Tag Archive for 'Lizzy House'

DARK GREY COLETTE MONETA

Published on July 22, 2014 in clothing, stitchery and the workroom. 8 Comments Tags: bamboo jersey, Colette Patterns, Lizzy House, maxi-lock stretch thread, Moneta, organic knit bamboo.

Colette Patterns : Moneta Dress
Dark Grey Bamboo Jersey

When Lizzy House was here, we did very little sewing. Unlike last year when The Sewing Factory ran for a week straight. We did manage to make Monetas together. This was the perfect project, if we had to choose just one.

Our first step was to analyze everyone else’s version. This is a valuable step! We wanted to find out what problems people had with the pattern so that we could avoid them. There were two things we found. A lot of people complained about excess fabric under the arm. The other issue people talked about was the method used to add the clear elastic at the waistband.

When we opened up the pattern we saw right away that the side seam extended too far out when it came up under the arm. We simply straightened out that line by bringing it in about 1/2″.

For the clear elastic. We did not follow the pattern directions! I’ve heard so many people complain about the results they got by trying to stretch and sew the elastic into the skirt at the same time. We used the traditional method. We basted the skirt first with a long stitch on the sewing machine. We then gathered the skirt by hand. Then we just serged the clear elastic in place. One note about the elastic. The pattern calls for 1/4″ clear elastic, which is impossible to find. We used 3/8″ clear elastic that we just trimmed down to the right width before serging it in place.

For my version I chose to do the short sleeve with no collar. I lined the bodice with the same jersey as the rest of the dress and I really like the weight of it. I will definitely do that again for my next versions. We also used a different pocket. Lizzy had a great pocket pattern that attached to the waistband rather than the side seam, which seems much more stable on a knit dress.

To put the dress together we used a serger with Maxi-lock Stretch thread and Stretch 90 needles. I’m addicted to Maxi-lock Stretch thread for sewing with knits. I did a bit of testing and it definitely makes the seams more stretchy than regular serger thread. It also is super soft and gives nice coverage over the seam. Using a serger, the dress comes together really quickly. Both Lizzy and I made our dresses in one night sharing a serger and sewing machine. For all the hemming we used a stretch twin needle on my sewing machine. For this part we used the stretch thread in the bobbin and regular thread in the top.

The bamboo jersey is incredibly soft. Wearing this dress feels amazing and you never want to take it off. Probably the best thing to do is just make 6 more so that I can just have one for every day of the week. You can see Lizzy & I wearing our Monetas together here.

p.s. The next night Lizzy made a second version using fabric that she hand dyed in our Indigo class. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen.

VOGUE 1350 : CATNAP

Published on February 24, 2014 in clothing and stitchery. 12 Comments Tags: #catnapdresscontest, Catnap, Lizzy House, Rachel Comey, Vogue 1350.

Vogue 1350 by Rachel Comey
Raspberry Purrfectly Happy from Catnap by Lizzy House,
lined with Freespirit Solid Plum Voile

Here’s my entry for the Lizzy House Catnap Dress Contest!

I don’t think I could have chosen a more difficult pattern to do under a short deadline. This pattern was not a sleepy catnap, it was a real challenge! I had wanted to try something new for the contest. I also wanted the dress to be a bit more formal to contrast the adorable cat print.

This dress is a beautiful design. It is also completely lined. Not just a lining that is dropped into the dress, but a lining that is sewn onto the facings and finishes the insides and hems cleanly. It’s serious. The front placket hides a row of snap closures. There is so much great detail and fitting in this dress. It’s pretty much a work of art.

While I was sewing it into the early hours of the morning before the deadline, I was definitely cursing myself for not choosing an easier pattern. That said, I do love this dress and how it turned out. It seems the perfect way for me to sport some kitty cats. Quite a few people have asked how Maisy feels about this dress – She doesn’t mind, she loves Lizzy House cats as much as I do.

You can check out all the entries into the Catnap Dress Contest here. There are so many wonderful Catnap dresses!

SIMPLICITY 2215 : CONSTELLATIONS

Published on September 11, 2013 in clothing, stitchery and textiles. 12 Comments Tags: constellations, Lizzy House, Simplicity 2215, the sewing factory.

