Baby Play Mat

This was a project that K and I made for a co-workers new granddaughter. We started with a rough idea and took inspiration from several pictures online, but our mat ended coming together through a variety of twists and turns. Once we settled on incorporating flip-up tabs with pictures, we had fun cutting out pieces from both of our fabric stashes.  We decided to make all of the tops of the flaps with an assortment of pink fabrics that complemented each other and then the pictures underneath the flaps included a wide variety of logos, cartoons, writing, etc. The letters for spelling the new baby's name are also mixed in among fish, flowers, food, animals, Cubs fabric, and my favorite--a typewriter--because that might be the only typewriter she sees in her lifetime :)

The ribbon that secures all of the flaps is blue as that was what we had available.  I used my 201 to sew through the multiple layers of fabric, denim, and ribbon---it handled everything with no problems.

Originally, the background for the flaps was going to be a patterned fabric, but a trip to mom's house turned up a fantastic stash of denim that could be repurposed. I ended up cutting and piecing together a background from three pairs of jeans. We really liked the softness of the worn denim and the durability it provided. This mat will be easy to throw in the washing machine whenever that is needed.

Patchwork denim

For the backing we used fabric that had the alphabet and corresponding pictures. I basted the mat at home and then handed it off to K who did all of the quilting at her house.

Lainie helped with the basting

She did a free-hand squiggle and it added such a great texture. The flaps are not quilted, nor is the blue ribbon. K also left the little pocket in the background that I pieced in there.

Look at that fabulous quilting

For the binding, the mat came back to me and I made the binding from scraps of the pink fabrics we used for the flaps. Again, I used my 201 to sew on the binding and then finished it by hand.

Trimmed and reading for binding

Finishing the binding

After a good washing, the blanket was wrapped up and delivered to the baby's grandmother who would share it later.  K and I were so happy with how this project turned out. We made a great team throughout the process. Whether we met and were working on a step together or moved things along at our own houses, we communicated regularly and combined skills and creativity for top-notch results. I could definitely see us working together again.  I hope baby enjoys playing on the mat as much as we enjoyed making it.

Finished back

Bernina 910

It has now been a few months since I purchased this machine, but I'm just getting around to sharing how this machine came to live with me. It was the first day of Spring Break and T sent me a link for a free machine that someone was giving away. I contacted the poster, but the machine had already been picked up. Since I was already online, I took a quick look around Craigslist to see if there were any other interesting machines. Yes, there was a Bernina 910 offered. The pictures were not great, but the blue on the machine caught my eye and the machine was close by so it was worth investigating.

She looked like a beauty, but seller didn't take any photos with the machine out of the cabinet

In one drawer I saw the corners of what I hoped were the instruction manual and the accessories box

The machine was listed as 'needing some light repair' and when I inquired about its history I found that it had not been used in a few years. The seller said the machine turned on, but would not make a stitch. I was still interested and arranged to see the machine that afternoon.

The cabinet was in rough shape and in need of a good cleaning. A quick peek in the drawers confirmed that the instruction manual and accessories box were included. When I looked under the needle plate, I saw thread wrapped around the bobbin casing and a significant amount of lint buildup. The hand wheel turned freely when I tried it. This machine had been neglected in her cabinet, but she was ready to be cleaned up and put to work.

Before cleanup

Dials are filthy, but turn smoothly

Missing its tray

Dirty, but bobbin casing and hook in good condition

Lint packed around and behind the feed dogs

A bit dry on the top, but no cracked gears

Stitch selector operates smoothly between all 7 options

I cleaned inside and out and I replaced the bulb with a new LED. Under the layers of cigarette smoke, dirt, lint, and dried oil was a solid machine with no cracked or broken parts. The bobbin winder worked on the first try and the machine threaded up easily. A prior owner had played with both the upper and lower tensions so it took a few minutes to reset those. It stitched beautifully both straight and zig-zag, forward and reverse. One thing that is taking a little getting used to is the definitive click that the hand wheel does when I take my foot off pedal. I think this is the machine moving the needle to the full up position at the end of every seam, but it is a loud click and I thought something was wrong at first. The manual mentions the electronic system that moves the needle, but it does not suggest an ideal noise level. I searched online to find where someone identified and acknowledged this click, but I haven't found anything yet so I'm still a bit worried that maybe it shouldn't be quite that loud? If you have a Bernina 910, can you let me know if that's a normal sound?

