Shirts Ahoy

It's darn hot here so some cool shirts are needed. The green striped knit came right off the rummage table at our summer sewing retreat. Just enough yardage  to turn into a cool shirt. I've used this e-pattern from Hot Patterns once before. I didn't put the neck treatment on this casual shirt. It fits just great!

My friend Suzy makes this pattern and each shirt is unique.

(She's unique too....and moving away! Drats!)

Tee below is is not my original idea - a friend at the same retreat, Joy, wore her shirt like this. I happen to have those designs. So there you go. The purest form of flattery! If only I looked like her in the shirt!

I believe these are Advanced Embroidery Designs.

  

I had to re-hoop for each lady as I have not invested in a new embroidery machine in ages.

 My linen baseball blouse below is a Louise Cutting pattern, which I've had for ages  - By Popular Demand. I tried a shirt on like this made by a friend and I really liked it.  I made it two inches longer (maybe a mistake). I had to keep taking in the sides a lot...it is meant to be roomy, loose fitting but really!  I didn't realize Louise was such a fan of Steam-a-Seam strips. Wow....she used them all over -  for hems and facings. It makes a nice finish for sure. I will make it again.

The unfinished top is left-over fabric from another blouse project. (In fact I used that same Hot Pattern as above for the blouse.)

What you see here is a faux-wrap,  Jalie Pattern 2910.  My fabric is pretty sheer so I am considering letting this be like a wrap and  just hang down in points  I could easily wear it with the blouse or a black strappy top.
 Surprisingly it's warm fabric to be so sheer.

Embroidery Review Time

Sadly the sewing studio has been dark a lot lately. The resident sewist took a vacation and then got sick. Oh well, life happens. But just prior to all  that ...a special order came in! More logo shirts for the dear SIL. He is so appreciative it's just a joy to sew his business logo on the polo shirts.

 Truth be known, I haven't done embroidery in a while. 

Getting those memory cells to kick in was interesting. 

Prep takes almost as much time as the actual embroidery...or sew it seems!

He selected an alternate color for the lettering because the regular blue would be "lost" on this color shirt. SIL loves to choose from the colors in the embroidery thread box.(Isn't that like a kid with new crayons?)   And as Mrs Murphy predicts.....if you want it to be perfect for someone you love...everything goes wrong! LOL My thread constantly shredded..and I broke three needles. I wonder if some of my threads are getting old and dried out?

The embroideries eventually worked out fine...whew!   If you want sun screens and great service just look on Craig's List for Sun Blockers -- the owner/installer is a sweetheart. His product and his shirts are very professional.

Commission Work!!

Dear daughter ask me to make a baby shower gift. Oh my, I am so past baby sewing. But...ah, ha! I had a piece of  baby-print flannel that I had tried, unsuccessfully to hand off to friends. My good fortune - it's blue and the  recipient to be is a boy.  My standard baby gift is a large receiving blanket, flannel without batting. A personalized embroidery in the corner and voila' a practical and cute baby gift.

Then I thought...those  baby burp cloths made from pre-fold diapers are so nice.. Why not make a couple of those as well. (Yeah...well that's the trouble with thinking. Simple things can end up not so simple.)  First I bought the wrong diapers, back to the box store. Actually the diaper quality wasn't that great but...whatever. I'm on a mission!


Embroidery Library has a great little  tutorial on making the burp cloths. No problem. Oops  --  a trip to the fabric store for the flannel backing and a tad more for embellishment. (And oh, wow...our 35th Ave store has moved and oh, wow!) Several hours later and a a few buck lighter, I am back home on the job.


I customize the embroideries, hunt up the polyester threads (bleach resistant) and find the right  stabilizer. Almost finished...only a few glitches.   And then...tah, dah, sweet daughter says..."Oh, Mom I hope his name is on the burp pads too. I want everyone to know they are handmade!"  Oops.....no name on the pads.

