cathedral windows

I started a new project on my To-Be-Completed in 2014 List - Project 2: cathedral window pillowcase for my mother-in-law. As always...der Anfang ist immer schwer! It is always hard to start! Once I got going, I found it kind of fun. I dreamed of all the colors I could use in place of the green.

I know that traditionally, all of this is done by hand, but I prefer to use the sewing machine when I can. {I really try to avoid hand sewing.} The only thing I sewed down here by hand is where the corners meet. I used a simple cross stitch to secure them in place that I removed later. I sewed one row at a time which goes really quickly with a continues straight stitch.

I started with 8,5" x 8,5" squares. I sewed the sides shut and flipped them inside out to get 12 - 4" squares. {I have a tendency of mixing inches and centimeters.} Helga wanted a 40 x 50 cm pillowcase which is roughly 16 x 20 inches.

Here are some step-by-step pictures of the progress:

I debated whether or not to stop here and flip the corners backwards, because this is a panel for a pillowcase. It would allow me to add a border easier than if they are sewn down into windows. I decided against it, because this is a rather small pattern and the additional windows, even though they were white instead of green, continued a nice, subdued pattern.

If you would like to make your own cathedral window pilowcase, there is a really good tutorial from Angela Nash of My Three Sons at the Moda Bake Shop. I think I should have re-read it before I started my own project. I could have sewn the points down with the sewing machine too! ;-)

Keep on sewing and enjoy your weekend!

Yours truly,
Karen

lost in summertime feelings

Oh, my how flies by. I just checked out my own blog to realize that I have only ONE post in the Month of June. What was going on this month?? We had two birthdays and a house warming party! I had one weekend to enjoy the solitude of great weather and no interruptions where I could concentrate solely on my sewing hobby. How much better can life be?

I enjoyed a great post exposure of my new cutting table which was also posted at Ikea Hackers and took a little summertime break. I also finished up my DQM quilt for Mary Pat and will be sending to her within the next few days.

Here is what I made in my last weekend retreat - a cathedral window pin cushion. Now, this is my very first try at cathedral windows, and I am not the best at hand sewing. It takes me a while to get going and find my rhythm before my stitches are a little more even. The project is small, but I always take on more than I can chew; I just wanted to learn the technique and get a project finished!

When this one was done, I move on to the next one of learning how to sew in a zipper. I have sewn in zippers before, but I felt a little bit out of practice. I also learned how to "hide" the zipper underneath the fabric thanks to my dear instructor, Sabine of Quilt Oase!

I made four pillowcase covers for my old sofa in the new house. Since my wall in my dining room is PURPLE, I wanted to united the red sofa with the wall. I have been looking for the right fabric and then found this from Makower. I wanted it simple - [Simple, Easy, Practical] - The quilting took the longest since it was a "quilt as you sew" method.

I hope now that June is over, I have more time to get back to the topic at hand - more sewing and pattern designing. I have a new pattern waiting to be published. This one will be free of charge, because I want you all to have it and start your own sewing projects with it. It is a fun little project that your really can finish in just a few hours.

I would like to thank all of you that either subscribe or read my blog. I really and truly appreciate your support. Thank you for the wonderful comments as well.

Yours truly,
Karen