Finally Closing 2012

I won two times in December!

First, I received a matched set of blog awards on December 15, 2012.  Coco, of Coco's Loft nominated me for the "One Lovely Blog Award / Very Inspiring Blogger Award."  I love her style, plus the fact that she is also a Floridian.

I thank you, CoCo, for nominating me!

The rules of this award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Add The One Lovely Blog Award / The Very Inspiring Blogger Award to your post.  (I snagged the pictures and re-posted them here.)
3. Share 7 things about yourself.
4. Pass the award to 10 nominees.
5. Include this set of rules.
6. Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs.

As to number 4 above, if you're reading this, you know who you are.  I appreciate all of you!  My apology for breaking the rules is to read Item Two below.

Here are seven things about me:

One - I love to read - more than I like to sew.  I have a huge spreadsheet, and can see all the books I've read, if any have been requested at the library, and when I have to take them back.
Two - I am a double Aquarian with a Leo moon, which means I have every excuse to be ME.
Three - I learned to swim AFTER I moved to Florida.  I was about 45 years old at the time.
Four - I love my husband.  I will never be married to him for too long - or long enough!
Five - I can trace patterns and cut out fabric in a flash.  I take quite a bit longer to get anything sewn.
Six - I like to teach sewing, and have plans to get back to it.  I'm also an excellent procrastinator.
Seven - I grew up with classical music, but I prefer good ol' Rock-n-Roll.  Give me a good beat, and I can probably dance to it.  Just don't watch.
Eight - I joined Pinterest so I could catalog my sewing patterns, just like Amanda.
Nine - I've recently taken up self-manicures, and I love to buy new nail polish.  Well, it's about time!
Ten - When I sing a song, you won't know what it is because I almost never sing the melody.  I don't stick to any one part, either.  If it's an old hymn, I can probably sing all four parts.
Bonus # Eleven - My favorite food is raw cranberry-orange relish.

Thank you for reading my blog!

... and then ...

On December 28, 2012, I won a set of patterns from Gwen of In Over My Head (click to see what I won).  These are several patterns from the Hot Patterns line, which I've never used before.  They are so popular, and I'm excited to get a chance to try them - scheduled for later in the year.

I was a randomly-selected winner, and I truly believe her cat picked me to win (I'm going to hear about this!).  Gwen is also a Floridian and the creator of the "How Much Fabric" reference cards.  Thank you so much, Gwen - again!

No-Work Project

Folks, you may already know about the easiest project in the world.

I am here to present to you the No-Work Project!

By the way, this No-Work Project has a high dog-approval rating.

Yes, the dog-approval rating can only be topped by the self-approval rating and the spouse-approval rating.

First I will give you the instructions, then I will show you the picture.

Find fleece on sale.  Buy fleece cut to the appropriate length.  Take fleece home.  Launder (wash and dry) the fleece.  Place the fleece on bed, or fold fleece and throw over the sofa.

For this project, my fleece piece was cut to 2.5 yards, while my DH's fleece piece was cut to 2.75 yards.

The dog approval rating is a 10 based on the messiness of the new piece of fleece - on the right, in case you cannot tell.  DH's fleece piece is still in the laundry, but mine is on the bed:

This is a lightweight fleece that I found a JA's - no coupon needed, since it was on sale.

ETA:  It's not a no-work project if the salesperson can't cut it straight.  That would mean that you need to re-cut at least one end of the fabric after you get it home.

ETA2: le voila' - a completely made bed:

Sewing Accomplishments and Goals

Yeah, yeah, I'm finally getting around to a statistical post.  I don't recall doing it before, but this year just begged the question: "Did I get a lot of sewing done last year?"

I thought not, but then I added them up:

I actually finished 31 items in 2012, topped only by 32 items in 2003 and 35 items in 2007.

Of course, the number is partly high because I made several multiples of things.  The actual number of projects is 12.  That would be approximately one project per month.

