More Pictures

 Here are more pictures of the things Liana and I made this year in 4-H

McCalls 6511 top.   

All the different cottons used for the patchwork

The lining of my jacket.  The fabric had different shades of purple  going from dark to light

McCalls 5838
Liana's dress

Liana added black stone
beads and embroidered a leafy design on the sleeves of her shrug

Liana custom designed this purse and also added the leafy design to match her shrug

The inside

Matching hair accessory to complete the look

♥ Arielle ♥

2012 4-H Fashion Revue

Well, I finally finished my outfit! ☺  I just finished the jacket I was making since January...... last night, and I finished my shirt just in time for the Fashion Revue this afternoon.  It has been a crazy week with getting school done and finishing my sewing projects.  Anyway, our county was able to send 6 junior club members (under the age of 13) to the next level, the Regional Fashion Revue.  Our leader was also able to send all of our senior club members (13 and older), which were 12 girls.  Liana being in the group of 6, and myself in the group of the 12.  It was a very exciting night, but I'm glad that it is over.  Here are some pictures.  I'll post more later.  I have many more pictures, but are not downloaded on the computer yet.  Plus, I will take better pictures in brighter lights of our outfits in better detail.  The camera wasn't working at the fashion revue.  Bad lighting, I think

 My outfit..... a jacket and shirt

Liana and I after the show

 Modeling

♥ Arielle ♥

New 4-H Project

I haven't finished my jacket yet, but I'm going to start on a shirt to go with it.  Here is  the pattern....

 

 

The pattern is McCalls 6511, and I'm making the one in the bottom right corner.  I am also going to alter it so that the neckline is higher.  I really like the patch-work on it, but so far I only have one piece of fabric though.  It is hard to match up the patterns and colors of fabric to my jacket color. 

 

 

I'll post more on my jacket and shirt later. 

 

Arielle

New 4-H Project

This year for my 4-H project I'm going to make Vogue 8346  View A.  I can never find a coat in stores that I really like.  This year, I'm going to make one.  Right now though, I think I am going to go CRAZY!  OK, so this is why -

I cut out a size 10 because that is what my measurements matched up to.  I probably spent about 16 hours on my coat, and it turned out to be WAY too big (it fits my mom).  I was told to take out all of my seams and cut it down a size.  Well, because it fit my mom, I let her have it and just cut out a size 8 out of scrap fabric we had around the house and sewed main body of the coat together.  When I took my second jacket (now in size 8) into 4-H, the teachers said that it was still too big!  So then I had to rip out my seams and cut out another jacket for a size 6 and then sew it back together. Blah!  If you looked on the back of the pattern for size 6, the measurements seemed like there was NO way that I would fit.  I was about to give up on 4-H all together, but I couldn't because I already bought my "real" fabric I want to use.  By the way, its purple :)   I'll post pictures of it later. 

So far, this project hasn't had a good start, but the end result is so cute that I really want to finish it.  I finally figured out what size to cut out, and I have all the alterations figured out thanks to my 4-H teachers.  So, my homework before the next 4-H is to cut the pieces out of my "good" fabric, and also out of the underlining, the lining, and the interfacing.  Lots of cutting! :(  Personally, my least favorite part of sewing.

Wish me luck! :) 


Sorry about the highlights, I can't remove it.
♥ Arielle ♥

 

New Pattern

I would like to find a bag pattern that just works.  One that could be used over and over again to produce quality bags to sell or make as gifts.  Using old fabric from our stash, I created this bag from McCalls 5822.  I had high hopes for it, and it turned out very nice.  But in using it on a day-to-day basis, I really don't like it.  I just can't seem to find anything in it!  It doesn't open wide enough to look inside very well, and I made the mistake of using black fabric for the lining.  So the interior of my bag is dark and unfriendly. 

I do love the pansies though.  They remind me of my grandmother.  In the spring she would pick them from her yard and float them in a blue glass bowl on her dining room table.  Pansies always make me smile.

New sewing project

This year for my 4-H sewing Project I selected  a simple sun dress pattern. I was in Joan's fabric store with my mom when chose I it. I saw an example for the dress on a mannequin in the store. To my surprise it was a pattern I had seen on-line about fifty times and hadn't ever noticed it. I chose a polyester to make the dress out of. The fabric has red and pink flowers on it. It also has earthy green stems coming out from under the flowers. I also plan to make a matching red jacket and make the sash on the dress red also. This year I want to put beading on the sash and hope to design a matching purse.

-Liana

Baby Quilts

A new baby in our family is due to arrive in March!  What better gift than an handmade quilt made with love?  I made a flannel quilt with a jungle print and Arielle made another quilt from a kit with squares pre-cut.  She decided she likes making clothing more than quilts, but she persevered to the end and completed this colorful cotton quilt.  Now the baby will have a warm blankie when he first arrives, and then when summer comes, he will have the lighter weight quilt.

