SEWmuchKNITting

I was contacted by another blogger and friend-of-a-friend to see if I was up for an interesting project; The Pizza Dress! Rachel is a blogger in Virginia, pens the blog Pie Me To The Moon , and has spent the last year on a pizza "journey", eating and evaluating pies in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, blogging about the experience and the people that participated.  Fun! The last 52 weeks were wrapped up into one big pizza party which happened to coincide with Rachel's birthday (smart girl!), and she wanted a special dress for the celebration. Rachel had ordered a knit jersey fabric from  Spoonflower , printed like a pepperoni pizza, and had chosen   McCall's 6801   for the dress design. As I live in Michigan, and Rachel lives in Virgina, there would not be an opportunity for a fitting appointment, and the time constraints did not allow for mailing a fitting muslin back and forth. Luckily, her measurements fell right in line with the pattern m...

My nephew and his wife are both alumni from Notre Dame, and have been collecting ND T-shirts for several years. They've seen a few of the T-shirt quilts that I've made in the past, and wanted one for themselves. Their requests: 1) use all 26 T-shirts 2) add 4 tartan plaid blocks and 3) add shamrocks in the block corners. I was able to add the same cozy plaid as backing for their quilt. This was a fun project for a special couple, and I mustered up all my professionalism to look past all that GREEN(!), as I am a die-hard Univ. of Michigan alum whose blood runs Maize & Blue LOL!! Looks like they love their new custom quilt....perfect for snuggling! -Patty    

This is my second Blouse-back T from HotPatterns ....I really liked the first one , but it was a little too big. I found these two remnants while shopping at Haberman Fabric s in Royal Oak, MI with the plan to make the T in a size smaller. The solid is a stable knit, the floral a semi-sheer...both poly. I am very happy with the way it turned out! No alterations, a quick cut out and sew project with great results. Some not-so-great photos below...it is still SO COLD in Michigan!:

We are in the midst of The Wedding Year at our house, with 3 weddings in 9 months! I wanted a new dress for our son's and his bride-to-be's wedding shower last weekend, so I picked McCall's 5974 out of my pattern stash. This pattern has SO many rave reviews on PatternReview , and I don't know why I haven't made it before!  I chose to sew up View C, which is the same as View D: just has 3/4 sleeves. This looks so much like the iconic Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress! I went stash-diving for the ITY knit jersey fabric that I knew I had: Some of the notes I made with this project:                                      -1 " FBA, added 1" at waist & hip             - no zipper needed                                       ...

Yesterday was the wedding shower for my son and soon-to-be daughter, and I made up a few decorations.....thanks to inspiration from Pinterest! I found this lace in my stash cupboard, most likely from one of my girls' First Communion dresses. Using it to wrap the wire frame, I then hot glued the flowers on in the colors the kids chose for their wedding: champagne, blush pink and latte. The little chalkboard served to identify just who would be sitting next to Kenny....the Bride-to-Be! I also have this 'thing' for letters. I had made some black ones last year for my daughter's wedding shower, so this time I painted the letters C & K in gold metallic paint, with a little glitter for bling. They added a cute touch to the table in the foyer which featured pictures of the kids...a gift from one of the shower guests. The Bride-to-Be's aunt is a professional chef...lucky for us! The food was to die for, especially this sweets table....

Last night at my monthly knitting group, I was able to finish up my  Quilted Lattice Ascot  by designer Pam Powers. I knit this using Jasper yarn from Berroco, which I have plenty of in my stash. The three buttons came from my button collection.  This pattern calls for two strips of snap tape to be sewn under the lattice square for closure, but I found it easier just to sew the scarf closed, and just pull it on over my head. The buttons are sewn down, and while they function to close the top of the scarf, I find they are more ornamental. And that is what I like about Pam Power's designs: her use of buttons and other closures make it feel like you are wearing jewelry!  Quick pic to show the neck-hugging style of the ascot.....it looks and feels great under my down coat: a necessity this winter in Michigan of day after day of subzero temperatures.