second Hebrew name. I tried to come up with a paper pieced design of my own, but gave up. Too hard!

Instead, I went with a block-y background and some appliqued owls. Aren't those owls just the cutest? I had trouble with the stitching around then owls when I lowered my feed dogs. So instead I just kept them up and directed the fabric through with my hands. It worked pretty well what way.

So, late in the night of the 29th and into the morning of the 30th I knocked out the last block. And into the mail they went. Hopefully, they should be at their destination by the time this posts. I hope you like them Jenny!

more quilting goodness

My new obsession with quilting really has come about through the blogging world. There are some amazing quilter-bloggers out there. So inspirational and so many it seems I'm always finding a new blog to oggle.

The Block Party blog is just one of many I've enjoyed checking regularly. It's so fun to see what these ladies have been creating for each other. And now... we can all get in on the fun. They've made the blog into a quilt along - can't wait for the first tutorial to go up. And I'm really excited about the possibility of more quilting bees. I'm loving the one I'm in right now. Everyone has made just beautiful blocks.

But... must get back to the Block Party... they're kicking off the quilt along with a give-away of some pretty fun fabrics. Free fabric?! Who wouldn't want to win?! So, go check them out and join the fun when the quilt along starts. I know I can't wait!

The dress - beta version

I got a crazy bee in my bonnet when I started looking for a wedding dress. My "prefect" dress just doesn't seem to be out there. And gosh, have you seen some of the crazy stuff they call wedding dresses? Puffiness, gaudiness, and major tackiness. So I sent off an email to my cousin Em asking if I was crazy to think about sewing my own dress. Her email back was encouraging, so I'm diving in.

I thought I'd draft a pattern from a dress I have as a starting point. But I was getting worried about how I was going to figure out the darts. As a break from drafting the pattern I did a little ebay search just to see what was out there in the way of patterns.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this pattern. {tiny picture, I know} It was exactly the dress I was trying to draft my pattern off of. Really? I couldn't believe it. My dress I had bought years ago in a little boutique in Arcata from a local seamstress. I was so surprised to see the pattern looking back at me from ebay. And the kicker... the auction was ending in 15min. I put in my bid and sat nervously watching the screen for the next 13 minutes. I'd never bid on anything on ebay before. Let me tell ya', it's nerve racking! The price jumped and I had to scramble to put in a higher max bid. I sat biting my lip hoping that my bid would be high enough to win. And it was! Heart attack adverted.

Yesterday I got a couple old sheets from Goodwill and today I set to work sewing version beta. First off, I had a brain fart and sewed 3/8" seams instead of 5/8" - a big difference that makes this dress much more sack-like. Next version I'll try to give it a bit more of a scoop neck and narrow the straps as well. And the back needs fixing too. {p.s. the picture is horrible} My sharpie is my friend on this one. Lots of marking and labeling. I am foreseeing many more beta versions to come.

In other sewing news, I finished up this little present this weekend. Mom, don't follow the link there!

Now, off I go to scrub my "new" cast iron skillets. A steal at the flea market, just got to get the rust off and season them up!