New Zealand Skirt

The sunshine seemed to bless.

The air was a caress. 

~John Greenleaf Whittier

My girls love little summer skirts.  Issa brought one home from New Zealand, with big pockets on the sides that was precious.  Mandy and I went to my stash, found a pretty little floral print, and I got my tape measure. I measured the skirt in as many places as I could... around  the bottom of the hem, from the waistband to the hem, the length and width of the pocket panels, and the length of the fold inside the skirt.  It was really not to difficult to do,  and I couldn't wait to begin. 

 I started with the pocket panels.  I decided to use a contrasting fabric for the interior panel;  I folded it up, then placed the measured square on top of the panel, right sides together, and stitched them together.  I wanted to try and gather the front of the pocket like the original skirt, but it didn't work so I will try something different on the next one.  They kind of hang open like little kangaroo pockets, but we both liked the look.  From this point it was as simple as sewing up the sides, making a casing, and running the elastic through the casing.  the original skirt did not have trim on the bottom, but I added that.

   

  I am going to make this skirt again,  with one significant  change.  I got a little  bit lazy with the trim on the hem.  I thought since there were no curves, just straight seams, that I would not need bias strips; that I could use straight strips of the complimenting turquoise mini check as a trim along the hem of the skirt.  Au contraire!  Look at all the waves along the stitching.  I can press them out, but the next skirt will have bias strips as the trim.

Saguaro or Agave?

The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest.  
You are always being asked
 to do more, and you are not
 yet decrepit enough to turn
them down.
       ~ T.S. Eliot, quoted in Time

     When I appliqued t-shirts for our Arizona vacation, I used the saguaro cactus.  At the time I didn't know that the saguaro didn't  grow in Sedona because it is too cold.  But they were cute little designs, they came from Linnie Pinnie and I thought they would be fun to do.   I used the Sugar and Spice  font for the lettering on their names.
     We learned a little about cactus on one of our tours.  I loved the story of the agave  or century plant.  It is not really a cactus, and it is used to make agave nectar and tequila.  But the wonderful thing is...it doesn't really show its stuff until it is around 60!

At some time after 60, it grows a huge stalk with blossoms, then the entire plant dies. 

I am hoping  to last a little longer than my 60s, but regardless of when I go,  I like the idea of saving my best for last!

When a man points a finger at someone else,  he should remember that  four of his fingers  are pointing at himself. ~Louis Nizer

    I have finished!  Four  (count 'em) four  little swim suit
cover-ups, all done!  I can't wait  to see the little girls in
 them together at the pool.

 
I did this cover-up alittle differently.
 I gathered the little skirt on my sewing machine,
 but I put the rest of it together using the serger.
  I am still learning how to use it, but it went
together so quickly, and the seams were
neat and clean.
 












I have a new font,Master Circle, and I love the way
that the letters can be intertwined.  It is going to take

practice moving the ends of each letter to the right spot,
 but I think the more I do it the easier it will be.
     The binding was made from 2 1/2 inch strips,
 folded lengthwiseand neatly pressed.
 I sewed them down matching the raw
edges from the wrong side, then turning
the fold to the front and sewing it down with the
number 10 edge foot.

I struggled a little making the patterns for these dresses
 because the pattern wasn't included in the information from
Crafter Hours.  Since I began the first one, she is offering a
pattern that is adaptable for boys and a straighter version for girls.
It would be sooo much easier with a pattern to follow.

I am hoping that my next post will be 4 girls  all covered up
  in their newbeach dresses!

Beach towel coverup # 3

Three things cannot be long hidden:
the sun, the moon, and the truth.  
                        ~ Buddha

Cover up number 3 is finished, done, complete!  3 down and 1 to go! Issa has her navy and orange, Mae has the purple and green, Little Sarah the pink, and Katelyn's blue and green is cut out, serged and ready to be put together.  Now all  I need is a photo of  the girls together in their cover ups by Bibi! 

Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes

Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces,
 joy and sorrow, stitched with love.  
                          ~Author Unknown


     I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Everett, but I love his family so much; I was eager to make a little rag quilt so that he can be wrapped up on those cool mountain evenings.

     My first step in making this little quilt was to find  
blue and brown flannels and cut them into 6 inch squares.
I was reminded by this project that there are not NEARLY 
the number of choices for boys as their are for girls, 
but with visits to different fabric stores I was able to
come up with a nice variety of prints.     
     
                                                                                                                                                                             I cut warm and natural batting into 5 inch squares, then made my quilt sandwiches.
Since this was a baby quilt,  I made 63 sandwiches, making the quilt 7 sandwiches wide by 9 sandwiches long, just fine for a crib size.




      I quilted each sandwich together with diagonal lines from opposite corners and put his name, birth date, and some special names on several of the squares.  Next I sewed the squares together,  using half inch seams and sewing WRONG sides together.







Using special shears that are made for clipping these quilts, I carefully snipped at quarter inch intervals, but not going through the seam.  I washed and dried it twice to get the nice soft fuzzy look that makes a rag quilt so special.

I cannot wait to meet sweet Everett and give him a big Bibi hug.

Chevron Pocket T-shirt Near Tragedy

 May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,

 May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

~Irish Blessing

Presenting....Bibi Sews very own version of the Glamour Magazine Do's and Don't shots!   TA DA!  

DO 

DON'T

The lovely, lanky model in the DO shot is sporting a t shirt that fits, with the pocket placed in just the right 

spot!

The unfortunate looking, portly model in the DON'T shot wears a 3 sizes too small t shirt with a rather awkward looking pocket!  

I admit, I made this project more difficult that it needed to be.
1.  Next time I will embroider the fabric and then cut out the pocket;  even with 2 layers of stablilzer my stitching pulled the pocket inward, and many steam presses later it still retained a funny shape.
2.  I will check and recheck the placement before I stitch the pocket to the t-shirt.  I was able to remove the offending pocket by carefully cutting out the stitches, but it was VERY annoying.
3.  I will be more aware of the placement of the bottom line of chevron and the point of the pocket.

Nevertheless, it was a nice Saturday morning in my sewing room, with sweet Issa on my old Bernina 200 sewing away on her little doll quilt, while I struggled and muttered obscenities in the background.