D-Day

This is it, last day of Rag prep!

I spent the last few days cleaning and packing and have gotten zero, I repeat, ZERO sewing done. Its all going in a bin to travel with me.

I need to pick up drawstrings for belts, a cloak clasp, and probably more eyelets. I also thought it would be great to make a bag for my feast gear.  One of the problems with feast gear is that it all gets left around and people borrow your silverware and next thing you know, there is none left!

But we have not been completely crafty free, as Jack and Kieran are spending their evenings cutting and dying leather.

Jack's armor grade helmet  in progress

Nose guard and decorative pieces

And Kieran made his artery guard freely articulated spaulder

We are going to look wicked cool at Rag this year!

Dragon Tunic

Finished this last night! Still chugging away at my Rag list. I used my free motion quilt foot to do the detail work. I'd like to use a thicker thread next time so that it shows up a little better. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be appreciated.

I had originally used a blanket stitch on the outside but ended up redoing it with a satin stitch and I'm much happier with the results.

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!