All cleaned up

7 decorative stitches and bobbin winder on top

Hand wheel has silver colored cap

Still no tray, but clean

Lint gone

Instruction manual

Full accessories case

Power cord and blue foot control

And a Bernina brochure for the 910

The brochure says "-youthful - for a lifetime", are they referring to the machine or the sewist who chooses this machine?  Did I just luck into a fabulous new machine and the fountain of youth?

Denim Skirt, Simplicity 8699

Denim wrap skirt

The fabric is a lightweight denim I picked up when I was visiting City Sewing Room in St. Louis this summer. The pattern for this wrap skirt, Simplicity 8699 view D, was purchased at Joann's. I was looking for a skirt that could be created in a variety of lengths using a range of fabrics. A wrap skirt would lend itself to fitting over both my ample hips and fitted waist and button placement for the closures could be repositioned as needed. This one looked promising as far as fit. 

For some reason, I didn't take a single picture of the skirt during its construction. Apparently, I was completely absorbed in the process. I traced a size 20 and cut out the pattern last weekend and then spent today sewing the skirt together. Except for when I sewed the right and left yoke pieces on backwards, I was able to follow the directions without problems. That error was completely mine, and it was easily corrected when I figured out what I had done. The last couple steps were to sew on the buttons and the snap closures. For the buttons I wanted to use something out of my vintage collection.

Auditioning buttons

I think I would have been happy with any one of these options, but I decided to go with the smaller brown ones shown on the left. Hopefully, this will make the skirt more likely to work with a variety of tops.

Buttons chosen

The buttonholes were done on my Bernina 1230 using the #3 foot. I don't think they're the best buttonholes I have ever made, but they will work very well and I will continue to develop my skills in this area. I may have modified the button placement as I just tried on the skirt several times to see where they felt most comfortable. I didn't go back to see how similar the final placement was to the pattern, but I would bet its fairly close.

Buttonholes and buttons

One hidden snap on waistband

The inside of the skirt is not lined. Depending on what fabric I use next time I will probably need to add a lining, but for now it works perfectly fine.

Inside of skirt

Today is a cloudy, overcast day that doesn't lend itself to outdoor pictures, but I went ahead and did the best I could.

Front view

I didn't make any changes to the finished length and I like that it hits right above my knees.

I love the curve on the hemline

Back view, maybe could have used a bit more ironing

Yoke finished well

Pairs well with a Lark tee

Very comfy

I will definitely use this pattern again and try out the longer version as some point. It's the tail end of skirt season as we head into fall, but I'll be ready for warmer weather next spring.

Blue Squares Quilt

Hanging out at the beach

Love it

It has rained here for a couple days and there are more storms forecast for this afternoon and coming week. I took advantage of a quick break in the clouds this morning to photograph my most recent project.
The Blue Squares quilt came together rather quickly this summer. I was looking for a project that would showcase many fabrics and give me a place to practice my hand-quilting skills. The fabric was sourced from several places. Many of the larger squares are from a 5" charm pack that I bought while in Paducah, KY. That pack was from the Moda collection called Feed Sacks: True Blue by Linzee Kull McCray. I used almost all of the fabrics from that pack except for one floral pattern that had a significant amount of green in it. The second largest source of fabrics was from the basket of feed sack scraps I picked up in Missouri this summer. There were many scraps that I could use for the medium and small squares. A couple of scraps had enough samples that I was able to sew the pieces together and then cut out one larger block. The last place I pulled blue/white/small amount of red combination fabrics from was mom's stash. From there I included a couple old collar shirts a few older blue and white fabrics.

