Murder Mystery Quilt Along: Block 7

I suppose a good way to track the passage of time is to have some sort of a visual countdown that serves as a periodic reminder of just how quickly it moves along. This mystery quilt along is serving that purpose nicely. It's hard to believe that about six months ago I had one block and thought "Oooo, I can't WAIT to see this come together!" And now I have seven (and I'm still having the same thought).

After a very trying day of sewing on Saturday that had me this close to cursing and yelling at no one and everyone out of sheer frustration, I figured I'd at least sew up my quilt block as I should be able to manage that. So here is block seven. Already.

At least this month I have an idea of what this is supposed to be. I'm fairly pleased with my applique stitching, too--

And here are all seven blocks together:

It's too cumbersome to crawl around on the floor and rearrange blocks, so I'm thinking of cutting the template pictures out of paper and messing around with them that way. Because otherwise I have no clue.

Vintage Market Shirt

A few months ago I felt an urge to make a bunch of tops. So, as I am wont to do when such an urge strikes, I bought several patterns and yards of different knit fabrics. I made this top first, and had it out of my system, so the others felt a little more like work. However, I have (almost) five new shirts to share with you. So here's the first.

Disclaimer: some people can manage to take great photos of themselves; I am not one of those people. I hover between looking maniacal and looking exhausted. You have been warned.

I used Jalie's Gathered Scoopneck Top pattern for this. There were two options (I've made both) but this one has a gathered neckline (they call it ruched). The fabric is Riley Blake's Vintage Market in navy. Navy is one of those colors I find difficult to photograph, just like certain shades of red and pink, so you'll just have to trust me that it is indeed navy.

I had a stinker of a time getting that neckline right. Gathers are rarely my friend, and this time was no different. I also would have preferred the neckband to be just a little bit thicker as this feels like it wants to flip itself inside-out, but hasn't done so yet, so it's just a mental issue and not a real issue. And while I do love this fabric print down to my toes, I don't love the fabric as much. It seems to fade and pill more than what I paid for it should allow, and you can see the whiteness of the wrong side of the fabric showing through the stretch of the neckband. But that print! I love sweet little vintage prints like this, so no regrets.

The sleeves are tulip sleeves. I've never made this style before and they are super fun. They have this nifty overlapping thing you do to sew them into the seam. I'm used to making knit shirts where you sew the side seam and the underarm seam all in one shot. I thought I'd have to set this one in with gathers and so on (something I am NOT good at), but this matched the points perfectly and went in nice and smooth.

I don't know how well you can see it in the photo, but the hem is a banded hem. I like that kind of hem best, as I like that snugness around my hips and bum.

While the pattern is pretty much perfect, I wish the scoop of the neckline was a little less deep, as I have to be a bit more mindful of certain things when I bend over (which I realized at work today, but when no one else was around, thank heavens). Otherwise, the fit is good (I made a medium) and it's pretty comfy (even across the shoulders, where I sometimes experience some pulling).

This was my first Jalie pattern I've ever made, and I really like it. I've got another version of this shirt to share, as well as another Jalie pattern that might be my favorite from my recent dive into shirt-making.

So, what about you? Have you made anything new for the warmer weather? Or the colder weather, for our friends down under?

Sweetness

I haven't got a picture to share with you--does this ever bother anyone else? I feel like I should have a photo, but there are blogs that never post a photo throughout the course of their existence, so I'm not sure why I feel it's mandatory. I've been quite lazy lately with blogging. I've been doing a lot of knitting, which results in a lot more time creating, and a lot less time to say ta-dah!! I've got some garments I made, but the weather has been so hot that the idea of casting garments on and off and trying to take good photos when I'm already wanting it to be fall does not sound appealing.

However, I had a moment with the wee nephew the other night that I just had to share because of its extreme cuteness. It was Sunday night, and one of those nights where the half moon is bright in the sky, and you can actually see some stars, even with the ambient light of the city. Everyone else was on the porch, but we took two chairs to the back yard, and sat and talked about volcanoes, planets, what stars are made of, and the man in the moon. We counted airplanes and fireflies, and tried to determine if that one bird we saw in the dark was a bat or just an ordinary bird enjoying the summer night.

A: Aunt Bee, let's move closer to the moon.
Me: {Wonders, as adults do, just what he thinks we're going to climb on top of to get closer. Decides to go with "Okaaay" and follow his lead. A-train proceeds to move our chairs about four feet forward "towards" the moon}.
A: This is better, this is a good view.
Me: Oh, yes, this is much better. Good idea.
A: {Holds out his little hand, palm up} Would you like to hold hands?
End scene.

I need a version of him that is my own age that I'm not related to so I can date him.

Murder Mystery Quilt Along: Block 6

I almost forgot to post June's block in the murder mystery quilt along. Not that I have any more of a clue as to where this is headed. I don't think I've even figured out yet what this month's block represented in the story, but I might just need to reread the chapter. Even though we have an entire month (pretty much) to sew up each block I am very much appreciating the simplicity of the summer months' designs.

Again a lot of polka dots, but I'm trying not to buy anything new. Each month I am reminded of how paltry my stash has become--mostly basics and a few pretties I'm hoarding for something, I know now what.

We've now got half of the blocks finished (which amazes me we're on the flip side of 2016 already), and here's how they all look together, in order:

I think I need to just move these around like some weird puzzle and see if they line up in a way that makes sense. I'm not bad at solving TV mysteries, but this one...

Are any of you taking part in this? Are you clueless too, or are you feeling hunches and stuff?