More Masks and "Favorite Fabrics" ~~ finished!

Do you know how good it feels to pick up a quilt top, quilt-bind-label it, and call it done? Yes? Great. I'm here to tell you it feels even better when said quilt top has been waiting, patiently, in a basket or bin or (gasp) plastic bag for longer than you care to remember. Oh yes! It's a wonderful thrill. I recommend it highly. My heart still does a little flip when I think of it. 

More on the quilt later. First let's get these masks out of the way. There are 15 in this picture, more or less. Eight will go to a friend who requested them. The rest, I don't know. Maybe I should have a few here in case we need them. Heaven knows, I am done with these things. Could it be more boring? Not for me. I'm kind of ashamed, really. But 50ish are all I can wring out of myself for now. Maybe after Easter if there's still a need I can make more. 

Now back to this finish. At some point I realized that the very pretty pieces of colorful, playful fabrics that I'd purchased at 
Lola Pink in Lafayette were becoming smallish scraps. It occurred to me that together they would make a pretty quilt. So I gathered up pieces Since they were literally scraps, sizes were varied, but showcasing the designs was important. Otherwise, what was the point? 

The sizes were not cooperative but finally I came up with this clean, modern design. The blocks are 3½", 5½" and 7½" each with 2½" white strips. Into the waiting bin the top went. And just like that, quilt tops are forgotten. They deserve better, so it's time to get them finished. 

I had this white linen with small navy stripes that was just large enough, so I figured it was meant to be. I should have used those stripes to my advantage, but no, I prefer to make things... challenging.

For no reason at all, I decided to use straight line quilting but to leave out the prints. Then after all that quilting, I realized that the largest blocks were too big to leave un-quilted. I added fleur de lis and lotus flowers to those blocks. It was a good opportunity to play with those two motifs, which I really like.

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	Favorite Fabrics
	Size:	54" X 58"
	Fabrics:	Various fabrics from stash
	Pattern:	My design
	Backing:	Linen from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Binding:	fabric from stash
	Quilting:	Straight lines w/ motifs in largest blocks
	Completed:	2020

Tell me what you think. I really like constructive comments. They help a person to access and grow. So yeah! Comment.

Lola Modern Finished

Little Squares Quilt

I've been working on a little modern quilt that I call "Lola Modern."  Lola because the fabrics are bold modern fabrics that I picked up at Lola Pink Fabrics in Lafayette.  I've had them for a while and had the idea for this little quilt while working on "Little Squares" which was way back in March.  Ahh well, sometimes a quilt has to wait.

The thing about this quilt is that I started it on a whim and finished it in less than a week.  It really is fast and easy.  A block has only three pieces and because it's a large baby quilt, there aren't many blocks.  In fact, I didn't even get to use all the modern fabrics that I had planned.

Can you see how easy it is?  I started cutting the fabrics a couple of weeks ago but got sidetracked with the hummingbird quilt.  All I had to do was handle those hummers and I was smitten.  Then I had other things going on, so the five or six squares that I had cut out just sat and waited patiently until I came back to them.  I cut a few more and before I knew it, I had enough to start sewing.

I loaded the quilt on the long arm Wednesday after school and when I came in from the studio, the quilting was done!  I know, right?  That was fast.  I wanted to play with these allover feathers, which I saw on Pinterest, and I do love the speed and ease of this technique.  To start I stitched some big loopy centers on so that both ends landed somewhere in the middle of the quilt.   Then I dropped in the feathers.  When I had that side of the quilt finished, I moved to the other side but made sure I could still get to the two open ends.  All I had to do was start with one open end and make big loopy centers working my way to the other open end.  Drop in the feathers and voila!  I did go back and look for open spaces so that I could fill them with extra feathers or scrolls, but even that took only a few minutes.

I really like this little quilt!  If you're looking for a quick, easy project, this could be the one.  Just cut some six inch squares of your favorite fabrics, some 6 X 4 inch squares of white,  and some some 5 X 12 inch rectangles of white.  One of each will give you a block.



Happy Quilting, 
Mary  

Hello, Amy Butler

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to get to Lola Pink fabric store in Lafayette and picked up some beautiful modern fabrics. 

I noticed the owner's cute top while she cut my fabrics and asked about the pattern.  It's from Amy Butler and they happen to have it in stock.  Lucky me!  Of course, it was added to the growing pile on the counter and about $80 later, I left with a nice little bag of goodies. 

The fabrics are beautiful quilting cottons from name-brand companies, such as Moda.  Lola Pink can be trusted for high quality, bright modern cottons--good reason for my regular visits.

Since hubby was in the field most of the day and there were no grandchildren to get into things, I took early advantage of the quiet and the pretty blue and brown Moda fabric.  Eight o'clock is early for stitching--at least it is for me.  But by that time I'd made a pattern from my favorite skirt and was cutting into this pretty pile.

