Sunday 10 August 2014

My Country Gym Shorts

I saw a few people posting online this week about their City Gym Shorts, the free pattern that The Purl Bee recently released. At first I thought, oh, those are cute, but I can just buy shorts. Then I read another post and realized that they came in adult sizes and thought, oh, those are cute!

So I clicked over and printed the pattern, headed to town, picked out some fabric, machine-washed and dried it and sewed it up. I always think that projects are going to take an hour. Not quite sure why, it’s never happened. The pattern was easy to follow and overall came together fairly quickly, if not in an hour. It was my first time both using bias tape and inserting elastic into a waistband. I had to take my time but they both turned out. With quilts, I can usually visualize how they’re going to look but I’m always slightly surprised when I make clothes that actually look like clothes. 




The fabric for the back is Peppered Cotton in charcoal.  I love the texture; the weave gives it some nice depth and it’s very soft. I intended to get a bright fabric for the front, but I spotted this black and white print and thought it worked perfectly. 





Although they're called the City Gym Shorts, my gym is more country than city. I've already worn them to the lake. They were nice and comfy as I ran up and down the bank carrying tools for the dock and helped launch the boat. I can't wait to make more in different colours!

Tuesday 5 August 2014

A Quilt for Max


Here’s a little quilt for baby Max, just in time to meet him at his baby shower.

I used four fat quarters, so it ended up a little smaller than I would normally make a baby quilt. I just couldn’t pass up those little elephants. But this way it can fit in the car seat and will hopefully travel well. It’s my first attempt at free-motion quilting and I did some loops and curves to somewhat mimic the pattern in the green fabric. I found the hardest part was timing my foot and hands to work together, so that my sewing speed matched how fast I was moving the quilt. Baby steps. 





He's so sweet.