Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #14

Introducing Doll #14.  Taking some inspiration from Brandywine Design as well as the Martha Pullen tv show, I used stitch #702 on my Bernina 640 and adjusted the width a bit so that I could weave the little satin ribbon through the stitch.  Boy, did that take some doing!  I envisioned using a safety pin or a bodkin to pull the thread through.  That did not work at all since the stitches were so small.  After almost giving up, I remembered that I recently bought a very slim pair of tweezers at a swap meet.  Worked like a charm!

Stitch #702 is the heirloom style stitch that Martha says looks like little railroad tracks, and it does.  I know I'll use this idea again.  Learning  more about heirloom sewing is on my sewing to-do list.

The last piece of fabric from the quilt guild project is a pretty shade of lavender with just a touch of orange.  I had an idea for this dress and was determined to finish it before our trip.  That was before our unexpected excursion to Los Angeles last Saturday.  The next block will just have to wait until we return from our grand adventure - more information to follow!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #13

We are ending up with lots of pink and yellow fabric as we reach the end of this project.  Once all the blocks are done, of course, I'll be mixing and matching according to the wishes of my little granddaughters (and their momma).  Should be interesting to find fabric for the sashing and borders, too.  Can you just see me with all these blocks strewn about the local quilt stores?  Yikes!  I'll have to rent their classrooms just in order to shop ..... and I'm sure they'll be lovely enough to help me make a great decision.

I used this idea before (see Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #5) with the ribbon down the center of the dress.  I picked up this lovely lacy edging somewhere in my travels and rummaged through all my scrapbook embellishment stuff to find these cute little organza bows with little pearls.  The smaller sleeves seemed to go with this dress maybe because the temperature has been rising steadily over the last days - summer has finally arrived!

The color is showing up a bit darker in the photo due to my poor photography skills.  DH would be happy to do the photos for me, but I hate to keep asking him since he sets up all kinds of stuff in order to do it "his way" and makes me feel guilty!  So, try to imagine this color as a little brighter.

If you've taken on a project like this one - or are thinking about it - here's a site that I found with some cute ideas.  I'm using one of the designs for the next block with a few modifications.  Guess I needed a kick start to my creativity button and these cute outfits just did the trick.

Our big trip is coming up fast -- next Tuesday!  DH and I are working our way through the to-do lists.  More about our trip in the next post.  Here's a teaser:  I'm actually going to tour the Bernina factory!  Whoo hoo!!!!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #12

The old cliche - seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - seems appropriate today.  I've finished the 12th block and am well on my way to completing the next one.  I have two more pieces of fabric from our quilt group swap.  Drum roll please ..... I even have ideas for those!  My goal is to finish these last blocks before we leave on our trip to Europe.  (More about the trip later.)

Here is block #12.  Maybe it's the butterfly button that I found somewhere in my travels or maybe it's the white collar, but something about this block tickles my fancy.  Many of the gals from my quilt group have drafted new collars or sleeves or pockets or even dress shapes.  Their creativity seems endless.  I'm intimidated by straying from the rules, but I took a chance and drafted both a new collar and new sleeves for this block.  I like both of them.  I'm using the sleeve pattern for the next block as well.  It's hard to see from the picture, but I used a yellow thread for the buttonhole stitch on the main part of the dress and on the white collar.  I think the yellow against the white adds a little zip especially with the butterfly button.

So, I'll have 15 blocks when done.  Now the math part .... how do I make 15 blocks stretch into two wallhangings -- one for Miss T., the elder, and one for Miss T., the younger?

Better?

I must not have been completely satisfied with the last dress block because I kept it out on the dining room table instead of putting it away with the other finished blocks.  As I was getting ready for our Monday quilt guild meeting, I realized that it needed a little extra zip.  I added 3 small red buttons, and I am much more pleased with the result.

What do you think?  Is it better?

Almost done with the next block, too, which I will share with you tomorrow.

It is hot, hot, hot here today.  Summer has finally arrived.  We've had such a mild spring and summer with few days in the upper 90s let along approaching 100.  We've run the air conditioner the last two nights, which we prefer not to do.  But the house is just too uncomfortable for us to sleep well even with the ceiling fan.  Guess we're just wimps!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #11 (Finally)

I've noticed over the last few days that my energy is returning.  Hip, hip hooray!  Life was getting to be a bit boring, I must say.  I think spending the weekend with family celebrating our daughter's 33rd birthday and playing with the three kidlets - who have an endless supply of energy - forced me into recovery mode.  Lunching with some dear friends helped lift my spirits, too.  Or maybe it was just the passage of time.  Today marks four weeks since the surgery.  I am now free to go swimming, have a tub bath, soak in the spa - and remove the last remnants of tape covering my boo-boos.  Normalcy!  Can't be beat.

