Throwback to Thanksgiving Moneta

As I've become a more prolific sewer, I continue to try and sew garments. Sometimes, just like in stores, I find a garment that I love, but that just doesn't work with my body type (like my quasi-successful wiksten tank, and my failure wiksten tank). And then I find a patternmaker that probably custom made the dress for my body. Right? I previously made a Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns, and it turned out great. Following on that success, I decided to make another version for my Thanksgiving dress!

Hanging in my Kitchen pre-turkey. 

It was a super quick sew, compared to quilt making! I made it Tuesday morning in about 2 hours. I really wanted to break out my serger, but since I'm still not confident, I made it on my regular machine. Investing in that 'knit sewing on your domestic machine' class was a great idea. One issue I came across was a huge flaw in the fabric I used. I chose Anna Maria Horner's knit fabric 'Mary Thistle' in Saffron. 

That rough section? A HUGE FLAW!

Luckily I trace my pattern pieces before cutting them out, and as I was laying out all the pieces I noticed this huge rough section. It goes across the fold, so it's actually about double what you see here. And, since it goes across the fold, it's hard to avoid! I had just barely enough fabric after a bit of maneuvering to cut out all the pieces that needed to be along the fold. In general, I was kind of blah about the quality of the fabric. It seems kind of linty (would flake off) compared to the birch organic I used on my other dress. However, the other dress has faded significantly in the wash, so perhaps this one will hold up better. 

Here's a few action shots of the dress on the big day. 

Carving that turkey with precision. 

Me, my sister, and my cousin. Family!

It was super comfy, and I got several complements on both the fabric and the dress (which is always nice!). It even survived the scavenger hunt. This year, as an intermission during the eating of 10,000 calories, my father designed a scavenger hunt that sent us running all over the farm. It was a great way to make room for more pie. And it was fun because we had snow on Thanksgiving for the first time in about 15 years!

So, I hope you all had a lovely holiday last week as well. I'm crossing this off my Q4 finishes, which is a nice feeling. I've also got a bunch of projects and a tutorial on a lined and lapped pillow to share, so hopefully I'll get around to doing that soon. 

Finish Along - Q4

Last quarter was my first time participating in the Finish Along hosted by The Littlest Thistle. I completed two of my four goals, which isn't that bad. This quarter I've got a whole bunch more WiPs that I want to knock out. Let's see if being ambitious will pay off!

First up, I'm going to roll over my The Birds and The Butterflies quilting project. I feel like if I can just take the time to mark the lines I'll be able to get that quilt done! Plus, I really want to put it on my bed, it's getting chilly!

Over 400 pins used in basting this bad-boy!

Next up, and this should be a quick finish, I want to finish my herringbone cowl. I started it 2 years ago, and have half a skein left to go. I just need to sit down, watch a few shows and FINISH IT UP! Once again, it's cold, I need it to stay warm!

Here's what the stitch looks like.
I've got plenty of missed stitches/improv sections, it's not all this nice!

I've got a pattern I'm developing for a pillow. So far I'm working through the paper piecing of it. I need to add a border and quilt it up, then turn it into a pillow, likely a wedding gift for my bosses. 

Red Hook. A little busy - hence the motivation to gift it. 

I've got a set of cushions planned for my couch. Just need to finish up a few more of these improv log cabins, piece them together and magically (or not so magically) turn them into cushions. 

Each block is 5.25". Aiming for 18.5" square cushions for 20" inserts.

I've also got a boxy pouch planned for my friend who's a new mom. She can use it for her stuff and match the quilt I made her son, or she can use it for some of his supplies. So far I've just got strips cut and fabric chosen on this one. 

Looks like I need to iron, too!

I'm halfway through my EPP project, which you might have followed along with in my tutorials. I need to make one more panel, and then I can turn them into an eyeglasses case! I'm pleased with how the Arizona fabrics play together here.

70 3/4" hexagons, all ladder stitched together. 

The final goalI've set for myself, I want to get done by Thanksgiving. I attempted to make another Colette Moneta earlier this summer, but that failed miserably. This time I'm going to attempt it on my new-to-me serger, and finish with a double needle on my regular machine. Fingers crossed, otherwise I'll be in a potato sack for the holiday!

Love this AMH knit! Hope I can make it work!

Well, now that I'm feeling overwhelmed I'm going to take a break and work on some bee blocks. So, basically I'll let this list sit and rest for a bit! Wish me luck!

Colette Moneta

So, I have forayed further into garment sewing. I took a class in how to sew knits without a serger at Brooklyn General. Six of us each worked on making the Colette Moneta dress, most of us opting for the short sleeve or 3/4 sleeve version.

Me, my dress, and a bike instalaltion on Valentino Pier. 

I originally bought some great knits from Girl Charlee, but because UPS hates me, they took a few trips across the country before I actually got to use them. Consequently, I had to buy this amazing Birch Organic knit (Flight in Paprika by Jay-Cyn Designs) last minute. As you can tell, I was devastated by this turn of events.

Sewing knits without a serger is super easy, it turns out. You just use a short and narrow zig zag. And the result? You get all the swirly, stretchy, body hugging drape that we all love about knits. 

Action shot! I was spinning. And getting photo bombed by the Statue of Liberty. 

The finish isn't quite as professional as when using a serger, but using a double (or twin) needle gives that great double line of stitching when hemming. And anyway, how often do people see the wrong side of your clothes? Exactly.

The other secret: Wonder Tape. It's amazing. It's like glue basting in quilting, and you'll wonder why you ever hemmed anything without it.

I love the double needle. Like I could ever free sew two lines like this!  

So, for my first experience with a Colette pattern, and my first experience sewing with knits, it was a great one. I haven't washed anything yet, though, so I'm anxious to see how much it shrinks. It's a little loose on me, so hopefully shrinking will not make it unbearably small. In the mean time I'm wearing it as much as possible - 3 times already this week!

Just playing around! Still gotta work on finding the light!
Tyra would be so mad!

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts