Bow Ties

My brother is getting married in June. The happy couple has requested that we wear black and white as part of the wedding party. My son, Sir C, decided that he needed to wear a bow tie...and suspenders. I don't know where he got that idea, but I'm not going to deny such a dapper request!

One thing led to another, and now I'm making bowties for all the little cousins (10, if you count the two babies). And not any of those pre-tied stuffed with batting numbers. Those are for halloween costumes and cheesy magicians. These are genuine, tie it up bow ties. A skill every man should have, right? (or at least the main woman in his life, ahem, in this case his mother)

So, here are some of the patterns I've gleaned from the internet. (Burda Style and this article.)What do you think? I scaled them down and will be making them in different black/white prints so we're not all super "matchy" and still get to express individual tastes. The black check is actually full sized. The rest are about 75% of full size. The "thistle" shape is the classic style. The "bat" shape (after a cricket bat, not the flying animal) is a little sleeker. Here's my model with the black tie:

(please overlook the dirty face...he was a slightly un-willing model)

Next up is figuring out how to attach them without proper bowtie slider hardware. (not readily available, I mean, who wears bow ties today?) I've got a few ideas though....

And as for suspenders, I plan on following this tutorial. Looks great, eh?

Feels good to be back sewing.

ps. the planks behind the ties are samples for the flooring in our new house...it's a harder than I imagined to choose laminate flooring...

So

...I am posting my leave of absence *unpaid*.

I have a lot to catch up on, and I will post my projects when I can find the pictures (between two computers and the camera(s). But I have a few upcoming commitments (like moving this summer) that will reduce my creative time. If I'm really good I will be back in full swing for the holidays. (translation: October) Although, I do have four friends expecting new babies this spring/summer, so I will be making a few projects. And, if I can figure out how to balance the rest of my life, I may be back sooner!

Thanks!

Fall Aprons

Yeah, yeah, yeah....this is soooo old news. But I have to try to document what I've done. This is the apron I made for a little friend's birthday party that Sweet A went to. I think we included a recipe for gingerbread playdough and some cookie cutters. (I've got to take more pictures!)

Here's the pumpkin shaped cotton pot-holder I made for the fall sassy apron swap. It's doubled up and the leaf is made of green wool that I felted.

My partner wanted a Thanksgiving apron, so here is the harvesty front....and the Halloween inspired back. Too bad I didn't model it whilst 8 months pregnant. Sure gave a great pumpkin shape to the face. =)

Yes, this is the Emmeline apron pattern. I made the same pattern for the Winter apron swap, but I have yet to make one for me!!

Long Absence

Yes, I know, I've been gone for a long time. I'd like to blame my lack of posting all on my new baby, but I can't. Truth is, as busy as he keeps me, I've also been busy lurking through cyberspace. I've seen so many fun projects and I'm now dreaming of which ones I want (*need*) to try first. I've also finished a few projects of my own, but am slow with the posting. I'll try to work that out in the next few weeks. Of course, I've got more projects in the works and there may be a posting overload once I get it all going. We'll see. Stay tuned for more fun!

Rag Blanket Tutorial

Okay. Here's my attempt at a tutorial. (I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but until I figure out what they are, this will have to do. I'll try not to get into too much detail...but sometimes I can't help myself.) This is a PICTURE HEAVY post!

Step 1: Decide your design. This might be obvious, but you need to decide how big to make your blocks, and how you want the layout. Then you'll know how much fabric to buy. (Unless you're like me and just stockpile fabric because you love it.) I use a 1/2 inch seam allowance, so I add 1" to the size I want my finished block so I know how big to cut it. So, if I want a 4" finished block, I'll cut the block 5". Since most fabric is at least 40", multiples of 5" are easy to cut to minimize waste from the fabric. This gets finished blocks of multiples of 4". (Is this confusing yet? sorry.) Anyway. Using five fabrics, which I like, and wanting a 32"x40" finished blanket, for either 4" squares (finished) or 4"x8" rectangles (finished) I get 2/3 yard of each fabric. This gives a few inches for "squaring up". (If you want more details, email me.)

Step 2: Choose your fabrics. I like to work with 5 different patterns at a time. You can choose what you like, but you probably want at least two. This tutorial will show five. I'm also not using batting between my flannel. I figure for babies, a double thickness of flannel is just fine. (I'll add a note on putting flannel in at the end.) I chose the "3-2-1 Blast Off!" combo for this blanket. Two patterns, a stripe, and two solids.

Step 3: Assemble tools. Cutting board, rotary cutter (I call it a "pizza" cutter), a clear ruler, fabric, sketch of layout, pins, sewing machine, thread, scissors.

Step 4: DO NOT PRE-WASH FABRIC. Much easier to work with and you're going to fray it later, so don't wash it now.

Step 5: Remove Selvages & Square Ends. Cut the selvage edges off your fabrics, they don't fray as well in the seam, and they often have words printed on them. (You could also cut the selvage off as you cut each strip.) Fold fabrics in half, wrong sides together (WST), so the pattern is facing out, matching the cut selvage edges, and square up the end (perpindicular to the selvage)

Step 7: Cut Fabric. I'm making a 32"x40" blanket of 4" squares. That equals 8x10 squares, or 80 squares total (for one side, since we're cutting WST, we cut front and back at the same time, and together, just like we need them. No need to match them up after they're cut.) Divide 80 by five fabrics and we need 16 squares of each fabric. Most fabric will let us get eight squares across, and since we're folding it in the middle, we'll get four complete "sets" (front and back together) of squares for each row. So, we need four rows to get our 16 "sets". Remember that we need one inch seam allowance for each square, so we will cut five inch squares.

