New project is already posing a challenge

Pendrell Blouse pattern available from Sewaholic Patterns

Innocent Crush voile available from Hawthorne Threads

I am SO excited to start this project! I'm making the Pendrell blouse pattern from Sewaholic Patterns out of Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush cotton voile. The pattern and the fabric are both divine, so I hope it turns out well. This is also going to be my first time making a muslin. After the fit issues I had with the denim skirt, I figured it would be smart to do a muslin first so I can check the fit, and also make sure I know how to put the blouse together. Luckily, if I do run into any problems, Tasia of Sewaholic is running a sew-along for the pattern right now. Her detailed how-tos will be a big help once I start sewing this blouse.

So far, I've cut out the muslin, but when I tried to sew yesterday, I ran into some machine issues. For the muslin, I used an old sheet, and it's the thinnest fabric I've used so far with this machine. Evidently the machine did NOT like that, because the fabric was puckering like crazy, and the thread tension seemed off too. I tried a few things- adjusting tension up and down, sewing with stabilizer paper, cleaning the machine- but no real luck. It was better when I sewed two layers of fabric plus stabilizer paper, although still not perfect. A quick Google search offered some more things to try, so hopefully I can get this sorted out. The voile I'll be using for the blouse is as thin as the muslin, if not thinner, so I'd better fix the issue now rather than later. However, I'm thinking I may also want to underline the blouse, at least in the body, partly so that it will sew easier, and partly because the voile is on the sheer side. I can figure that out later, though- for now, I'm just crossing my fingers that I can convince my machine to sew this fabric!

In Progress: Granny Square Blanket

I learned how to crochet several years ago. My grandmother taught me- she loved to crochet while watching TV, and everyone in our family has at least one of her striped afghans. So far, I haven't really gone beyond scarves, although I've wanted to. When I saw this blanket at the Purl Bee, though, I just had to try and make one of my own. It's still a work in progress but I love how it's coming together!

I'm using Cascade Yarns 100% Peruvian Wool in white, light grey, medium grey, and charcoal, transitioning from light to dark and back again. Although I'd never done one before, it was easy to learn how to crochet the granny square using these instructions.