Another Visby

This is my third Visby from Itch to Stitch.  Made from a fine merino, perfect for layering on these cold winter days.

This time I made it without the placket.  This made for a super quick sew.  It only took me around 1 1/2 hours to sew it.

Sew Over It Heather Dress x 2

I wanted a knit dress that I could wear over leggings for the winter.  Something that I could be comfy lounging around the house, but also smart enough to wear to the shops.  I also wanted pockets.  I found this in the Sew Over It Heather Dress.

I made 2 ponte dresses.

The first in burgundy and black is an embossed ponte from SmartDress Fabrics and is quite light weight.  The other in blue and black are a heavier weight, especially the blue and are from Spotlight.

I notice a bit of pooling in the back.  I don't normally have to do a sway back adjustment so not sure if this is the pattern or the way I was standing when I took the photos.

I added 3" to the length as the pattern is designed to be quite short and I wanted it to hit at the knee.  This is just what I was looking for.  The pockets are very deep, so I don't need to worry about my phone falling out.

The only other  change I made was to the construction method.  The pattern called for the sleeves to be sewn at the side seam and then set in.  Rather than doing this, I just sewed the sleeves in flat and then sewed the sleeve seam and side seam in one pass.  A much easier method when no easing is needed to set the sleeve in.

Spring Table Runner

Sweet Pea put this design out a few weeks ago and I couldn't resist.  I love spring flowers and it looks so cheerful.

These were 6 x 10 blocks and they fit my dresser perfectly.

The flower designs are daffodil and lily of the valley.  If you read my blog you know daffodils are my favourite and I am making a daffodil quilt.  Lily of the Valley also have special significance for me.  When my father was in the RAF, to fill in the evenings he made my mother, his then fiance, marquisite jewellery, one of the pieces he made is a lily of the valley brooch.  I now have this brooch and wear it with pride.

The other flowers are cherry blossom and tulip.

Daffodil quilt and Cloth Habit Watson

All the rows of the quilt are now finished and joined together.

Next step is to add the border with Wordsworths' poem "I wandered lonely as a cloud".

I also made the Cloth Habit Watson bra and briefs.  This time I wanted to add foam cups.  The first bra I made was from left over fabric.

The pattern is designed for stretch fabrics, however the foam has no stretch and this ended up way too small.  However the matching briefs are a good fit.

I had another go at the foam cup bra, this time going up a cup size. 

This time the fit is pretty  much spot on.  There is a little gaping where the cup joins the cradle.  I've already altered the pattern, adding a dart to the cradle so next time there shouldn't be any more gaping. The fabric is scuba from Spotlight and I've plenty left over for more briefs. 

I prefer the scuba fabric for these bras.  The top one, made in an ITY was really too flimsy, even though the cradle was interfaced with a tricot interfacing.

3 tops and a cushion

I made another Itch to Stitch Visby Henly top.

Note to self: open eyes when taking selfie

 After all my mistakes on the last one I wanted to get it right.  I almost did. There are 2 pattern pieces for the placket interfacing.  One is longer if you want to make the hooded version, and a shorter one for the hoodless version.  The interfacing is ironed on to the top, you then stay stitch around it and cut down the centre.  I was making the hoodless version and can you guess what I did, yup I used the longer pattern piece instead of the shorter one.  Now if I'd realised in time I could have just made the placket longer, however I didn't realise until I had serged the placket in place.  So I had a placket and a gap of about an inch in the middle of the top!  Clearly something had to be done.  I managed to sew an extra length to the placket and then sew the large X in a box on top to hide the join.  It doesn't sit exactly right, but it is wearable.

This was made from a knit from SmartDress Fabrics, not sure what composition it was.

I also made another StyleArc Winnie top.  I love how quickly this one sews up.

This time instead of turning up the hem and doing a split hem, I left it at the same length and just did a normal hem.  This results in a longer top and I prefer thelength of this one.

This was made from a wool knit from SmartDress Fabrics.  I made a mistake (yes another one) when cutting the fabric.  I was cutting the above Visby Henly and the Winnie at the same time.  I cut the Visby Henly first and wondered if there was enough fabric left over to make a Itch To Stitch Lago tank (there wasn't).  So I then proceeded to cut out the Winnie from the blue knit.  It wasn't until I'd cut the front and back and thought I thought the funnel neck would be longer, and I looked at the pattern pieces and I'd cut the Lago tank instead of the Winnie.   This meant I no longer had enough fabric to make the Winnie.  Fortunately I had some black ponte in my stash so was able to use that for the sleeves.  I quite like the look of the contrast sleeves, so it worked out well.

This  mistake of course meant that I also had a Lago tank to make.

Once those tops were done I decided it was time for some machine embroidery. I've been wanting to make this reading pillow for a while.

The machine embroidery design is from Stitch Delight and says Today I will take the Time to stop and smell the Roses.

I used a 16" cushion form and made an envelope style back.  I'm making one for myself and one for a gift.