Double Check Your Measurements

Tried to sew all weekend but I got distracted by Astrid, who consented to hang out with me this weekend. We watched two movies, played Sims Medieval, started a new book, and made homemade banana muffins. She's a great kid!

I did do my June block swap. The paper piecing block took much longer than I expected, but it went together nicely when all was said and done. I choose the Ohio Star pattern from 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars.

My swap partner requested teal and lime green, with white, if a third color was wanted. 

The fabrics I choose

First four segments

All eight segments

Final Block

The instructions recommend that you leave all the paper on until the block is completely put together. I tried it this time, and I guess it worked out okay. But the seams got very bulky at the end, which made pressing them difficult. I think that in the future I will leave the paper on until each quadrant is done, then remove it before completing the block. If I could do it over, I would change the color scheme slightly. I'm not too happy with the way it came out.  Or maybe just the overall color scheme doesn't quite appeal to me.

Finally, I sewed together two pairs of brown pants for Jack. These are pairs that I cut out a year ago. Turns out I cut them out two sizes too small! Oh my, that was just par for the course last year. I also attempted to make him two T-tunics last year and they both failed epically. I'm hoping these pairs will fit either his best friend or my brother. I don't know what to do with them otherwise. Lesson: double check your measurements and your pattern sizes.

Back to Mundania tomorrow...

Time Is Running Out

I have just under three weeks to get everything done for Rag! And I really need to finish Nana's Quilt before we go, and I just took on an extra project...argh. I'm an overachiever. Fortunately, my good friend Ravenna offered her assistance with anything I need and I will plan on taking her up on that.

My partner for the block swap hasn't contacted me as of yet, but I looked up her theme. It is lime and teal, any pattern block. This threw me off, because I wouldn't think of putting those two colors together. But I looked it up and here are some examples I found. I actually think this is going to be a fun block to put together.

 

image courtesty of www.cakecentral.com

So once again, this block swap is making me think outside my box.

This weekend I finished Jack's green shirt, except for some hand stitching. It now has button holes and went into the "Ready" pile. The hand stitching can be done in the car or at Rag.

The work on the dragon shirt didn't go so well. I stitched down the dragon, through both layers of shirt. Oops. It took me 20 minutes to stitch and more than an hour to tear out.

And finally, I tackled my purple surcoat! The skirt is now put together. Here is a rough estimate of how it will look.

It falls to just at my knees. Perfect. The pattern I had was a little snug last time I made it, so I added a little extra room by reducing the seam allowance to 1/2 inch instead of 5/8.

And finally, my delicious snack for the day: bananas, nectarines, strawberries, and brie. Yay for eating healthy!

Virtual Retreat - Day 3

Well I'm just about out of steam. I really didn't do much sewing today, although I did work on this shirt. This was going to be a shirt for Jack but the shoulders aren't broad enough, so I've absconded with it as my own.

Before

After

It still needs hemming, and I have to finish stitching the dragon on and attempt to add some detail. This was the dragon that was going to go on Jack's surcoat, but I'm not confident in my applique abilities so I decided to practice on this shirt.

I also applied for two jobs and spent an hour and a half working in the yard. All in all a productive day!

Virtual Retreat - Day 2

I stayed up wayyyyyy too late last night, but I got up this morning and started working. I didn't get much done yesterday because I spent the day looking for things I know I have and can't find, like black and red broadcloth, duckcloth pants that are already cut out, etc. I ended up cleaning up my room a lot, locating a few things, and resigning myself to a JoAnn's trip (oh gee, what a shame) first thing tomorrow to replace fabric I apparently used for another project.

I cut out two shirts and stitched one together. It still needs the handstitching and buttons/buttonholes but is done other than that.

Dark green, to go with Jack's ranger coat. The other one I cut out is brown.

Yesteday, I got tired of dropping my bin box on the floor and spending 20 minutes picking them all up so I made a pincushion using a Moda Bake Shop tutorial.

I'm going to velcro it to my sewing table and make another one to velcro to my ironing board. My niece saw it and requested that I make her one to use as a pillow for her stuffed animals.

So here's my updated list:

1. Hem Anita's skirt

2. Hem Uncle Dave's work pants

3. Finish piecing Nana's Quilt Top. Sandwich, quilt, and bind.
4. Cut out and sew two pairs of pants for Jack.

5. Finish Jack's Ranger Coat.

6. Cut out and sew three two shirts for Jack.

7. Finish my purple surcoat.

But the night is not over! More work to do and there is always tomorrow.

Virtual Retreat - Day 1

Yesterday was sorta kind supposed to be Day 1 but I had to take my car in for a brake job, which turned into a rear bearing replacement (I'm so grateful we have a mechanic we trust) and got sent home with a loaner vehicle. I don't get my car back until Tuesday, maybe. *sadness* But I stuck around on that side of town to spend time with my mother in law, who graciously offered to pick me up from the auto shop, and my niece, who is a very devious easter egg hider. Good times!

