On May

May was catch-up month! I finished a quilt, did a little selfish sewing (see photos of my new dress and tank top at the end of this post), and then STOPPED starting new projects.

Sometimes I can get caught up with all the pretty new fabric available, and I can’t help starting lots of different projects. In June, I hope to keep my fabric buying to a minimum, and work on what I’ve already started. My goal is to finish John’s quilt. I love, love, love, this quilt and I get distracted too easily if I have other sewing projects calling my name.

Today I’ve spent a little time cleaning up my sewing area, getting my notions organized, and admiring my empty design wall.

On paper/On the design wall/On the machine:

Nothing. And it feels good.

On the hoop:

John’s quilt!

All finished:

My tile-inspired quilt is all done.

This is the original inspiration photo, of a tile wall in Brazil.

The front of the finished quilt. It’s 40 inches square, the perfect size for a lap quilt or baby quilt.

I used my domestic machine to straight-line quilt this one. Some of the lines run perpendicular to each other, and some run across the quilt diagonally. The quilting mimics the simple triangle and rectangle shapes of the blocks.

I love the bright, colorful, geometric fabric used for the back and the binding.

I think this quilt may end up on my Etsy shop soon!

I also dabbled in some garment making, and finished two new items to add to my wardrobe.

First up, the tank top. This is the Wiksten Tank pattern by Jenny Gordy. I purchased the downloadable PDF and printed it out at home. This was my first time making a shirt, so it took me a little while to figure everything out. I may have been a little slow, but the pattern is very well written, and the instructions were great. I definitely learned some new skills, like how to make French seams! The gray fabric is something I already had on hand, cheap stuff from Hobby Lobby. It’s a really good idea to use inexpensive fabric like this to practice on during your first attempts at garment sewing.

Next up is the dress version of the Wiksten Tank. I used Cotton and Steel double gauze fabric for this one, and it is soooo soft and cuddly. It’s the most comfy dress I’ve worn in a while. And the best part? I freakin’ made it! I can see myself making many more dresses and tanks from this pattern.