Fall Sewing Plans

A third post...in one week?  You're asking yourself, is Emily feeling okay?  Well, no, I'm not.  I'm sick in bed at home, presumably with food poisoning, so I need something to pass the time between work emails.  Can I just say, isn't working remotely such a wonder?  I'm someone who feels terrible for missing work, and I don't take "mental health days" or anything (OCD with some overachiever playing heavily), so being able to work while propped up with pillows and some pets is fine with me.

Anyway, it's mid-August, which means fall is practically here.  Can you smell it?  In Charlotte, while we're a ways away from actual fall--at least a month--it is getting cooler and the light has changed outside.  Soon Pumpkin Spiced lattes will be available and I'll buy some mums for the front porch.  Soon!

I would like to sew some garments for fall, despite my lack of sewn clothing lately.  I find fall and spring clothes the best to sew, perhaps because they're my favorite seasons.  I'd love to sew more summer dresses, but if I even think of wearing a lining in the summer, I melt immediately.  Just like that, in my closet, from heat exhaustion.  And let's not get started on winter.  But fall is inspirational and beautiful.  I must plan!

Here's what I've planned so far:

First and foremost, I need a Colette Anise.  Need it!  Version 1, with covered buttons, please.  My mom gave me black-and-white houndstooth wool, which I was so excited to use...until I saw I'd need over three yards, and only had 2.5.  If you've made this, how are the cutting layouts?  Would 2.5 work?  Otherwise, I need to find some wool!

Next is the Colette Hawthorn (again), version 1.  I do enjoy a good peplum!  My reservations about this pattern are all about the bust, but I think reducing the seam allowances will help with that.  Plus, I have this amazing cut of Liberty stashed:

I could wear this with black pants to work, jeans on the weekend, and pencil skirts too!  I'd like to find red buttons but those are negotiable.

Third on the list--another Rooibos!  I really love the one I made last winter but it's wool gabardine and is heavy.  However, it's really cute and fits well.  Now, here's a crazy thought: what if I used the black and white houndstooth for this dress?  Is it too much?  For reference, here's a good example of the size of the pattern:

Is it too crazy?  In a bad way?  I need your thoughts!

Do PJs count?  These are on my to-do list for sure.  I change into pajamas as soon as I get home from work, so I really can't have too many.  I've heard awesome things about these--the fit is spot-on!--and really want to make some comfy pajama pants for fall--and also for Christmas!  (I can't be the only one who wears new pajamas on Christmas!)

Birch Fabrics is debuting their Charley Harper line--I'm dying, it's so good--and they'll have a flannel line!  I should use the cardinals for Christmas, right?

But for everyday use, Cloud9 has teamed up with Rae from Made by Rae for her new flannel line, Fanfare.  I think the Confetti print is perfect for jammies:

What are your fall sewing plans?  I'm also very excited to see the new patterns come out this fall.  I'm sure I'll need those too!

Finally Finished: Chicopee Quilt

I pledged to myself that I'd finish all my miscellaneous quilt tops (three from 2012) before the summer ended.  As of last night, I made good on that promise!

This was the second quilt top I ever pieced, and the first not using pre-cuts.  I won six one-yard cuts of Chicopee last summer from FreeSpirit and used them, as well as a random blue print and FreeSpirit Designer Solids in Nugray.  I think I bought the whole bolt of Nugray and I'm still working through it. 

I quilted it in diagonal straight lines about 1.75" apart.  I used medium gray 50 wt Aurifil, which I found Eleanor chomping down like spaghetti this morning.  It was still attached to my machine.  I don't know.

The pattern is Pow Wow from Cluck Cluck Sew.  I'd like to make another scrappier version.  Just add that to my list!

I backed it with two prints from Madrona Road and bound it with another Chicopee print.  This quilt screams late summer/early fall to me.  I also was a bit annoyed at the wonkiness of the backing when I first realized it...but it's grown on me!

And Schnoz likes it, so there you go.

My Whereabouts

I've been absent lately, I know.  I haven't been sewing clothing much this summer--somehow, quilting snuck back in (I blame the flood of babies) and that's had my full attention.  I really haven't even missed sewing clothes, which is very unlike me.  I think part of it is I can afford clothing now--it's amazing when companies actually pay you a living wage--so I tend to buy before I make.  I feel terrible about that but I'm sure it's a phase and it'll wane eventually.

I do have one big plan for fall--the Colette Anise jacket.  More on that later, when I finally get around to seeing if that wool blend in my closet is two or three yards.

Like I said though, I have been quilting.  If you follow me at Squaring Up, you've seen the fruits of my endless labor.  Ariel and I have decided to take a break until things cool down a bit, so I'm going to post my patchwork over here for the next month or so.  I hope you don't mind!  If you do, just skip over my posts until my clothing mojo comes back.

Another one of our friends had a baby this summer--a little girl--and I decided we had to send her a quilt.  Nick has known her for years, though she still lives in Florida, and we sent her something for her first child (a boy) last spring.