Christmas Gifts

We can now post pictures of all the Christmas surprises we were working on for months.  First of all, here are Liana's seals all finished and two of the little girls who love them.

I was working on a wedding quilt for my son and daughter-in-law.  It was not finished in time for their marriage in July, so it became a Christmas gift instead.  The design is Rail Fence and it is made of high quality quilting fabric.  I tried Warm and Natural cotton batting for the first time and was quite pleased with how easy it was to use.  Arielle and Liana helped choose the colors.

Surprises!

We have all been busy sewing for Christmas.  We also have a new student who just completed a beautiful bag.  She is our youngest, only 7, but she has a lot of potential and is excited about all the projects she can make.  And she can sew a very straight seam for a little girl!  

I published a post awhile back but it was only here briefly because Liana did not want to spoil any surprises and asked me to please remove it.  She made some very special gifts for the little ones in our family.  I have a couple of projects too, but we can't divulge our secrets yet! 

We even have projects awaiting us after Christmas.  I have my friend's quilt to finish and then I plan to start my long-awaited project, a quilt only I would like.  It is called Fenced-In Chickens.  My mother gave me some whimsical fabrics a few years back.  They are all coordinated with a chicken theme and probably wouldn't appeal to many.  But I've been wanting to make this quilt for some time.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!  We hope you finish all your projects, right on time.

Christmas Sewing

Liana has been busy sewing gifts for all the little ones in our family.  She made this pod of seals from flannel and still needs to add the embellishments like faces and bows.  Liana is able to get beyond the sometimes tedious task of repetition needed for some projects.  Making quilts is like that too--lots of repetition in doing a pattern over and over when piecing and also in the quilting.  I find it relaxing.

Arielle has been busy with a beautiful baby quilt for the new little one coming in March.  I have two huge projects nearing completion but we can't post pictures of any of these yet. They are surprises!  --Deb

Sewing Students

It's been awhile since we have posted, but we're still sewing!  I had two new students, a brother and sister who wanted to learn to sew.  The boy made a pillowcase and the girl made a cute envelope purse.  Then they each made pillows using a reverse quilting technique.  The girl then went on to learn to read a pattern, purchase fabric and notions, and sew a simple blouse. 

Pillowcase in Native American print

I am completing a project for a wedding gift (a secret for now), making a ringbearer's pillow,  and hemming flower girl dresses and the groom's pants.  It's been a busy sewing time.  Before the big Columbus Day sale at our local fabric store, I like to have winter projects in mind, especially Christmas gifts.  Then we stock up and sew in our cozy, warm house as winter moves in.  That's the best sewing season!


Reverse quilting on pillows





Ringbearer pillow

 

Sewing Bag

Using the same pattern for the owl purse, I made a larger size.  It went together quickly, even with adding a magnetic closure.  The fabric has sewing notions on it, so this would be the perfect bag for carrying hand work or knitting projects.  It is very big inside and the bottom is flat, so it would hold a lot.  I used a heavier fusible fleece, so this bag is very durable.--Deb

Owl Purse

I bought a purse pattern at a quilt store long ago, but like many of my good ideas for projects, I never got around to making it.  But here it is now!  It is supposed to be a 2-hour purse but it took me longer than that.  Still, it would be great for a beginner to try because it is not difficult at all.***Deb

The front of the bag

Inside the bag

Back of the bag

Another Quilt

I sewed two other quilts for my daughters in the past year.  For one of them, I took a class to learn how to make a Perkiomen Valley quilt.  This is a traditional quilt from southeastern Pennsylvania, designed by German Mennonite women in the 19th century.  It is a scrappy quilt using whatever small pieces of fabric a person might have.  In our class we exchanged fabric so we would have quite a variety of colors.  The pattern represents the river and hills in our part of the country.  Liana loves pink, so I call this Springtime in the Perkiomen Valley.

 

Before it was quilted

On the bed!

Back to Quilting

The past few months I have been helping the girls at 4-H complete their outfits by the end of the season.  At home I was busy sewing the wedding dresses.  Now 4-H has ended, except for the fair, and the wedding is over.  What to sew now?

Liana has been making Club Penguin stuffed animals and sewing clothes for them.  Arielle has started a summer top.  I decided to finish a quilt I began years ago. I call it my October quilt because it has all the colors of autumn, my favorite season.  The solid squares are made of hand-dyed fabric I bought in Amish country.  Several other fabrics have special meaning and I remember many winter nights by the woodstove as I pieced it.  This quilt was so near to completion but it has been bumped by other projects.  Today I added the final borders.  Now it just needs to be quilted! 

Deb