Crafty Weekend...

First up: A contribution from Kevin. (He also did all the photos...)
We picked up the blank for this pen while we were in Fort Worth during Christmas. It is Dymondwood in Bubble Gum. What's interesting is I have Bubble Gum Dymondwood knitting needles too! Those are darker than this is, but really, I cannot think of a wood that is a better fit for me. I love the cheerful colors of this pen!

I'm still having some issues with my wrist. I mentioned before I can't open and close scissors. I did get spring loaded scissors, but it is still too difficult. The opening action is too wide for my hand to handle, so while they are better, there is still some pain. But I found out I can use small scissors. Small scissors mean one thing: applique!

This bib is for my new niece. I also made a secret project but can't post a picture until I hear that the recipient has it.


On Saturday I made this mug rug for a ravelry swap.
Can you see the bump on the top where I joined the binding? I can't remember how to do it on a diagonal, so I get a ton of fabric :( I also managed to do a fairly good job of mitering 3 of 4 corners.

I also added another row of border to the quilt I'm working on for my Mom. Kevin had to cut the strips - it hurts too much to put the pressure on the rotary cutter. I managed to cut the rug above to square it up, but it is very tiny- a quarter of a placemat...

Fabric Splurge...

So Fabric Mart http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif is known for their fabric bundles. Usually the 10-yard bundles are $15, or sometimes they are free with a $75 purchase. Even though I spent $50 on this order (with shipping- they charge $8 flate rate), $75 is sometimes kind of hard to hit there, because they have such a weird selection- you just never know what might be in stock.

But one day on facebook, I saw their bundles were half price! 10 yards of who knows what for only $7.50? I'm in!

Now, with $8 shipping, I can't just buy bundles- because I might not get anything useable. So I threw in a few other things.

Here are my purchases:


25-invisible zipper bundle ($15)
I got 10 large zippers, 8 medium, and 9 small. That's 27 zippers! Bonus.
Lucky I just got an invisible zipper foot for my machine. Per zipper, this is a great deal. Especially since I got lots of long ones- they can always be cut if I end up needing smaller ones.

I also ordered 2 fabric yardages-
First, 2 yards Marc Jacobs (ooh- designer!) flannel. I'm wondering how this will wash, because right now, it just doesn't really feel like flannel. The plan was pajama pants for Kevin, but it feels like a warm winter shirt from Nordstroms, not pajama pants. I can't use it for a shirt though because 1) I'm not that good and 2) did you see the colors? Kevin will never wear it. Even if I tell him it is Marc Jacobs. It was $3.99 a yard. I've found it on other sites for $15 a yard!

The second yardage is 3 yards striped stretch poly/cotton for $1.99/yd. I want to use it to make a Lisette t-shirt dress. I'm a bit nervous because 1)I've never used stripes and 2)the dress does not call for stretch fabric. I'm hoping this means I can just cut it a little smaller, and not that the dress will stretch and sag out on me.

And then come the bundles. Holy crap. 10 yards is a lot of fabric. And for the most part, I have no idea what this stuff is, or what I could do with it. The good news is I got a lot of stretch stuff- that can easily turn into tops. I can get $15 worth of useable stuff out of this no problem.


So up first, bundle #1. Keep in mind, this all cost $7.50.

