The Woes of the Washi Dress

I purchased the Washi Dress by Made by Rae probably two years ago.  I procrastinated because I thought it might be above my skill level.  I had some confidence making the Isla Top recently so I decided to jump in.  Didn't take long for my confidence to disappear.  This is a great pattern; however, I had difficulties from beginning to end.

I had trouble cutting the pieces and marking all the sewing guides.  Do you mark on the right side of the fabric?  Or the wrong side?  I think I marked everything correctly.

As I began to sew, I realized that perhaps I didn't make the best choice of fabric.  Oh well, too late to turn back now.  The darts seemed easy enough to sew; however, they don't lie flat.  Quite unfortunate since they are right at the bust.

I had trouble with the shirring at the back.  I've used elastic thread in the Isla Top, but I suspect it didn't like this fabric, even though I increased my stitch length.  But I got the pleats right!

I marked the lines for the keyhole neck, but decided not to in the end.  But sadly, the disappearing blue pen I used didn't disappear.  And then I got lipstick on the neck line when I tried it on.  Sigh....and then realized the dress was too snug in the bust.  So at this point, it was hard to continue knowing that I'll never wear this dress.

I choose to top stitch the front and back facings.  Too obvious with this fabric.  When I got to the armholes, I didn't have it in me to make bias binding, so I skipped that and just folded over the edge.  None of the seams are finished inside, so what's one more.  LOL

Here's me holding my breath, hoping I don't pop any seams.  I'd like to make this dress again with a different fabric.  But I need to wait a long time so I can forgot all about today's troubles.

This is one of my Finish Along 2017 Q3 goals.

If you have a finish this week, consider linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday @ Kathy's Kwilts and More

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hand Quilts 

TGIFF - Zip Up Tray Pouch

A small finish that has taken me weeks to finish.  And what I thought were a few quick steps today, turned into hand sewing the binding.  😒  Guess I should read the entire pattern before starting.

Here is my version of the Zip Up Tray Pouch by Comfort Stitching.

I had to use a 9-inch zipper as you can't buy 10-inch zippers here.  It's too costly with shipping and possible duty charges to order from the United States.  The shorter length works, but it's not perfect.  Kona Prussian for the binding.

I'm not sure what it's final purpose will be, but right now, it's filled with some EPP that has been sitting on my coffee table for weeks.  The messy pile looks so much better now.

I'm calling this a bag and linking up with Bag It 2017 hosted by Elm Street Quilts.

If you have a finish this week, consider linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday @ Kathy's Kwilts and More
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hand Quilts 

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation 

Review of Paperless Post Invitations

In partnership with Anagram Interactive, I was given an opportunity to do a review for Paperless Post.  I was given free coins to play around the site and to provide a review.  Please note that this is my honest review based on my experience.

There are many, many invitations that you can send for free through Paperless Post.  Some of the free invitations do have options that have a fee (such as an envelope).  And there are also some invitations that have a fee to send.

Let me start by saying that I did not bother to read the Getting Started Step-By-Step tutorial -- I just wanted to jump right in and get started.  How hard could it be? 😉  I created a draft but then I couldn't find it.  But if I had just taken the time to read or think (clearly patience is not one of my virtues), I would have found it in my Dashboard.  Even drafts that you delete stay in your Trash folder until you permanently delete them.  Very helpful.

Once you chose one of the many, many options, you can customize the text, the font -- the possibilities are endless.

Here's the invite for our staff Halloween breakfast.

I wanted to play with all the features, so I included an envelope, which cost 2 coins per envelope.  I did not include a customized stamp.

You can type in the e-mail addresses for invitees, or you can upload, or copy and paste.  I went out on faith:  I created an e-mail and included all the invitees from our Address Book in the To line.  I copied from the To line and pasted into the guest list.  Lo and behold, it worked!!  I will note though, that if your Address Book lists people as lastname, firstname, their invitation will be addressed accordingly.  I did discover after the fact that I could have changed that in my guest list.  I'll remember that next time.  I also forgot to include a few people.  It was easy to update my guest list and send out the additional invitations.

Before you send your invitation, you can preview it.  And make changes.  And preview.  And make more changes.  And there is an option to send yourself a test invitation.  I believe you can only do this once, but it's helpful to see what your guests are actually receiving.  As I was customizing my invitation, I kept wondering, how would it look.  The preview is helpful, but I wanted to see it in real time.

If you choose an envelope, the front of the envelope appears in the body of the e-mail the invitee receives.  There is a box that says:  View the Card.   You then see the back of the envelope, with the invitation poking out.  And then the invitation pops out of the envelope and displays on the screen.  Guests can choose to accept or decline.  They can also see the guest list.

As the sender, I received an e-mail confirming that the invitation had been sent out.  One thing I did like was that I did not get an e-mail with each reply.  Instead, you log in to your Dashboard to view the invitation to see all the responses.

I have to say I am very excited about Paperless Post, and I can't wait to design the invitation to my 50th birthday party.  But maybe I'll wait until the new year -- 10 months out is probably a bit too early to sent invitations.  😃

I encourage you to head over to Paperless Post to take a look.  There are also greeting cards, thank you cards, and stationery.  Have fun.

TGIFF - Finally Finished

This quilt has been in progress since March.  Thankfully, the customer didn't need it finished quickly.  It feels good to have a finish.

This is my third finish for Finish Along 2017 Q3.  I posted my Q3 goals here.  I only have one more week to finish the last project.  I have high hopes of finishing in time, but I'm not holding my breath.  😊

I haven't been blogging much (or staying on top of blog reading) because of a busy work schedule.  But I have been quietly and slowly sewing in the background.

The first two times I made this quilt, I quilted straight lines on either side of all seams.  No time for that much work, so organic wavy lines in grey thread.

I used the following Kona colours: Cactus, Carrot, White, Daffodil, Chartreuse, Iron, Malibu, Jamaica, Deep Blue, and Black.  I ♥ Kona.

If you have a finish this week, consider linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday @ Slice of Pi Quilts
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hand Quilts 

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation 

Friday Finish - One Quilt Becomes Two

I'll be teaching two classes this fall at my LQS.  The plus quilt is a repeat class, so I already had a sample.  But I didn't have a sample of the jelly roll race quilt.  I wanted to make the sample with strips I had in my stash, but I only had 27 strips of blue, and I didn't want to cut into any yardage.  In my mind, the math worked.  Note to self:  write math down -- don't do it in your head.   LOL  As I was about to do the last seam, I realized that I was going to up end up with a quilt approximately 34 x 72 inches.  Well, that's not going to work.  So I cut it in half, and voila, two baby quilts, 33 x 35 inches each.  It's not a perfect class sample, but I think it gives people an idea of the technique.

Organic wavy lines in grey thread.  Grey because it was threaded in the machine, with a full bobbin.  😊

A colourful backing, with an orange striped binding.

I follow this tutorial by Quilts + Colour.  I use 2.5-inch accent squares rather than a 2.5 x 4.5 inch rectangle.

The above photos were taken late this afternoon.  I finished quilting the other one tonight, but by 8:00 p.m., it was too dark for photos.  Basement photos are blah.  I'll have to take better photos tomorrow.

**Photos have been updated.

An all-over stipple with orange thread.  This one has orange minky fabric on the back.

I am not ready for summer to be over...lights are needed in the house by 7:30 p.m., and the temperature drops quite considerably in the evening.


If you have a finish this week, consider linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hand Quilts 

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation 

** Monday is All-You-Can Watch Day on Craftsy.  You can enjoy 1,200+ Craftsy classes for free all day Monday.  If you're not registered with Craftsy, do it now so you can enjoy classes on Monday.