Projects from Pochée Spring 2010

Here is a quick roundup of some garments I made from Pochée Vol. 9 Spring 2010.  This Japanese magazine features some really nice shirt patterns as I mentioned in an earlier post, but there are more than just great shirts in this issue.

Did you know? "Stylish Dress Book" translated to English!

Now Available for Pre-Order

Yes, it's true....  The much coveted and admired Stylish Dress Book vol 1. by Yoshiko Tsukiori will soon be out in ENGLISH!!  Yay!  It is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com at an attractive price, only $11.27.  The publication date is Sept 10, 2012 so there is still quite a long wait for this title but fans of Japanese sewing books will know the wait is worthwhile.  The title for the english version will be "Stylish Dress Book: Wear with Freedom".  Click the link for more details and pictures!

Scottish Shortbread Recipe!

Today I made stuff to eat outta nuthin...and I decided to write about it!  I have several books on tea and foods to make for taking tea, one of my favorites is The Afternoon Tea Book by Linda Hewitt, published in the early 80's, it is now quite the vintage classic!  The recipe for Scottish Shortbread is the simplest I have ever seen, most call for cornflour in the recipe, this does not.  3 ingredients, and a delicious result, follow the link for recipe!

Fashion Inspiration - Pochee

Pochee Spring 2010

Today is one of those days where rest is involuntary... I am very tired and keep getting dizzy.  It's not a good day for sewing.  Plus I have a bad feeling about my half finished dress upstairs, that I did not cut that plaid fabric quite right and the seams will be wonky after all...  But I am too tired to look and see, and I don't need that discouragement today. EDIT : I found out the plaid lines up just fine :-) but now I have to add darts to the back..

Instead I will share some fashion images and pictures from pattern books that I am in love with right now..
follow the link to see more!  :-)

2011 Review...

2011 looks like a scant year for sewing if you go by my posts, but really it was just a bad year for posting...
I actually did a lot of repairs that made clothing wearable again, I did some embroidery and some garment sewing that is not photographed yet.  It's so much easier to photograph an object like a stuffed rabbit than to photograph yourself wearing a dress, as you can see from my photos in the mirror on the Lotus dress!  The solution is to obtain help but I'm not so good at asking for that.  This must be why so many bloggers have photos of their frocks on hangers instead of on themselves.

Anyway, I thought I would make a list of all the things I did not post about but made or fixed =0)
so.....please click for more....

Tea Shoppe Quilt

At last the quilt top Mum made is quilted and finished!  All the little tea pots and tea cups have been sewn around and flowers have been carefully stitched so that they are not stitched too much...for I quickly found out that too much detail makes the quilt too flat and hard.

Finished Quilt on my bed

I photographed the quilt this morning with the sun at the perfect angle to show all those little details (so long as you turn off the flash).  Click the link for more detailed pictures!

Amy Butler Lotus Dress part 3

Cap Sleeves are go!

My Muslin/Dress is almost finished...well actually I have worn it downtown twice without the hem finished because I couldn't wait to wear it any longer!  Can't wear it to work like that though, I'm pretty sure the boss will look at me funny...  I am glad I threw this frock on before I stay-stitched and bound those sleeves!  I nearly didn't bother and so I was lucky my sister-in-law came round and I wanted to show her how it looked.  That's how I knew the sleeve sizes on the pattern are quite unrealistic, I had to let them out to the large size and they do still pinch a bit once in a while.

Time for another picture! >

Quilt Assembly

Assembled and ready to Quilt!

This is going to be a beautiful quilt ...  While my Mum and Dad were visiting recently Mum decided to piece a quilt with me helping on the design a bit.  She showed me how to stretch out the backing while repairing another quilt she made me years ago, so I assembled the "quilt sandwich" this weekend.  Now for the quilting!

So I am currently up 3 1/2 quilts after Mum and Dad's visit, one gorgeous one Mum brought with her as a gift, two she repaired, and this one I get to quilt myself.  Phew!  Thanks Mum!
More pics -

Amy Butler Lotus Dress Part 2

A bit better fit..

The Lotus Dress is fitting a little better.  I have taken it in at the back darts (a lot!) and some at the zipper seam to prevent the nasty zipper lump effect.  The front is no longer sagging as you can see, but it still needs work.  I also moved those belt loops up, they seemed too low.

