Summer sewing musings

It's been a while since I've opened up my sewing machine. The last project I did was a child's quilt, during the last few days of winter. But it won't be long now before I get it out once more-- I'm bursting with ideas!

My first project will be a cinch-- simple leaf shapes cut from bright coloured felts, sewn into a garland for a Thanksgiving day decoration. Something like this. My other ideas are a bit more ambitious.

I'd love to sew a dress from Jenny Chancey's Elegant Lady's Closet pattern, which I received as a birthday gift last year. I've got the perfect fabric: a soft tan cotton with woven-in gold and silver stripes and a bit of stretch. My eye is on the crossover bodice design. I like the idea of incorporating a diagonal stripe into it. Hopefully this pattern will be just as user friendly as the first Sense and Sensibility pattern I made. The detailed instructions on the website gave me the confidence to try more daring pattern alterations than I'd done in the past, and I ended up making three or four different versions. My red dress is my favourite, and I'm still wearing it a couple of years later.

And lastly, I'm thinking of making a quilt for our guest bedroom. Australian-themed fabric, I think. I've seen some interesting designs at the local fabric store.

I wonder how many of these ideas will become reality?

New E-patterns from Sense and Sensibility!

I'm excited to hear that Jennie Chancey of Sense and Sensibility patterns is now offering her designs for sale as downloads. For someone who never makes a pattern "as is", I see a lot of possibilities here! No more tracing. No more wishing I'd not cut on that line. No more frustration over lost pieces.

Interested in seeing what it's all about? Go here. Jennie has many wonderful historical patterns to choose from. So far, the Regency dress is my favorite. It's a very flexible design. I've blogged about variations I've done here.