Sewing Updates and More.

Where have I been!? Well, nowhere really. I'm just amazed how fast time has flown by recently! So since my very ambitious list of '2014 sewing goals' in my previous post, I've not really done that much :-/

Ok, I've done a little bit! ;-) 

I've been making a flurry of farmer's wife quilt blocks and had so much fun with them! I've noticed when I've pulled all my blocks together they all look very bright and 'pretty' so I wanted to tone it down a bit with some more muted tones, so that's what I've done with these blocks. In my next post I'll lay them all out for a progress report. Until recently I used to just make random blocks from the book I fancied making at that particular time, now I've got a little more strict so I'm working on them in order - which is sooo much easier! I have no idea why I didn't think of doing this before?

I think this is my new favourite; #26 Cut Glass Dish. The yellow fabric is a vintage piece from my stash, I have the tiniest amount so it was perfect for a bit of fussy cutting to use in my FWQ. The small floral is a Liberty Tana Lawn which is another stash favourite, and the cream background is the Le Creme Swiss Dot. 

So what else have I been up to? Oh, I left the sewing room, as I occasionally do ;-) and took a lovely walk around the coast where we live. The photo above is walking from Porthcurno, overlooking Logans Rock in Cornwall. 

AND … my fiancé Robin and I have finally made a decision and booked our wedding, we're eloping in Maui this October - I cannot wait!!!!! We got engaged in October 2012 (can't remember if I mentioned that on the blog here?) so I'm excited things are getting sorted! :-) and of course I already have grand plans for lots of dressmaking for the holiday! Let's see how I get on… Hope you all had a good month. xo

Sewing Goals 2014

Now you could say I'm a little late in the year to be planning my sewing goals for 2014, it is April after all! Your right, but I thought it's better late than never. Also I've never actually done this before! I think partly because I never really feel confident enough to write it down as then I start to feel the pressure if I don't complete it? Silly I know. Hopefully this year will mark a change, as I've been quite pro-active so far in getting things done. So now a goal list doesn't seem to be quite as daunting because I can already tick off a couple of things ;-)

Garment Sewing

I think first and foremost, I would love to do more garment sewing this year. I made two dresses and a pair of trousers at the end of last year (which I will have to showcase on the blog soon, once I've plucked up the courage to photograph myself in them!). It's an area I don't feel very comfortable in, skills wise - but I want to learn!

- Kanerva button back shirt by Named

- Butterick 8949 shirt (vintage pattern)

- Butterick B5601 dress 

- Butterick 5644 skirt (vintage pattern)

- Improve seam finish skills

Quilting

I don't want to set myself too many wild quilting plans this year, instead I would like to focus on finishing some WIP's. Once I've got some of those done I crack on with some new projects. 

- Mini quilts for the sewing room

- Finish St. Louis 16 patch

- String block mini quilt

- Round & Round mini quilt, by Thimbleblossoms

- Work on EPP double wedding ring quilt

- Finish farmer's wife quilt top?

- Practice free motion quilting / finish one quilt using FMQ

- Finish #scrappyirishchain quilt (send to quilter)

- Finish Moda Alphabet quilt

- Navy/white solid quilt

- Finish EPP diamond quilt
- Button Up, by Cluck Cluck Sew

General Sewing

Now that I have been bitten by the bag bug, I thought I would include some more making this year! I'd also like to draft a pattern for this amazing bag I stumbled across on Pinterest, as I've not come across a pattern like it? Isn't it perfect?

- 'Madras' tote bag by Noodlehead

- Cargo Duffle bag No.1 (weekender use) by Noodlehead

- Cargo Duffle bag No.2 (beach bag use) by Noodlehead

- Large zip storage bags for bedlinen

- Peg bag

- Ironing board cover for sewing room

So, just a few things to be getting on with! Oh, and I haven't included handmade gifts or the occasional commissioned project I get, it's only my personal sewing and craft goals. I plan to re-visit this at the start next year to see how I get on. Have you made a goal list this year? Do you find it helps you to stay on track and get things done?

St Louis 16 Patch Quilt - For Sale

I've just finished up a loooong overdue work in progress, the St. Louis 16 Patch - remember that? The finished quilt top has been hanging over my door in the sewing room taunting me to finish for so long! I was getting a little anxious having this and three other unfinished quilt tops on the go at once I had an urge to get this done and dusted. It feels great to get it ticked off my list now. 

The finished top. Unfortunately my very tall photographing partner wasn't available for today's finished quilt photoshoot ;-)

This is my first quilt I'm offering to sell! So I'm hoping one of my lovely readers will find it a perfect new home. It's backed in the most perfect red cherry print by Pam Kitty Picnic, which might be my new favourite backing fabric now. I chose a red and white stripe for the binding, which is always such a classic and it's quilted in simple straight lines on either side of every seam. 

St Louis 16 Patch Quilt, Pattern by Sew With Sass

Fabrics used: Mostly a mix of Pam Kitty Love and Happy Go Lucky from Sew and Quilt

Measures: 81" x 67" 

Drop me an email to: hello@messyjesse.co.uk if you are interested in purchasing, thanks so much. xo