Sewing Update

After many months in the shop, my Viking Quilt Designer II is back home and sewing nicely. Last all it developed a problem of raising and lowering the presser foot randomly as I sewed. After trying a few different parts replacement, the step motor had to be ordered. I seriously think they had to have it shipped from Sweden because it took 2 months! Thank goodness I still own my trusty old Pfaff 7510 and could still do some sewing. Also, thank goodness for the warranty coverage on the Viking - I didn't pay a dime to get it repaired.


I recently made this basic blouse. I will be making it again in other fabrics and with a longer shirt tail. This one is short because I messed up when cutting the fabric out. This is a shirting fabric I got from Hancock's for not much money so even if I just give it away it was money well spent to try out the pattern and getting the fitting correct. Patter is McCall's 5052.




I also have been working on a fleece jacket that hopefully will be done soon. I had to do a lot of resewing to get the shoulders to fit the way I wanted them to. I got up enough bravery to cut the garment back, front and sleeves based to bring the sleeve-shoulder seam up to a higher point on my shoulder. The pattern was loose fitting with dropped shoulders. On me, it just looked like it was way too big and bulky. It's looking better but not complete.
I also ordered some Melton Wool last week. Now I'm afraid to cut into it since it was $16.00 per yard, which actually is an excellent price but more than I'm used to spending on fabric. It is heavier than I expected so I'm waffling on which pattern to use. My original idea was the short version of Vogue 8089 but now I'm thinking Butterick 3573 . Decisions, decisions!

Fleece coat

Last year I made fleece coat of blue and cream fabrics. A few days ago I left it in the car and then my 17 year old son borrowed the car. A few days later he said one of his female friends liked the coat and would I make her one in red & black. Of course I will !

The pattern is McCall's 9576. Hancock's Fabrics happened to have fleece on sale this week also. I used Fireside Anti-Pill Red and Black.

I didn't use interfacing like the pattern called for because it is not noticeable with fleece. The one I made last year was a large size. This one is a medium. I'm happier with the fit of the medium on me. I had been thinking of making me another one with a different color choice. Now I know I really do want another one, this time in medium. The jacket is reversible and has side pockets on both sides.

The jacket goes together quickly and only has 3 pattern pieces. I think the instructions would be confusing for someone new to sewing.

Winter has arrived

It is mid-January and we are finally getting a bit of winter here in Georgia. Yesterday we had sleet and snow. Really there was snow, big white fluffy flakes. Enough to cover the yards and rooftops then it turned to rain. Kids all over the state went to bed dreaming of a day off from school. Only the ones in the northern most counties saw that dream come true. DS was one of the ones that was disappointed this morning as I woke him to get ready for school.

Thanks to the cold weather I can now wear my latest sewing adventure -- a reversible fleece coat. This was made from McCall's pattern 9576. The pattern instructions were easy to follow, quick to make and I love the way it feels. I did not use interfacing like the pattern recommended, I just don't see the need for it in fleece.

It's hard to tell from this picture but that is a navy blue and off-white (think antique white). It comes down about to my knees and has side pockets. I went through my quilting stash to find some fun fabrics for the pockets instead of using "lining fabric" as instructed by McCall's. Here are a couple of close ups, you can see the fleece colors better in these also.

Lat night at the bookstore I picked up the January/February issue of Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home magazine. I've only one other issue of Quilter's Home. It's a "different" quilting magazine. It's not a lot of patterns. It is like a conversation with a good quilting friend. I went looking online and found Mark has a blog that he apparently updates regularly. WARNING: there are a few pictures that are not for the easily offended. For example, he has pictures of the much-whispered-about fabric with drawings of a certain male body part on it. If that offends you, oh well, you've been warned. http://marklipinskisblog.wordpress.com/

Mark, love your blog and magazine!

I hope to do some major quilting and sewing this weekend since my son will be at his father's house. When I'm alone then I can leave thread and fabric throughout the house and have a sewing frenzy without anyone commenting. The cats like sewing frenzies because it means piles of fabrics and quilts for them to inspect as sleeping pads.

Here is one of those cats....His name is Cosmo, he weighs about 15 pounds, he's a bit "fluffy". He's a funny cat.

Cardigan Sweater

I enjoy wearing sweater cardigans during the winter. They are nice to have at work when I'm never sure what the building temperature will be. I decided to be brave and try to sew a cardigan from a sweater knit. The pattern I used is Loes Hinse Sweater Set No. 5201 http://www.loeshinsedesign.com/categories/blouses_tops/sweater.html



This was the first time I had used a Loes Hinse pattern. I was very impressed with the simple pieces and how quickly the sweater went together. For the cardigan there are only 3 pattern pieces - front, back and sleeve. I had to keep telling myself to NOT stretch the material as I sewed. There is a little problem with the right facing not hanging correctly. The thread is such a perfect match to the material, I am having a horrible time trying to take out the sewing.



Here is the cardigan before buttons and buttonholes...

Garment making with the Quilt Designer II

I made my first garments on the Husqvarna Viking QD II this weekend. The pattern is McCall's M3610. I modified the neckline on the tank to make it higher and made the straps a tad wider. I had made a tank from this pattern before and felt the neckline was too low. The tank is made from a crepe type material. The shirt is cotton lawn, which is very sheer, lightweight material. I can't wait for warmer weather to wear this to work. I think it would also look good with a pair of jeans.

What did I learn about using the QD II from this? Well, I learned how to use the Sewing Advisor. Instead of trying to figure out which seam to use for overcasting and how to set the tension, I told the QD II I had a lightweight woven and wanted to do a seam and overcast. The machine then choose the correct overcast stitch and told me which presser foot to use (the J foot). Everything stitched up just great. No puckering, no jamming of fabric.

Garment Sewing

I decided recently to try again at garment sewing. Here is my first attempt. This is McCall's 5538 view C done in fleece. It is very warm and comfy even if the sleeves are a little too long. The pattern called for the zipper to be fully exposed even when zipped closed. I didn't like that so I sewed in the zipper so the fabric would cover most of it.

This next one is not so great but I tried to at least learn a lot from it. It is McCall's 5191 done in a woven polyester faux suede that I got on sale at Hancock's. At least I didn't put a lot of money in it. This fabric was not easy to work with and I had some fitting problems in the shoulder area. I can at least wear it around the house.

I used the Viking Quilt Designer II to do the buttonholes on this jacket. I learned a very important lesson about the QD II....it really does adjust the foot pressure based on what you tell it. I had a difficult time with the first couple of buttonholes then I realized the machine thought it was sewing on lightweight woven. I changed the setting to heavy woven and the buttonholes came out fabulous! This machine will make perfect buttonholes all day long! Take a look at this...all I had to do was tell it heavy weight woven and the size of the button in millimeters (use the handy-dandy measuring stick painted on the machined) and it produced this....