She isn't especially girly, though she and her sister both are big fans of nature, natural products, and things like that.  No ruffles, no pink--it would be weird and slightly offensive, like I'm putting my tastes ahead of hers.  I knew I had to use Timber & Leaf for the quilt--the colors are soft and feminine without being saccharine-sweet--but I didn't know what pattern to use.  Churn dash?  Log cabin?  I came across the Sparkle Quilt on Jeni B.'s blog and immediately knew it was the one.  I'm really into big blocks, and lord knows I love half-square triangles.

I also picked up the idea of using FreeSpirit Solids in Pearl from Fresh Lemons Quilts.  I didn't want to use bright white as the neutral but I knew beige would blend too much.  Pearl is a great neutral because it works with blue, pink, yellow, green, gray--whatever you have.

This was the first time I've used different quilting patterns in one project: I quilted the blocks with diagonal lines about 3/4" apart, and quilted the sashing with a single serpentine pattern.  It made it so crinkly!

I also used the lightest pink Aurifil for the quilting.  I pre-ordered the Camille Roskelley Aurifil set, so I better get used to non-white thread!

I backed it with another Timber & Leaf print, which I originally bought for a Colette Pastille dress.  After reading countless accounts of how ill-fitting the pattern is, and how much effort it takes to perfect it, I decided to scrap that idea.  I love a challenge, but I don't want to spend three weeks fitting the pattern.  That's too much effort!

We'll send this out tomorrow--hopefully the new mom and baby love it!  Thanks for indulging in my quilting, non-quilters!  :)

Introducing...

Mr. Nicholas Regnier and Ms. Emily Sposetta.

I'm keeping my name, but we are ecstatically married and couldn't be more excited.

And, most importantly, I never have to think about it ever again!

We got married Wednesday, July 31, on our third anniversary.  We took the day off of work, went to the jail, and were pronounced husband and wife by an older woman in madras.  We celebrated with pizza and cake from Publix.  We changed out of our clothes and went to Ikea.  

We woke up the next day, went to work, and felt like we had a fun, happy secret that was kept from the world.  It was wonderful.

Pattern Testing the Date Night Dress

So it's been a few weeks!  I had all these plans for garments and I have a stack of apparel fabric on my ironing board, but when I tried to find simple, basic white lining for these dresses, I found nothing.  Joann didn't carry any; Fabric.com was out of all my preferred substrates.  I decided to give it up for the time being and get back to quilts.  If you follow me on Squaring Up, you'll see I've been quilting like crazy.  Ah well, making lemonade out of lemons.

April Rhodes put a call out for pattern testers on Instagram last week.  Her new pattern, the Date Night dress, was releasing soon but it needed some eyes to review!  I don't really know what a "date night" is anymore, as I don't think we've had one since our fifth date three years ago, but the pattern is adorable and April is so sweet--I couldn't resist throwing my name into the hat.  Amazingly, she picked me!  I spent last week sewing the dress and slip.

I meant to share the pictures earlier this week, but my parents came to town Wednesday and just left this morning--blogging wasn't really a priority.  Enough excuses, on with the pictures!

The Date Night dress is a loose-fitting dress with really fun details.  I used a gray-and-white polka-dot cotton lawn from Denver Fabrics to keep this casual and light.  However, as I was sewing it, I decided it would be adorable in chambray with red Saltwater sandals for summer.  Cute, right?  I'm glad I don't have any chambray in my closet because then I'd have to buy Saltwaters.

Box pleat!

I belted the dress and wore it with heels--I guess that's how I'd do it if we had date nights in this house!--and Nick decided he loved it and it looked amazing.  I mean, make your own judgments, but it's hard to impress him.  This dress is definitely beginner: the sleeves are big and fun and not set-in; there are no closures; and April's instructions are spot-on.  It would make me so happy if beginning sewists used patterns like April's instead of going to Joann and buying Simplicity and then giving up because the instructions are terrible.

What makes this "date night"-worthy is the sleeves are big and fun, and the armhole is long, so when you life your arms, you can flash some side-bra!  I'm typically very modest, but I like that I'll keep my arms down 95% of the night and this will be totally public-friendly, but I have a chance to show off a bit if I want.  (Sorry for anyone who didn't want to see my bra today.)

The pattern also comes with a slip!  I used some Anna Maria Horner Good Folks voile for this, which is why it isn't modeled--it's pretty sheer!  No one wants to see that on me!  I plan on wearing this as loungewear or sleepwear, but it would be adorable in the Anna Maria Horner Field Study rayon or something soft and floral, coordinating with the Date Night dress.  If I had thought ahead, I would've planned that out!

The Date Night dress and slip will be available soon through April's website, though I'm sure you'll see Instagram and the blog world blow up when it does!  I also hope to have more to share soon.  Maybe.  It's been a busy summer!