Letterman Jacket

Letterman Jacket

     I was asked to sew on some patches onto a letterman jacket.  When my kids were in high school, we only bought them the windbreaker style jacket so I didn't have any experience sewing onto a heavier jacket.

Jewel's Tape

     Since I knew I wouldn't be able to pin the patches in place, I used Jewel's Tape that I had gotten for my home decor workroom sewing.  It worked out great to hold everything in place while I sewed.

Zippered lining

     To my surprise, I saw that the lining had a zipper that allowed one to get to the inside of the jacket without going through the quilted lining.  This made the sewing so much easier as I didn't keep that in place also.

Numbers on the sleeve

     Getting the numbers onto the sleeve was trickier since it is a small area and is leather.  Once again though because I didn't have to go through the quilted lining it was better.

Front Porch Table Topper

 

Finished table topper

     I knew I wanted something for the table on the front porch.  At first I was thinking about a tablecloth.  Then I saw a pattern when I was at a quilt show at CLC.  I figured a table topper would be more practical so I bought the pattern.

Pattern used

     Next I needed to decide what fabrics to use.  Since I had fabric left from the cushions I had made I chose to use up what I had rather than getting something else.  Normally I would not use outdoor fabric for a table topper but this seemed like a good choice.

Inside

     I followed the directions for cutting and the first steps for the piecing.  It became very confusing to put on the final four points.  They were supposed to be finished first and then sewn on.  It didn't make any sense to me so I chose to just piece the whole front, apply the fusible fleece and then sew on the backing as one piece, leaving one triangle open for turning.

Trimming close

     I trimmed the fleece really close and also trimmed the points, clipped the inside angles and trimmed the seam allowance.  I then turned it right side out and stitched close to the edge all around after I pressed it.  Outdoor fabric doesn't always like to be pressed, so I had to be careful.  I then stitched about a quarter inch from the inside edge of the accent piece to stabilize it a bit more.

Back of table topper

     I like how neat it looks from the back also, it could be reversible if I wanted just a solid table topper.  It would be fun to try this with some cotton fabrics next time.

Quilt for Violet

 

Finished quilt

     In November our newest grandchild was born, a little girl.  That now makes 6 grandkids for us, 4 boys and 2 girls.  I had this quilt ready to go for a girl and after she was born I just had to make the baby info label and finish up the binding.

Block detail

Border

     I used the Pathways pattern, a Three Yard Quilt pattern.  I have used this pattern many times now for baby quilts.  Aren't those monkeys adorable?

Quilting detail

     My friend Joni did a great job as usual with the quilting.  Nice soft flannel for the backing.

Baby info label

Makers label

     I made the labels with my software and then stitched them out.  I like this design of baby shoes for the quilt label.

Antrim Dress

 

Antrim Dress

     I had bought this fabric at an ASG Conference, maybe a few years ago.  I was going to initially make a skirt and top but when I saw the pattern for the Antrim Dress, I decided to make a dress instead.

Getting started

     The pattern is from Itch to Stitch.  I printed out the sizes I wanted and then taped all the pieces together.  That usually takes me a couple of days.  Then I had to get my cutting table cleared off so I had room to cut  out the fabric.

Don't eat my fabric!

     The fabric is a soft knit and I was having problems with the machine 'eating' the fabric when I started stitching.  I tore small pieces of tear-away stabilizer and used those to begin the stitching.  Problem solved!  At times the instructions seemed hard, but I just did it step by step and it turned out great.

Side gathering detail

     The 'waistband' of the dress is two layers with the inner layer smooth and the outer layer gathered at the side seams.  Because the knit is so soft, I'm not sure how well the gathering will hold in the middle of the band.  

Bodice detail

     It has a pretty crossover bodice with just a bit of gathering where it attaches to the 'waistband'.  It also has pockets!

Pattern

     I'm looking forward to wearing what I hope to be a flattering and comfortable dress.