Feed sack scraps from Missouri 

I was able to find a good variety of patterns. This quilt incorporates solids, florals, geometric prints, plaids, and my favorites--paisleys and polka dots. Blue and white are the foundational colors with splashes of red thrown in. There are a few places where yellow, green, or black managed to sneak in, but I don't find that too distracting to the eye. Some of the old feed sacks are very worn or stained and a couple needed patching or stabilizing, but I love the added texture and history they contribute to the project.

Sewn together on my Bernina 1230

This quilt was basted on my living room floor and I had plenty of supervision. Sometimes I'm surprised I get anything completed. I had a large piece of white backing available, so that became the backing.

Both cats 'holding down fabric'

Basted with safety pins and contemplating quilting designs

Stewie assessing the frame stability

When quilting, I started by outlining the 144 small squares in the middle. Then I moved out to the medium size squares. These were also outlined, but they got an additional X through the center. Finally, I broke from all the straight lines in both the piecing and the quilting and did concentric rings in the four corners. The rings do not meet on the sides and there is one column of blocks on each side that has stripes quilted parallel to the binding. The binding is white to finish off the frames of the outer squares. The finished quilt is about 43" square. 

Quilting on back

 I think I have looked at the back of this quilt almost as often as the front. I am so pleased with how the quilting turned out.

Quilting shows off center squares

Photos at the beach were a bit sandy, but a nice change from my now water-logged garden.  The beach was not crowed with people, but I did get to chat with a duck and her ducklings for a bit.

Ducks on the beach came to check out the photo shoot

Storm clouds in the distance

Weaving Bags from Plastic Newspaper Sleeves, Guest Post from Linda

Daily deliveries of newspapers and advertising circulars amount to a huge pile of plastic sleeves just for my household alone. Strolls through the neighborhood make me wonder just how many of those plastic sleeves lying in almost every lawn are being recycled. The plastic really is pretty--bright colors, soft and pliable, and a really nice size to this weaver's eye. Tada!!

Finished bag

I'd seen a few photos on Ravelry of shopping bags made from various materials, and newspaper sleeves seemed perfect. I used cotton rug warp as weft and put three yards on my little Wolf Pup LT. (Twelve ends per inch, 206 total ends, yielding 17" in the reed.) I split the bags down the sides lengthwise, which was fairly time consuming but gave me narrower stripes which should wear better.

Laying out bag strips by color

The prototype bag is tough, lightweight, and has been in use all summer by my youngest daughter for

everything from groceries to beach gear.

Prototype hanging on Wolf Pup loom

Such a good idea shouldn't be limited to one bag, so I put another, longer warp on a bigger loom.
Generous friends offered to save newspaper sleeves for me to speed up my inventory acquisition. It was great fun choosing the colors of carpet warp, and I certainly didn't limit my palette!

Cones for warp

My huge Oxaback warping mill made short work of measuring twelve yard ends in random stripes.

Oxaback decked out in striped warp

Warp chains ready to go

Beaming the warp and threading the heddles and reed took a few hours. I work slowly and meticulously, because a well-behaved warp is all important to the success of any project. Seeing the first few inches of weaving is so much fun--now I get to play with sparkly colors for hours!

Warp on loom before weaving starts

Weaving has started

The weaving is fairly quick, and the bag construction was surprisingly easy. I made my own pattern,  very similar to the Butterick B267. My Bernina 1130 handled the basic straight stitches without a hiccup. I used strapping from the local fabric store for handles and added a bit of that strapping to the top edge of the seams for reinforcement.

Bag interior

I wove a seam allowance from cotton and stitched it down so that the inside seam would be covered.

Finished interior seam

Red straps-prototype, green straps, improved construction

These are the first finished bags. I have a 12 yard warp on for another 8 or 9 bags, but only enough plastic for about half of them. It's time to collect more plastic sleeves!