Dainty-Do

Please note..this is a Pg-13 rated sewing post so please be warned :)

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Ok... lots of sewing still going on here in the Fresh thread Studio. Quilt is still being quilted ( will it ever end????) skirts are being made and and tote bags are being t oted...but as usual I got a bee in my bonnet to make some Summer dainties.  You know.. dainties, the not for every day sort of underthings that are mere frippery, for fun and pure enjoyment.  Inspired by the book Sweet Nothings I gave it a go stitching up some Summer fun.

While I wanted to use the pattern in the book, at 10 pm I did not have access to a copier for increasing the pattern by the 600% that they called for so I took a pair of my own and traced a pattern with the thought that I might even get a better fit this way ( I said this to myself as not to head out to Kinko's at 10 pm for enlarging an underware pattern.. ever been to Kinko's at night?... if so you know why I would not want to be there!)

So I did a quick pattern trace and then dug through my fabrics with a notion that I had a cute knit in stock and did find just what I was looking for! ( This never fails to thrill me as to have a stash big enough to " shop" from at 10pm when the sewing but strikes!)

The resulting panties came out great and I even then went on to make a tank-style cami to make a complete night set!

The fabric is a very soft knit cotton with a tiny flower print. The elastic on the legs is just standard issue lingre elastic with the sweet little looped edge. The top elastic is stretch lace.

This is just a little peek at the back with the ribbon detail and more of the stretch lace. From start to finish these took about an hour and if I can find more knit fabric I think I will make another pair. I want to try out some other special elastics so am poking around here at Sew Sassy to see about some colored elastics and other notions that might be fun to use.

What do you think... are you will to show your dainties in public??

A Total Knit-Wit

Today's post is brought to you by the wonderful world of knit fabric!  Honestly I don't work with knits a lot since they can be a wee bit of a pain at times, but there is no denying their total comfort and easy care so  every once in a while I dive into a knit based project.

This one was super simple and so comfy that I am sitting here wearing it right now!  The fabric is from the ~mystery table~ in the back of Hanncock's fabrics.  I swear I will not look there each time I have to venture forth to buy more stuff ( insert here any one of a million sewing notions you can think of) but each time I hear it's call of potential greatness.  Now mind you most of the time it's a dismal let down piled high with fabrics that you would not even let your cat throw up on, but sometimes you dig up a gem.  This time I found a nice knit of undetermined content ( nope.. have not bothered to do a burn test... it's just a Summer skirt).. so home it came and into the wash it went. 

It came out of the wash welll so next step was something simple and fast that would be great for shopping or hanging out by the pool.    I serged a tube of it up and then took the rest and cut it into strips that then finished with a easy rolled hem ( serger).. but you could do a little zig-zag with a walking foot for the same type of effect.  I then used my ruffling foot ( all hail the ruffling foot.. run right now and get one).. and then stitched the ruffle onto the bottom of the skirt with a raw edge technique. I added an elastic waist with a simple casing ( yes I know that this breaks my no elastic waist vow, but with knits it just about the only real choice and makes for a skirt a bit more forgiving of Summer indulgences!)  and that is about it... very simple and VERY comfortable to wear!

 

Best part?.. final cost $1.85

Lest you think.....

That I have been off sunning myself on a beach.. or being a Summer-Slacker.. rest assured that I have been oh so very busy... really so busy as to the point of thinking that a little Summer-slacking might be a good thing.. but with so much to do I don't see that in my future anytime soon!

As to what I have been doing:

1) Losing weight - yeh Weight Watchers!... 12 pounds down...and uhhhhh more to go.

2) Quitling, with help that is no help at all!

This guy will NOT get off my quilt as I work on it.. the second he hears the machine he comes running in and plops down in the middle of things.. this has made for some very wonky free motion work on my part!

3. Making dresses!

Such a wonderful dress and a great patern to work with. It's the Ofelia  by Pattern's by Figgy's  and I can't say enough about how simple it was to make and how wonderful it came out.  I did change some things... well really more I added some stuff to meet my vision of how the two fabrics I picked would work together with one change being that i wanted to revel more color at the neck like so I did a wrap around treatment for the edge and elastic casing.. it came out very well.

I envisioned this as a back to school sort of dress so it's done in a light weight jean sort of fabric that is a really nice slate grey color that went SO well with the yellow.