Simplicity 2215
Lizzy House ‘Constellations’ fabric

This dress was made earlier this summer when Lizzy House was in town. Lizzy was here for ten glorious days teaching classes at the workroom, plus living and working at The Sewing Factory. Lizzy explains The Sewing Factory perfectly here. Basically, The Sewing Factory is a team of three comprised of Katherine, Lizzy and I. It’s what we love to do best, which is to be together and sew everything we can.

You can see all our adventures together in photos here.

You’ve seen this Simplicity pattern before in many versions. This won’t be the last, it’s just too good. I knew I needed to have a Constellations dress using this pattern since it’s my idea of a perfect dress and Constellations is my idea of a perfect fabric line. And I got to fussy cut some adorable fabric covered buttons for it! This dress is a dream. And it’s blue. I’ve made a lot of blue clothes this summer. You’re about to see them come your way as I’m photographing them slowly.

Speaking of blue. I just got some Chambray for a skirt. It will probably be made with this Simplicity pattern. To add to the 2215 collection that I’m creating. I think Chambray is the fabric of the season. I am falling in love with it for clothing projects and I love that it’s coming out in other colours besides blue. We just got some Chambray at the shop yesterday and we’ve got even more on order for the fall!

I also wanted to introduce you to Ashley! I had the pleasure of meeting Ashley in person this summer, when she visited the workroom. She was sweet enough to drop by to meet me at the shop while she passed through town, as she is all the way from California. She has been sewing up a storm of beautiful clothes that has got me inspired these days and I think you’ll love them too.

OH MY STARS! QUILT : FIRST BLOCK

Published on April 7, 2013 in patchwork and stitchery. 6 Comments Tags: constellations, Lizzy House, Oh My Stars! Quilt.

I have a new strategy when making a quilt – make one block first. So many quilt projects start off with hours or days of cutting out pieces. By the time you start sewing, you’re exhausted by the whole thing and maybe you don’t like how the fabrics look together or maybe you can figure out a more efficient way to cut or piece the blocks by doing a test block to start.

Here’s the first block for my Oh My Stars! Quilt by Sheila. I’m using mostly all Lizzy House Constellations fabrics with a few other prints mixed in for good measure. Here’s my stack of fabrics.

My thoughts about this first block? LOVE IT. This quilt won’t be quickly finished, but I’m going to have fun sewing up stars in little batches.

I have never been compelled to base a quilt around a collection of fabric, until now. This collection needs it’s very own quilt. (I have been carrying around a custom iPhone case with the Constellation Fox for well over a year in anticipation of this fabric being released!) Of course the quilt needed to be filled with lots of stars. This is a match made in heaven.

MARK’S FIELD STUDY QUILT

Published on April 5, 2013 in patchwork and stitchery. 4 Comments Tags: field study quilt, Lizzy House, quilt, tula pink.

Let’s not talk about the start date of this quilt. (November 2011). Let’s just focus on the fact that it is done and that I finally gave it to my brother for Christmas this year. Wait. But, then I took it back to add the label and just gave it back to him at Easter. Oh boy. But it’s DONE!

Despite the fact that this project has spanned over a year, it was really very quick to make. (If you don’t already have 10 quilts in progress, run a small business, etc etc)

It’s a little bit crazy, but I have 3 more gift quilts in my closet that are beyond overdue. Let’s take care of that this month, shall we?

Coincidentally, my brother told me he has been thinking of getting a hedgehog, so maybe the timing is actually perfect.

The Field Study Pattern is available here!

FABRIC STACKS

Published on March 5, 2013 in colour, patchwork, stitchery and the workroom. 4 Comments Tags: constellations, feather bed quilt, hand pieced star sampler, learning curves table runner, Lizzy House.

Without a doubt one of the best parts of making a quilt is choosing the fabric. What’s even better is if you can just ‘shop your stash’ for the fabrics. I didn’t really understand the importance of having a stash as a quilter when I first started out. All these stacks were made from just what I have at home. They represent a range of time and memories and they are all fabrics that I really like. My fabric purchasing strategy is to buy fat quarters of fabrics that I like. If I like it a lot then I’ll get a half metre. If I think a fabric is amazing, I’ll get between 1-3 metres so that I’ll have enough for a large project or for lots of projects and not have to worry about it running out. I’m also always on the lookout for great neutrals (greys! whites, creams) or background type fabrics – when I find those, I’ll usually get between 2-3 metres.

