The Communique Layout
Popularized by Rhonda Dort, who uses the layout in her classes, the Communique Quilt Layout works for both featuring large fabric and panel pieces, as well as a basis for multiple block designs.
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About Me
Welcome to Mouse in My Pocket! I'm Andrea, a web developer living in rural America with her husband and daughter. I'm excited to share my life with you as I explore some of the great things about living in the middle of nowhere. Be sure to check out the blog below to see a few of the things that are speaking to me right now.
On the Blog
Sewing Circles
After telling everyone on the blog on Friday to stop being afraid to try things and just do them, I figured I should take my own advice. So I pulled a quilt from my stack to send off to the quilter and decided to give it a go myself. This quilt was a challenge on…
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The Secret to Making Difficult Projects
Since I started sewing a couple years ago, I’ve made several projects that people might consider difficult. You might remember the Amy Butler Weekender Bag, the Bustier Top and Dress, as well as my Colorist Quilt with curves. So what’s my secret for making these types of difficult projects? Just make them. No one told…
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5 Great Border Prints
After making my Vintage Border Print Dress, I find myself inspired and drawn to border prints. They are such a simple and easy way to create detail in a dress, skirt, or even a top. So I’ve been wandering around my local quilt shops as well as a few of my favorite online fabric retailers…
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Using Pectin
It’s spring, which means it’s time to start thinking about your garden and what you want to put in it. For me, that means thinking about what I want to make with my plants from the garden – and lately I’ve been a big fan of jams and jellies. Really, this means I need to…
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Bustier Dress
I liked my Bombshell Bustier Top so much that I decided to make another one. This project started out as another top, but when playing with my fabric, I decided I really wanted to give this project a try as a dress, so I cut off the top to closer to my natural waist line…
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Styling the Taffy Blouse
I love this version of the taffy blouse with a pair of black skinny jeans and a black biker jacket. With the black pumps and super cute sunglasses, all I’m missing is a cool vintage car, so I can be a greaser.
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Junk Shop Finds
I stopped by a couple of the local junk/antique shops recently and made some good finds. I picked up a vintage hem marker for much less than I would have gotten one new, and it’s probably better made. I also got a nice collection of “The Art of Sewing” books – yes they are Time…
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Vintage Patterns
After I picked up my copy of Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing, I knew I wanted to try out working with a vintage pattern. I looked around at the local antique shops, but didn’t find any patterns in my size, so I went to the internet. There were a lot of amazing patterns on…
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Vintage Border Dress
A while back, I came upon a photo of a dress I absolutely loved. The dress had an amazing vintage feel, and I was simply loving the toile border print across the bottom of the dress. So, I set about trying to figure out how to make this dress for myself. I never did find…
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Styling the Meringue Skirt
You may remember the original meringue skirt that I made a couple months ago. It was the very first project from the Colette Sewing Handbook, and I love that it has a scalloped hem. It’s the first and only one I’ve done so far – at least on purpose. One thing I really enjoy about…
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Taffy Blouse Remix
After my first attempt at the Taffy Blouse didn’t turn out so perfectly (my fabric stretched and the final top was was too big), I decided to give it another go. The new one still isn’t perfect, but it is a big improvement from the first one. I may just not be meant to work…
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