7a: From your squared end, cut a five inch strip, four times. You will have four strips that are five inches x the width of your fabric.

7b: Lay two of the strips on top of each other. Start at the selvage edge and remove the selvage if you haven't already. (I did this with diff. fabric.)Then cut five inch squares off of the strip, four times. Repeat with the other two strips. You will now have a little stack of squares.

7c: Repeat 7a and 7b with all of the fabric. You should now have five little stacks of 16 squares in each stack.

(If you want to add batting, do it now. I've added a note at the end of the tutorial.)

Step 8: Create Pattern. I like to assign each fabric a number, 1-5, and arrange them in that order through the quilt. I like the random effect, but I still need structure to keep it uniform (my brain can't handle complete random). I try to get pleasing value combos with the different patterns. I used two solids on this quilt, and I didn't like how they looked right next to each other. I tried to avoid placing them together, and the only way I could do that was in a "diagonal" pattern, with every pattern in a stairstep, making a diagonal across the quilt. I don't usually do this, but it seemed best with this quilt. You may have to play around to get a design you are happy with. I like to assign each fabric a number, 1-5, and arrange them in that order through the quilt. Once you get the pattern you like, lay out all the squares exactly how you want them for the entire quilt. You should have 8 columns by 10 rows.

Step 9: Sew columns. Use your favorite method for assembling a quilt top, just make sure the back sides are together so the seam is on the front of the quilt. If you don't have a favorite method, I've outlined my favorite. Here goes! I sew by columns with 1/2" seams using the "flag" method of piecing. So, I'll pin column 1 to column 2 (again, make sure you get the back sides together so the frayed part will be on the front of the quilt),

stack them up from top to bottom ... (I put the pin in the top of the square, the two pics on the left are looking from the top down, the right one shows them ready to be sewn.)

...and sew them all together with about 1/2" between the squares. The squares fold up accordian style as they fall off of the sewing machine.

The flag system keeps my squares together and saves cutting each square apart.

After sewing I lay them right back down in their original position, then go on to the next two columns.

I sew the rest of the columns in the same manner, #3 and #4, #5 and #6, #7 and #8.

This gets four columns of two squares together.

Then I sew #2 to #3 and #6 to #7, resulting in two columns of four squares. (I pin them, then fold the right column behind the left, then stack them up accordian style (because of the flag threads) from the top of the quilt to the bottom. If your flag threads get tangled, simply snip them apart.) I sew the last columns together (#4 to #5). Now all my columns are together, and my squares are all lined up by their little thread chains. Step 10: Sew Rows. I pin all the rows together, starting at the edges, matching corners and opening seams. I sew each row across, from the top down. (This way the pins stay on top and the sewn seams are under the rest of the blanket.)

Here you can see the rows lined up, with seams open...

Step 11: Sew Edge. Once all the columns and rows are sewn together, stitch a 1/2" seam all around the edge of the blanket. I like to spread the seams open as I come to them and back stitch across them to prevent unraveling. I also stitch the edge twice.

Here is the back of the quilt, with all the corners lined up.

Step 12: Clip Seams. This is the fun part. Clip the fabric in the seams at about 1/4" intervals. Be careful not to clip stitching (but if you do, get it to the sewing maching and stitch over it to reinforce it!) If you can, fiskars has scissors designed just for clipping rag seams that are spring loaded, so makes clipping much easier. I've also used my regular scissors, just be prepared for more hand fatigue. Also, clip any stray threads from the ends and edges of the seams.

Step 13: Wash Blanket. I like to wash the blanket once before I give it away (or use it). I wash it on delicate with my "Forever New" lingere soap, which smells divine. The blanket will lose a lot of fibers during the process, so clean out the lint trap well before and after, and give it a good shake outside once it's dry. Some people like to use commercial laundry services to avoid the lint in their home dryer. Whatever you choose. The blanket will soften up over time, with the edges getting more fluffy and compact. Enjoy!

Adding batting: If you want a batting layer between the flannel, cut the batting the same size you want the finished squares. This keeps the batting out of the edges and makes clipping and fraying easier. For this quilt you would cut 80 4" squares of batting. I like warm'n'natural. Make a quilt sandwich of each square by centering a back, a piece of batting and a top. You then need to quilt the squares to keep the batting in place. The simplest way is to make an "X" between the corners on each square. You could also quilt circles, stars, or whatever your heart desired. Then lay out the squares and piece together by your favorite method, or the one I listed above.

Baby Afghan

Here's another little project that I decided I had to finish. I've made an afghan for my other two children, and decided I needed one for this baby. After a hospital visit my daughter received a Project Linus blanket, which she loves. I was so touched by the thought and care that someone put into making a blanket to give away. I also loved the stitch that was used, so I searched the internet and found the pattern. Yeah! I tried it out on this blanket and I really liked the results. It worked up quickly and was pretty simple. So, baby boy now has his own afghan made by mom. One day, when I have a bit more time (hahaha) I'd love to make blankets for Project Linus and help another little child feel happy.

I Succumbed

Yes, the temptation was too much. I've been admiring and drooling over the Emmeline apron pattern for months now. I finally gave in and ordered it. Why the hesitation? Because I've got about 4 apron patterns at home already (that I haven't used yet!) and I somehow manage to keep wearing my old white "chef" style apron because it's not "too pretty" to wear and get all dirty. I'm hoping that the Emmeline will be pretty yet practical and not bug me around the neck. (And perhaps, I'm thinking about making it for my Fall Sassy Apron swap partner?...we shall see...)