Sweet 2016, Part 7: Celebration Cake

This month the champagne is flowing, the table is laden and everyone is waiting for the silver stand to appear with the Celebration Cake. Be it birthday, anniversary, wedding or just a gathering, every collection of cakes need that extra special something and this month we’re making it! 

Of course, whether you opt for the birdy couple or replace them with candles or other embellishments, the cake can go into style you desire. And now is the time to showcase that spectacular scrap of fabric you’re dying to show in just the right spot or the super cute chocolate print fabric from your stash. 

Now, I have drawn applique shapes in the pattern which I imagined myself drawing directly onto fabric scraps and coloring in with permanent markers or my new fabric crayons and a thin brush...but then I remembered a gorgeous print I picked up years ago, I just knew it would come in handy one day. I think we all have a fabric in the stash like that, don't we?

Like this one:

Did someone say chocolate? I've been waiting to use this fabric for years and now I finally have the perfect project! If you have any scraps like this, now is the time to dust them off.

 And don't they look great beneath my cake?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the top with my birdy couple. I just love birds, they're so cute. I auditioned a few print fabrics for the body and wings before settling on this:

 and drew in the little eyes. I will add a tiny bead later when I can find my bead stash

Now for the cake itself. I had a lovely scrap pale yellow fabric and planned on painting the decorative loops with a very fine brush and my new fabric crayons that I am itching to try out and show off...but it was not to be! My stash got the better of me and I dug out this scrap of sheer lace instead. I just love it for my cake collection.

Whoops, my applique looks a bit lopsided here, don't worry, it's not supposed to be like that!

Here's my 'worksheet' of applique pieces which I've prepped, numbered and placed on top of a light box for easy placement.

And that's it for this month. I can't wait to see how you make the  Celebration Cake all your own!

Understanding the pattern release schedule: anyone can join Sweet 2016 at any time and when they do, they will receive a new block each month from that point onward. The day they receive each new block will depend on the date they signed up and made their first payment. Everyone who starts Sweet 2016, starts at the beginning, Part 1. Specific blocks cannot be purchased out of turn. 

Whenever you choose to start this BOM, be sure to keep us updated on your progress by sharing your work over in our Sweet 2016 BOM Facebook Group, see you there!

'Sweet 2016' is my current Mystery Applique BOM

It's just $3.95 per month

Delivered digitally, to your email inbox each month

And don't forget to join my Sweet 2016 BOM Group over on Facebook too!

My Newest Quilt Gracie is Launched!

I designed Gracie for a wall in my kitchen; I just love the centre vase and surrounding tulips and the design is a stylistic nod to all those pieces if beautiful chinaware I have in the cupboards. With Gracie, I wanted to enjoy the best bits on a feature wall and I wanted to keep it simple rather than intricate. In Gracie I can see my love for applique combined in a modern feeling, almost but not quite folksy arrangement.

Of course, I never tire of tulips. As a design motif they represent love and devotion and with all the varieties of tulip out there, it’s a wonderful opportunity to let loose with beautiful fabrics. From the bright and modern to subtle and classic, Gracie just works. In fact, I haven’t yet decide what scheme to settle on myself (nothing new there).

Originally I envisioned a blue and white return to Delft theme, but the design took over and took matters into it’s own hands. Rather than a follow on from my Oma’s Blues as originally intended, Gracie has taken on a style and attitude all of her own.

Here are just a few colour schemes I am head over heels in love with. I really can't decide between them, what do you think? Which is your favorite?

Hopelessly pink and green? I am so in love with this colour way..

But there's no denying the allure of greys. What about this chambray grey and hot pink?

Or grey with soft pink?

then again, how can I pass up pink and blue?

Speaking of blues, what about a striking double print of blues and reds?

I could just colour way all day - but I won't, I don't have the time right now as I'm on wedding dress duty. But, I just had to come on and share this gorgeous pattern. I always love releasing my designs, they're all so special to me and I love making them available to everyone.

WOW: Auditioning the Pattern

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Today I'm sewing up the bodice part of the wedding dress pattern. I've had a good look at the Butterick pattern my DD chose and after some hassle with the super thin paper, I'm happy to report that the pattern itself is just fine and completely achievable for any intermediate home sewer - which is a nice surprise. Several people have asked me to report back to them on this point and I know what they mean. There are some pattern manufacturers who just make everything needlessly hard to follow, Butterick is not one of those.