Amy Butler Lotus Dress part 1

At last I begin the Lotus dress project!  This is the muslin, made from an old sheet, as the dress fabric Mum bought me was very nice and expensive so I am trying to adjust the pattern first.

The pattern is a bit on the big side I think, plenty of ease.  I cut the small size thinking I may have to let it out over the hips and it is actually pretty big.  Fortunately the fabric drapes pretty well so it feels good to have that extra room.  Looks pretty good for a sheet, no?!

Polka Dot Bunny Rabbit

Polka Dot Bunny sits on Mum's Quilt...

Finished!  I just finished the latest bunny rabbit destined for the hands of a little baby girl.  My, I am proud of this one!

Dotty about dem rabbits...

Choosing ribbons and bows...

Gift Bag for a little girl...

A gift-bag for bunny!

I made this drawstring bag for a friend's little daughter, as a gift bag for the soft toy that I also made for her a while back and then ...<ahem>.... didn't get around to sending...
Suddenly last week I realized that the little girl's birthday was right around the corner and she didn't have her bunny yet!  For a while I wrung my hands and whimpered to myself about how I would never get it together in time and would miss her birthday again (yes, again...oh shame on me!)  Then I got ahold of myself and decided to make this carrying sack/gift bag to complete her gift and get it in the mail!!  Very daring and ambitious for me let me tell you, I am a terrible procrastinator....horrible, just horrible.....

more pictures after the link!

The Tea-Rose purse and drawstring bag

The Tea-Rose purse and bag

Here's a sweet little purse I made a while ago, based on a free pattern available at Belle Epoque.  I made this purse smaller than the original pattern by folding over areas of the pattern print-out before cutting out.  Then I dressed the project up with some pretty details.  I used a tutorial on Tea Rose Home for the flower, on the tutorial page it is used to adorn a ruffle shirt, but I liked the style with the "tails" hanging down as if they tie the flower on, so I used it for the bag.  I also stiffened the bag with some batting I bought when pondering on a quilt project a while back.  I didn't make the quilt but I have lots of batting now to make fun stuff with!

This little project is quite elaborate, there are many more fancy details that went into making it fab.  Follow the link to see...

Bunny Rabbit "muslin" - my design

This is my new rabbit, I made a "muslin" to test out the pattern I drew up, so this is plain muslin and chocolate colored cotton for the contrast areas.

Earth day organic fabric giveaway

Head over to DaisyJanie to enter the organic fabric giveaway!  Then follow the links for a total of 12 chances to win groovy new organic fabrics.  I entered comments on all the links today and so maybe I will win?  My plan is to make loads of re-usable grocery bags so I can avoid having to use plastic bags from now on.

Ickle Baggy Bag..

My latest creation...a little drawstring bag to hide those items in one's purse you don't want seen when you open it to pay for stuff in random stores...

Is this a Chrysanthemum Ball?

I made a toy/puzzle ball that I first saw on a cover of "Quilts Japan" magazine over at superbuzzy.. I looked all over for a pattern for it and then a tutorial showed up on craftgossip here, which I followed...with some modifications.

Something to make you smile..

I was just commenting on Stitch&Bake that there is nothing like a snoozing furry to adorn a quilt (visit that link to see why)...and then I thought of this picture.  This is not even a quilt, just some cheap old bedclothes, but notice how snuggly and warm they suddenly appear when one has the family pet pose on them.. Nothing quite like it is there?  Heck, that could be a bundle of greasy old rags she's laying on and it would look inviting!

Clearly this is how furnishings should really be sold, Macys should keep an army of sleepy pets in the furniture dept, they would sell beds and armchairs like crazy.  Or maybe this is the best way to shop for furniture - take your pet to the store and buy the couch it curls up on....

Any thoughts?

A Bed Quilt - is this enough fabric??

I am thinking about making a quilt.

The more I think about it and the more I read about quilting the more I realize what a serious thing it is to think about making a quilt!  I am practically paralyzed with terror in fact!!

So much so that I have needed to simplify this process by choosing the easiest design and breaking down the rest of my anxieties into key questions.  In my quest for the right design I have looked at lots of lovely quilts on the internet and I have to say I am most attracted to simple patterns that feature lovely fabric combinations.

So I decided to do a quilt top made from squares and then to consider adding some applique after the top was about done - once I can see how it looks and where it might benefit from some more "action".  The applique may or may not happen at all of course since I would like to get this done fairly quickly once I decide how to do it, otherwise I shall run out of enthusiasm y'know!