-1 yd brown leaf print - selvage says "Ascher Studio Inc (c)1995 Design 1057" Seems to thin to be quilting cotton. Couldn't find anything about this one.
-1.5 yd blue quilting cotton selvage identifies it as Free Spirit by Westminster Fabrics "Sis Boom Basics". Similar fabric on Fabric Mart sells for $5.99/yd, other website $10.50/yd. This is a keeper for sure! Great quilting cotton
-1.25 yd plaid shirting It's nice. A button up style shirt? Can you do that with this little?
-1 5/8 (not marked, I guessed) yd of this. It says it is quilting cotton, but it is thin and silky- apparently this fabric is called Voile. I like the floral print, but don't know what to use it for- lots of websites show little kid clothes. The selvage says "Little folks (c) 2009 Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Westminster Fibers #VAH 05 Little Honey" which made it easy to find exactly what it is. I found one website selling it for $14.95/yd!!! Good deal! (Similar things on Fabric Mart are $5.99/yd)
-1 3/8 yd striped stretch suiting. Not the same consistency as the stretch cotton I got, more fluid, but probably a similar thing, maybe more manmade fibers. This could work for a skirt. Don't think there is enough for pants, though I am quite short...
- 1.25 of some awful purple stuff. No idea what this is. Some sort of manmade fiber. It is a teeny bit stretchy and has some sort of blocky weave to it, might call it pique, but I'm not sure. This will likely go in the donation bag.
- 1.25 of BRIGHT yellow something. Very stretchy, 4-way, but quite firm, like compression fabric (but thicker than most compression garments). Man-made fibers, but not awful, could have been a good fabric, but the color is too much for me. Maybe I could use it for accents if I ever make my skate leggings. It would be good for the ankles...
-1.25 yd of something gray. This might be considered a stretch suiting slight 2-way stretch. Maybe a skirt? Or a jacket? I'll hang onto this, but who knows.

Overall rating of the grab bag: only 1 awful fabric and 1 icky color. Might not know what to do with the stuff, but I'm pretty happy here!


And the second grab bag:

-0.5 yd of a butterfly border print knit. I think this is called ITY. It has a lot of stretch in one direction and a tiny bit in another. This should be just enough to make a sleeveless top. I love it.
-1 yd of something Navy. It's a woven with a balanced weave. Maybe this could be a skirt?
-3/4 yd of a super stretchy pink. I think I have a RTW shirt in this exact material from years ago. It has some damage (looks like glue) on the selvage, but a keeper for sure.
-1 yd of a white embroidered cotton. Could be a cute peasant blouse. Do I wear cute peasant blouses?
-1 yd lilac chiffon. I have almost this exact color in my stash from Hobby Lobby. It will join it.
- 1.5 yd baby blue houndstooth suiting. If this wasn't baby blue I'd be using it for sure. I love houndstooth. But this will go in the donation bag. Why even make this in baby blue? Makes no sense. I wonder if I dyed it if the blue and white would still retain the value difference? I wonder what you dye this with... It doesn't really feel like wool, but I have wool dye...
1 yd- super stretchy gray. Not sure what I'd use this for. But in high school I had a floor length skirt and also a dress made out of similar but shinier material. Unfortunately, I don't have the body I had in high school. See...
-5/8 yd of some navy blue stuff with a circular texture pattern. No idea what I'd do with this. It's stretchy. I don't see it as a shirt. Maybe a skirt with lining? But then the stretch is kind of negated. Probably donate it.
-5/8 yd of a polka dot ITY. Could make a cute top. Maybe a wrap top to wear over a tank top, since it is sheer.
-5/8 yd of pink wool (I think) in a herringbone pattern. The edge of it reminds me of the chanel jackets. Actually this one and the next two would make a cute jacket but there isn't enough of it. Not sure if I can do anything with less than a yard of this type of fabric.
-1 yd blue crazy weave has 5 rows of herringbone, then a weird pattern. Lots of different colors sprinkled into the weave. Again, not sure what to make of this.
-3/4 yd of gray wool (?) This is odd- it is a chevron weave, but in the middle has a decorative detail with a satin stitch and then loose threads kind of like bows (but not bows). Don't think there is enough of this to do anything, but it could be cool. Maybe use for a formal handbag? Do I need a handbag?

Overall, this bag isn't as good as the last, the wool cuts were too small to do anything with. But the stretch fabrics make up for it, and I more than go my money's worth.


So here's the question- when will my wrist be strong enough to use scissors again? I can operate the sewing machine now, but if it isn't already cut, I'm stuck.

Ruined weekend...

Things I was looking forward to this weekend:
1) Watching nationals (figure skating)
2) Quilting

Things I did not get to do this weekend
1) Watch nationals
2) Quilt

Why not?
Watching nationals made me nauseated from the movement, if I was even able to sit upright. Quilting was impossible since I can't use my right arm.

