The Spring Breeze Tank

Last Thursday I shared with you the start of my Spring Breeze tank, and I'm happy to report that it's already done!

In the end, I wound up cutting and pressing my own single fold bias tape from some white cotton I had on hand. It's such a wonderful finishing technique, and I'm so glad I went that route versus folding over the edges! Next time, though, I'll make sure to pick up one of the metal "doohickeys" I hear everyone talking about. They seem to be the best way to make bias tape aside from the Simplicity bias tape maker.

Here it is worn the two ways I would probably wear it every day; tucked into an A-line denim skirt with a skinny hot pink belt, or untucked under a comfy cardigan in my favourite color, emerald green!

I apologize for the quality of these pictures, but I really wanted to show this off right away! That's what I get for only sewing after 8PM. The next time we have some great spring weather I'll try to wear this out and have the Mister snap a few extra photos!

School's Out For...ever!

I'm back! My last day of classes ever was this morning, and while I'm still a student for a few more years I'm done with that chapter of graduate school. Hooray!!!

One last time, for good measure: No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks!

To celebrate, I clocked about an hour and a half of sewing time tonight. While my Mister made dinner (what a guy!) I worked on two pattern pieces I drafted from a ready-to-wear (RTW) tank top I own. I had started drafting the pattern a few nights ago, tracing around the tank onto the remnants of a roll of Christmas wrapping paper. Tonight I added seam allowances and tightened things up a bit before cutting out the pattern, and after dinner I got to work cutting fabrics and sewing!

This tank is mostly made from my second thrifted vintage sheet, with a small panel of jersey stolen from one of the Mister's old t-shirts on the back. The RTW tank has a jersey back and a chiffon-y front, and I figured I would follow along.

The pattern is honestly rather shapeless, but it's loose and breezy and it'll work great under a cardigan to spruce up my closet through the rest of Spring. That's a good thing, too, because I started looking through what I kept from last year's Spring and Summer and oh-boy, do I need some new clothes...

You've probably noticed by now that I'm showing you work-in-progress photos. I haven't cut out any bias tape to finish the neck and armholes, because I'm trying to decide if I want to cut my own from this sheet, or if I want to just pick some up at the fabric store next time I'm out. Decisions, decisions...

Well, I'm really glad to be back, and especially with a project like this! While I originally learned to sew by making clothes, I've only used my sewing machine recently for home decor, quilting, and the occasional dog toy. This is the first piece of clothing I've sewn in a very long time, and I'm really excited to keep going! Maybe I'll put together a whole closet of handmade items, like those I've seen so many other bloggers creating recently. 

What do you think, is it worth the effort? Have you made any clothes for the spring season, yet?

Literature Review: Periodic Table Quilts

In the science world, a literature review is a written work that sums up the current state of scientific research in a particular field.

After much anticipation and eager waiting, we finally got to meet the baby boy that my Mister's PI (which in the science world stands for Primary Investigator, i.e., his thesis advisor) has been gestating for the last nine months. My natural impulse was to immediately start work on a baby quilt, but what would be appropriate for the infant son of two awesome chemists? Well, why not a periodic table quilt!

My favourites from Pinterest include:

Source: patchandi.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This first clean, minimal quilt left me asking, "How did they do that?" It turns out that it wasn't anything as complicated as I assumed -- this quilt was accomplished by professionally printing the periodic table onto white fabric and sashing with broad black borders.

Source: notonlyquilts.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This version is extremely similar to the first in that the fabric was printed using Spoonflower, but I love seeing that the quilter actually cut and pieced each element together to form the finished quilt top. Also, the various quilting patterns and the unique binding stitch are really worth a closer look -- make sure you click through to see the whole post at Not Only Quilts!

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Finally, I pinned this image of Elemental, a beautiful, abstract quilt by pivy. Something about the use of only coloured blocks to imply the periodic table hit home, and I think this is the inspiration I needed for the baby quilt I'm hoping to make!

Even if you're not a chemistry geek like me, I hope you've enjoyed this little review. There are plenty of techniques described in the three examples above that could add a little something to any quilting project!

It's been awhile

Gosh, where has the time gone?

I just wanted to peek my head out and say that all is well over here. I've just been sucked down into my duties as a full-time graduate student. Hopefully I'll catch a break in my semester soon and get back to a regular posting schedule!

In the meanwhile -- what have you been up to? And is anyone else sick and tired of this awful winter weather?

Sunday Surprise

My Mister is such an amazing man. He puts up with all of my quirks -- my love of chocolate, my multitude of crafting addictions hobbies, my tendency to dance along to the music they pump into grocery stores and shopping malls, and my weird peel-off face masks. He even takes me to Goodwill after church most Sundays so I can peruse the furniture section and dawdle by the lamps.

This Sunday was no different. While I decided to pass on the lime green computer desk, I did come away with one surprising find -- my first vintage sheet!

If you're a fan of In Color Order, you may know about Jeni's love of vintage sheets. I can honestly say that I didn't know much about vintage sheets before now, but I've always loved the photos Jeni posts of her finds -- pretty stacks of bright, colourful floral fabrics that I would love to work into my quilts but that I can never seem to find. That is, until today.

I bought this sheet today just because I loved the bright, cheerful print. Once I got home I started doing some homework to see just what I had found, and I came across this post about vintage sheets that Jeni wrote which serves as a great primer if you don't know much about the topic. I read Jeni's post and immediately went hunting for the tags on this fitted sheet. Here's what I found:

Surprise, this sheet is actually vintage! In fact, if you Google "Fieldcrest Perfection vintage sheet" you can find a number of copycat sheets, including some for sale on Etsy. Hooray, my gut instinct was right after all!

I'm excited to get this sheet washed and pressed, and then I need to decide what I'm going to do with it. Something tells me it might be more fun to break into my first vintage sheet with friends, so keep an eye out as I might be giving away a few fat quarter cuts from this sheet in the future!

Lone Starburst Paper Piecing

Tonight during #talknt I'm working on a new technique: paper piecing! I've had four pages of the Lone Starburst by Six White Horses Studio sitting on my desk for weeks, and I've finally mustered up the courage to get started.

I'm working in bright, super saturated colors broken up with a delicate white-on-white pattern, with solid white in the center of the star. I was going to invert this, with a colourful star and white backing until I saw this pin today and knew I just had to have one of my very own:

Source: Lone Starburst closeup by Curly_Boy, via Flickr

I have no idea why I put off paper piecing for so long -- it's easy and entirely addictive. I've got to go, #talknt is calling and I've got more blocks to sew!

Brownie in a Mug

This is just a quick post, because I'm burning to show you the details of my first sewing completion of 2013 but since it's a surprise late Christmas gift for a dear friend, I have to keep it a secret a little while longer. Instead, here's some chocolate!

This is a brownie in a mug (and some strawberry ice cream for good measure). Believe it or not, I've never even heard of these before. That's a good thing, too, because I'd be about 20 pounds heavier had I known of these earlier! But thanks to Pinterest, these are now a part of my life. The original pin can be found here:

Source: chefpins.com via Brooke on Pinterest

The idea is simple. Blend a few dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, cocoa powder) in a standard sized mug. Add a little oil and water, and microwave for a minute and 40 seconds. Top with ice cream and indulge your chocolate craving!