Let’s take a look at these fabrics stacks.

First up is a stack for an Anna Maria Horner Feather Bed Quilt. This quilt has been on my mental list, but last week I saw Lalu’s version and suddenly it’s at the top of the list. I started a test block on Sunday to see what it would look like. Love it! The background fabric is a Lecien Vintage Paper print that I got recently, knowing it would be amazing as a quilt background fabric.

Next is a stack that is mostly Lizzy House Constellations. I wanted to do a quilt that would showcase Constellations. I feel particularly sentimental about this collection. I have lots of wonderful memories of seeing this collection emerge from our visit to Salt Lake City and a year’s worth of Skype dates with Lizzy. I searched around for ages and finally found Sheila’s Oh My Stars! Quilt pattern. I love the layout and I’m looking forward to making this quilt and spending time with these fabrics that I adore so much.

The Hand Pieced Star Sampler class is coming up and these are my choices for the class. I’ve wanted to do a quilt with red for a while and I’ve also got lots of star fabrics that I’ve been collecting. I used the red & navy plaid as my inspiration for these fabric selections.

Superstar Quilt is Johanna’s version of the Lone Star. My idea for this quilt is peach and grey. I wanted to use some of my favourite prints from the new Architextures line. The pieces in this quilt are larger, so it’s the perfect place to showcase fun prints.

The last stack is for the Learning Curves Table Runner class. I’ve picked out fabrics to make two different runners. I plan on getting really good at doing curves!

I started a list in ‘My Crafty List of Things to Do‘ for my ’12 Quilt Tops in 2013′ goal (scroll to the bottom of the page). I’ve got fabric here for four, so I’m off to a good start!

BANKSIA TOP : LEAVES & BERRIES

Published on May 31, 2012 in clothing, stitchery and the workroom. 10 Comments Tags: banksia, hello pilgrim, Lizzy House, megan nielsen.

Banksia Top by Megan Nielsen Patterns
Hello Pilgrim Leaves & Berries Print by Lizzy House
Photographed at the Black Walnut Chalet, Mount Horeb, WI

I’m making good progress on my summer wardrobe. When I packed for this trip, I planned on bringing dozens of unfinished things to work on. As I started to edit out due to space constraints, all the quilting projects got left behind and I was left with a duffle bag full of clothing patterns and yardage. Perfect for building my summer wardrobe! I had cut out this Banksia top a little while ago. The adorable strawberry fabric by Lizzy just couldn’t be more cheery and sweet. I love that when you make your own clothing you get to choose the fabric that is going to put you into a good mood as soon as you pull it out of the closet. Some days, you choose those items because it matches your upbeat mood, other days, you hope the cheery vibe of the garment will rub off on you, literally.

This is my first try using a Megan Nielsen pattern. I had not heard of her patterns until Angelune mentioned I might consider this line for their cute maternity options. It’s true, I have not seen such cute little tops and dresses for pregnant and nursing ladies. Luckily, there are also a few patterns in the line for those of us that are not expecting a bundle. All of a sudden, it seemed like everyone on the internet was making the Banksia or Darling Ranges dress. We have had them at the workroom for a couple months and we’ve just put them in our online shop too.

The packaging is charming, with a little velcro dot on the envelope to reseal it. (nice touch!) You get a nice little booklet of instructions that you can also make your own notes in. The day that I worked on this was extremely hot here, so I was a bit cranky and impatient. Not ideal sewing conditions, but I was determined to sew and tried to keep in mind that I was feeling slightly unreasonable. There are two ways to sew the placket. I chose to do the more complicated way (of course!), so I had to read slowly, several times through the instructions. It wasn’t as complicated as it sounded, but often when you’re not sure the direction that something is going in, you have NO idea how you’re actually going to get there. Yes, even I feel this way!

The top is fairly easy to put together. I found that the bust darts were not at all right for me, so I had to undo the side seams, stitch rip out the darts and extend them to make them a bit longer. After that the fit was so much better.