I finished up another dress block this week.  At a recent quilt show, I purchased two small hand-crocheted red hearts.  I intended to use one of them on the bodice of a dress, but the scale didn't seem right to me.  So, they became pockets.  The mini-rickrack also seemed a better scale.

Four more to go.  I already have an idea for the next dress with a fabric that is not quite pink, but not quite salmon either.

I'm still crazy about the Nook e-reader that Doug bought for me.  I'm halfway through Emma by Jane Austen.  This was my favorite Jane Austen book as a teenager, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it the second time around.  Barnes and Noble sends me an e-mail once a week offering about a half dozen of their classic editions for free download.  So, I loaded Howie (that's the name I gave my Nook - guess why?) with a few of the titles on my "Books I Should Read Before I Die" list:  Women in Love, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Sons and Lovers, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, Three Musketeers, Dracula.

Now the problem is to find time to read all these wonderful classics and still keep up with the bestsellers that I enjoy.  And sew.  And play.  And see the family.  And travel.  And visit with friends.  And sleep.  And blog!

Playtime!

Off to see the family today.  We're doing an early celebration for Doug's birthday - his 65th!  We'll be in Big Bear for his actual birthday, so we're combining a birthday party with some babysitting to help out our daughter next week.  Never miss an opportunity to be with our 3 wonderful grandchildren .... oh .... and, our wonderful daughter, SIL, son, sister, BIL, too.  Truth be told, the kidlets are much more fun!

I've got my fingers crossed that our gardener will visit while we are away and finally put some annuals in the empty space in our backyard.  I am a TERRIBLE gardener.  I have neither talent nor interest in playing around in the dirt, but I do like the yard to look presentable.  I'm going to run out and take a "before" picture in hopes that I'll also be able to share an "after" picture with you next week.

I've had a lot of blog traffic lately, and I can't quite figure out why.  It may be due to some lovely comments about my doll dress blocks.  Love to have readers and love to have comments!  Two more doll dress blocks are on my agenda for next week after we return.  Let's see if I can get them done, or at least one of them, before we take off for Big Bear Lake next Friday.  I'm not planning on taking the Featherweight with me this time since there is so much to do at Big Bear.  Doug likes to keep on the go.

Have a great weekend!  Hope the heat has subsided a bit in the rest of the country.  Southern California has been remarkably cool this spring and early summer.  There is a warming trend on the horizon.  Should be in the 100s soon.  Ugh.  Double ugh.

More projects down .... hip, hip, hooray!

Another successful day finishing up projects that have been on my mind.  Now, if I can just STOP creating more projects for myself .... hmmm.  Not likely, you say?  I'd have to agree with you.

I've had a delightfully pretty summery piece of fabric in my stash since combing through the 42 boxes of projects my MIL left when she died 3 years ago.  She's been on my mind lately as we struggle to get repairs completed on her house in Carlsbad.  Maybe remembering how many hours it took to go through those endless boxes is the impetus to get some of my own UFOs finished!  I don't want my kids (or grandkids) going through stacks and stacks of projects wondering if I was nuts ...

I digress.  This particular fabric really caught my eye and is one of the few pieces that I kept from my MIL's stash.  Granted, it would have made a great little dress for one of the girls with the cute butterflies, but I've been in a "sew-something-for-me" mode the last few weeks.  So, this adorable fabric became a pair of pj bottoms just for me - me - me!  I didn't have quite enough to handle the length I wanted, so I added the border from another small piece in my stash.  Aren't stashes wonderful?  Projects like this help justify keeping all those fabric pieces.

The pattern is McCall's 3370 which also includes a robe, a short version of the pj bottoms, and both a long and short-sleeved top.  I've always wanted satin pjs - maybe this is the way to get them!

A couple of months ago, I showed one of the outfits that I made for Talia to a friend from my quilt guild.  She looked inside the dress and said, "Oh, you didn't finish the seam edges."  Well, that got me thinking again about a serger.  I'm still thinking about it and wrestling with (1) the expense and (2) where the heck to put it. While I ponder whether a serger is a good move or not, I've decided to try to finish my garment sewing projects in a more professional manner.  Even though these are only pj pants, I took the time to overcast the seam edges.  It doesn't look all that great; more research on how to do this properly without a serger is in order.  I used Bernina presser foot 2A with an overcast stitch (#3 on the 640).

