Quilted jacket must watch videos!!

LOL --- communal sleeping, as in at a retreat, is not for everyone. I have very few issues, although I like it when my roommates are quiet! Even sleeping in my own bed doesn't preclude me from getting a good night's sleep. The night before, I slept like a log. Last night? I was tired at 8 PM, but by the time I got into bed, I was wide awake and couldn't fall asleep. Sigh......

Now that I'm back home and have access to a sewing machine, the big question is where to start? I decided to get some of those bindings out of the way since they are taking up a lot of room. 

I'm happy to say that I have the binding on this quilt, which was the largest and heaviest of the seven projects waiting to be bound.  

The binding is on this lap quilt.

I'm not sure how much of this quilt I shared with you, but it was one I made while working on samples for my Facebook Live on felting with the embroidery machine. The blocks are made from denim that has been felted, using snowflake patterns. I put Fireside Fleece on the back, so it's nice and heavy. I put it on my bed last night, but even that weight didn't help me sleep. 

The details of the felted snowflakes

And there is my lovely tag on the back of the quilt. This is the side that shows. 

My personalized label

And this is the underside. While it's not a full-blown quilt label with all the information, it works for information purposes. Yes, it could be easily cut off, but it works for me. 

The underside of the label

Next on the list was to get the binding on Dear Jen, or should I say my abbreviated version of Dear Jen. 

The binding is on the Dear Jen wall hanging.

And there is the back with the little white tag. This one will become a cover for one of my sewing machines. 

The back of the Dear Jen quilt

I got lucky because this was all the binding that was left! About one inch! 

Barely had enough binding.

Before I put a quilt in the "to be quilted" pile, I always make the binding, and sometimes I worry I haven't made enough. There was a lot left over from the snowflake quilt, and barely any for this one. If I actually run out of binding for any that have been put away, I'm sure I'll figure something out. 

Then it was on to the next project: the mitered-border print table runner. 

The binding is on the mitered table runner.

I decided not to put the white tag on the back of this one. I may or may not keep it, and if someone wants to use both sides, they won't have to worry about the tag. 

The back of the table runner

I got three of seven quilts bound. Well, I should say projects since there was only one quilt and the rest were small. I have to deal with a sleeve for two of them, and I don't think I have anything prepped for that, so I hope to get at least one or two more projects finished today. 

I needed to take a break. I stood for two days at the retreat, cut itty bits of fabric, and had no issues with fatigue. I sewed three bindings on, and my back was tired! Go figure!

Later in the day, I went back to the sewing machine and decided to work on one of the two jackets that needed some machine stitching. 

Sewing the seam allowance down with the sewing machine was NOT an easy feat, but it was doable, and I was happy to have my PFAFF creative icon 2 handy to deal with all the layers. 

Sewing the seam allowance down by machine

This was my view as I sewed. I had to sew from the inside of the jacket to make sure I caught the seam. 

A challenging seam to sew

Then I turned it right side out and realized I had used BLUE thread on the red fabric. Good grief!!!! What a silly person I am, so I'm in the process of ripping that out and will redo it with blue thread on the inside and red on the outside. And there's another reason why things take so long! I repinned the seam before I started unpicking, then it shouldn't be so hard to redo. I have to finish grading the second seam before I can sew it down. Then all that will be left is to add the snaps, but I need to get a table press first, and there is some hand stitching to tack the facing in place. 

The wrong thread color!!!

Not a super productive day compared to what it could have been, but I'm happy I got those three bindings on. 

It was sunny, and the girls spent a lot of time outside, even though it was chilly. The two of them can handle a bit of cool weather. 

R&R for everyone!!!

I know a lot of people poo-poo YouTube as a time-waster, and it sure can be, because there is a lot of silly stuff on it. And just because people can make an educational video doesn't mean it's worth watching. However, I happened upon this series of videos, which, if you are in any way thinking of making a jacket, you NEED to watch this series. Grainline Studio, the design company of the Tamarack Jacket (the pink-and-purple one I'm making), has made a 15-video sew-along. Jen starts with an extremely detailed list of everything you need, then moves on to printing and assembling a PDF pattern together, sizing, and so on. 

Yep --- I should have watched them BEFORE making the jacket, but I have managed just fine. BUT even if you are making ANY jacket from quilted fabric, you will find those videos amazing!! In just 2 videos and part of the third, I have learned so much that I want to remake the Tamarack Jacket, or I'll likely make a different style, but I'm fired up to try out a few things. I'm not a fan of the curved bottom of this jacket and would like to change the pattern to make it square. I wonder why she designed the bottom that way? 

My Tamarack Jacket

You can't see it in the pictures, but it's curved along the side seams, which, to me, is just a lot of extra work for no gain. Maybe it sits better when you sit down? 

Anyway, here is the link to the first video; the following ones appear automatically, in order. They are very well done. Hopefully, that will introduce you to YouTube's educational side. As I've said many times, my dad spends an enormous amount of time on YouTube learning how to rebuild parts for stationary engines. 

If you have ANY inkling of making a quilted jacket, please watch those videos—the techniques she talks about apply to ANY quilted fabric jacket. They are well worth your time. 

And on that note, I'm out of here as I want to get a lot done today, and we'll see what happens. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!