Deciding what to make with it was easy enough.  I'd used the Amy Butler pattern last weekend to make this pink and black polka dot top.  I got compliments from someone at church, a teacher at school, and a guild member at the meeting on Monday.  I consider it a winner.  Here it is about to be tossed into the washer. 

 Besides, I'd made a few adjustments to the pattern so that it's relatively cool since the air conditioning in my classroom is sporadic.  Instead of lining the top, I made bias strips to finish the arms-eye and, because the fabric is such good quality, I didn't put in interfacing.  It's also loose and flowy so that the fabric doesn't stick to me.  (Having ADD means needing to be comfortable because bothersome clothes are very distracting.)  I promise I ironed it before taking this picture, but lunch called me away.  In the meantime the top slipped off the counter, a puppy made the discovery, wrinkles are the result of a puppy tug-of-war.

 And there you go, not a bad Saturday of sewing.  After finishing this outfit, I replaced the zipper on that favorite skirt, since I broke it while getting dressed one morning this week.

Replacing the zipper took almost as long as making this skirt, but I figured out a tip that I thought you might appreciate and can apply anytime you're making repairs that are difficult.  Use a thread that matches closely but not exactly to the thread already in the garment.  This way you can more easily find the one that needs ripping should you make a mistake.

My zipper looked great at first, but then I saw that the waistband seams were slightly off, and the zipper needed some adjusting.  Because I was using a very light bluish white (just barely a tint of blue) rather than the bright white in the garment, I was able to pick out my seam without disturbing a nearby seam.

I came to the idea of using the off-white while ripping out the original zipper.  It was very difficult to tell which seam I was ripping.  Only one seam held the zipper in place, but a second seam kept the loosely woven fabric from coming apart and I didn't want to weaken it. Once the broken zipper was out, I knew there would be a chance that I'd have to do a bit of ripping and decided that an off-color thread might help.  I was very glad to have that hint of blue.  In fact, I might have been tempted to leave the mistake in.

Lola Pink, Please

I had an appointment in Lafayette, so I visited one of my favorite fabric stores.  No, I do not need fabric!  But, well heck, Richard called me on the road and suggested that I go by "one of those quilt places" and get something.  He also suggested that I get a pedicure.

I ran in for a few minutes and found only three pieces to purchase. Are they just lucious?  I passed on the pedicure because I spent enough money on these fabrics and one pattern.  (And I need to shave my legs.  Can I hear an lol?)

So the plan for these pretties is to make a couple of skirts and maybe even a cute top.  

This last piece is beautiful but also very loud...screaming loud!  It may have to be a skirt just because I could not wear it as a top: I'm a tad too heavy for such big print in such loud orange.  I don't want to look like I'm wearing a mu-mu. 

The pattern I purchased for the top is an Amy Butler tunic that can also be made into a mini dress, dress or cami.  The salesgirl at Lola Pink had a calm version of this tunic on and it looked fabulous.  She's way smaller, but I'm thinking the comfort is worth something. 

I don't like sleeveless tops but it's so hot in my classroom since the air conditioner is not working correctly.  I have some polka dot fabric that I intended to make into a top last year.  I guess it's time to put it to good use and try out this pattern.  I'll keep you posted.

Happy sewing,
Mary

Lola Pink, baby!

Photo from makeitperfect.com
Sweet Dreams pattern. 

I will soon have the pleasure of teaching a few sewing classes at 

Lola Pink Fabrics on The Boulevard in Lafayette.  Although Lola Pink is offering many classes, some in the mornings and evenings, my classes will be on Saturdays.  Since I teach all day and will have to drive a little over an hour, I chose to teach on Saturdays only for now.  

I'll be teaching the Make It Perfect Sweet Dreams pajama pants and had fun picking out fabric yesterday.  Today I cut and stitched my own version of the pj's using "Blue Birds" fabrics from Alegria by Cloud9 Geninne D. Zlatkis.  I picked up the pattern and fabrics from Lola Pink, but the elastic and ribbon came from my studio stash.

Didn't this fabric work really well for my project?  I fell in love with it the moment I saw it in the store.  I plan to pick up a plain tee to add a couple of fussy-cut appliques from the left over fabric to make a matching top.  Since I don't have a tee, that will have to wait till later in the week, but I think it will be worth the wait.  I really like these pj's and enjoyed making them.  

The entire project took only about one and a half hours, but that includes tracing out the pattern.  It comes in sections with printed patterns on both sides of the paper, so you can't cut into the paper.  

Instead, you have to trace the pattern onto freezer paper or, as I did, onto large sheets of newsprint.  I purchased an end roll from the local news paper office several years ago.  For $6 I got enough paper for many patterns.  I expect I have enough for at least 4-5 more years.  Definitely a worthwhile investment!  

Now when I'm ready to make another pair, the pattern is ready to go.  I'm thinking grand-daughters here!  You know how teens today love a funky pair of pj's!  What do you think?  Would you consider this project?  Leave a comment.....we haven't heard from you in a while!