A few pieces of black clothing

It's been awhile since I posted anything. I have not been really busy so I'm not sure what has kept me from writing. It snowed here just after the new year. It was a beautiful couple of days.

I finished the Red Fox Quilt and gave it to our friend Chuck.  I used Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox pattern...great pattern by the way. The quilt is about 48x40. I used a very soft flannel sheet on the back with a very modern pattern.

A couple of weeks ago I spent a Sunday afternoon making several pieces of black clothing. I had some knit/fleece fabric that I bought sitting in the studio and wanted to try to make a warm shirt. I have made several of the Jalie 2805 tee shirts and I think these are my favorite. They fit nicely and go together in about an hour. I bought a couple of cotton jersey bed sheets and practiced with those to make sure I really liked the end result. I have posted about making these shirts previously.  This time I made the shirt with a knit/fleece type of material that I had in my stash. Since the fabric is thicker the shirt is nice and warm.The only thing I would have done different is make it a crew neck instead of a V-neck, for some reason the fabric stretched out quite a bit around the neck. I had enough of the fabric left that I made a pair of leggings. I had some issues again with the elastic waist band again…but they fit and are nice and warm. I need to read about sewing with elastic then do a bunch of tests. I hate muslins or testing materials...even though I know it will help me in the end. I also made another little bag, this one with some of the left over Pendleton that I use to make my husbands Christmas shirt this year. 

I then pulled out some black rayon type fabric…again not sure where it bought the fabric or what the exact content is but it flows nicely & has a nice drape. I had a cotton slip that I really loved but the slip was falling apart. I made a difficult decision to take it apart so I could make a pattern. I had made a slip from the pattern a couple of years ago but since i used a quilting cotton the slip/dress was a little stiff. I made it again from a seersucker type of material and I loved it. Though I think the shoulder straps were a bit too thin. I felt the rayon type fabric was perfect, I could wear the slip/dress under a sweater in the winter or as a nice summer dress.

When I made the pattern the first time I felt the underarms were a little strange. So I looked a the original pieces and decided to add about 1/2" to the underarms. Well that was a little too much because now the underarms are too large. I think I have to use a facing or hem the neck and arms to make it fit better. That of course did not stop me from wearing the dress under a warm sweater last week. I'm always looking for simple summer dresses because I live in them all summer long. I think this pattern will work nicely after a few more tweaks. I guess I have to get out my pattern making books and read up on how to make the pattern to fit properly.

Winter is coming

My obsession with crocheting rugs started with this small rug over a year ago. I bought some balls of fabric from Scrap in Portland. I started to make the rug but was very frustrated. It turns out I had a needle that was too small thus I had problems actually crocheting. I took a 1 hour class on crocheting with Pendleton Wool Salvage and realized I love it. So I finally completed this rug for the kitchen. You can see it is not really a square or a rectangle...that is because when I started I made the knots very tight. I have more cotton fabric strips that I want to try another rug. I also want to try some knit fabric...oh so many thing to make over the coming winter months. 

If today is any indication of how the next few months are going to go.. I should be able to get several rugs and quilts made this winter. We had our first snow fall...actually it was the first ice fall. There was a nice dusting of snow then it all started to freeze. The lovely white trail in the park is really ice, it's a little slick and you can slip and fall. You can see the icicles on my neighbors garage, and the ice on the back porch. I've been working in my studio in the basement and it's cold. I just recently bought a new heater, one of the radiant oil heat type. It's keeping the chill out but there are still a few drafts that need to be filled. I usually hang large curtains in the space to make it smaller and more cozy during the winter months. I think this the new heater will make a huge difference once I hang all the back curtains up.