Crafternoon: Modern Women of Sewing

I was at the New York Public Library a couple of weekends ago to attend another Crafternoon: Modern Women of Sewing. Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, and Liesl Gibson were there to talk about books from the library that inspire them and their work.

I had been looking forward to this Crafternoon for months. I love the work of these three women. Denyse Schmidt's quilting book was the first one I picked up when I began quilting and it gave me such a charge to see quilts that were modern and bold, as opposed to the old fashioned ones I had always seen growing up. (This was before I started reading blogs p.s., where this idea/style had already taken hold for years.) And I just love her fabrics! Same thing with Heather Ross - love her fabric, too. And Liesl's patterns are adorable!

Anyway, it was a treat to hear them speak and get to meet them afterwards.

I didn't craft anything this time, but I did peruse the books that they passed along. This quilt was from a book about West Virginia quilters. It was really quite interesting to the type of quilts people made based on what materials they had around, what type of pattern was popular, or what kind of event they were celebrating.

I really like this quilt from the book, so I sneaked a picture. I wish you could see the detail better. I don't know how many times I can tell myself before it sinks in, but I HAVE to get started on my own bed quilt. No more excuses.

"Skirts that work" - Part 2

It's been a while since I first talked about Heather Ross' "Skirts That Work" class at Purl Patchwork. I took the class in February. I'm sorry that I didn't follow up on here about how it went. I really should have because it was great. Heather was really nice, funny, and a great teacher.

So why, you ask, have I not said anything? Well, that's because I never got around to finishing my skirt... until today.

   In this class, Heather taught us how to make a skirt sloper, which is a custom pattern based off of our own measurements. It will enable us to make any type of skirt pattern from this basic shape.

   I decided to make  an a-line skirt with side zipper. I chose some red wool for the outside and a white and black polka dot lining.

   When I started to work on it today I got very frustrated because my lining was a bit shorter in the back of the skirt than the front. I have no clue as to what went wrong, but I feel like I may have been able to figure it out if I finished it right after the class and not seven months later. But no big deal. I'm sending the hem out to the dry cleaner (I don't feel like recruiting a friend to get it perfect) and it will be great. I can't tell you how amazed I am that I will be able to wear my first piece of clothing soon.

Stay tuned for the final product in part 3 later this week.

"Skirts that work" with Heather Ross

I signed up for the "Skirts That Work" class at Purl Patchwork. Yay!

I'm very excited for a couple of reasons: 1.) I've realized that I have a hard time attempting large scale or even small scale sewing projects without help or least a whole lot of time thinking about doing the project before it's actually attempted. I get intimidated. I have lots of books, but it's easier to have someone actually show me the basics first. 2.) Heather Ross is teaching the class! I love her fabric. My new favorite fabric of hers is  the Mendocino Seahorses that I used on some coffee sleeves. And 3.) I spend my whole summer wearing skirts, so it would be great to make my own. Then I can move onto my dream of having a whole closet full of dresses.