Looking at the pieces now and knowing what my DD wants, I'm pretty sure that we won't be using this pattern for the finished dress. However I am prepared to make up the dress according to the pattern to show this to my DD. After that, I'll draft my own pattern and start the real wedding dress work. I don't actually mind making the Butterick one first as I am curious to see what an off the shelf wedding dress looks like straight from the pattern and I always like to warm up with a starter garment. It's been years since I professionally sewed any clothes and I'm out of practice. I never thought I'd be interested in clothes sewing again and have fallen much out of the loop.

Like quilting, new techniques and styles are coming along all the time. As far as quilting is concerned, I have learned so many new tips and techniques which have really cut down on the time it takes to create applique pieces. So I'm sure the same must be true for sewing generally - I just don't know about it as I don't do it anymore. I still follow the old school systems and I'm sure there's already a better way. So to make sure I am sewing as quickly and efficiently as possible, I've purchased a Craftsy class on corset making. Again, I have made many corsets and they're a lot of work. I'm hoping to learn some new quicker methods and will let you know how that goes.

Today, it's back to the Butterick pattern. With the price of lace being what it is, the sample dress is being made with the aid of some old curtains (above) and the dress is being made from cotton muslin. Far from glamorous, but a good start.

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

One Dress To Rule Them All

So, you may have heard I'm making a wedding dress.

I'm no stranger to occasion dresses and I've even made several wedding dresses professionally before retiring from fashion. The most memorable was one I made for a ballerina over 20 years ago. The whole experience was so exhausting I promised myself 'never again'. Oh boy, have I changed my tune! I'm now delighted to be making my daughter's wedding dress and am relishing every moment of it. Neither of us planned for me to make the dress, it just became an inevitable choice. 

I was more than happy for my DD to simply purchase a dress off the rack that took her fancy, and so was she. I haven't sewn occasion garments for years and I blithely assumed that by 2016, the range and availability of dress styles would be so encompassing and competitive that any woman could find what she was after. Not so! Those purveyors of all things bridal exist in a magical dimension like none other.  I've visited too many to count in the last 6 months and I can confidently tell you, I don't ever want to step foot in another. 

Luckily, my DD never did find 'The One' as the bridal shops like to refer to it in hushed tones, but the one that came closest rang in at $18,000, the next one along rang in at 11,000 and the other two contenders were both over 10,000: all ridiculous, over inflated, emotionally manipulative price tags for a mere dress.

So, to the cutting table I go. The creative challenge has commenced and I'm happy and excited to share the journey right here on my blog. I have asked my DD for permission to share her wedding dress journey here on my blog and she has happily agreed. Of course, blogging it is a great memory for me of the whole dress experience but there's another reason too. I want to encourage home sewers to think seriously about their ability to sew the wedding dress of their dreams. Yes, I'm serious. Don't be daunted. It's completely possible and in the weeks ahead I'll be showing you how.

If you want to follow my wedding dress progress, stay tuned as I will be blogging the whole thing here. The wedding is just over a month away so it will be coming together quickly in the coming weeks. And of course, there's a Pinterest board dedicated to what I'm doing.

Here I go..

What's New, Nelke?

I don't like updating my patterns: once they're released, they take on a life of their own and I'm ready to move onto the next project. Maybe you know the feeling? I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from packing away my design folio each time I release a pattern. But with Nelke, I couldn't stop myself fiddling! For one thing, every time I looked at my little bird, he seemed lonely. I couldn't stand it!

So I made him a friend for company...

Nearly...

Auditioning..

Yes, that's better :) 

And then there's the newly added corner bows. My heart's still all a flutter over Love Entwined, so any opportunity to introduce those gorgeous LE double bows on new quilt projects is welcome. And on Nelke, they slotted in like they should have always been there - which they should have! I love them!

And then there's the border blocks which were confusing the first time around - I've sorted that out too.

Phew, that's Nelke updated! 

Now I can focus on my wedding dress mission.

WOW: Updating Nelke

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Talk about overdue WIPs, my goodness, Nelke has been waiting in the wings far too long for her pattern update, so today, that's my focus. I have lots to do, but feel I can't move on until all these little projects are sorted out. I'm on a real mission this month as my wedding dress duties are becoming pressing, so after today's WOW it will all be about 'The Dress'.

Now, time for me to get stuck in..

What's Your WOW?

An InLinkz Link-up

How I Quilted Peony Pride

Peony Pride has lots of lovely room, allowing you plenty of scope to showcase your quilting. I quilted my own on a 1950's Elna domestic machine and loved the overall effect - gentle and textured it enhanced the vibrant blocks. Here are some pics of how I chose to fill my areas between the blocks.

 

The heart shaped handles space called out for little circles, I thought it was just so cute