The quilt is finished... The big reveal!

So... It has finally been done...

And what a journey it has been...

Once all the panels were finished I stitched them all together to make the complete front of the quilt.

I then cleared my living room to make enough space to lay down the backing, wadding and front panel on the floor.

And then the grand pinning project began...

Once pinned it was on through the sewing machine...

The weather has been extremely hot in Yorkshire which, I have found, is not conducive to sewing quilts in a windowless room shared with a smelly tortoise... Endurance didn't cover it! There must be an easier way too to get a quilt through a machine like mine... Though I am surprised how well it coped. There is nothing worse than stuffing a half made quilt through a machine when most of it starts on your lap, you are pricked to death by pins and the weather is 30o outside!

Since I last wrote I have recieved the walking foot for my sewing machine. And what a god send it has been. As readers of my blog will know that when I did my last quilt I broke a stack load of needles while using a regular foot and it was a complete nightmare. My life has now been transformed with this foot. I haven't puckered the fabric once and it worked like a dream... The link for the one I bought is below!

I then carefully pinned the re-ironed bias binding to the outside edge (while trimming the excess fabric along the way!)

That was then sewn... I don't know about anyone else but I love this part as you know you are on the home stretch... And it seems to go a lot quicker than the quilting bit... But it is not as hot either!

And then it was a quick trim or two and TA-dah! The quilt was finished. I am pleased that it is finally done as it was a long time in the conception and the actual practice but all a labour of love. I will be travelling down to my parents at the weekend to give it to them and can't wait to see their faces when they see it...

Ladies and gentlemen... The anniversary quilt!

Medieval fayre...

My sister in law is attending a sca event in the USA in March and asked me whether I wanted to make her a dress for it from a pattern she had liked on the Internet.

I am always up for a challenge so said yes and that I would have a go.

A couple of days later the pattern landed on my doormat in the form of a cd with PDF pattern. So many printed pages (and a new printer) later I had the pattern and needed to painstakingly tape the sheets together in the correct order. I was thankful that the pattern designer had made this easy for me by printing the number clearly on each page.

Once my sitting room floor was covered (I was grateful that there was nobody around to see just how big this pattern truly was!) I traced out the correct size on some test fabric I was using to make a toile. Generally I don't make toiles but as this was a dress for someone else I thought I'd better get this right on a draft first before cutting the proper fabric!

After the toile was made my sister in law came for a fitting and I breathed a sigh of relief that it did fit and I could continue with the real thing.

As my sister in law was going to be packing this dress in a suitcase I bought velveteen rather than anything heavier in deep purple and in gold. She had told me to think regal and I thought purple and gold are about as regal as it gets!

Helpfully the pattern designer had also included a cutting pattern to help me get the most out of my fabric so it was easy to just lay it out and cut.

The pattern also came with a step by step guide which was clear, simple and easy to follow.

After pinning, basting, learning how to make french loops, making petal sleeves for the first time, hemming and endless hours at my sewing machine I finally finished it. I tried to add up the hours spent doing this project but found it impossible due to a small baby hampering my attempts a couple of times!

However, I have really enjoyed the challenge. I am proud of the work I have done and the hours I have put in. And most of all I have loved the look on my sister in laws face when she tried it on for the first time. Priceless!

Pattern used: http://www.lauramarshdesigns.co.uk

Family matters...

I live a good 200 miles from my sister and parents but I would like to say that I have a good relationship with them.

The whole 'I enjoy sewing' thing has certainly got its advantages from my family's stand point it means that I will quite willingly adjust and hem various items of clothing.

My sister embraces most fashion trends and had bought a onesie during the January sales. The problem was that it had feet and whenever she wore it (and ignored the constant ribbing from her now fiancé) the feet flopped around like a pair of flippers. So she asked whether I could remove the feet and put in some elastic at the bottom.

This seemed like a straight forward request until I realised that the seam at the bottom of the leg was not straight. A lot of puffing and sighing then ensued as I painstakingly unpicked the legs and the feet.

My sister helpfully sent me her ankle measurement so I could tailor the bottom of the leg properly. I pinned it to the desired length, trimmed any excess fabric and then used a contrasting thread to sew it in place (she had requested this!) leaving a gap to feed the elastic through.

I then fed the elastic through the tube using a safety pin. I have found that a big safety pin is the easiest thing to use as I find this quite a fiddly job and it usually takes me a couple of goes to get it right!

Once the ends meet sew them together and close up the gap.

Easy peasy!

Note: no photos of the onesie ... My sister says she would throttle me ... Sisterly love, eh!