I did have enough forethought to bring along a selection of buttons on this trip for a few projects. I had some good feedback on my button choices from my Instagram pals. Some of whom had the brilliant idea to use all different buttons. What a great idea! I got to use three different cute buttons to finish this off. I’m also a sucker for a Peter Pan collar and this one is nice and big! Some people have extended this pattern to make it into a dress and I think that would be pretty sweet.

I’ll be making the Darling Ranges dress next. I’ve got the perfect Liberty fabric picked out for it.

FIELD STUDY QUILT : QUILT TOP

Published on November 27, 2011 in patchwork, stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 7 Comments Tags: field study quilt, Lizzy House, outfoxed, tula pink.

This was a fast quilt top to make. Really fast. I kinda love it.

I cut out all the pieces for it in less than an hour and a half. The main reason for this was that I actually had the exact size rulers that you need, a 6.5″ square and a 12.5″ square. If you can, make sure you have these rulers! They are handy to have in general but seriously made the cutting for this a breeze.

I sewed up all the blocks in one night. It was actually pretty fun and incredibly satisfying.

PLUS! I used a trick that Katrina taught me to save the triangle off cuts and create easy half square triangles (HSTs). You simply draw yourself an extra sewing line that is 1/2″ over from your first sewing line. Sew both lines and then cut in the middle. You get your main block and a ‘free’ HST. By doing this I made 72 HSTs that are about 5.5″ and there was ZERO waste. This will all make sense if you get the pattern. I’ll be using these extra blocks to create something for the back of the quilt.

All in all, the quilt top took me less than 2 days. Whoo!

FIELD STUDY QUILT : FABRICS

Published on November 21, 2011 in patchwork, stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 7 Comments Tags: field study quilt, Lizzy House, outfoxed, tula pink.

My goal right now is to finish as many quilting projects as possible before the end of the year. I’ve been making good progress and I’m close to finishing three quilts!! Somehow, I started pondering a new pattern and before I knew it, I had picked fabric and started working on it. When inspiration hits in sewing, I like to run with it and see what happens.

This is another Christmas gift and I’m really hopeful that it will actually be done in time. The pattern is Tula Pink’s Field Study quilt. I’ve chosen to do the Medium size (72″ x 72″). What I like about this pattern is that I think it is perfect for a guy and it’s very simple to make.

The fabrics are Tula Pink ‘Prince Charming’ Aqua Snail, Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Brown Vine, Basic Grey ‘Curio’ Aqua Grunge, Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Hunter Green Jewel, Michael D’Amore ‘Wordplay’ Espresso Text and Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Yellow Hedgehogs.

I am actually almost done the quilt top. It took me one day to get the blocks cut and sewn! I’ll take some photos and show you what I’ve got so far this week.

SEWING SUMMIT MINI

Published on October 23, 2011 in patchwork, scraps and traveling. 7 Comments Tags: free motion, improv patchwork, Lizzy House, mini quilt, outfoxed, sewing summit.

Here’s my improv patchwork from Sewing Summit. Half the scraps for this came from Amanda and the other half came from Lizzy, who let me & Katherine dip into her collection for some bits we wanted for our stash. I really like sewing with other people’s fabrics. It’s fun to sew with fabric that I might not normally use.

I’ve been a bit afraid of free motion quilting. Okay, ALOT afraid. So far all the machine quilting that I’ve done has been straight lines, using a walking foot. I mean, after all the time that I’ve spent putting together a quilt, the last thing I want to do is ruin it with some bad quilting. This is why I knew I had to sign up for the Free Motion Quilting class at the Sewing Summit.

Our teacher, Alison, showed us lots of examples of different styles of quilting and quilts that she had done. She gave us some tips and gave demos on her technique. Then we just had to go for it. We had quilt sandwiches to practice on. This is definitely the best way to learn. Practice on little fake mini quilt sandwiches! There was a lot of wonky stitching on my practice mini, but I really liked the look of the overlapping square pattern, so I kept practicing that pattern over and over. Finally, I just decided to just go for it. SCARY! If you look really closely, this quilting is hardly perfect. But it was really exciting to finally let go and stop worrying about how perfect my little squares are. From a distance, it looks pretty good. Of course, now I want to do all kinds of free motion. I’m going to stick to mini quilts for now, but I can’t wait til I am ready to tackle a larger quilt. Bring it on FREE MOTION!