SEWmuchKNITting

Not having any plans for the Labor Day holiday weekend, I was looking forward to spending some time at my much-neglected sewing machine. First on the list, and the *only* sewing project I worked on, was this 'improvisational' quilt that I had started last month. Using the intuitive piecing style a la Gwen Marston, I had put together the above center medallion, and then added the right-hand strips and bordered it in the dark gray. So far, so good......but I wanted to take the idea further. This quilt project is inspired by some great July views on my favorite golf course in northern Michigan. I used the color palate of the cobalt blue sky, green trees (from chartreuse to forest green), the grays of the birch tree trunks, and the orange and black of the monarch butterflies flitting across the fairways. I also chose to limit myself to use only solid fabrics. I did not sketch an idea, but rather just pieced my way along at will. Boy, do I enjoy this unstructured way of sewing f...

08-22-2010: We moved our 'baby' off to college.....hard to believe!  GO BLUE!

I have sewn the McCall's 5591 skirt pattern before for my daughter , and really liked the way it turned out. Looking to add some simple skirts for this H-O-T summer to my wardrobe, I thought I would try it again. Using some pretty jazzy quilting cotton, I made this up a couple of weeks ago. Cute and fast, and a pattern that I would heartily recommend! In fact, I plan to make it again. Here are a few pictures on our way to Mass: Love the pockets! If you look closely you can see a seam at the center front, where I had to do a little fudging. Tho no seam is called for in the pattern, I found a flaw at the fold line of my fabric AFTER I had the skirt cut out :-(  It was easy to fix by sewing in a small seam there, and adjusting the pleats to fit the yoked waistband, which I love just as much as the pockets! I would add more length next time to allow for a deeper hem if using another lightweight cotton.

I was finally able to grab some pictures of the Broken Rib Tank that I finished in June! I used Berroco Weekend yarn, which is a cotton/acrylic blend and a pleasure to work with. The waist shaping and bust dart increases were very effective so the fit was perfect! I just love the broken rib yoke detail, and that is what sold me on knitting this for myself. Nice to have finished a knitting project for a change!