 Okey dokey, I reverse sew a bit while I watch a few more re-runs of  NCIS. And now we're done! Whew.

Baby boy Cooper, I hope you like these! 

And honestly, I did enjoy the process and the final product.

New Tee-shirts & other

My friend Jo Anna decided to test out some t-shirt patterns. She wisely ordered an inexpensive knit to try out her patterns. She got a nice black and white knit  (she's like me -  definitely colorized a winter.) She was ready to start this project b/w fabric when she noticed.....a design in the fabric which was NOT obvious  in the on-line picture.

No-way was Jo Anna going to wear this shirt which has a sort of an Ed Hardy look. Yes, there are  Devil faces and some Día de los Muertos skulls.

 So...guess who was gifted the fabric? Yeah, right....I'll wear anything! LOL

 The tee is a basic pattern but so modified it is unlike the original pattern. The scraps left the cutting table motivated me to embellish a bit. I added a raw edge ruffle and two flowers. I applied the ruffle just off center front and continued around just over one shoulder.  (You see how unbalanced I am?) I love it! Thanks to Jo Anna (who evidently knows  me very well.)

I used some stash fabric for my next shirt. (From our local crazy, fabric  place, SAS, where we buy fabric by the pound.) The pattern I used is  Jalie 2804, Empire Crossover. I'm not real crazy about the fit. The pattern has an optional  "modestly panel" piece for the V neck. I wonder why...the whole thing comes up too high anyway. Actually,  it looks sort of dorky. Oh well, I'll work on modifications next time.

I had more success here....I used Urban Threads designs on these cup towels. My friend, Cornelia and I say, cup towels,  while others say "tea towels."  LOL...you can't take the Texas out of the girls.

Trying New Things

 My friend brought the most delicious cookie balls to our last sewing gathering.  Orange Ball No-Bake Cookies! They were fantastic.

1 stick butter 1 box (16 oz.) confectioner’s sugar 1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate 1 c. finely ground pecans 1 c. flaked coconut 1 box (12 oz.) vanilla wafers, crushed Melt butter add other ingredients. Mix together. Form dough into small balls and roll in wafer crumbs (I rolled them in a bit of powdered sugar.)

I just had to make them for our family night. Really a bit hit!   No one could figure out all the ingredients. (Store cookies in the freezer or refrigerator.)  There are variations on the web-  Google orange ball cookies.

  I might use lemonade next time - that would be interesting.

 Then I decided I needed new apron.  I incorporated a bit of cool, refreshing fabric and a new design. Voile' new apron!

Close up of the design which is from

Urban Threads. Very funky site!

A while back I used another of their designs to make the little gift for the very same "cookie maker" friend! That's you Leslie!

Yeah, but summer veggies are good...

My sister's visit was way too brief. After she left I was blue - she is so much fun!  We love to hear her laugh. I moped around a couple of days and then reality set in. I had piles of laundry and an empty cupboard. One jar of peanut butter just won't do it. On the other hand, I wore clothes from the dark reaches of the closet. Ummm, interesting.
   

I got a quick veggie fix at the farmer's market.


Eat your heart out...the okra ended up coated with corn meal and fried. My heart be still....hubby thought he died and went to Texas. Yes, OKRA is a wonderful veggie.  We had squash, potatoes, kale and a fantastic olive bread from a local baker.

  Ella showed up in a t-shirt for family dinner. Her parents swear she likes it. Evidently she does! You see it is an ESS shirt.

I  finished my tribal wall hanging. The final touch was the border fabric and a few beads. I got hooked on this African theme after I read Alexander McCall Smith's series, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

I may get more sewing done since we're past dry heat and into monsoon.

This small print is so cute, hope you can click to see the details. Carole and I happened upon it at 35th Ave. It turned out to be perfect for my project.

And another "perfect" score...is the picture frame I found for the "doggie-taking-a-bath-in-the-woods" embroidery!  

It's a giggle for sure.

    
Please leave a comment for Ella.