Why? Because I took a stupid fall ice skating and sprained my wrist. You always think of a sprain as better than a break, but I'm not sure. I think anything I've called a sprain before may not have been. I've never experienced anything like this. I have almost no movement in my wrist. I fell Saturday, and only now can I totally move my fingers without pain (but I can't use them on anything weight bearing, like zipping a jacket, or opening an envelope.) My range of motion has improved from about 5 degrees downward and 0 upward to about 15 downward, and a little less than 5 upward (though I'm in the brace most of the time). My pain has moved from an 8 on the hyperbole and a half pain scale (10 on the regular one) to maybe a 4/6. (The regular pain scale is all smiling faces, I'm not smiling.)

The lortab + ibprofeun combo seems to fight the pain, but makes me so sick- hence no nationals. Today I only took 1 lortab, so I'm going to attempt to go to work tomorrow on ibprofeun alone. We'll see- I may have to come home mid-day...

If it snows, I'll have to have Kevin to drive me to work. One hand driving is for perfect weather only. Not sure how productive I'll be. I can only type with my left hand, and cannot write at all.

Jelly Roll Race

I heard about the Jelly Roll Race quilts quite some time ago. The idea is that you take a Jelly Roll (forty 2.5" strips) and sew the strips end to end. Then, you fold the strip in half and sew a seam. Fold the new double width strip in half and sew a seam. Do this again, I think for 5 total seams. You have a quilt top. It is called a race, because you can do it FAST. The whole thing took under 3 hours (including prep time). Most guilds or groups only race on the assembly once you have the big long strip- I've heard women who have done it in like 30-45 minutes!

Now Jelly Roll's aren't cheap, and I am. So I did mine a little differently. I bought 11 different fabrics, and cut 4 strips from each one (44 strips, so my quilt top is wider it finished about 60" square). I got them on sale at Fabric.com so it was $1.49 for each half yard cut, and I have a good amount left over to use for other things. Nice and cost effective!

One of the things I've read on most of the Jelly Roll Race tips pages will tell you to make sure your strip (the long one that is 1600-1800 inches long!) is not twisted. Maybe this helps with speed, but I found there is no reason at all to take the time to care about this. I just deposited my gigantic strip in a big pile on the floor and didn't worry about it. It was MAJORLY twisted. The thing is, as long as you make sure the fabric approaching the needle is oriented correctly, you are fine. At the end of each strip, you have to cut it open anyway- just cut open the twist, and it will untwist itself.

I also did not do any pressing as I went along. On the gigantic first strip, I sewed all seams down, and then on the next strips I just paid attention to make sure they were sewn either facing up or down- it really didn't take much thought. When I pressed the entire quilt after I finished I found I had only done 2 in the wrong direction, which is actually better than my rate for when I DO try to press them correctly!

Any ideas on how to quilt it? I'm thinking a spiral from the middle all the way out to the edges- that will be hard, but might look cool on such a linear quilt.

The only problem with this quilt- it distracted me from homework I really needed to get done, and also from the other quilt I'm working on right now...

Jessi vs. The Models

One of my new year's resolutions is to dress more professionally at work. This will be accomplished by not wearing a fleece jacket every single day (I do have two of them... so it isn't always the SAME fleece jacket...). To help facilitate that, I have bought a number of blazers (4 from Coldwater Creek this month- that brings me up to 6 total, though one is really more of a casual jacket than blazer). I just got 3 in the mail yesterday.

For the most part, I like the way I look in jackets. These pictures make me look 200 pounds, but in real life, I find that they are actually kind of slimming. Blazers, unlike pants, make me feel little because I still wear a small (a petite small)! It's actually a little annoying because most of the Coldwater Creek jackets are sized as P6-8, and they are huge on me. I need a P6, and then, just the sleeves are too big.

