Sweet Dreams are Made of These

I've seen a lot of great embroidery and needlepoint projects on various websites recently.  It seems like a skill in line with sewing, and I thought it would be a great addition to some of my quilting, so I thought I would give it a try.  I purchased Craftsy class Design It, Stitch It Hand Embroidery.  It was an easy and clear tutorial.  For practice, instead of doing random lines I dove right into a project (of course!).

Our niece was baptized in April, and I wasn't sure what kind of gift to give her.  I thought a handmade memory would be best, so I made a pillow with a quilted front, a monogram on the back, and embroidered the back with all the pertinent details of the day.  

For the cross quilted front piece, I used Michael Miller's Sommer Garden Bloom and a baptist fan free-motion design.  I enjoyed mixing the textures of satin and cotton.

For the back, I used an upholstery grade satin fabric, the same cotton for the monogram, and a variegated embroidery silk in monochrome colors.  

I have never done a zippered pillowcase, and I was very pleased how this turned out, and very proud of myself on the zipper.  I did a gathered, rounded corner, ruffle around the outside.

All the Pretty Little Dresses

One of my most popular early items were dresses, which was, somehow, unexpected for me.  I had three orders in a large spectrum of sizes.  All of the dresses were in my favorite dress pattern - Georgia Vintage Dress by The Cottage Mama - and all the clients opted for single skirt without a bib as opposed to a double skirt with piped bib front.

The first was to attend a christening.  Fabric was Forget Me Not in Blue Jay by Hawthorne Threads.

And my gorgeous model wearing her dress.

Then, there was a dress for another cutie.  I loved the combination of the Michael Miller Eiffel Tower fabric in red and the black buttons.

And another beautiful model!

My final order was a Christmas dress in Hawthorne Threads Reindeer Stripe in Red complemented by Snowflakes in Neutral with snowflake buttons on the back.  I can't wait to see a pic of this little angel wearing her custom dress.

Baby, You're a Firework

I love the 4th of July.  I even got married on the 4th of July.  I love BBQs, fireworks, and red, white, & blue.  I do, however, sometimes find the readily available stuff a little too patriotic (read: fly print everywhere).  I wanted to make my daughter something cute for the 4th, so I went back to an old favorite, Peek-a-boo Pattern's Sugar & Spice dress pattern that I used for a St. Patty's dress one year.

The main fabric is from Riley Blake's Parade on Main line.  I liked how it evoked a sense of small-town nostalgia as well as being adorable.

The result:

And Bloomers Too!

Another thing a customer asked was if I could make bloomers.  I had never thought to try before, and I don't know why because they were so easy and fun to make.

I used this super-cute cactus fabric from Hawthorne Threads.

Can be made with an elasticized leg (as shown) or straight leg (like shorts).  Available in sizes up to 10.  Now for sale for $25.

Introducing Skirts!

So far, I have been surprised to discover, that custom clothes are more popular than quilts.  I only had one quilt order, while I've had orders for 4 dresses and 3 skirts.  I had never done skirts before until a customer asked me if I could.  I've done dresses, which, in my mind, are more difficult, so I said "sure!" and went on to figure out what kinds of skirts I could make.

I finally settled on the Euro Ruffle Skirt by tiedyediva and the Madalyn Skirt by ViolaLeePatterns.  They are both super cute patterns and easy to create.

Here is an example of the Euro Ruffle Skirt.  I love the fun fabric - Michael Miller Groovy Guitars - this customer selected and complemented with a pink ruffle.

The Madalyn Skirt is equally cute, if not a bit dressier.  It can be made with a bow at the waist or without.  I did a set of two for a friend's daughters to wear for Christmas.  She selected Michael Miller Nordic Holiday and complemented it with Kona Tomato

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It's a Boy!

My first quilt order was for a friend expecting a little boy.  She liked the disappearing nine-patch pattern and said her preferred colors were blues and greens with lots of contrast.  I looked through my stash and came up with this "Barnyard" quilt.

Some of the fabrics I used were: Cloud 9 Happy Drawing Too Organic Sheep White Fabric, Tractor fabric ny newmomdesigns via Spoonflower, and Apple Hill Farms - Tree.  I threw some larger blocks in as well to break it up a bit.

I free motion quilted it with a stipple pattern.

For the back, I used a vibrant blue: Kona Malibu.

And six months rolled on by...

I can't believe it's been almost six months since I officially launched my business.  I feel like things have started well.  I've had some orders (thank you!) and have started to learn my accounting software and work out some of the kinks of trying to order supplies for a business.  It's been a great learning experience, and I've had about as much work as I can handle.  Balancing starting a home business with being a stay-at-home mom and actually dealing with running my home has been a bit of a learning curve, and I admit that I haven't marketed my business as much as I should have the past few months.  I plan on rectifying that by updating you all on what's been going on here the past few months, the projects I've been working on, and the plans I have for Sue Sews Whose Clothes in 2017.  So keep watching this space and the FB page for updates in the next few days.  As always, if you have any questions or are interested in a custom quilt or outfit, don't hesitate to email me or message through FB.

