Cozy Sweater Coat for Sew News

With all the holiday preparations it is always nice to do a little something nice for yourself!  How about sewing a stylish sweater coat for yourself?!  This Cozy Sweater coat is an easy sewing project,  and it is a great project if you are new to garment sewing.

 I created this wool blend sweater coat for the new issue of Sew News magazine.  It is incredibly easy to make and is versatile and flattering. I used a wool and rayon blend boucle that I found at my local fabric shop.

 It is also lovely made up in an interlock knit.  I made the first sample or fitting garment ("muslin") from a rayon blend interlock knit.  It is always a good idea to make a fitting garment before using the final fabric.  When I made the muslin, I ended up grading it down to a size Medium since it was fitting a size Large. 

Also, make sure that the knit you use does not ravel or fray as all the edges are raw or unfinished.

I added a roll line dart where the collar folds back.  This is a technique I learned in design school which is used for tailored jackets.  It creates a nice soft neckline edge that hugs the body.

The Winter Sew News issue is packed with wonderful projects and tips.

 I love the 10 easy holiday gifts.....

and this adorable dress by Beth Bradley.

I'm doing more "de-stashing"!  Head over to my Etsy shop to find some Pezzy prints, fabric packs and some rare Munki fabrics!  I'm purging the fabric stash and will be listing new fabrics over the next few weeks.

I hope you find some time to do some sewing for yourself : )

xo

Charise

The Secret Drawer

I just received and email from a reader who asked "did you ditch the vintage block quilt along"?

I assured her I did not : )  I wanted to share that with you and apologize for the delay.  I've been working on a few paid projects as well as just taking a breather.  The Super Online Sewing Match was exhausting, and really made me think about what I want to spend my time on creatively besides spending time with my boys - big and little. 

 

Progress has been made on the next block for the Vintage Block Quilt Along. I'm going to share "The Secret Drawer" from the Kansas City Star circa 1930.    I spent time this week figuring out the pattern and picking fabrics - love picking fabrics : ) and  (drumroll please)  There are Y seams!

Stay tuned - I am shooting for the week of Thanksgiving at the latest to finish the block, pattern and tute.

Love this version in the Japanese Book - My Favorite patterns 163.

I got mine on Etsy : )

 

Have a lovely night!

 

xo

Charise

Quilty Fun

Lori Holt is an uber talented fabric and pattern designer.  She has just published a quilting book with The Fat Quarter Shop - "Quilty Fun". 

I was very excited to be invited to join her blog hop - quilt along!

 

Every week the Fat Quarter shop will be sharing instructions for the block of the week.

Follow this link for the instructions and blogger of the week.

 

 

 

At the end on the quilt along, Lori will share how to put the quilt together complete with that adorable border!

 

My week is not until the beginning of 2014 but I've decided to sew along with Lori!

 I used some of my favorite fabrics including a fabric from Lori's Bake Sale line for the top left apple.

You can find the fabric at the Fat Quarter shop here! 

 

I hope you will quilt along!!!

 

xo

Charise

Fresh Sewing Day

  

 

 I'm linking up over at Lily's Quilt for Fresh sewing day!  I haven't done this in a few months.  It is always fun to see what I've made the month before and feel proud of accomplishments : )

 

 

The Strawberry pincushion swap was tons of fun and I made a few new items!

I'll be making some strawberries for Christmas gifts.

 

Stitch Winter 2013 has a few projects I designed!

 

My last bee block is finished.  Looking forward to starting up again in the new year with the Cocorico Bee!

 

Happy Sewing

xo

Charise

Mini Cottages

My involvelment in online sewing bees has declined a lot this year.  I love them but I just haven't had the time to devote to very many.  I did decide to join the "Trim The Tree Handmade Ornament Swap" - it is a fun one and gets me in the spirit of sewing for Christmas. I made house ornaments that are paper pieced with fussy cut windows and doors.

 

Every year I plan on finishing patterns for the holidays and this year I have the "Mini Cottages" pattern available in my Etsy and Craftsy shops. 

They make great ornaments but can also be used as sachets!  I included full instructions for paper piecing the houses as well as sewing them together. 

 

There are three in total:

The Cozy Cottage

 

 

The Sweet Cottage

 

 

and last but not least........The Petite Cottage : )

 

Hoping you had a fun Halloween!

 

xo

Charise

 

Sunday Stash

  On a recent trip to Ikea I purchased a pretty little "Isala" cabinet for fabric storage.  My current method is to store my fabrics in plastic bins by color.  This works great but makes it hard to find the exact fabric I am looking for.  I wasn't sure how I would store my stash in the new cabinet until I saw a pic of Angela's stash on instagram.  She uses comic book backer boards to make mini bolts and has a tutorial here. 

My hope is that this new method of storing fabric will cut down on the amount of time spent picking fabric for projects since most of my stash will be in one space - like a mini fabric store : )

 

 

I'm planning on making some large berry baskets for storing the stacks of fat quarters.

Anna's Fab tutorial for making the baskets can be found here.

This is by far my favorite shelf - I love red and pink together!

 

 

 

Sewing has been happening at the Randell House!  I've been working on "petite cottages" for the handmade ornament swap group on Flickr.  I have designed two more houses and will have them available as a PDF pattern soon.  They make fun ornaments and you can also make sachets for gifts any time of year!

 

 

 

And last, a pic of my boys with their new camouflage caps, part of their costume for Halloween!

 

Happy Sewing!

xo

Charise

 

 

 

Quilted Winter Purse, Stitch Winter '13

 

 

There is a chill in the air here in the Pacific NW.  I can't believe it is already mid October!  I've started thinking about Christmas sewing and hand made gifts.

Stitch magazine's Winter issue has been out about a week now and I have one more wintery project in the issue. 
This project would be a perfect hand made gift as well as the tea time coasters from this issue!

 

 

Each side has a large pocket that is made from strips of some of my favorite aqua fabrics. 
I have some info about them here.

I used a large vintage mother of pearl button and self fabric loop for the closure.  A self fabric covered button would also work well!

Enjoy your day!
Happy Sewing
xo
Charise

Strawberry Pouches

[Fabric: Lecien Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan]

I had a fun sewing day yesterday after being terribly sick for three days.  A girl knows she is really sick when she feels too horrible to sew : )  I missed the last (most likely) couple days of glorious weather in Seattle, but I am thankful to have a wonderful hubs who took care of the kids most of the time I was feeling bad!

[Fabric ~ Border - Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan for Lecien, Center - Vintage Scrap]

Inspired by the wonderful Strawberry Pincushion Swap hosted by Erin, I made these fun pouches from a pattern I designed for Stitch Gifts 2012.  It is an easy fun project and makes a perfect gift.  Not to freak you out, but Christmas is just under 3 months away!

[Fabrics ~ Border-Lecien "Broderie" by Rosalie Quinlan, Center fabric Atsuko Matsuyama]

 

 

This pouch has the addition of a "Fruits" patch and little flower with embroidery.

I found the zipper pulls at my local bead shop.  I used split jump rings to attach them to the zipper. 

 I also found these cute enamelled apple charms - I think an apple pouch is in my future : )

 

Happy Sewing

xo

Charise

Party Dress

As of today I am caught up on All of my bee blocks.  This one is for Penny in the Ringo Pie Bee.

Penny requested garments and the like and I had already designed this 1950's party dress!

It is definitely similare to my vintage dresses pattern but a little more complicated.

Vintage Dress from Hemlock Vintage Clothing

It is inspired by this vintage dress I found on pinterest.

Making dresses in miniature is so much fun and I have more in the works.

 

Have a lovely day!

xo

Charise

Tea Time Coasters - Stitch Winter '13

I love this time of year. The weather is starting to cool, a chill is in the air and I look forward to spending many a day inside sewing! I designed this project for Stitch Winter ' 13 with Fall and Winter in mind. These Tea cup coasters combine my passion for paper piecing and scrappy quilting projects.

Scrappy patchwork projects are so fun and a great way to use favorite scraps!

I combined some of my favorite fabrics from Suzuko koseki - Picture window, Francophile stripe, Marguerite Daisy and Newspaper Text print.  You can find the first two prints at sew me a song. 

 I also used some of my favorite stash fabrics - Moda 1974, Moda Sweet and Whitewash from Lecien.

 

Happy Sewing

xo

Charise

Berries in a Basket

I haven't done an online swap in ages.  When Erin asked me to join her strawberry pin cushion swap I knew it would be the perfect one.  I purchased this pattern for the strawberries and was led to this adorable version for the flower tops from this website.  I used wool felt for the flowers and adorned the center with french knots.  Seed beads would be adorable as well!
If you don't want to buy a pattern I found some great tutes to make strawberry pincushions and sachets.    Down Grapevine Lane has a fab pattern HERE

The strawberry cap is make from two layers of fabric that I fused together using Pellon Wonder Under.  I then cut our the shape and glued it to the top with fabric glue. You can also add a slip stitch or blanket stitch around the edges.

The basket is from Anna at  Noodlehead and is a wonderful and easy project!  I'm going to make a bunch for fat quarters and "works in progress" for my sewing table! 

 

 

 

The strawberries and the baskets are fun, addictive projects and I can't wait to make more!

 

 

xo

Charise

 

Destashing and Sample Sale

I love to make things and collect fabric : )
My space is small and a girl can only sew so many things and carry so many purses so I've decided to do some destashing in my shop!

I have listed some fabric bundles and am in the process of listing some handmade goodies.
You can take a peek here.  : )

Have a lovely evening!
xo
Charise

Quilt Essential

 I was thrilled when Erin Harris asked if it would be OK to include my tulip paper piecing block in her new book, Quilt Essential!  Her blog, House on Hill Road is one of the first blogs I read and it is still one of my favorites!

It is a wonderful resource for new and more advanced quilters!  The book is well organized and is as lovely inside as it is on the outside!

I'm headed to Orcas Island for the last vacation of the season!  Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Vintage Block Quilt Along - Bluebell #8

Thank you for being so patient for the next block in the Vintage Block Quilt Along.  I'm way behind but I promise there will be 12 patterns total!!!

I was acceped as a contestant for "Sew Mama Sew" - The Super Online Sewing Match and I've made it to the final round, so I've been busy with that!  It has also been an incredible summer here in Seattle so the boys and I have been exploring our beautiful city and surroundings as much as possible!

The pattern I'm sharing is a Kansas City Star Pattern ~ " Blue Bell ".  The first page is the block layout with the sections marked for reference.  The second and third pages have the pattern templates and the fourth page contains the optional "window box" center square pattern.

The pattern can be found [HERE]

Materials:

8 different F8 printed quilting cottons or large scraps 

 1 - 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square or see the pattern for the inside square I used for my block

1 FQ background fabric

Thread

Rotary Cutting supplies

Spray Starch - so helpful to get out the creases on curved seams!!!

Note:  All seams are 1/4"

1. Cut

4 each pattern piece.  Accurate cutting is important!!!

1 - 4 1/2"  x 4 1/2' square for center - or various scraps to create the "Window Box" center square.

Window box pattern is page 4 of the PDF pattern.  It is a foundation paper piecing pattern.  

**Note - I marked each background piece with the Letter and the outside edge***

2. Arrange the pieces as you want your block to be.  *Pls note, the center was left empty because I wasn't sure how I would fill it when this picture was taken.  The original pattern shows a single printed square.*

3.  Divide the larger block into 9 - 4 1/2" block.

4.  Creating The Leaf Sections.

Stitch D to E. 

Fold each seam in half and find center, finger crease.  Pin in center and edges.  Stitch on the inside curved edge - in this case - D.

5.

Stitch F to D/E.

Fold E in half and crease to mark.  Fold D and F in half and crease to mark.

6. Pin D to F at the center and each end taking into account your 1/4" seam allowance.

Stitch on the curved inside edge - piece F.

7. Create the flower blocks.

Stitch B to C, folding each seam in half (see step 5).  Pin at center and edges taking into account the 1/4" seam allowance.  Attach A to B/C.

Complete by stitching both sides of the flower together matching seams.

8. Creating the Window Box center square - optional.

Refer to the pattern on page 4.  Foundation paper piece the square or cut each template and add 1/4" seam allowance.

9.  Finishing the block

- Stitch the top row of three blocks together matching and pinning seams.  Repeat for the center and bottom rows.

- Stitch the top row to the center row.  Stitch the top and center rows to the bottom row.

Congratulations - You have completed Block #8 in the Vintage Block Quilt Along!!!

If you have any questions, Please leave a comment and I will respong on the comments page : )