This morning I dragged my feet because I don't like hemming, but I finally got the pants for Uncle Dave hemmed up. Cross one item off my list! And Anita's skirt is being put on hold due to the fact that I can't find the marking I made to determine how long to make it.

1. Hem Anita's skirt

2. Hem Uncle Dave's work pants

3. Finish piecing Nana's Quilt Top. Sandwich, quilt, and bind.
4. Cut out and sew two pairs of pants for Jack.

5. Finish Jack's Ranger Coat.

6. Cut out and sew three shirts for Jack.

7. Finish my purple surcoat.

I also found myself volunteering to have friends over tonight for the Red Wings playoff game, in which we all hope they will finish the series and progress to the Conference Finals. And I thought I'd make tacos for everyone. So some cleaning and cooking are in order. They are not arriving until much later this evening though, so I should still be able to get plenty of stuff done in the meantime.

And, because I can't seem to write a post without a picture, here's one for you. A picture taken by Vanicus of Corma, to give you some idea why I spend so much time making garb in June of each year.

Ragnarok 2012

Virtual Retreat: Extreme Home Sewing Edition

After a night with almost no sleep (thank-you brain, for being overactive) and a ten hour shift at work, I'm just too tuckered out to attempt to work on any of the many projects I have going. I also had several surprise projects show up this month and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

Pretty much sums up how I feel

Lucky me, its Memorial Day Weekend, and after work tomorrow and a trip to my mechanic to get my brakes fixed, I'll have a three day weekend with minimal social obligations. Karate class is cancelled, my friends are going camping, and there is no Dagorhir practice due to the holiday weekend. Saturday is 100% all mine and Monday as well.

So it will be a Virtual Retreat Sewing Weekend for me, by which I mean I will pretend like I'm on a Sewing Retreat, go into my room, close the door and work work work. Here is my list of projects (think Get It Done May 2.0 Extreme Home Sewing Edition):

1. Hem Anita's skirt ( a project I've had for about a month that will take me maybe an hour but I just don't feel like doing it)

2. Hem Uncle Dave's work pants

Unfinished side not shown

FYI, I think hemming is the most boring sewing ever, so we're doing this first to get it out of the way. Ever hemmed curtains? Oh my gosh the straight lines just will not end. Fortunately, these projects are easy and of a short duration.

3. Finish piecing Nana's Quilt Top. Sandwich, quilt, and bind. One side to go on the inner border and cut and piece the outer border.

4. Cut out and sew two pairs of pants for Jack. I think I already have one pair cut out, I just need to find it. And I have the material for more. I just need to find it. The pattern I use is by McCall. I use heavy weight thread, zig-zag stitch all the edges, and double stitch the seams. All this is time consuming but necessary, as spending a week slaying the armies of Mordor is a bit hard on the clothes. I also make his pants out of duck cloth. Its a little heavy for the summer but they are breathable, durable, and apparently very comfortable once they have been washed a few times.

5. Finish Jack's Ranger Coat. I'm sorry to admit that this project has been two years in the making. Two years ago I pieced the outer coat for Ragnarok. A year ago I added the lining. And this year I plan on finished the sleeves, which will be removable through the use of eyelets and laces. I'm also sorry to admit that I do not have a good picture of this available.

6. Cut out and sew three shirts for Jack. The man desperately needs new garb this year.

7. Finish my purple surcoat. Started months ago.

I just ordered a new shirt pattern that will hopefully allow me to make short-sleeved shirts for the guys that do not look like commercial t-shirts.

Has several different patterns in a large array of sizes. This one pattern should work for just about anything I want to make.

Okay well that list is enough to keep me busy for a couple weeks. Stay tuned for daily updates on how I do!

Its Dagorhir Season!

Its time to start thinking about garb. Also, I seem to be in a bit of a quilting rut. I have lots of projects but I don't really feel like working on them. So we are switching it up.

For the uninitiated, Dagorhir is a nation-wide competitive medieval reenactment society, made up of like-minded folks who love wearing medieval garb and swinging swords at each other.

Well, just like every year, unexpected expenses are preventing me from spending oodles of money on garbing supplies. I must attempt to re-purpose what I have and create something I like out of garb that I don't like.

Project #1

I threw together this surcoat, a combination of a pattern for a corset and "winging it" from a surcoat I liked in a medieval shop,  a couple years ago and it never fit me properly. I think I wore it once. Here it is on my dress dummy:

Surcoat Back

You can see the sides are split, awkwardly. This would be because I naively made the tails straight when I have curves! Ugh. It totally looks like it was made for a guy. So the dress I wear underneath sticks out all funny. The waist is too low, and the shoulder straps are too long. And of course, it is COMPLETELY lined, making adjustments difficult.

So when I pin everything to where it is supposed to be I get the following:

That looks so much better doesn't it? Haha! I think I may be able to fix it by folding the top over the bottom like so.

A little stitching and a little trim or accent fabric and that should work out okay. It won't be as finished or polished since I'll have to cut into the lining but I think I can make it work. Then I will tackle the problems with the skirt.

More to come! My good friend Ravenna is also prepping for Ragnarok and here is her blog if you are interested in learning more: Ravenna Designs