Here’s the result. I really like it, but the bib collar is *big*. If I were smart, or patient, I would have made a muslin. That’s just not my way.  I don’t mind the largeness too much, though–especially for summer.  (It was -7 yesterday. I like to think about summer!) I looove supersoft flowy shirts to layer.

Things I altered in my version:
-Left out the sleeve elastic because I don’t like my arms to feel cramped (& I was out of the correct size).
- Changed the bib to a contrasting fabric.
-Made my own bias tape for the back collar instead of using packaged tape.
-Took in the sides at a slight curve (I guess you could call it a dart) to make it a bit less boxy muu-muu.

Things I’d do differently if making this shirt again:
-Take in the bib collar (I’ve already marked the pattern for next time) + possibly chop off a bit of the top of the collar too. Patterns are always too big in the shoulders for me.
-Make it at least a size smaller.
-Try a sleeveless version, because this looked pretty cute w/o sleeves, too. And since this one had generously sized puffy sleeves, I could stand to put some elastic in them next time. I generally cut sleeves a size larger from whatever size I’m making, but I really didn’t need to for this pattern.

As far as patterns go, I’d give this one a B. I’m not sure who exactly that wide bib would flatter, and I had a few WTF moments when consulting the pattern. There were little things left out that a beginner might not know (like how to gather the fabric, or what understitching is) . But overall, I’d probably use it again. I should probably actually do that one day– make something twice– to see how different the results would be.

And there you have it, the last garment constructed on my old machine.

By the way, my friend Nikki, who co-wrote the fabulous book Fashion DIY, took the other half of the grey fabric at the swap. I can’t wait to see what she makes with it.

In other much less expensive splurginess, I wanted to show off some of the fabric I bought before and over the holidays. I almost NEVER buy fabric, because I feel like I already have some slated for projects that were not completed, I get it free for work projects, etc. But, since I have been so obsessed with patchwork lately, I thought a few small amounts in colors I needed to fill out my stash were in order. Doing the patchwork swap was really fun because I realized sometimes you really only need a scrap of something to make a layout work. 

Here are some 1/2 yards I found after looking long and hard at Joann’s. The woman cutting them kept commenting on how “different” they were.

Here are some FQs I purchased in San Antonio. I liked the way this quilt shop had their shelves set up– there was a mini shelf under each fabric bolt shelf with all available FQs of those fabrics. That makes a lot of sense to me.

And here are some amazing flannels, from a different quilt shop in San Antonio. I have never seen flannels like this and I had to hold myself back.

The cool thing about  new fabric is that sometimes it makes your old fabric look better. I was going to make a project with the flannels but I ended up using just a sliver of the yellow- everything else was from my stash.  (I’ll show it off next week). I’m trying to be  more conscious of what colors I have a lot of, and where I can build up a little. It makes for a more complex patchwork, plus it’s always good to have options.

I was getting kind of fed up with my lack of holiday crafting (mainly due to work work work!) and a box of stuff from ReproDepot came just as I started making some fabric trees. I really loved the Full Moon Forest charm square set (a sweet deal at $6.95), so I went to task and made a patchwork tree. See how over at the ReproDepot blog.

This may be my last post for a bit- on Sunday I’m off for holiday travelling plus for about two weeks and want to actually not think about work for a while, during the moments when that’s possible. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

It’s baby quilt binding day! The almost-done quilt has been sitting in my closet since whenever I last posted it, just waiting for the finishing touch. I think that’s just part of the process, to let it breathe before you go in and do the final, possibly most pesky part of the quilt-making. (I know my mom has a few quilts that just need to be bound in her closet, Ahem.)  I got myself together and  made the binding last night with my trusty bias tape maker.

The plan was to machine stitch the back this afternoon (in our wee window of the day where there’s actually light) so that I could work the hand stitched front tonight while Paul watches his beloved Spurs. Sometimes I think crochet wins out over sewing just because I can be semi-social with it, so I like to think of ways to bring my other crafts to the couch.

I made quite a bit more binding than I needed, since I had the whole operation going anyway. I always end up using it on things like oven mitts or contrast collars, and it’s fun to have some prints in my stash. In fact, I just used some a couple weeks ago to make this fabric box for the craft fair. I was inspired by this tutorial, but changed it up and stacked the box parts, closing them with the bias edge. I used more bias tape to create the removable button-on divider (because I had necklaces on one side and earrings on the other, and because after a certain width, the box doesn’t want to hold it’s sides in). Now it can be my bias tape/binding stash. As if I needed another stash.

By the way, thanks for all your nice comments about the craft fair. I know they can be hit or miss, and selling my hats is not my #1 priority anyway, but the last time I did one it went so well that I guess I was hoping for a similar response. It’s no big deal, and I’ve placed most of the inventory, I just wanted to vent. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend- I’ll be back Monday (if not sooner) to show you some cool stuff I found at last weekend’s Christmas Stroll.