Archive for May 2014

Pow Wow Quilt Top by The Willow Nest

We're just under a month away from the Summer Farmhouse Retreat and I'm so excited to start nailing down some details.

As part of the retreat signup process, I asked the crafters to complete a quick survey to give me some ideas for sewing workshops that might be suitable.

I was surprised by how many people were interesting in learning how to quilt!

It will be a dream come true to dedicate an entire weekend event to quilting, but having a workshop start us off on the process is going to be such a great start!

And this could not come at a better time. While Magda is pretty much done her baby quilt, I have yet to even decide on a pattern for my own baby-to-come. Baby (gender inconclusive, I'm assuming divergent) is due at the end of August, and I think it's safe to say that I shouldn't assume I have time after August to work on the quilt.

This workshop will hopefully help me out with picking a pattern. I'm smitten with three patterns at the moment.


First, is the Pow Wow quilt: a great chevron pattern popping up all over the interwebs and is available from the Cluck Cluck Sew website. There are lots of fabric scrap possibilities and is hopefully quick and simple to sew together.

Karyn's Feather Bed Quilt top

Second, I fell in love with Karyn's feather quilt top. The beautiful feathers are a free (FREE!) pattern available from the fantastic Anna Maria Horner. Clearly not as simple a quilt to sew, but boy is it ever gorgeous.

Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox quilt from Oh, Fransson!

And third, I discovered that Elizabeth Hartman just came out with a new fox pattern. Yesterday she revealed a stunning patchwork fox that I think would be perfect for a gender neutral quilt.  This pattern isn't available until mid-May, but judging from her other patterns it will be moderately priced and filled fantastic instructions on cutting and piecing all the fox parts together.

So back to the farmhouse. The Saturday optional sewing workshop will be these three quilt blocks. The Pow Wow chevron will be a great beginner block to learn the basics of piecing; the Fancy Fox and the Feather Bed Quilt will be intermediate blocks for those seeking a bit of a challenge.

We will learn the techniques of piecing fabric, how to do a mini quilt sandwich, different techniques to quilt the layers together, and then we'll throw it together in the form of a pillowcase! Stuff with a $5 Ikea pillowform, and tada!

Oh, you can't imagine it? I guess I should practice and capture some pretty pictures before teaching this workshop. Stay tuned...

After my fairly good experience with the Seashore Dress, I decided to try another Oliver + S pattern.

The instructions are so clear, and I really love the variety in patterns they offer.

Lily was in need of a spring jacket. Her parka was finally becoming a little too warm, and her rain jacket didn't provide any warmth.

Oliver + S has half a dozen jacket patterns alone. I definitely loved the look of the School Days Jacket the most, and there are plenty of wonderful examples of this jacket online. One of my favourites is from the Probably Actually blog.

I purchased the wool from Downtown Fabric, after the always-animated owner, Daniel, convinced me to use a patterned beige wool. For the lining I chose Riley Blake's Rocket Stars quilting cotton from the workroom. I wanted to keep the jacket gender neutral to maximize reusability for Lily's future siblings...

As with my last Oliver + S pattern, I soon realized that the pattern called for far too much fabric. I had purchased 1.5 yards of wool, and easily could have fit the pattern onto a single yard; but the upside was that I had plenty of fabric to match those pesky stripes.

I sewed the size 3T, added a layer of quilt batting to the lining, and decided to sew the toggle closure rather than button closure.

It was plenty roomy for Lily and will definitely fit her this Autumn. Her sleeves are rolled up twice right now, so there's even a chance she could fit it next year! I struggle to understand why the Seashore Dress is a 4T for her and this 3T jacket is so roomy, but I'm really happy with the final product.

The stars really give the jacket such pizazz. The sewing was rather tough, but probably because I made it that way. Had I chosen a solid wool and not bothered to do a quilted lining, I would have had a much easier time!

Most of the reviews I've read about this pattern end by saying that the end product is well worth the effort. And I couldn't agree more! A confident beginner with a good level of patience will have such a great experience with this pattern!