Tag Archives: moda

Springfield Tank

Cashmerette has a new pattern out – the Springfield Top. It’s a woven tank pattern with options for a closer fitting princess seamed back or a looser back version.  I’ve been wanting some sleeveless tops to wear to work so I bought it as soon as I got the email.  This pattern got printed and assembled right away – I love trimless patterns! Then I just had to find some fabric.

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This pattern requires 2 yards + of fabric if you’re using 44″. That seems like a lot for a tank top.  Most of my stashed fabrics for tops are 1.5 yards and the rest are 3 yards for dresses. I ended up biting the bullet and pulling this Moda lawn I had purchased in January 2015. I figured if I was really going to make a dress out of it I would have done it by now!

I opted not to cut the bias binding for the neckline and armholes and use premade bias tape. Luckily earlier that day I had scored a massive bag of bias tape and seam binding at an estate sale for $4.  By not using my fabric for the bias tape, I managed to get this cut out of around 1.5 yards of fabric! So there is hope for using this for some of my stashed top fabrics.

I opted for the looser version and it went together very quickly.  I had some issues with my neckline sticking out but judicious ironing and clapper application got it to settle down. The only issue I had with the pattern is some gaping in the back neckline. I asked Jenny if this was intentional since I noticed the same thing in some of her own Springfield photos. She replied back that this pattern includes a forward shoulder adjustment and if you didn’t need it then your back might gape. Bingo!  If I slouch my shoulders forward then it sits flat. So I just need to remember to make this adjustment to the pattern. Who knew having good posture would cause such problems! 🙂

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My gripe is that $14 seems a little pricey for such a basic digital pattern. The version I made was literally 3 pattern pieces and could have been 2.  I get that Big 4 companies charge the same for every pattern, but that doesn’t matter when I can get them for $2. I would really like to see independent pattern makers adjust their pricing models to reflect the effort that went into creating a pattern.

Chevron Baby Quilt

Since everyone is having babies these days I’m making lots of quilts! I made this quilt for one of my besties who lives in Germany. I wanted to get it done before Christmas so I could pass it along to her mother to deliver it for me. The last quilt I had to ship to Europe cost $50 to mail!

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Almost done hand sewing the binding on!

Making a chevron quilt has been on my to do list for awhile and I really like the ones with white stripes. So all I had to do was find some fabric. Since I’m lazy I went for a charm pack.  I knew it was a boy but I dislike things that very gender specific, so I ended up buying The Boat House by Sweetwater for Moda. I needed 2 charm packs because the chevron blocks required 2 squares. I was also super lazy and got a Kona white charm block.  Yay for precuts!

Chevron blocks are super easy to make. It’s just a bunch of half-square triangles. Although if I made another I’d definitely invest in one of these nifty Half Square Triangle Rulers, that my sister Natalie only told me about when I was almost done.

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Magi says “I’m not sure this navy polka dot block should go here.”

For my block layout I was trying to get an ombre effect as from red to navy.  My cat Magi was super helpful in figuring this out.

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Is it too late to shorten my last name to Vosky?

One of my special touches on my baby quilts is a hand embroidered quilt label that I sew into the corner of the quilt backing. Whenever I do one of these I wish my last name wasn’t 11 characters long. 🙂

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I totally forget what the name of this fabric is, but the lady at Modern Domestic was brilliant in suggesting this. I had something totally different in mind when she pulled this one out and I instantly knew it was perfect. The design and colors totally complement the quilt front. I forget your name but thanks!

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My other cat, Cleo, was also very helpful in the making of this quilt. Her she’s keeping my lap warm while I hand sew the binding. On a side note, Cleo loves hanging out under blankets. Every morning she greets me by trying snuggle up under the comforter. It’s adorable.

Jelly Roll Baby Quilt

I guess it’s become my thing to make baby quilts when my close friends have their first baby. I mean I’ve done it twice now, so that makes it a thing. Right? I was originally going to make a cut chenille blanket but last minute I changed my mind which left me with not a lot of time to complete it. I asked Natalie for some ideas and she suggested a jelly roll quilt.

I looked it up and found the perfect pattern from Fat Quarter Shop called the Jelly Roll Jam. I’ve only made one quilt before so I didn’t want to do anything to crazy.  I found watching their Youtube video on making this quilt to be a little more helpful than the written pattern.

Now I could focus on finding really awesome fabric. I ended up buying Bluebird Park by Kate & Birdie from Moda Fabrics. What really got me were these adorable hedgehogs.

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Here is the finished quilt.  Basically to make it you assemble 3 sets of 6 strips. Then you cut them up to make 9 different blocks. It’s very straightforward.  Since you only use 18 strips that means you have a enough for a scrappy binding and a second quilt!

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One thing I wish I had done on my first quilt was to make a cooler quilt back.  So on this one I saved all my strip scraps and did a stripe down the back.  Natalie gave me some great suggestions on how to get it centered. Then of course I had to to make my quilt sandwich and do the quilting. I tried 2 new things on this quilt – spray basting and quilting gloves.  The spray basting was awesome, but I’m not sure the gloves made much of a difference.

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It took me awhile to figure out what quilting design I wanted to use, but in the end I went with the figure 8 loops. I used my chalko pen to draw guide lines so the rows would be relatively even and then I went at it.  Not sure what I did differently this time but I didn’t break a single needle! It’s not the greatest quilting in the world but it looks nice enough!

Natalie also told I should make a quilt label. This was totally not on my radar but her reasoning made sense – many quilts become family heirlooms and 20 years from now no one may remember who made it or why they made it.

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