Garden Path - Jacket - Part II

Another Sleeve!

Thank you for the compliments on the children's quilt (they thank you, too!). They had a challenge from Bruce of Quilted in Clay to make a quilt. The Pattersons make polymer clay jewelry featuring quilt squares - earrings, pins, necklaces, etc. They met him last year at the AQS Show in Paducah, in the Quilted in Clay booth that he and his wife, Jennifer, own. He provided a prize if they completed a quilt. They decided it would be easier to tackle the job as a pair, so they designed the quilt in EQ5, printed up the patterns and got some help from mom. Right now, my son has the quilt, but it might be in my daughter's room next week.

Amazingly, this week has gone very well, today in particular! Usually there is something that needs my attention other than sewing (can you actually imagine that?!?), so I don't get as much done as I'd like. I actually have both sleeves quilted, pressed and any threads pulled through and tied.

I know they look pretty large for sleeves, but there they are hung and waiting for further assembly. The reason they look so large is that I also quilted enough for a cuff turn back, too at the same time. I haven't exactly decided regarding the sleeve hem finish yet, so since I was quilting, I figured it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and quilt a little extra. I can always trim it later.

The other reason they look so large is because (this is an answer to KathleenC.'s question) I always rough cut and quilt larger than the piece I actually need. I do this because I never know exactly how much a piece will shrink when quilted and because I rarely make a pattern exactly as it is drafted. I'm always doing something funky to the pattern and it is better to have more quilted fabric to play around with than less. Any extra can go into postcards, facings or whatever. Better to cut too big and trim, than to need more and have to be extremely creative when you least expect to be.

The sleeves and other pieces will stay in the closet hung up to prevent crushing, wrinkles and any other harm until I need them next, which may not be for months. That is fine, the point is, they are done and ready to go.

Also notice here that I've written the word "flipped" on this piece.

This is to remind me that I flipped the pattern piece over for this piece. Sleeves, fronts and other mirrored pieces need to be cut with the pattern piece right side up for one and flipped over for the other piece. It does make a difference - the fronts and backs of sleeve heads are drafted differently and the sleeve won't hang right or even insert into the armhole properly if isn't cut right to begin with. Now, some of you may think, well isn't that why you cut and quilt bigger to begin with in case you mess up? Most of the time there is extra fabric and it won't matter, sometimes, usually when you have no fabric left and it was the last your source had, it does!

I've started quilting the back of the jacket, and so far, so good.

I hope I can finish the back tomorrow so that I start on the fronts. Once the major quilting is done, I can start working on the applique, which might begin sometime late next week!

Parting Shot: Green Stuff. Now that I actually have green stuff, I suppose I need to do something with it! I need to getsome those lilies out of there - they are like weeds and multiply rapidly. I've got other areas of the yard they can populate.