A Change of Direction

As lockdown drags on here, so does my sewing.

I no longer have sufficient batting to start and finish a 

new quilt,

So I have been working my way through my dress 

making fabric stash!

Firstly a "Joan" woven top, by StyleArc, a freebie which 

came with another pattern purchase in September.

This was made to a size 12, but as I suspected when I 

started cutting, it would be a little big on me.

So thankfully my sister Helen liked it 

and it suits her well!

Secondly, another Miss Foxy skirt, by 1 Puddlelane.

This is my fourth make from this pattern, 

and it's always a winner!

With the inverted pleats, it can be adjusted easily to fit.

Finally I unearthed an oldie but a goodie

This Lisette pattern #2245 was popular all over the 

internet some years back.

 So much so that the pattern is considered a collectible!

It is for sale for nearly $100 on e-bay, if you're 

interested!😁

I've ordered some green double gauze to make this 

again, for Helen to match her Miss Foxy skirt.

And there is a Style Arc Emerson dress under the 

sewing machine needle at the moment!

So expect another post featuring my garment makes 

sometime.

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Keep calm and sew on.....!

Thank you for all my lovely commenters following my last Blogpost.

My sister's pretty courtyard.

Thankfully I had the opportunity to get a neat haircut that will last me the six weeks of our current lockdown.

I have been sewing!

A new skirt....

I need to tweak the buttoning.....

to make it sit flat, but nothing that will take too much fixing!

There's no hurry, I'm not going anywhere for a while!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Starts and Finishes

I love my Alaska sweater!

It is so very cosy and warm.

And this flimsy is finished....

My friend Elizabeth @ Occasional Piece Quilts 

recently released this Sawtooth Mania pattern

8" blocks

      

There's a good variety of centres to choose from but

 I made 16 blocks with one-inch strips and a 

four-inch border.

I love this block- the green leaf shapes look like 

lilypads for the frogs to sit on!

I pieced the backing from leftover bits and pieces.

I went across to Darn Cheap with the intention of 

purchasing fabric for a skirt.

And I found the perfect wool to match a recent yarn 

purchase.

And a trip to GJ's found the perfect lining ...

and these 

pretty little rolls of patchwork fabric.

Not sure what I will make but those cool 

wintery tones were calling me.

Now to get knitting...

Happy days!

SUZ

Drifting along...

My sew-jo seemed to have taken a little holiday recently....

Although since Christmas, I've made a skirt,

which is a little crushed because I have worn it 

a couple of times already!

And a blouse.....

I love gingham!

We have been experiencing terrible bush fires here 

in Australia.

They have not affected me directly, apart from some 

dreadfully smoky haze.

I do have friends in the north-east who have evacuated once and are now back on a 'watch and act' alert.

So I decided to join the call for 'cool ties' for the amazing firefighters, many of whom are volunteers!

These are so easy to make, using the free tutorial 

found here.

I'd hoped to find my sewjo amongst my Cotton and Steele scraps...

and before I knew it I was pressing, cutting and piecing log cabin blocks!

Happy days!

SUZ

Christmas Tree Skirt

As we are moving into Summer, there is not much 

use for Christmas quilts, 

although I do have a couple that I bring out for six 

weeks or so.

And I've made my share of Christmas stockings

over the years....

But I felt my Christmas tree could use a skirt.

I decided it would be quicker to make my own 

pattern.


First I measured from the base of my tree out to 

give me a diameter of 18 inches.

(You may want to make yours larger, of course.)

Then I cut a piece of brown paper 18" square and 

rounded off the outer edge.

(I also cut a semi-circle out of the centre, but you 

could probably do this at the end.)

I folded the paper on the diagonal a few times 

to accommodate the fabric I had on hand.

I used one of these wedges for my pattern.

I made one from freezer paper and ironed it onto the 

back of my fabric, adding a 1/4" seam when cutting.

Then I simply sewed the 32 wedges together, 

leaving the last seam open.

Ignore that lump, everything flattened once it was cut away!

One metre of Christmas fabric was enough for the 

backing,

and about 4m of binding!

Some simple quilting...

and VOILA...

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Lately....

I've had more success with my clothes sewing lately!

Last weekend I made this skirt..... 

from this pattern.

And ordered this fabric....

to make this pattern!

Clothes, when they work, are much quicker to make 

than quilts!

Although a touch of Spring weather yesterday...

has me dreaming of a quilt from my stash of AMH 

voiles!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

A Sewing Diversion

Sometimes it's nice to sew something different...

So I had a break from my quilt making 

Hand quilting

in all it's forms, to do some garment sewing.

First up, a pair of PJ pants for Eli....

 I then tackled this Summer dress I'd had cut out 

previously...

from this New Look #6022 pattern

A great dress that came together really easily!

Finally a lined winter skirt from a very old 

Simplicity pattern

Simplicity #5914

Yes, it needs hemming; the hardest job of all!

Before I start machine quilting one of the three 

flimsies I have waiting,

The inside, where I neatened up along the zipper

 I made this zipper pouch,

from a mini charm pack

 following a tutorial, I found HERE.

It finished at about 11" by 4".

It's going in the gift cupboard in preparation for 

Christmas.

Happy sewing!

SUZ