Here is a review of the projects:

In February I made red king-sized bed sheets:

In March, I crafted a napkin holder:

In August, I made navy blue king-sized bed sheets:

In September, I made some pillowcases (two red, two white, and four blue) and bandannas (six blue, not shown):

October brought the perfectly constructed almost-wadder dress (99% done):

December brought a flurry of mostly gift-making, including fleece dickies and socks for my parents, pillowcases for my cousin (tutorial to come soon), and more bandannas for me (not shown):

I took some time off, then decided on some of my projects for 2013:

Front row, left to right:

• Covers and liners for the cushion for DH's desk chair (cushion in picture at lower right)
• Crazy-print pillowcases
• Scarves for draping over clothes, like this (or this):

Back row, left to right:

• Cute little purse project
• Big purse project (I may enter the purse contest at PatternReview)
• Tiramisu dress
• Knit top with twist at waist
• Knit top with mock twist

That's eight projects planned for 2013.

Now that I've put this out in blog-land, I don't want to let any of you down!

There's always a chance that some other projects will come along.  Probably sheets or curtains.

We've already started on the chair cushion project.  Since I like to photograph as I go, I need to put some good batteries in my camera.  You can read about it soon!

And to think I nearly dreaded writing this post!  Bah, silly girl!

Easy Serger Bandanna or Scarf

I found a scrap of cotton fabric that was only large enough for bandannas, so that's what it became!

I started with a 22-inch square of cotton, which I bisected diagonally (wrong side shown here):

I then serged all the edges, and tied off the corners:

These scarves act as my helmet liners.  They are stored with other scarves I had made before.  Note how convenient they are to my helmet:

That was very easy!

Dickies are Neck Warmers

I made two dickies for my mom for Christmas.  I merged two patterns to make them.

I started with the wrapped collar from Stretch & Sew 333 View B, upper right:

The bodice is from Kwik Sew 2812, View D, upper right:

It was easy enough to merge these two patterns.  I traced the size Medium bodice from the Kwik Sew pattern to get the overall shape, then I laid it over the bodice piece of the S&S pattern to get the neckline for size 40:

The collar was traced in size 40 of the S&S pattern:

Notice how I mark notches:

I made this for my mom a few years ago, and found that I had made short bodice pieces.  I traced new bodice pieces and placed the old bodice pieces on top so you can see the difference:

I prewashed the lightweight fleece I got at JA's on sale.  I use vinegar in the rinse instead of fabric softener, which gives a waxy coating.  I used a size 75 stretch needle for the whole project:

All seams were stitched with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.  I stitched the back seam of the collar, and the shoulder seams of the bodice:

I pressed open the back seam of the collar with my fingers:

I turned the collar right side out, then aligned and pinned all the notches:

I matched the front of the collar at center front and pinned the layers together.  I also basted the layers together with large zigzag stitches:

With the bodice wrong side out, I marked the center front and center back with pins.  On each side of the front, I placed one pin about 1/4-inch forward of the shoulder seam:

I inserted the collar assembly into the bodice with the collar right side out, and the dickie wrong side out:

I started by pinning the center front of the collar to the center front of the bodice:

I pinned the collar to the bodice, matching all notches and adding a few pins in-between:

While pushing the seam allowance towards the bodice, I held it in place with topstitching:

This shows how well the topstitching holds the seam allowances:

Here are the finished dickies.  The blue one was made with the shorter bodice pieces:

I know my mom will like these because I asked her what I could make for her, and this is what she wanted.

Win-Win!

Here is a camera tip that I used while making this project (and the fleece socks).  I took a picture of the stitch settings just before using them.

For seams, I used this stitch - a narrow, longish zigzag:

I used a large, three-step zigzag stitch for topstitching the neck seam allowances.  This stitch was also used when tacking the heel seam allowances on the socks (click here):

For ALL the pictures, click here.

Next up - a couple of really easy projects!