Men's vest

Trying a new pattern.

Men's vest with collar and 3 pockets.

New vest coming soon

I've got a new menswear vest almost finished.  I've only got the buttons to put on so I'll be able to post photos soon.  Tomorrow I'll be cutting out a jacket that I'm pretty excited to try.  And Santa brought me a dress form for Christmas so the design fun can really begin.

I've now got 5-6 people interested in helping with a photo shoot in March so I'll need to have plenty of finished items ready for them.  I do hope to have an actual business up and running in a few more months.  Stay tuned... things are about to get much more busy and interesting around here.

Start to finish

Started and finished another sewing project today.  I love having days off my paying job! Today's project was a gift for my oldest son- the model of yesterday.  Nothing too artsy- but a soft fleece shirt in tie dyed blue.

Not the best photo but I don't have the best phone and the good camera is upstairs.
Still, not a bad piece of work for the day.  The partial zipper was interesting to put in. I modified the pattern instructions because the way they told you to do it was kind of bizarre.  My way worked quite well and eliminated lots of hand work.
Now the only holiday project I've still got is finishing the binding on a quilt.  And I've still got a couple of weeks to go!

Steampunk photo shoot

I finished a brocade vest for my youngest son for Christmas but I couldn't wait to share it.  So, I got his older brother to model for me and we had a bit of a Steampunk photo shoot.  I guess it he's going to be doing more modeling for me he'll have to get used to it!

 Nothing fancy for background, sadly.  We still have to keep the vest a secret and it is raining outside.

 I do believe this is his impression of a young Mr Lincoln!

 Obviously up to no good...

And lastly, with a companion, Mandy.

Awesome new fabric

Ok... I know I don't NEED any more fabric.  I need time to work on projects already at hand. But I couldn't resist this stuff.  It gives in to my inner Goth!  Plus I am a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poe.

From the Nevermore collection by Michael Miller.

Vernon says I need to make a quilt and call it "The Goth Cloth".  How awesome is that!?

Steampunk airship quilt- part 3?

Yeah, I know... it has been a while since I posted here.  Life and garden have gotten in the way of sewing and quilting.  But, yesterday was a rainy day and today it was pea-soup fog all morning, so I stayed inside and worked on Justine's quilt.

(thanks to I15 for holding it up for photos)

I got the top finished last weekend when V's Mom was here.  And this weekend I got it sandwiched together with it's batting and backing.  It's kind of hard to see, but in the outer border the pattern has lots of little clock faces in it. Justine picked it out.  It wasn't quite the color I wanted but it is what she chose.
Today I started quilting.

I'm really loving the quilting lines on the balloon.  I put extra batting in the balloon and the sail to give it a 3-D effect. Hopefully I'll have time to work on it again soon.  I was really hoping to be able to use my new, old treadle machine but I'm having trouble finding needles for it.  More about that another time.

Awesomeness!!

Since it was a cold, rainy day here, I couldn't work outside and it was too cold and damp to be able to open the windows to paint.  So, what's a girl to do?  Quilt of course!  Having nearly finished my last project, I dove into the center panel for Justine's Steampunk quilt that I had done the sketch of earlier.  It went together faster than I had hoped and I'm really liking the way it has turned out.

 The basic applique for the Steampunk Airship Quilt #1.   The block is 20 x 25 inches so it's pretty big.

I'm pleased with the detail stitching I've been able to get on the ship.  Those decorative stitches have come in handy.
All of the rope work on the balloon and the sail will come when I quilt it.  I've still got a couple of flags to add on the back of the ship and the top of the balloon.

I'm thinking this may be a prototype for something I may want to sell someday.  What do you think?  I haven't seen anything like it in a search.

Preliminary sketch

I got the Celtic Knot wallhanging quilted and the binding stitched on.  Now I just need to turn the binding to the back and hand sew it.  I told myself that I wouldn't start on Justine's Steampunk Quilt until that one was done but I did start on the preliminary sketch for the central applique panel.

I know it's really hard to see since it is just a pencil drawing.  But it's the airship with billowing sails.  I'm pretty excited about this one. I've even figured out how to give it a bit of a 3-D effect with billowing sails. I can't wait to see it take shape.  But probably not today.  Justine still needs to finish her prom dress for next weekend so she has co-opted my sewing machine.  I suppose I could start cutting out applique bits.  I always have my trusty 30+ year old singer I can use.
I'm also excited to get started on this one since I've got tons of Steampunk ideas in my head for quilts and not many people seem to be offering those out there in the world.

Celtic/Asian Fusion quilt

Long time- no post!  Things have been hopping in life, just not in the crafty areas. Oh, I did finish a baby quilt for a co-worker but I haven't been doing much Dreaming.   Until this afternoon. I was going to work on a shirt for myself but noticed this project that has been languishing in the sewing room due to the distraction of warm weather outside stuff.

So, I completed the top for my Celtic knotwork/Asian Fusion quilt.  I'm calling it Asian Fusion because most of the fabrics have an Asian feel to them.  The batik has chrysanthemums on it and the pinkish line in the knot is a tiny bamboo print.  I'll probably be using that as the backing as well and will do the binding in the dark purple.  Hopefully I can finish it soon.  I'm thinking that this may be a wallhanging for our bedroom... or I may see if I can sell it.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Man's Victorian Shirt

Finally, another post and something to post about.  Life has been interfering with dreams and it has taken a while to get this project finished.  But FINALLY!  It's finished.
A men's Victorian shirt.

 This one has contrasting white on white striped bib, cuffs and collar.

I did not put a button on the band collar but may add buttonholes on either side and back for a button-on collar if we can find one.  I also put buttons on the cuffs.  Vernon thinks he has a set of cufflinks somewhere but I certainly can't find them.
So, this shirt would be available in men's sizes up to 44 with 2, 4 or 5 button options. White or off white, contrasting bib or not.
I'll update the photos as soon as I can get Vernon to model for me.