Overalls - Part Three

This is a continuation of 2 previous posts about the making of the green Riley overalls.  After making all of the components, I sewed them together.  Several parts of the directions called for serging the edges.  So, I dragged out my serger and had both machines going for a while.

I do love to sew and spend time in my studio.  All of this was so much fun.  I had some creeping doubts that the overalls would fit and be comfortable when I was done.  That has happened to me several times when making clothes.  But, I kept moving forward.

The directions for this pattern are very well done with lots of pictures and easy to follow directions.  I got stuck at a few points and found a fantastic YouTube series of 7 videos from SewGnar.  If you sew this pattern, you should follow her videos as well as follow with the directions.  She and the directions DO conflict with each other in a few spots.   But her videos are super helpful.  Here is a screen shot of her making a pair of the short version of the overalls.

I had to un-sew a few seams, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing through most of the making of the overalls.  

Only one more post to go to see the finished overalls.

Teaching chop and drop applique with a test group

I signed up to teach my chop and drop applique method to Clark County Quilters.  Our Saturday workshop day is a fun day where members of our guild teach other members techniques, patterns, or garments.  I've both taught and taken classes in the past.  The teachers are volunteers, so the class costs is really low - like $10 for a half day class, and $20 for a full day class.

Two people in the guild can't take my class on that Saturday because they are either teaching themselves, or they are coordinating the entire workshops.  Since I wanted to test out the class and they were willing to be my testers, the 3 of us got together to give the class a trial.  It was so much fun to spend a day with these talented ladies!  

They both got a kit with the pattern, instructions, and a few of the smaller items needed to make the art quilt.  Here is what we were going to make.

Some progress pictures

And their work.  So great!

I can't wait to teach the class.

Overalls - Part Two

This is a continuation of the post about making green overalls with the Riley pattern.

I continued to add rows of green to gradually change the color from dark green to light green.  Making the 4 legs took a lot more time than I thought that it would.  Well, of course.  It was about the same amount of space to cover as it would be for a twin sized quilt top!  I tried to leave a single layer of fabric on the crotch areas and where the back darts would be positioned.  I had a nice sized piece of lime green batik that I used for those areas and also for the bib portions.   

I  lightly quilted the pieces, even though they were sewn to a muslin base.  I knew that the overalls would need to be washed at some point, and it would be safer to have everything stitched down securely.  I also used a different lime green batik for the facings, pockets, and backing for those pieces that didn't have the muslin piece.  And I also lightly quilted those layers together too.  Here are all the pieces ready to go.  Its a LOT of lime green.  And guess what?  I LOVE LIME GREEN!

My husband asked me where I was going to wear these overalls.  Well, certainly not in the garden, but in any quilting setting... and wherever else I want to feel special.  (And maybe somewhere that might embarrass him?)

Stay tuned to see what else I did on these overalls!

Overalls - part one

I have 2 pairs of overalls that I wear in the garden.  I love them!  This year, at QuiltCon, I noticed a lot of fun clothes and fun overalls that quilters had made or decorated up.  Not for the garden, but just to wear and enjoy something fun!  So, I bought a overalls pattern called, "Riley Overalls" by the company True Bias.  I made up the pattern in lightweight muslin, fitted it, and then tore it back to individual pieces.  I wanted to use the muslin as a base for piecing.  

I sketched up 5 different ideas for adding artistic elements and here they are:

The one on the left shows an ombre effect; the next one is plain except for piecing on the diagonal at the bottom and the pocket; the next shows wavy inserts with circle motifs on the legs and pocket and vertical piecing on the rest; next is log cabin type of piecing with rows of rick rack on the legs and pockets; and the final one show vertical inserts of circular motifs.  I liked the one with the log cabin type of piecing and pulled green fabrics to do them with the ombre effect.

It looked like there was about 8 shade families in this pile.  I measured and drew lines on the muslin to end up with 8 sections that would gradually blend from dark at the bottom to light at the top.  Then, I started making the log cabin blocks within each of the 8 shade families.  Here is the bottom row in place.

The next picture shows that the log cabin blocks are placed to fill the space, then they are sewn together with the bottom of the row trimmed to be even.

The final step in attaching each row was to sew a strip at the top to meet the pre-drawn line.  It's a lot of work to "make" the fabric, but so far, I was liking the effect.

I hope you like it so far too!

Improv Spotted Graffiti - part Four

This is a continuation 3 previous posts about the of the making of Spotted Graffiti.

I did go ahead and remake two of the squares before I added the outside borders.  Here is what it looked like with the fixes.  It is SO much better.

I needed to add some length to the borders so that they would fit after sewn into place.  I also had to be a lot more diligent about the shape and width of the borders.  Since they were pieced, I starched them and sewed around all of the outside edges to keep from popping seams and ending up with floppy edges.  I also had to take a few tucks here and there.  I have to say that it is not my favorite improv quilt, but at least I stuck with it to get it done.  For sure, working with solids is a whole lot easier than with pieced fabric.  It was donated to our charity group and measured 56" x 58".

Improv Spotted Graffiti - Part Three

This is a continuation of 2 previous posts about the making of Improv Spotted Graffiti.  I continued to make pieced blocks for the wonky border.  Some were made as triangles; some were made as squares.  They were fitted onto the sides as I went to make sure I was filling the space.  

When I needed to join the pieces, I lined then up on one of the lines on my cutting mat.  After overlapping the ends, I trimmed one of the sides so that the angle was the same.  These were then sewn together and the other side was trimmed to be somewhat even, but still sloped.  

One thing that bothered me (besides the unbalanced center) was that the piece might need to have a small dividing dark border between the busy background and the wonky border.  (That was a decision that I made when I made the improv blocks.)  It seemed like that reasoning needed to be carried through to the edge.  Well, here is the top with the improv border pinned in place.  I decided not to add that first interior border.  But I thought that I wanted to applique some of the darker curved pieces out into the border after it gets sewn.  However, the interior pieces still bothered me a lot.  I seriously considered tearing it apart and trying to remake one of the interior squares and one of the exterior squares.  I wasn't that sure how much matching material I had left after making all of the outside borders.  (Sigh).

I let it sit for a couple of weeks, while I pondered my next step.

Class on Chop and Drop Applique

I combined several techniques when making the Garden Lady series and was asked several times to teach a class on my chop and drop applique method.  So, I agreed to teach the class during the CCQ Saturday workshop day.  The thing I had to keep in mind was the time limit and how complicated the class could be.  I started by grabbing some photos from Pinterest and narrowed the selection down to an images from a clothing manufacturer.

I traced the picture and changed a few of the details before I had it blown up to a manageable size for the class.  I'm showing only a few steps that are needed to complete this class piece.  If you want more, you have to sign up for the class during the Saturday workshops, or schedule it with your group or guild.

I hope to see you in my class!