All things linen....

I love sewing with linen. When I get a piece I mull over what I am going to do with it for days...scared to wreck it or not do it justice.  I don't have too much left of a batch I bought in Seattle so I used bits for a cotton and linen patch scarf. I then stitched a simple running stitch down the edges to prevent over fraying and I am pretty happy with the result.

The Finished Jacket.

Ok. So it wasn't exactly the next day. I will stop making promises I can't keep. When I go through my pictures I can't believe I waited so long to put Ilan's cute mug up! He seems pretty proud of his jacket! My next project for the spring is to make him a rain jacket out of Allan's gore-tex jacket.

Ilan's Sort of New Jacket.

A couple of months ago I decided to cut up Allan's jacket and make a small one for Ilan. Here are some photos (finally!!) of the process. It worked amazing well considering I was nervous about possibly making a mess of it. It was easier than I thought. I just placed the pattern around the features of the jacket I wanted to keep. I was able to use the existing pockets on both the outer and inner lining. I reused the collar, complete with elastic and toggle to bring it in tighter around the neck. I also used the existing waist band with drawstring. The outside is a soft shell jacket and inside is lined with lightweight polyfill. I actually added another layer of quilt batting to make it a bit warmer as the original was really more of a spring/fall jacket. The end jacket has a detachable hood and I have yet to take a picture of Ilan wearing it...shameful I know!!!! Tomorrow, I promise.

Ilan's Birth Certificate Cover

Passport Cover

I found a sweet tutorial by Chubby Hobby  and used up some scraps and unbleached cotton. I really like this heavier weight natural cotton I purchased at a quilt shop in Eureka. Of course I would love to use linen but can't always find it in these rural parts. I was happy with the results however after I was done I realized that Ilan's birth certificate didn't fit in with the passports. Sigh....oh well. I will have to make somethng for him.

Ticker Tape Quilt

I have alot of scraps I can't bear to throw away....they are so tiny that in a larger project putting it all together would be tedious. I found this tutorial on making a doll quilt out of small bits that are sewn directly on to a main peice of fabric. No seams to press...kind of like easy applique. The only thing is I think I will make a stroller blanket instead of the doll size.
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=2311

Recent Projects

It is has been a long, long time since a new post. I have started back to work as a Mental Health Clinician on a part time basis....I am just now getting the hang of juggling work, motherhood and keeping up with sewing. I ordered the new edition of Stitch magazine and set out right away to make a purse similar to the one on the cover. I haven't completed the stitching at the bottom and it isn't quite the same but it is my version anyhow. I will post another pic when it is completely done. I really want to keep it for myself but I am saving it for a potential christmas present. The little boots were an experiement and I thought I followed the pattern for size three but they are tiny!!! Likely for 0-3 months. Luckily there are lots of babies being born in my neck of the woods so they will make a cute gift. The blanket with the "taggie-like" petals was for a friend who had a baby shower to attend. I had a lot of fun coming up with the idea but unfortunately ran out of camera battery before I could take a larger pic.