Weekend Update

I have a few crappy cell phone pictures for a quick update of the little bit of crafting I accomplished this weekend.

1) Schoolhouse Tunic Sew-Along
As I've previously mentioned, Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade is hosting a sew-along using Sew Liberated's Schoolhouse Tunic pattern.  Last week's task was sizing and cutting.  After reading Rebecca's post about 7 times, I finally worked up the nerve and dove in.  I'm not 100% sure about the size I chose - all of my measurements seemed to fall in a difference size - so I just picked one that seemed like it would fit my bust and hips best. It might end up being a bit too big, but I figure that's better than too small.  I can always bring it in a bit if it's turning out too large during the construction.  I also lengthened the skirt and sleeves, so we'll see how that worked out.  I definitely added way too much length, but again, better too long than too short.
 

The second post that covers bodice and sleeve construction is scheduled for today, so maybe by next weekend I'll have the top half of a garment!

2) Mustache Mug Rug
My brother's birthday is this coming weekend.  He's not necessarily a lover of handmade gifts (he's also not a regular reader of my blog, so no spoiler here), so I got him a nice sweater, but I just felt wrong not including anything handmade in the box.  So I made this awesome little mug rug.  I've been wanting to try applique, and we already know I'm obsessed with mustaches (as long as they're not on my boyfriend's face), so this was the result.

I figured a quick, easy project drawing from my scrap bin was best, considering there's a 95% chance this will never get used.  But I still like it.  I figured it could be fun for his bedside table or to keep on his desk at work (something cheery to lighten up his stiff, humorless law office [that's my own assumption of his working environment]).  Most likely it will end up as a short-lived chew toy for the dog, but oh well.  I still had fun making it!

3) English Paper Piecing
This weekend I attended my second meeting of the DC Modern Quilt Guild.  It was a small turnout - I imagine most people were at Sewing Summit - but it was really fun!  Every third meeting is outside on the National Mall, so we work on hand piecing projects. I'd never hand pieced before, but I figured this was the best opportunity to learn, so I grabbed my copy of Hexa-Go-Go by Tacha Bruecher and headed off.  Most of our time was spent ogling quilts by Frederick and Elle, but I did have time to make 5 hexagons.  Not much, but it's (hopefully) the start of something great (what, I'm not quite sure yet, but we'll see).

 
4) Boyfriend Sweater

After months of leaving it idle, I've started working on my boyfriend sweater again.  I'm about halfway done with the body (for the second time).  This go around I'm paying more attention - trying it on more to make sure that it's fitting me correctly rather than just blindly following the pattern.  I made some good progress at my local yarn store's monthly outdoor knit yesterday - good thing the weather was so nice!