Then I embroidered a kitchen towel with a design that I won - yes, won! - last week from a great digitizer, Mary Rease of Rease's Realistic Designs at the OPW mall.  I've purchased several of Mary's sets; they never disappoint.  I'm also a member of her yahoo group.  Last week, Mary sent her group members a picture of a design she was working on and asked us to identify the mistake she had made in digitizing it.  I managed to locate the boo-boo (no easy task), so Mary sent me the design for free.  This lovely appliqué teapot is my prize!  I thought it would look great on a white microfiber towel that I've had for ages just waiting to be embellished.  Fabric from my stash again (whatever was I going to do with this fat quarter?).  Adding the border gives the towel a more finished look, IMO.  I'm thinking this design is perfect for gift-giving especially if I take the time to add some words as well.  Time for tea?  The kettle is on?  Lots of possibilities.

Now it's time to get back to the doll quilt.  Received these two fabrics for the month of June.  June?  YIKES!  Must put the pedal to the metal to get these blocks done before the end of the month.  Hope my creative juices haven't stopped flowing.  I think it's time to bite the bullet and try pintucks.

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #10

I had great plans for this dress but some of them did not turn out exactly as I had hoped.  I love the soft pink fabric with the red roses which went very well with the blue fabric from a previous month.  I've had the strung pearls around for awhile just waiting for the right fabric to show up.  I decided to use the pearls on this block as a necklace.  I planned to couch the pearls, but I couldn't get the Bernina to cooperate with the feet that I own.  I thought my #12 foot would work, but apparently the diameter of the pearls was too large.

Someone on my trusty Bernina yahoo group came through and suggested that I try the 59C or 60C foot.  Another foot (or feet) to put on my "must have" list!

There's always another way to do things, right?  I just took a few hand stitches at the first pearl on either side of the necklace to hold it in place.  I'm a bit concerned how this is going to work when I get to the quilting part - but that's months away!  Lots of time to think about it.

If I'm counting right, we have 5 more blocks for this project.  Hope my creativity holds out!  I still want to try one block with pintucking and I might give ruching a try.  Even though I swore I would not do another apron, I'll have to tackle it if I'm going to make both wallhangings somewhat equal for the girls.

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #9

I'm still working diligently on the doll dresses.  I really do not want to fall behind on this project because I know I will never, ever, ever catch up!  So, here's the latest and greatest from my designer brain.  I do like the contrast between the green floral print (great choice, Ildiko) and the graphic yellow and white.  But what really makes this dress special is the little bug pin!  I found this pin in a new shop in Old Town Temecula called The Wool Lady.  She specializes in hand embroidery, ribbon embroidery, and wonderful yarns and threads, and also has an artist who designs and makes one-of-a-kind ceramic buttons.  When I saw this bee button a couple of weeks ago, I knew it had to be part of the doll dress quilt.  Don't you agree that this is just perfect on the yellow?

I just realized that with the closeup you can see my machine buttonhole stitches.  I'm getting better, don't you think?  Today, I have been working on a birthday project for Jackson, my soon-to-be-three-year-old grandson.  Hmmmmm .... my satin stitch applique is not looking good on his present!  I wish I had started this newest project with the machine buttonhole stitch that (1) I enjoy doing and (2) I seem to do well.  I doubt if Jackson will realize that my satin stitching isn't quite perfect. As long as we have cake and candles and singing and presents, Jackson will have a great time at the party!  I'm not even sure that I'll be able to finish his project before his birthday.  So, it might be a present for his 3rd birthday, or his 4th, or definitely by his 5th!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #8

After a few weeks of tearing my hair out trying to be creative with this project, I've managed to finish 3 blocks in one week!  Whoo hoo!!  I still haven't tackled the one idea that's been rummaging around in my brain - using pintucks down the front of the bodice.  Maybe when I get June's fabric selections I'll finally get over my fear and give it a go.  My hesitance is that I am using the fusible web technique for putting the appliques down and then doing machine blanket stitching.  I'm concerned about what might happen to the pintucks once the dress piece is ironed onto the block background.  I could, of course, do the prudent thing and cut out the center of the fusible so the dress is not actually fused in the midsection where the pintucks would be.  More thought, obviously, is needed here!

I plan to make two wallhangings from these blocks, one for each of my two granddaughters.  I needed another sleeveless dress so that there would be at least one for each quilt.  I might do more in this style depending on the fabric that is yet to come.

