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Tag: sewing

MetaQuilter – Finished!

MetaQuilter – Finished!
What a long, long eighteen months it’s been! Way back at the end of 2011 I signed up for a quilting group through MetaFilter. There were 16 of us in the “adventurous” group, and every month a different person would send out fabric and instructions for making a block. Of course a lot can happen over 16 months, and four of the people ended up dropping out. The pace started to slow towards the end as well, so I finished well after the scheduled end date (and I think I’m still the first one done). Ultimately I ended up making 12 blocks (counting my own) using a lot of different techniques! Check it out…

1. Jan 2012 – Nonesuch by ocherdraco; 2. Feb 2012 – New York Beauty by katemonster; 3. Mar 2012 – Earn Your Stripes by amelioration; 4. Apr 2012 – Half Log Cabin by bayliss; 5. May 2012 – Cathedral Floral by heyforfour; 6. July 2012 – Fractured Diamond by lollusc; 7. Aug 2012 – Redwork by rumposinc; 8. Nov 2012 – November Rain by vespabelle; 9. Grandmother’s Garden by ME; 10. Jan 2013 – Celtic Bias Tubes by nat; 11. Mar 2013 – Dresden Plate by medeine; 12. Cathedral Windows by artychoke

Many, many thanks to ocherdraco (aka Margaret) for setting up the group; and for everybody who saw it through to the end!

June 17, 2013
Photo post

Dresden Plate. Slightly wonky. Only one MetaQuilter block to go!

June 10, 2013
Laurel Dress

Don’t tell anyone in CorporateLand, but I’m wearing a self-made dress today! #laurel @saraiatcolettepatterns

So yeah, I finished another dress! This is Laurel from Colette Patterns. It’s a very versatile shift dress, and I opted to make a sleeveless version (since I didn’t have much fabric). The fabric itself is a stretch cotton that I got at Fabric-a-brac last year. I actually cut it too large at first, not realising how much ease it had in it. I then went back and took in the side seams, which helped it fit a lot better. I did have an issue with the back neck gaping, which I’m not sure is attributable to the fit or whether I stretched it out when applying the bias binding. Miss Fee was kind enough to pin out the excess for me, so I then added a few darts there to take it in. I’ll know enough to make lots of changes for my next one! It’s a very simple and quick pattern, and I think I’ll be able to use it for work wear – in a more somber print, of course. 🙂

April 19, 2013
Plush Hobbes

I was just updating my Crafts page and realised that I’d neglected to document the creation of Hobbes. This was my Christmas gift to my nephew Penn. He recently discovered Calvin & Hobbes books, so I thought he would love his very own Hobbes. I’d seen and bookmarked the Instructables tutorial a long time ago. The hardest part was finding the fleece! I was calling all over Sydney with no luck. Then Issy sent me a message that she’d found some in a remnant bag she’d just bought! She brought it over and TOTALLY SAVED CHRISTMAS. Anyhoo, I used the sewing machine for most of the basic tube construction. Then it was all hand sewing: assembling the tubes, sewing on the stripes, and sewing on his face. It took ages, and I had quite a blister on my finger! (I never did get the hang of using a thimble.) It was all worth it when Penn opened it on Christmas morning though. Within 24 hours I had to do emergency surgery on a split that had opened in his tail, but that’s what Aunts do, right? Tigers are meant to Have Adventures, not sit on a shelf. We should also have such a best friend!

Some construction photos:

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March 16, 2013
Grumpy Cat Brooch

Grumpy Cat Brooch – Love it.

March 7, 2013
The decline of mid-range clothing

The decline of mid-range clothing – I really need to get back to sewing, pronto.

March 5, 2013
Ron Swanson Quilt

I haven’t seen a lot of Parks and Recreation, but we watched it with the Carbos in LA and they seem to really love it. That’s how I know that they’ll freak out over this Ron Swanson Quilt – complete with actual Ron Swanson!

March 5, 2013
Colette Cinnamon Pattern

Join Us in Supporting Equality this Valentine’s Day – Lovely idea from Sarai at Colette Patterns. Buy the digital download of the Cinnamon dress pattern today, and all proceeds go to Freedom to Marry. Win-Win! I got me a new dress pattern. 🙂

February 15, 2013
The w-g Oscar Contest 2013

My ELEVENTH annual Oscar Contest is now open! If you pick the most correct answers, you’ll win a set of FOUR super-powered Avenger Monkeys! You get Captain America (with shield), Iron Monkey, Thor (with Mjölnir), and the Incredible Hulk Monkey. No, I didn’t do any of the lame human characters. If you want a monkey with an eyepatch or a bow and arrow, you can make your own. 🙂

And remember, in the event of a tie, the person that entered earlier wins. So don’t wait too long!

Here’s a body shot of Captain America Monkey. As you can see, he comes with a really sweet shield (painted by Mr. Snook himself!).

A close-up of Cap’n’s face.

Here’s Iron Monkey. (If you’re handy with electronics, you could make his Arc Reactor light up!)

And here’s his face. Sorry, Robert Downey Jr. not included.

Here’s Norse god Thor himself. He’s got a long red cape, flowing blonde locks, and a mystical hammer. (But don’t squish it too hard because it was sculpted out of clay, again by Mr. Snook.)

And here’s Thor’s close-up.

And lastly – HULK MONKEY SMASH!

You can’t tell from the photos, but he really is bigger than the other 3. (Unfortunately socks don’t really allow for a lot of muscle definition, so I had to embroider his pecs on.)

February 4, 2013
Photo post

I wore my new @ColettePatterns Lucky Cats Sorbetto today! Making my own continuous bias binding makes me feel like a total badass.

January 14, 2013