On Saturday, we took the Metro (well, sort of) to DC to a bar that hosts the UT Alumni Society for football games. There was a terrific turn out - at least 111 Big Orange Fans - and a terrific outcome to the game (well, for the Big Orange Fans).
Yesterday I made it to Hancock's and bought my fabric to make some Bargello quilt place mats. Seems like a good first project. I got the strips cut, sewn into tubes and the cut ready to piece. To make these quilts, you cut strips
and sew them together into sets of the same sequence. Much like other quilts. This project takes 5 fabrics, cut into 2 1/2" strips sewn together. 
Then you take that set of strips and 3 other identical sets and sew them together, including the last group to the first group so you get a striped tube. Then you take this tube and cut strips from this of various widths. These new strips are then pieced to make the curves and stripes. I got as far as cutting one set of the strips to piece. When you piece it, you sew each strip to the backing/batting sandwich, so when the piecing is done, the quilting is done. Ready to bind and be done. No quilting shows on the top. The author recommends a very thin batting - flannel with a check or stripe pattern is ideal. There in lay my problem. I didn't "get" this originally so didn't buy this type of batting. So another trip to JA's is planned for lunch tomorrow. (Note, the colors are much more true in the top photo, I'm not sure why they appear so yellow in the lower picture. And I really love the way they look on the black table.)So, I moved on to hemming 2 pairs of RTW pants I found at Banana Republic on Friday - cutting of FIVE inches and hemming 2"! I'm not THAT short and the pants were labeled "average" Whatever. I now have 5 more pairs of pants than I did on Thursday! WooHoo!
And since I still had some time, I started on my BWOF vest from the December 2008 issue. I didn't get far, but I did get started. This was a big leap for me, first "tailoring" effort. I know, barely have my pinkie toe in the pool of tailoring with this, but it's a start. It may be a long haul, though. I spent about an hour trying to get a tube to turn for the back "belt". My husband actually got it started for me. Um, yeah, I cut it half as wide as I should have. No wonder it was so hard to turn. A one inch tube is much easier than a half inch tube. Yeah, it may be long haul. I want it to turn out well so I can wear it at the Novi convention at the end of the month. I think it would look splendid with the "I made this" pin on it. Well, if it looks splendid, that is.
D'oh, did the burda "finished size" instructions get you on the vest tube? I wish they would pick either 'finished' or "with SA" and stick with that one for the extra pieces instructions!!
ReplyDeleteHope to see you and your vest at the expo!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just skipped that tube thingy entirely with this vest. Couldn't find a buckle at Jo-Ann's.
ReplyDeleteIf you've cut this vest out you may have found that it's tight-fitting. I wish my fabric had some lycra in it. But you're slim so it shouldn't be a problem for you.
I constructed the vest first, then the lining. I attached the lining to the fashion fabric with a fell stitch all around. Easier for me than that silly wooden spoon method BWOF uses. Placing the buttons was the hardest part of construction for me!
BTW, didn't know you went to UT! Hook 'em horns. (I used to live in Texas; went to college in San Antonio.)
ReplyDeleteI made my vest using a couture technique Susan Khalje taught me in that class I just took:
ReplyDelete1. Make the vest. Staystitch all the way around on the exterior seamline of the vest. Press to wrong side on the staystitching, then clip as needed.
2. Make the lining and staystitch and press like above.
3. Attach the lining to the vest by fell stitching it to the fashion fabric all the way around. No machine stitching to attach the lining, all by hand.
This is not a technique for those who hate hand sewing, but I like the control you get with hand stitching. My vest looks nice on the inside.
Hope this helps! Email me if you have more questions. And I forgot there is another UT!
i love the colors in your fabrics and can't wait to see the finished product. I'm a little confused about the process, but that could be because I'm not a quilter!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the vest! It sounds challenging, but isn't that the way we grow and learn new things?
Yes, Crompton was really bad, and after last week I thought that maybe, just maybe the new coaches had gotten through to him. He just doesn't have the confidence or the (dare I say?) intelligence to lead this team. I don't think he can remember the plays, where the receivers are supposed to be, etc..... I get flustered under pressure, and I have a feeling that's what happens to him. I try to stay out of pressure situations myself. He should, too.