Business Launch

After considerable thought, I've decided to turn my hobby into a business.  Sue Sews Whose Clothes is going live!  I will be selling custom baby quilts and clothing like the ones on this blog.

My goal is to create unique baby gifts.  Why spend tons of money on the same luxury baby blanket that everyone gifts,when you could give a blanket that's personalized to the recipient?  This personalization can be as simple as a label (stating the name, birthdate and birth stats of the baby, or whatever message you'd like to include) or a simple monogram to customizing every aspect of the quilt (design, color, theme, style, block pattern, etc.).  I'm happy to work with you to make a custom gift that will be cherished as a keepsake for years to come.

You can peruse this blog to see the types of projects I've done in the past for inspiration, or visit my Facebook page, where I will be listing different quilt styles as well as some fabrics I have in stock.  I will also occasionally be listing quilts and clothes for purchase that are already.  These can always be personalized with a label or monogram.

These projects are meant to be for inspiration, so don't let it limit your imagination!  Send me an email at suesewswhose@gmail.com or message me through my Facebook page and we can discuss the kind of design you would like.

The small print: all my items are handmade by me on my home sewing machine.  Depending on the type of piece, quilts can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks to be made and delivered.  Please plan in advance and tell me the date you need it by when ordering!  I give price ranges for different pieces because the end price will reflect the complexity of the design and quilting as well as the cost of materials.  After we discuss a design, I will send an invoice with the exact price of the piece, which must be paid in full before I begin work on the project.

Flo's Friends

For these colorful fabrics, I used the Flo's Friends quilt pattern designed by Lynne Goldsworthy of lilysquilts.blogspot.com.  I changed the sizing of my quilt as I wanted a baby quilt, so I cut the fabric accordingly.

This pattern reminds me of the tipsy tumbler I'd done before, but the cutting and piecing was a lot more work, so I think I would use the previous technique in the future.

These color ways and designs would be perfect for both girls and boys, so it's the perfect gift for those parents who have opted to not find out the sex of their baby.

With all the design and pattern on the front, I decided to go with a  simple solid for the back, Kona Leprechaun.

I used stitch-in-the-ditch for quilting to really emphasize the squares.

Big Projects

As you can tell, I stick to small projects when I sew.  Since I use my home machine for free motion quilting, it makes quilting my projects easier.  It was quite an undertaking for me to take on a much bigger project.  I decided to make my mother a lap quilt (so bigger than a baby blanket but not as big as a twin quilt) for her birthday.  This is a project I started for her birthday in 2015 only to finish for her birthday in 2016.

The main reason for the delay was not knowing how to handle doing the free motion on my small Singer.  I watched a Craftsy video, Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine, which gave me some helpful hints; none of which I used for my project.  In fact, I did things explicitly recommended against in the video (such as doing larger patterns).  Part of the problem with following the video is I already had my quilt top assembled and didn't want to have to take it (or cut it) apart to finish it.

I ended up rolling the quilt carefully and just going for it.  Some time (and patience) later, I ended up with this.  I quilted the center floral strips with flowers of varying sizes.  I used a simple round flower, echoing the look of a peony or carnation or the large blooms in the patterns of the fabrics.  I left the border unquilted.

Then I used a decorative stitch on my machine to give some extra reinforcement to the stitching between the quilted strips and the non-quilted border.

Here you can see a bit more of the quilting, which looks like stipple from a distance.

I quilted the top with a variegated purple thread and used a plain purple thread for the bottom.  In the picture below, you can see a bit more of how I did the circular blooms.

Say Bello to My Little Friend

Here was my next try at a figural quilt.  I bought a Minions charm pack on sale, and wanted to use it in a fun way.  A Minion figure is relatively straightforward, so I thought it wouldn't be difficult to do with 5" squares.  I bought some denim fabric to add some texture to the pants, and used a yellow and black kona that I had in my stash for the arms, feet, etc.  After laying out the figure, I surrounded it with a white charm pack.

This quilt was a bit more complicated as I added a range of different elements to it.  The first was a few different appliqués.  I did the eyes and mouth by appliqué using Wonder Under to fuse the fabrics and the satin stitch on my machine.

The second element that I added to make the quilt fun was velcro straps.  Instead of just adding the strap look into the quilt top, I made it external, so little ones could have fun doing and undoing the straps.  Used velcro, instead of buttons or snaps, for safety's sake.

For the binding and back, I bought some extra of the Minion fabrics in some of the more neutral prints so the focus remains on the quilt top.