One of our local quilt stores is selling off their heirloom fabric and trims; I bought the trim at 30% off.  I don't really know what it is called (heirloom sewing is somewhere in my future - maybe), but I could weave small ribbon through the openings to get this effect.  I found a matching embellishment in my stash of rubber stamping goodies.  Perfect match!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #7

Here's the latest quilt block for the Darci's Dress Up project.  I think I'm running out of ideas!  I did have fun with this one, though.  A few weeks ago, DH and I decided to go on a day trip to Idyllwild, a town in our local mountains.  We spent an hour or two rummaging through an antique store and I picked up an old hankie with a crocheted edge.

I carefully separated the edging from the hankie (I'm keeping the hankie for another block in the quilt - perhaps an embroidered vest or apron?) and then used the edging for the collar and pocket trims on this block.  I was worried the edging would fray, so I satin stitched the crocheted edging to the block.  A friend also suggested an application of Fray Check.  Good suggestion!

I think we are halfway through this project, not counting actually putting the blocks together into some kind of quilt!  My thoughts now are to fashion the blocks into two small wallhangings for each of my granddaughters.  That seems to be a manageable goal and one that will motivate me to actually finish a project from these blocks.

I started the next block.  The fabric is blue and white, a favorite color combination of mine.  My plan is to aim for an heirloom sewing look.  Let's see how I do!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #6

I'm feeling challenged by my fellow quilt guild members who have come up with such adorable and creative dress designs!  I decided to try my hand at a sleeveless version of the dress for this block.  Inspired by one of Martha Pullen's tv shows, I tried my hand at a scalloped border.  It was a bit of a chore to do the machine appliqued blanket stitch on the scallops, but I'm happy with the result.  Not perfect, but what the hey .... it's done and I learned something new.

What do you think?  I'm pretty happy with this one.  A trip to a brand new Michaels store just across the freeway (hallelujah!) yielded the cute little teddy bear charm that I used as a necklace.  The flower trim came from JoAnns.

Whoopee!  I am caught up with the blocks and ready for the April fabric selection!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #5

I really like the way this one came out.  What do you think?

I had the grosgrain ribbon in my stash which matched very well with the fabric.  I used Wonder Tape to fuse the tiny, tiny edging to the back of the ribbon in order to get it placed correctly.  Then I used the Wonder Tape once again to place the ribbon down the center of the dress - edgestitched it all in place on both sides of the ribbon using my favorite Bernina foot, the #10.  (This was all done after the dress body and sleeves were appliqued to the block fabric.)  The decorative stitch on the ribbon is one of the built-in stitches on the Bernina 640.  I should have started the decorative stitch at the very top of the trim; but instead, I decided to do a couple of straight stitches before the first pattern.  After it was done, I didn't like the look so added the pearl button on the top.  I needed this simple dress after the apron fiasco!

Now I have to come up with another idea before the end of this week!  At our Oasis Quilt Guild meeting on Monday, we will be sharing the two dresses we made this month.  Then we get two more pieces of fabric the following week.  Fortunately, I was lucky to purchase a great book on sewing for children, The Complete Book of Sewing For Children, by Elizabeth Travis Johnson.  I will never sew any of these elaborate outfits for my grandchildren, but it is lovely to look at the pictures.  I've garnered a number of ideas for the doll dress quilt, plus it is a fantastic resource.  I find as I age that I want to take the time to do things right - I don't have to rush to finish a project.  I can enjoy the technique and the finishing touches now that time is not of such great importance.  Ah, bliss ....

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #4

Adding the ruffle on the last dress gave me a great feeling of success and accomplishment.  So, what did I then do to myself?  I immediately decided that making an apron would be a cinch and just oh-so-cute.  Others in our group have made aprons and pinafores - even little vests.  How hard could it be?

Not really hard, but not really easy either.  The biggest problem is that it is LITTLE.  This project brought back memories of making doll clothes for my daughter's Barbie 30-some years ago.  It was  difficult enough to do way back then, but now that the arthritis years have set in, working with something this tiny is not a piece of cake.

I can just about guarantee you that this will be the only apron on my quilt!  I think I may even have used the wrong side of the white eyelet fabric, but I'm not taking this baby apart.

The next dress will have simple embellishment.  I need to wait for another burst of energy before getting into something complicated!

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #3

So far, this is my favorite of the dress blocks that I've completed.  I've got the system down for white collars - use fusible interfacing under the fabric then fuse both those pieces to the dress.  There is still a little show through, but not nearly as noticeable as it would be without the interfacing.

