12+ hours later

and 3 placemats are completely done.

Just 3.

I still have 5 more to go. 1 is quilted, just needs binding. The other 4 - NOT.EVEN.CUT.YET. sigh. Mom might be getting a set of 4 this summer, with another set next summer.

I realized why I hate them so. They take too much time. I'm an instant gratification kind of gal.

I forced myself to continue work on them this weekend because I'd be damned if I was going to let my cute 4th of July dress for Ally never materialize. So I spent 4 hours yesterday quilting and binding.

Then I spent 2.5 hours and made the most adorable halter style dress for Ally. Still not totally great at fabrics - but I'm pretty sure this is a single knit from JoAnn's that I got on clearance months ago. I had never sewed a knit before, but I made sure to have the proper needle and used my walking foot and had no issues at all.

Ooh and I figured out what was wrong with the previous dress. If I bothered to actually measure her, I'd would have realized that her chest measurement falls right at a size 4 (22"). I cut a 7 - her RTW size. Ooops. I had previously traced off all of the views, so I had to alter the halter top so that it would be a size 5 (since she's right at the measurement for a size 4) up top blending down to the 7 for length.

2.5 hours = completed dress & sense of accomplishment.

someone was a tad bit tired this morning and not in the mood to model



12+ hours = You've got to be kidding me I'm not even 1/2 way done yet?








***edited to add pics***
Sorry no pics yet. I took some of Ally in the dress this morning, then realized as I drove to work that my USB cable for my phone is at home, not work. I'll post them tonight.

Why I only sew what I want to sew....

Connecting Threads Pretty Patches Placemats and Napkins

So I promised my mom I'd make her placemats for our summer place for her birthday - in JANUARY. The placemats, they're not done. Not even close. I have 3 tops completed and a 4th that's already quilted. I still need to cut and piece 4 more, then quilt the 7 of them, then bind them all.

I DON'T WANT TO BE MAKING PLACEMATS.

So - I've been completely ignoring my sewing room. Pretending it doesn't even exist. I have the cutest 4th of July dress I want to make Ally, but I refuse to go in there. I've told myself I can't sew anything until I finish those place-mats, so I've sewn nothing. Nada. Not a stitch in over a month.

The last thing I finished was about 60 key fobs and I only let myself do those because they brought in some money.

So tell me internets, how to I get my mojo back enough to plow through and finish these? My fabric stash and sanity will thank you, as will my mom whose wondering if she'll ever see these placemats.

Redesign

Working on the blog. Sorry for the current crappiness.

Sewing Room update

I did a little shopping for me on Sat. I realized I wasn't sewing as much as I should be because the iron & board are downstairs. I would hem and haw about sewing knowing that I would have to lug out the board, iron the fabric downstairs, put the board & iron away (too scared Ally will burn herself) go upstairs & cut & sew, then back down to set up the iron again, up to sew, down to iron, up to sew...You get the picture. So Saturday I went out and got myself an over the door ironing board and my very own iron! YAY!! I'm not completely thrilled with the over the door board, but I think I can rig up another "foot" to stabilize it.

I spent ALL day Saturday holed up in my sewing den. I got the tops of 4 place mats for my mom done. Now I need to machine quilt and bind them. I've never quilted before, so I'm a little nervous about that.

I also whipped up the most adorable sun dress for Ally. The fit seems a little off in the armpits though. I can't tell if they need to be scooped out and deeper, or if the dress itself is too wide. She doesn't hold still long enough to really figure it out. Any ideas?




I have no idea what this pose is about.

I desperately wanted to sew some more last night, but it was, no lie 98 degrees in that room last night. I was dripping with sweat just fixing up a pillow for my sister. I sent DH a not so subtle hint that I want an AC unit for my sewing room for Mother's Day.

Ally's Rag Quilt

So I bought this fabric in December I think. Ally picked it out. Cut it in early January and then it sat. And sat. And sat.

Today I had planned to start my mom's placemats and table runner. I feel like crap though and figured now was probably not the time to cut into my mom's fabric. Especially on cold meds.

I instead decided to do Ally's quilt. FINALLY. Piecing was easy enough. I didn't even bother pinning. Bad, bad Sarah! I know, but hey, its a RAG quilt.

After 2 snips with my regular scissors I realized why spring loaded are recommended. I promptly took my drug enhanced body out to JoAnns and realized that that was probably a really bad idea. Had a massive dizzy spell and almost had to sit down. It didn't stop me from buying an awesome red, white and blue floral print for a 4th of July dress for Ally and some Ariel flannel for pjs for her, though. LOL

The Easter Dress

Welcome to the world of PINK!

Pink and sparkles, sparkles and pink. Its a princess fantasy, if you happen to be a 5 year old. And yes, my 5 year old picked it out. LOL

The dress was actually not that difficult to put together. It was my 1st zipper and while I did cheat slightly by using a shorter zipper and not having it go into the skirt portion, I think it went quite well.

I used Butterick B3351 Children's/Girls Jacket and Dress



Main fabric is pink with a silver glitter to it (sorry still don't know my fabric types yet) and the skirt has a sheer overlay which had silver "gems" in it. The gems were a PITA. Every time the needle hit one the fabric would jump either left or right.

The jacket was an afterthought. I had no plans on making it, but found myself with enough leftover fabric and was looking for a distraction before I attempted the zipper.

The most difficult part of this entire dress was adjusting the length. I fudged the cutting of the skirt and literally had about 15" I had to remove. I kept measuring Ally, then the dress, then Ally, then the dress. Finally I took the plunge, grabbed the scissors and hacked away. Not too bad. Hit her right at the ankle. Of course the shoes we bought (pink and sparkly OF COURSE!) hurt her, so she spent the day in her pink cowboy boots. LOL No pics of her in it as she's been camera shy lately.

The Quilt

Its FINALLY done. Finally!! This was the project that (sort of) started the sewing obsession. Last Spring my sister and I decided to do an all day quilting class. I have no clue what possessed us to do it, but we did. We decided we'd make large bags for our kids for Easter. Huge bags. Bags much larger than we thought they'd be. Our plan was to put their Easter treats in. They turned out to be big enough to put the KIDS in. LOL But the bug was planted.

This fall we decided to do the weekly quilting class. I chose the Boxy-Moxie Free pattern along with the Apple line by Timeless Treasures.

We took the classes from Sept until Jan. I managed to get the entire quilt cut, pieced and sewn by Jan. My friend's mom quilted it for me and then it sat.

My sister decided she hates quilting and $140 is awfully pricey for a hobby she doesn't like. I wasn't fond of taking the class without her. I still had to bind the quilt, though. I was afraid to try binding on my own. Finally, I just went for it. And it wasn't as bad as I thought. Oh, sure my "mitred" corners aren't so much mitred as they are controlled chaos. But its done!!