The circle detail is another change I made. The orginal pattern comes with great instructions on doing a really cool band down the front but I kept thinking circles.. so I designed an in-the-hoop reverse applique with some extra stitching detail. The circles really are perfecty round, the fullness of the dress does make them look a bit wonky in this photo. It was a wonderful fast dress to make.. do give it a try!

p.s. since I know somebody will ask... the dress is for an adorable little girl in my extended  life.. I sure hope it fits!

Well Bust my Buttons!

Today I was featured here http://www.superiorthreads.com/blog/  I shall share some photos in a bit.. but first I must run and have a mamogram... have you done yours this year??????

Like Alice Falling Down Through the Hole....

 Much like poor Alice I fell into another dimension where time is a bit more sketchy and there I totally forgot about the drawing I was suppose to do on Friday!.. shame on me! So to say I am sorry I will be sending a Let's Hear it for the Boys to each of the people who entered the contest up till this point!

So there you go.. watch your e-mail boxes for a note from me in the next day!

Ashely... please drop me a note, I can't get your files to you without your e-mail address

maddie6@bellsouth.net

As promised.. The Ruler Roost Tutorial

Well that took a little longer than I thought  (sick child) but here it is.. a quick and sassy tutorial on how to make a Ruler or Notions Roost.

First off - you will need,

 2 sheets of Easy Felt ( a stiff sort of craft felt found in hobby stores) 

 2 fat quarters of fabric or other scrap fabric you have around.

1 can basting spray adhesive like 505

To start.. use basting spray to hold both sheets of felt together. Then spray the front of the felt and smooth on your piece of fabric that you want for the background

(sorry for the awful photo, night time + camera = potluck photography)

After fabric is adheared to the front flip it all over and trim to about 1 inch all around

After trimming use the spray adhesive to fold the extra 1 inch  onto the back, smoothing into place.

Flip back over ( right side up) and position the first pocket using a piece of fabric from the second fat quarter.. fold over the fabric for a nice clean top edge, pin this in place in the front. Ok.. I know you are asking.. " Maddie, what size?", well it's up to you.. do you need it deep to support long rulers?..short for notions and rotary cutters?..yes.. ~wing it~

Use another cut of fabric for another pocket ( iron up a small hem for a clean edge). When both pockets are postioned flip over the  project and use a bit more spray to hold the fabric that you have wrapped around to the back in place.

Now it's time to go to the machine!

From the front using your foot as a guide zigzag around the whole project making sure to secure the pockets with a few extra stitches.  Now is also the time to stitch lines to subdivide the pockets as you need them. NOTE: make them bigger than you think since they are flat they need that room to make up for the depth. I took the opportunity to play with some of my decrotive stitches that are built into my machine.. that was fun.

To hang mine I used two eyelets in the top but you could also sew on a ribbon to hang it or just nail through it with a couple tiny white paneling nails.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial, please drop me a note if you make one.. I would love to see it!  Who knows I might feature it here on the blog!

Can you hear it?

Yes, it's the call of Summer. Pool parties ( and new dresses to wear to them!), fireflies, Sangria.. all the good stuff.

Just a note:

Fresh Thread Studios will be on vacation for the Summer. The store will still be open but I will not be releasing any new designs until I come back to work in the Fall.

But never fear, I will still be blogging, doing some tutorials and even a couple of giveaways but past that you can find me by the pool, in my sewing room  or with a paintbrush in my hand working on our old house.

I hope each and every one of you has a safe and wonderful Summer

Let's hear it for the Boys! - Father's Day Design and Givewaway

This one is for all the boys in your life. From the ones who have just been born to those who no longer want to talk about their age.  This fun design is a total tongue and cheek play on the idea of giving dad a tie on Father's Day and has just the right amount of hip style to be something today's new fathers will have fun sporting on " their day"  In three sizes this is an in-the-hoop applique design that is fast and fun and will be available on Monday June 7th.

Want to know more?

CLICK HERE

Want to win this collection?

If so, leave a comment telling me what makes the guy in your life really cool and you will be entered into the  drawing for the collection.  Drawing will be this Friday!

Want to

Still Stitchen!

 Since the " getter" has now been given the gift it's safe for me to show you the house-warming pillow that I made for a dear friend and her darling new home. 

The numbers are of course her new house numbers done in raw edge applique.  I hand drew the numbers on some wonderful fabric and then appliqued them to some painters drop cloth fabric that I had bought and washed up for a nice natural look.

  After doing the applique I then stippled around the numbers and then made the pillow up with self made piping to match the fabric in the numbers.  I used a pillow form and the back has an envelope opening so it can be washed if need be.

