The QUEEN Seam, Rose of Sharon and Oh My Stars

It just doesn't seem like Sunday because we didn't watch church yet.  We decided to come home this morning -- back to the snail pace internet -- and watch the rerun of church tonight. After unpacking enough stuff to fill a small home,  Jerry is snug as a bug in his office and I am snug as a bug in my sewing/quilt/jewelry room.

Yesterday was an all day long play day with Phylly.  It was wonderful.  We shopped at the fancy fabric store on one side of town and later went to Hancock's.  In between we talked and laughed and sewed.

You will recall I was going to TRY to reproduce this darling Marfy pattern with my Sure-fit Designs Dress Kit:

With help from Rhonda and Phylly, I decided this was a wrap style in the front with the pink layer going all the way over to the other side seam.  The white piece with the notch cut out of it was called a "panel" by Marfy, and I decided it was attached at the armhole, topstitched where shown, and open below that.  The buttons may or may not have functioned.

There doesn't seem to be a zipper in the dress, so the lady must have slithered into it!

GET READY FOR A BIG LAUGH!

This is my FIRST muslin of this dress, and I used muslin.  THANK GOODNESS, Marfy didn't use my colors or my pattern!

It looks like a giant street sign warning you to go another way or else you will fall off a cliff or something!

I kind of liked it though, and the fit was fine, of course, being SFD, but then I showed it to Jerry.

Jerry looked confused as though he didn't know if he should tell me what he REALLY thought or make something up.

He said, let me see that dress again.



















I brought the picture to him.

He agreed with me that the pointy part was TOO BIG and he said the part that went up into my armhole was too LOW.  He said the dress in the picture had the seam much straighter and higher up.

To me, the princess seam -- IF that is even what it was -- landed about the same place in her armhole, BUT it was much straighter going down her body.

Now, it JUST SO HAPPENED that I had seen a video by Glenda Sparling just a few days earlier about princess seams and how to do them.  Here is that video if you care to watch it.  Notice the princess seam Glenda has her hand on.  It does not curve into the armpit like mine does in the red and navy top.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,
I started over on my Sure-fit Designs remake.

I redrew the princess seam to be much straighter and higher up toward the shoulder.  Phylly didn't think it looked normal.  All the ones she has seen are more curved.

And that is true, of course.  So I've decided to just call this a "Queen Seam".  I really like it.  It doesn't make your boob look so much like a water balloon about to burst.

Here is Muslin #2:

And I CAN HEAR YOU saying,
"JOY!, are you daft or what?"

"That isn't even a dress,

and it doesn't have buttons,

and it doesn't open with a flap!"

I knoooooooooooooooooooooow, but isn't it cute anyway?

Phylly thinks I should put buttons on it -- like in the Marfy pattern -- but I'm not sure.  I asked Jerry, and he said that is stupid because they wouldn't unbutton anything.

So I pinned a couple on.

What do you think?

I have to finish putting a loop and button in the back, and then I can wear it.  Maybe I should go do that now.

I would really rather go for a swing on the patio though.

BUT, WAIT

I just remembered that MG requested that I show her a picture of the whole quilt showing behind me in one of my videos.

That quilt is called "Oh, My Stars!"

I named it, and I quilted it, but I did NOT make it.

When I purchased my first longarm machine, I needed to do a LOT of quilting to get good at it.  It takes me a year, at least, to make a quilt, so I knew I would never learn how to quilt good if I only quilted the quilts I made myself.  Some of the ladies at the quilt sites I belonged to back then bought quilts from Ebay.  I couldn't imagine that you could get a quilt that was made to my standards from Ebay, but was I ever WRONG about that!

I bought several quilt tops from Ebay.  One of the most beautiful I've ever done is called Rose of Sharon.  I gave it to my sister because she is in the ministry, and the moment I saw it on Ebay, I KNEW I had to buy it -- quilt it -- bind it -- and give it to her.  She LOVES it!  Let me see if I can find a pic of it real quick.

I have NEVER seen one even close to this beautiful applique on Ebay.  Some guy had found it at an Estate sale or something.

Here it is.  It is about 4' by 4' and is more awesome in real life.  The applique is magnificent.  The top and the applique were done by the Amish.  The quilting was done by me.  That is all I know about it.

And here is Oh My Stars.  It is hanging on the wall in my Edmond sewing room.

I bought this quilt top from a lady on Ebay, and I wish she was still making quilt tops.  As you have to know by now, I love bright colors, so I decided to buy this one to help improve my longarm quilting skills -- and it certainly did.

And now, I really have to go.

Have a MARVELOUS week.  I go back to work tomorrow.  That means I have to GET UP EARLY and I am officially UNretired.







Hugs, Joy