I almost gave up on the ruffle!  Getting the steps to the "process" was the hard part for me.  I'm a visual learner, so I often have to actually work through steps before I discover what the problems are!  I'm also a perfectionist (darn) and insist on no unfinished edges.  I cut the ruffle twice as wide as I wanted it to be, folded it in half and ironed it.  In order to finish the short edges of the ruffle, I turned in a very scant 1/4", ironed it flat, then carefully opened up the fold and used fusible tape to secure the ends.  Then I gathered the ruffle and pinned it to the dress, right sides together, exactly as I would if making an actual dress.  (The dress already had the fusible webbing on it, and I had cut out the pattern.)  Then I attached the ruffle to the dress.  Only then did I fuse the dress with ruffle attached to the block fabric.  I used the buttonhole stitch along the purple fabric to applique so that the ruffle remains free from the background fabric.  Gives it a little dimension, I think.

There will be a total of 15 blocks.  I don't know how the heck I'm going to come up with 12 more designs!!!!  By the way, the January/February issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine features a doll dress quilt using pre-printed dress block fabric from Anna Lena.  I may have to adopt some of these embellishment ideas for future blocks.

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #2

One of the more interesting aspects of this project is watching what the other gals in my quilt group are doing.  Most of us have the newer sewing machines/computers with great decorative stitches, so a lot of the dresses showcase these stitches.  Members who love to do hand embroidery are exercising their skills and putting cute little flowers and vines on the collars of the dresses or stitching along the hems.  A few have made vests, aprons, or even purses of their own designs.  We're not ready for Project Runway yet, but we're having fun!

I  had a great time with my next attempt at dress design.  First, I really liked the pink fabric.  Then, one of the ladies brought in scraps from another project and offered them up for grabs.  I think the tiny red flowers go perfectly with the dress fabric.  Adding the red heart buttons gave it an extra splash.  So, I'm feeling more confident as a designer.  My dresses won't be too "cutesy" since that's not my style, but I'm trying to push for creative thinking.

What I really, really like doing is buttonhole appliqué by machine.  It suits me to a "t" - precise, even, controlled.  Makes me sound pretty dull, I know.  Oh, well.  I yam, what I yam, what I yam as Popeye used to say!

The best book I have in my library on machine appliqué is Harriet Hargrave's Mastering Machine Appliqué.  I bought the 2nd edition used, and it was a terrific investment.  I highly recommend this for your library if you are a quilter or even someone who might put a cute appliqué on a child's or grandchild's garment.  There are lots of pictures for all types of appliqué techniques.  The step-by-step instructions for turning corners and curves are invaluable.  It's even spiral bound so that it can sit right next to the sewing machine as you work.  Check it out from your local library to see if it appeals to you.

Darci's Dress Up Quilt - Doll #1

My Oasis Quilt Guild decided to undertake this quilt as our group project for 2010.  I knew from the get-go that this would be a challenge for me.  I follow directions very well.  Creativity and imagination, however, are stretches for me.  But, what the hey?  If I don't stretch myself now, when?  There are only a couple of decades left for me to be stretchy, right?

So I signed up for the project.  We all agreed to use the small scale fabrics that are so popular now.  Each month, two of our members purchase fabric and give pieces to each of the 15 who have signed up for the quilt.  On the month you purchase fabric, you do an extra block to contribute to the quilt that we hope to raffle off at the Temecula Quilt Show in October.  We'll give half the money to charity (as yet to be determined) and keep half for our coffers.

I decided to do the fusible applique method for my quilt.  Just the thought of 15 blocks of needle turn applique made my thumbs start to ache!  Not going to happen.  I have used fusible applique on a couple of small projects successfully.  I wasn't prepared, however, for the challenges of using fusibles on a project that depends on embellishment.  I've spent hours and hours figuring out what goes on first, where to put the fusible, etc., etc., etc.  Not to mention my renewed acquaintance with "unsewing."  Hmmmmm ....

There are several patterns on the market for doll dress quilts; I chose the Darci's Dress Up pattern from Quilted Quickies.  Here's Dress #1:

The pattern has 3 applique pieces available:  the body of the dress, the sleeves, and a collar.  I actually made the dress for the group quilt first and had a bit of a problem with "show through" on the collar.  (Forgot to take a picture of that one.) I've since learned to use a fusible interfacing on light-colored fabric to prevent show through.

I decided to go without the collar for this dress.  I like the bows on the sleeves, but I'm not too happy with the rick rack.  Others in my group have used the baby rick rack which seems more appropriate in scale.  And the clear buttons don't show up too well.  But the dress is done, I learned a lot, and I'm keeping it!

By the way, I love doing the buttonhole applique stitch on the Bernina.  This dress was finished before the Bernina went in for her repairs.  I had played around until I had the stitch specifications exactly perfect for this project and saved the stitch to my personal program - the one that got completely wiped out by the replacement of the S board!

If you want to see some really cute doll dress creations, take a look at the Freckleberry Farm website.  You'll be awed!