I might just have to make one of these for myself!

Could you use a little Love?

I mean really... who couldn't.. since Love is all you need. The Beatles told us so and I believe them!  So if you think that you could use a little love, or in this case a great big amount of love shuffle on over to the Fresh Thread store and buy yourself a great big hoopful of applique in the hoop goodness.

Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart or for those will anything but the biggest hoops. Measuring a whopping 11x7.5 inches this design is sized for a pillow front or a wall hanging.  It was completley hand designed  and will not take well to resizing (don't say I didn't warn you!) 

 The applique file is held in place by a whimisical  zig-zag outline which is very forgiving for those who are new to in-the-hoop embroidery. The large size makes for easier cutting but I do highly reccomend a pair of Havel bent frame embroidery scissors  to make things much smoother and easier on the hands.

Please click here to go right to the shop

Pillow Talk

Ah... here I am  just a few days into Summer Stitch and I am already slipping!  Today was busy and I have not had much time in the studio but I did get this  pillow finished as well as one other project ( photos tomorrow)  and the first of the  Ruler Roost tutorial written so all in all not bad but not as much as I wanted that is for sure.

Cute Father's Day design on the way as well as a in the hoop applique project for those who are in "love" with todays fresh and fun new quilting fabrics.

What did you do that was creative today?

Just a Bookstore Crazy, Yes I Am.

I just might be Barnes and Nobel's best customer, in fact if they named a day after me I would not be surprised and neither would my husband or my bank blance.  But really I am quite helpless when it comes to the lure of a great crafting book and my desire to support all those fine people who burn the midnight oil putting them together.

Case in point.. Sewing Bits and Pieces

What to do with those odd bits of fabric you have left from projects that rocked but are now done?  Pieces as small as the palm of your hand, but still full of potential. Case in point the super yummy cardi on the front of the book.  Today I made my own version and I am LOVING it.  It was a great project to use up  my Anna Marie Horner Voile   Photos to come tomorrow when I have high hopes that the rain will have gone away and brought sun and fun back to my neighborhood.

Ok.. back to the book.... yep.. go get it.. you will love it and  to show you how much I have a new file I am working on with my inspiration right from the book.  High hopes of getting that and the Ruler Roost tutorial posted by the end of the week... just call me crazy! :)

Summer Stitch Kick Off!

One girl, and two hours of crafting and sewing. 

 It really is amazing what you can do when you get in there with the intention of busting through a few projects!  As proof I give you block number 26 of the needed 30 blocks in my soon to be new master bedroom quilt.  The pattern is complex looking but deadly easy Wonky Logcabin block that will be set with white sashing and then a strip pieced border.  With a little luck I will knock out the last block tomorrow afternoon since I only got 2 done today, since before that I was doing this...

My quilting ruler collection as been growing by leaps and bounds these days with no good way to store them.  I searched the interent for ideas but most of them were table top solutions and that was something I am short of so did not want to give any of it up to storing my unruly ruler collection!  This was a quick to sew project and if i get some requests I will do a quick tutorial for it. But basically it's 2 layers of stiff craft felt encased in some of my favorite vintage sheeting that I layered into pockets just right for keeping my rulers close by but out of the way!  I like it so much I think I will make a second one of these to hold all my rotary cutters

And as a parting project I put the last touches of my Crafty-Girl Corkboard

This was a re-use/recycle project for a very dated but still serviceable corkboard that I had hanging around but did not want to use since it was struck with a rather large case of the uglies!

I knew I wanted a modern feel  since it was going to go in my studio and more than that I wanted a really quick project so I used  some heavy duty spray glue and coated the board and then laid on some random pieces from a partially used charm pack. I then took a page from the new slice and dice quilt blocks that you can see all over blogdome and bisected the area with some cute ribbon ( used stick glue on the back of that).  I edged it out in the ribbon and bam!.. I was done and it's now hanging in my studio holding little bits of quilty inspiration!

Day1 is done! :)

Start your Sewing machines!.....

It is June 1st and Summer Stitch begins today! My *plan* is to setup our Summer schedule so that I have 2 hours per-day to sew.  Ambitious, yes but with a bit of planning I hope to make it happen.  First off is my plan to finsh the king sized quilt I have been piecing since Christmas! I am pretty nervous about this since I have never quilted something this big!

In Studio news I am working on a new collection, it's modern and won't be everyone's cup of tea but I am really grooving on it right now.

Have fun.. sew something!