New Vogue Patterns: Winter/Holiday 2014

Let's start with the good.

Vogue 1424

I absolutely adore this dress! I love the strappies, those pleats (swoon!), and even the color. With all the seams it seems fairly straightforward how to adjust for a larger bust too! I know the strappies have gotten mixed reviews, but I'm firmly team strappies.

Vogue 1421

Oh man alive I love that seaming! Other than the weird, fun seaming, that's a pretty simple dress. I want to make it in scuba something fierce!

Okay, the others:

Vogue 1423

Ok, I'm off team strappies. If you left off that underlayer, this would be a very chic dress for your next BDSM soiree.

Vogue 1426

I want to pull her bodice up for her. That's some super dated stuff guys.

Vogue 1428

Helen Mirren would look hot in this. No joke, Helen Mirren is hot.

Vogue 1425

Anyone else want to cut this off and make a top? Cause I do, bad. Otherwise its a fairly boring shape.

Vogue 1427

She's going out on the town with ruffle-lady. They're on the prowl!

Vogue 1422

Again a pretty, if dull dress. Gorgeous fabric. If Michelle Obama hasn't worn this yet, she ought to.

Vogu 1420

I do love a good wrap bodice, even a mock-wrap is ok. The finishing on this dress looks like it was finger-pressed and stapled. This style needs to be sharp.

Vogue 9046

I don't even know about this one. I love and hate the slight 40's-50's style. Removing the sleeves might bring this towards a more modern aesthetic. The pleats are beautiful, but there are so many it looks like a corset. The v-neck is very elegant.

Quilt #3

I made my first quilt when I was about 10 and quiltmaking spread like wildfire through our sewing classes. After that I had no desire to quilt ever again. It was kinda like the time I got it into my head I wanted to make a teddy bear. I ended up gluing his arms and legs on. Over it.

Then while persuing the magazine rack I saw quilty, specifically quilty winter 2012, specifically the quilt 'Burgoyne, with Red', and I was mesmerized. Seriously, quilts are beautiful pieces of art, decorating your life AND keep you warm. I'm now completely hooked! I have every quilty since that issue and a few other magazines, follow quilting blogs, am starting quite a collection of quilting notions, and even bought a quilting class on craftsy. Bring it on, baby!

Quilt #1 was that little thing I made when I was 10. Quilt #2 was a wall hanging I made for my amazing in-laws last Christmas which was more of an appliqued horse and quilted landscape picture. Quilt #3 is the first proper quilt, piecing, backing, and binding.

The pattern is 'Hello, Handsome' by Nancy Downey from quilty, March 2014 and might have been a bit ambitious for my first proper quilt, but hell, it turned out ok. The second, nay, the MILLISECOND after I quilted it I ordered a walking foot because quilting it was hell.

  

That's the only picture of the back you get because the quilting blows. I added some extra blocks to the back, I'm not sure if I like the effect.

 I've already learned a lot about quilting so despite my incredible lack of quilting acumen, most of my points lined up! There were only about 3 majors misalignments. I decided to do stitch-in-the-ditch quilting because piecing is so pretty that I worry that putting thread all over it will mess it up. I need to get over that fear fast!

I ended up giving this to a person who did me a huge favor for me, but I'm going to make it again because I love it so much. And here I swear: every point will line up and I will be more adventurous in quilting.

Sunday Confessional

I never sweep or vacuum my threads. I find them at work, in my car. I've even found them still on me in another country after flying for 10 hours.

From a post from a thread from the edge about the troubles of bamboo batting. Good to know as I'm working on my 4th quilt right now!

Forgive me.