As soon as Fancy Tiger Crafts debuted their newest pattern, Fen, I knew that I wanted to give it a try. I really like simple, woven shirts that I can pull over my head without any closures (Scout tee, I'm looking at you.). And the fact that it has a dress option? That sold me.

I bought the paper version of the pattern on the day it was released. I prefer paper over pdf for many reasons, some of which are: 1. I HATE taping computer paper together. All that trimming! I'd rather spend my time sewing; 2. There are three women in this house with adult sized bodies and we are all different sizes so it makes sense to invest in paper patterns that are easy to trace; 3. I have yet to find a good storage solution for taped together pdf's. With a paper pattern, I can fold it all up in its little envelope before I tuck it away. Win!

The pattern is wonderful. Beyond choosing whether to make a dress or a top, there are two neckline options (round and v-neck), two hem options and two sleeve lengths. The versatility is top notch. The instructions are well-written and very easy to follow. Especially clever is the way the neck binding is top-stitched into place using a double needle which, in turn, finishes the raw edges on the inside at the same time!

For my version, I chose to make a top out of this lovely Loominous Big Love plaid that I picked up at Craft South in June. I really thought I would save this fabric for a dress, but I am glad I used it for this top. It's a great transitional piece that I will wear a lot more this fall and through the winter into spring. It does wrinkle - I wore this all day before the photos were taken - but I can live with a little ironing in my life. I went with a rounded neck and the shirttail hem, both of which are just more "me" than the other choices. I lengthened the front and the back by 1" and it looks good. I do think another 1/2" would be even better - duly noted for the next one. I chose to add the optional sleeve and debated on how to make it look right with the scale of this plaid. I had a wild idea to cut it on the bias so that it would look deliberate when the plaid didn't match and I am happy with that choice. I love how it looks! Still, had it not worked out, I still had an extra 1/2 yard of fabric to cut the sleeve again. Got to love a good insurance policy!

Once I had all the pieces cut out, the sewing went smoothly and extremely FAST. I had the whole thing sewn up in about two hours and that was with changing to the double needle and back to the single and some fiddling to get the hem right. And, truthfully, the hem could be better, but I'm not pointing out what I think the issues are because I am probably the only one who sees them.

I made a size 12 and the fit is good. I could probably have graded out to a 14 at the hip and I might try that on another top. I don't think that would be necessary on the dress as the waistline is high enough that the 12 will be the correct size for my torso and the gathered skirt would be full enough in the hips. Someone on Instagram asked if I did a full bust adjustment and I didn't have to. I'm a full C, small D and I think there is just the right amount of ease. Much bigger and it would be very baggy under the arms.

I think that about covers it all. Questions? Hit me and I'll answer them in the comments for everyone's benefit. Also, has anyone else made the Fen? Let me know so I can take a look-see.

Autumn decorating is a little tricky for me. It is my favorite time of year, but the traditional warm fall colors like gold, burgundy, forest green, brown are really not my thing. I like crisp, clean colors and love it when my fall decorations can past Halloween until Thanksgiving. Inspired to make something that fit the bill, I whipped up this cute fall-inspired pillow in a matter of an hour and a half. The key? My AccuQuilt Go! cutter. This is one tool that I am so glad to have in my studio. It takes cutting to a whole new level - fast and entirely accurate! Who doesn't love that?

Over the next few months, I will be contributing and sharing various projects I make using it over on the AccuQuilt blog. This sweet pillow is today's project. Click here for the full tutorial for this pillow. If you make one, please let me know! I'd love to see it.

I think it is important to tell you that, yes, AccuQuilt did provide me with a cutter a couple of years ago and that they will continue to provide me with dies for the projects I design for them. The remainder of the materials and all opinions and project ideas are mine alone. I truly love my cutter and would not be doing this if I felt any differently.

I am extremely lucky to have a large space in our home to use as a studio. It's great to be able to spread out and work on projects and leave them in progress if I need to. The problem with a large space? It's very easy to spread out and leave projects in progress if I need to. Also known as: I make big messes. Or: I rarely clean up completely before I move on to the next thing.

I have spent a good chunk of my available sewing/creative time in the last week going through the studio and just organizing my fabric. The main push for this was the color theory/color palette class by Anna Maria Horner on Creativebug. After watching that, I just knew I had to get my stash organized by color if I really wanted it to work for me in the best possible way.

I started slowly, one shelf at a time, sorting and arranging the fabrics where they were. Because some of my stash was organized by designer, it seemed easiest to just arrange each designer's fabric into color order instead of overwhelming myself with pulling everything off the shelves. So, that is what I did. First, Anna Maria. Then Heather Ross. Then Carolyn Friedlander and Lizzy House. Finally, Denyse Schmidt. After many hours, all these designers' lines that I have, in part or in whole, are all mixed up with each other, but still separated by designer. The end goal is to get all the designers mixed up, too, but I am really getting tired of organizing fabric. For now, this is where it sits and I am good with it. It is so much better than it was before. Eventually, I will take the final step and mingle it all together.

And because projects like this tend to snowball, I am also going through the shelves that hold larger cuts of quilting cotton and garment fabrics. I have no need to shop for quilt backs! I also like to wear blue - so many of the garment fabrics are navy or a close cousin. I had no idea how many possibilities there were in my own stash. Sad, but true. Also, exciting! It's like shopping for new fabric with the stuff I already own and I'm excited to think about making quilts and clothes based on what I already have on hand. I also stacked all the quilt tops that need quilting with their backings in one area. I hope that this will get me to finish a few before I start more.

I have found many blocks, piece of patchwork and quilts in progress! I'm excited to revisit some of these ideas and see where they go. Hopefully, into some finished quilts! But also inevitable in a huge clear out like this, I have found a lot of things that I don't want or need any longer. I am slowly going through the pile and have been offering up a few things a day on Instagram. Some of these are items I would just like to go to a welcoming home so they are free. Other things, mostly fabric and patterns, have some kind of value so I am selling those. My goal is to finish this week so I can get back to sewing. There is nothing like a clean space and a fresh palette to get the ideas churning! In the meantime, I will be back this week with a tutorial or two that I finished up before I made the mess even messier. See you soon!