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Observer Blog Tour with Amber and Jaime

We were thrilled to be asked to join April Rhodes blog tour in celebration of her newest fabric line for Art Gallery: Observer. This new collection continues April's theme of travel and textile love, in the colors we always want more of in our lives: indigo, gold and grey. There are three knits and one voile print in addition to 15 quilting cottons. The entire line is available here.

Jaime's Adventure Tank

Pattern: Adventure Tank, racerback version by Amber Corcoran
Fabric: 1 yd of Chipping Away in Depth Knit
Size Made: small
Modifications: none

April Rhodes is a pattern designer herself, so she is great at designing prints that lend themselves to garments. I love this block-printed design and it is perfect for our newest sewing pattern, the Adventure Tank. Art Gallery Knits are amazingly soft and easy to work with. They are 95% cotton with 5% spandex giving a great amount of stretch for a garment like this.

We recently got a cover stitch machine in our classroom that I have yet to get to know - the Janome 1000CPX. I decided that this project would be perfect for me to test our our new machine. The cover stitch machine is great for top-stitching knits. You can use 1, 2 or 3 needles to make beautiful seams with a chain stitch to finish the edges on the wrong side. This takes the place of a double needle for the Adventure Tank, which is used to neatly finish the neck, arm holes and hem. It worked great and was so easy to thread. I don't think I'll ever go back to the double needle now that I have this available to me!

Amber's Ondèe Tee

Pattern: Deer and Doe Ondée Sweater
Size Made: Drafted between 2 sizes - 40 Bust/44 Waist
Fabric: Triangle Tokens in Ink Metallic Knit
Modifications: Instead of the collar for Version A, I used a band to finish it.

Indigo, mustard, and gold, oh my! I'm so excited about April's newest fabric collection. I've been meaning to make the Ondée Sweater from Deer and Doe, and I decided this Triangle Tokens Knit--a modern take on a classic navy and white dot--is perf for this slightly 50s cropped tee.

I again drafted between two sizes, tracing for a size 40 at the shoulders, sleeves and bust, and then easing to a size 44 at the waist and waistband. This worked out really well. Next time I make the Ondée, I will lengthen it just an inch or so. I love that it hits at the natural waist, though, perfect for highwaisted skirts and jeans!


Jaime let me borrow her high waisted Zinnia Skirt to pair with my Ondée for this shoot, and now this skirt is on my must-sew list for fall.

Got so excited that I lost my shoe, I did!

You can check out the entire 6-week blog tour line-up on April's site here. Tune in tomorrow 9/1/16 for the next stop at Suzy Quilts!

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