Finished School Days Quilt

You may remember this quilt from a few months ago.  It started with a charm pack of School Days by American Jane for Moda, and some yardage from my stash.  I’m happy to say, that it’s now completed, after a LOT of hard work by my wonderful mother-in-law, who hand quilted the entire thing for…

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It’s a Craftsy Class

I am currently taking my first ever Craftsy class, and I’m pretty excited about it.  For those of you who don’t know what Craftsy is, it is an online community where you can take video classes to learn new techniques, and create projects. I debated about taking the Sew Retro Perfect Bombshell Dress class for…

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Taffy Blouse

It seems like all of my clothing projects start out the same way.  I haven’t yet decided if this makes it boring, or if it means I’m starting to see the method to creating clothing.  Either way, the first thing I did was pick out some excellent fabric for my blouse.  On the recommendation of…

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Sweetheart Pillow

My MIL, Mary Kay, got me an adorable charm pack for Christmas.  It was the Flirtations pack by Sandy Gervais.   I’ve been trying to figure out how to use it for a while.  Mostly because it’s themed fabric, with lots of red and pink and hearts, and I’ve just never quite known how to…

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Fine Finish

The final sewing chapter in The Colette Patterns Sewing Handbook is all about using lining and the right seams for your project. Did you know that you can easily add lining to patterns that don’t call for one?  I didn’t.  I also leaned about several new ways to finish the seams on my sewing projects.…

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Truffle Dress

The 3rd project in the Colette Patterns Sewing Handbook is called the Truffle Dress. It’s a lovely little sleeveless dress with a simple scoop neck and a decorative ruffle panel on the skirt. In hopes of getting a finished project that was a little less stiff, I decided to get away from poplin (or quilting…

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Fancy Feet

Thanks to a recent episode of Sewing with Nancy, I’ve decided I want to try out some fancy new feet for my sewing machine. I’m so glad I remembered to set my DVR. Apparently the local PBS thinks they should run the sewing shows at 6 o’clock on Saturday mornings. Crazy people. Don’t they know…

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Back in the Groove

It started with a squeak and with every stitch a new one.  My machine is really due for a service. It’s to be expected with the large number of hours I’ve put on it recently. But the squeak wasn’t the only problem. The first major issue was when my bobbin started pulling multiple threads.  That…

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Pastille Dress

I’ve been working my way through The Colette Sewing Handbook, and have just finished my 2nd sewing project – the Pastille Dress.  The dress came out really well, and I learned lots of new techniques in the process. This project, being at the end of the chapter on fit, was a great chance to do…

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