Arizona Turquoise

I spent a half hour stringing this....

Love it!

Arizona Beads

Just got back from a week away in Phoenix, Arizona, and was captivated by the turquoise beaded necklaces. I love the multi-stranded ones, and after a few times seeing them, checked out the prices. Shock was the result, when I found them to be $200 for ONE strand. I thought turquoise was common stone, especially in Arizona. Luckily it is common in the craft shops and I snagged all these beads of real turquoise for a grand total of $21.

I will follow with a photo of the lovely finished necklace in a day to two.... :)

Quilt Squares

I have been working on some quilt squares, using a method called shuffle the deck. The book explains a simple technique where you have 8 squares, and using the rotary cutter, cut irregular lines and shuffle the top colour down one or two layers to mix the patterns. The squares are layered dark then light then dark then light.... so the patterns show contrasting tones.

I am enjoying the squares and the one of a kind results. Each square is 7 inches, and the colours I chose are tan, black and burgundy.

There is a photo of the basic cutting and assembly technique for the squares.

It seams a huge project if you look to do it all at once, but I have been able to sit down to the sewing machine for an hour or two and churn out a few blocks, then work on some other sewing project. Eventually I will get enough done to have to consider assembling and finishing the quiting part.

Knit Dress and Jacket

Burda 7580, turned out great in this abstract print. I used a stretch decorative topstitch to finish the necklines and hems quickly and still allowing stretching if needed. The facing for the jacket was lined with fusible interfacing, then the seam trimmed really close and ironed to back before the topstitching.

A very easy pattern, I will use it again. The two pieces took about 2 hours to complete. Nice.

Coat Finished!

The hems and the buttons are now done, and the photos show the nice results...

Now I just have to wait for the weather to get a bit colder (no rush - really!). The big shawl collar is a bit wide and open, but a great scarf will work well, and of course I have LOTS of those!

Fabric Shopping!

I was at Fabricland last evening, sourcing out my next projects... The coat is almost done, just hems and buttons and hand stitching left. The fabric I found is amazing. They had a great sale of buy one, get two free, and I snagged a lovely brown poly blend suiting, 3 meters for $17, and some knit fabric, 3 meters for $15! The knit is a funky abstract print in taupy brown and mauve, and the pants fabric is a similar taupy brown. I also found 2 meters of remnant in a shimmery stretch knit, also a brown to match.

The suit fabric will be Anne Klein Vogue 2987 pants. Not sure if there will be enough for the Jacket too, if there is I will do that, otherwise a vest pattern to match will be found.

The print will be a dress and jacket combo from Burda 7580.

The slinky knit will be a drapey top.

I just love the planning of the projects. The fabric is wonderful and everything is mix and match, so the pants should work well with the knit jacket!

Chapter One - the Machine

The inspiration for this new blog is my new machine. It is a Janome 6600. A lovely sewing/quilting machine that is loaded with features and designed to make sewing quick and easy. The computerized stitches and the press button on and off, and the needle up or down, and the knee triggered presser foot, all intrigued me. I have never had a machine that did not need a foot peddle. It comes with one, but I have not opted to hook it up.

I wanted to try some complicated pattern, and some challenging fabric, so my first project is a lined winter coat. The fabric is thick melton in charcoal and the lining a batik in blue and grey and cream. The pattern is a Vogue coat, # 8307, the middle length. The adjustments I made (and I usually customize the patterns in some way) is to add side pockets with a placket to define the pocket, and add a back placket trim to define the waistline. Also I have added a pocket inside on the lining, for keys or wallet if I don't want to carry a purse. My theory is you can never have too many pockets!

The coat with lining installed and topstitched around big collar...
The side pocket, top-stitched placket and cool lining....

Still to finish: hems and final top-stitching and big buttons on front. This new machine can sew through four layers of thick melton with no hesitation! What a delight.