Slow sewing- Creating a quilted vest

I think it’s no secret that I love to sew! Although these days I often don’t get as much time to do any “fun” sewing (All sewing is fun, of course, some is just more fun than others!) as I might like. I FINALLY finished something recently, that I STARTED in the summer of 2021. Frankly, it’s not the longest standing project I’ve worked on, but it definitely took longer than I wanted!

I had the pleasure of taking a workshop (virtually of course!) with the lovely Sandra Johnson, who lead a day of making a quilted jacket. Well, I made it a vest, I didn’t like it. And I didn’t manage to do my homework, so I didn’t spend the day sewing a garment so much as trying to make my fabric!

I improv pieced the base for the back and two side fronts, and then appliqued a bunch of my signature cell shapes on the back!

Eventually I managed to get the base all put together, and then it was time to quilt! I can never manage to keep it simple, so I did a combination of machine matchstick quilting and then the back got some free motion quilting and big stitch hand quilting.

So, sometime last summer, I managed to cut pattern pieces, fit them to myself and get them sewn together. I embroidered a two inch shawl collar, added some cap sleeves, and voila! A finished vest.

I loved making my own fabric, although it was time consuming, and it was great to make a really one-of-a-kind garment (I hate it when I see my clothes on other poeple!). It really re-invigorated me, and I was so inspired to see what others on the workshop made, as well.

What do you do when you want to be inspired? Drop me a line and share one with me!