And thank you Coldwater Creek for great sales! These three blazers were all originally $129. All three together were just under $100 :)

And now, Jessi vs. The Models

(Sorry, I'm linking- photos aren't playing nice with the blog post)
http://www.coldwatercreek.com/product-detail/60095/66666/shimmer-tweed-jacket.aspx?colorid=999&refLink=search.aspx&Skn=outlet
On the model: The jacket seems to be a short cut jacket.
On Jessi: Petty well full length.


However, I LOVE this one. My favorite for sure.


On the model, very slim fit:
http://www.coldwatercreek.com/product-detail/54514/60689/flocked-tweed-jacket.aspx?colorid=999&refLink=search.aspx&Skn=outlet
On Jessi: Boxy and linebacker shoulders. (The back is great though- the shaping makes it look very slim)


On the model:
Young and hip.
On Jessi:
I look like a grandma.


Also- all the models wear the jackets open. Kevin tells me this is NOT allowed. It makes me look wide :( Luckily, they all look cute closed.

I need to find some non-black pants. These don't look great with black pants.


Any opinions on the jackets? Do I look like a little kid playing dress up in my grandmothers clothes? Would you highly recommend I return either of the last two? (They still have tags).

Stupendous Stitching

My first quilt of 2012. This is an art quilt that will be a wall hanging. Rather than a hanging sleeve, this one will actually be mounted permanently (glued down to foam board, actually.)


This technique is taught by Carol Ann Waugh, and I took her Stupendous Stitching class through Craftsy.com

I said earlier that this technique is so "me" I can't believe I didn't think of it on my own. The instructor gave the following piece of advice (well something pretty similar) "If you are wondering if you should add something else, just do it!" and Kevin (to paraphrase) said "that's for the other people in the class. You should probably stop well before you think you are done." I've always had the problem in art class of adding too much, and that's what makes this so great- I can't add too much!

I created this (18" x 18") in just a weekend. It involves couching trim, using machine decorative stitches, hand embroidery (a first for me- I love French knots!), quilting, and then binding the quilt using rat-tail cording (another first).

Things to improve for next time: pay attention to contrast- 1) a section of french knots nearly blends in and 2) why did the bottom edge of the cording ruffle? I didn't do anything different there!

If you look closely, you'll see three of the trims from the last post- a blue velvet, the gold, and the pink rick rack.

I will definitely be making more- an artist works in series :)

Kevin tells me I need an artist statement, so here you go:
"In this piece the artists expresses the importance of keeping a large thread stash, while simultaneously presenting the futility of man's struggle against insanity" (Kevin came up with that last part.)

A trip for trims...

I've been hanging out on Pattern Review a lot, since i'm wanting to get back into garment sewing. After the PR weekend, there were a few blog posts about the Austin weekend- and that made me spot a fabric shop I wanted to visit next time I went down there: TexStyles

Turns out it is only minutes from Kevin's parents house, so we were able to make a quick trip over there.

I'm actually on a "fabric fast" until the end of January (possibly to be extended) so I wasn't sure what I'd be doing in a fabric shop, but my Craftsy class "Stupdenous Stitching" has me needing a bunch of trims, and they fit the bill nicely.

I got three different velvet trims- two different blues and a brown, some metallic gold trim, two sequin trims (the pink and the blue), and a bright pink rick rack.

The men who own the shop had just finished a trip to LA and had bags and bags filled with trims and fabric, they were more than happy to let you dig through them, or offered to pour them out. Nothing was priced, so when I had my handful, I went over (a little worried I'd have to put stuff back) and asked: everything was under $1.75 per yard (most around $1.25, rick rack was 75 cents) and the prices were followed with a "does that sound good?" They say they don't mark prices on trim because the stock revolves too fast, so they are open for negotiation.

I'm almost glad I couldn't buy fabric, because it was too overwhelming. Everything is hung- by color. The store is BEAUTIFUL! I would have needed a lot of help to identify what the types of fabric were, and what would work for certain projects- but I have no doubt the owners would have helped me, they were just delightful! Super friendly and very chatty.

I will definetly be back on my next visit. (As for the trim- I'm in love. I think I was supposed to get more rounded trim for my stupendous stitching project, but these were all just so beautiful...)