Blog
Welcome to the DravonWorks sewing blog! Here you’ll find lots of sewing information. I’m one of the “technical” people, who likes to know the why’s of things. In my mind, once a Why is understood then the information can be applied in a myriad of different ways! You won’t find a whole lot of “make this item” tutorials, but you will find answers to questions like “why should I thread my machine like that versus like this?” or “do I REALLY have to do it this way?” Most of these posts are coming from questions asked by students in my classes, but if YOU have a question you’d like answered then please feel free to comment.
I know that understanding the technical stuff behind what is going on doesn’t work for everyone, but that’s why there are so many great sewing blogs out there! Find the teacher that speaks to you, and I’d love to be one of them. If you do like what you read here, be sure to share, subscribe and visit back often! Tell your friends about this sewing blog! Ask questions, share your projects or stories. Sewing is most fun when it’s a community of people sharing what inspires them. I really want to hear from you!
Hello world!
Ah the obligatory “hello my name is” post. Here goes. *aaaahem* My online name is Dravon (pronounced ‘dragon’ but with a v instead of a g) and I created this blog to encourage myself to continue improving my sewing and garment making skills. Long ago I had a LiveJournal account and within that forum I created what I called a “Garment Post-Mortem” for each item which I made. The purpose of the Post-Mortem was for me to catalog all the successes and failures, as well as to make notes on ways to improve. I...
read moreSFVQA Block Party for Oct/Nov 2011
This is a nifty geometric block in which they wanted to use fall colors offset by white. I found enough colors, since I don’t really have much of a quilting stash, but I’m sure how “fall” they are. Here’s the finished piece: I was very pleased when even M took a look at it and said that my matching was getting better. Overall, there were only 3 rough spots but they are very minor. See the red circles in the below 2 photos to see where the alignment is not perfect, then go back up to the top photo and see if...
read more6-Minute Circle Quilted Potholders
Yet another class taken at Quilt Emporium, this one was called 6-Minute Circle and it was taught by Shirley Vangerov. Shirley taught from the book by Dale Fleming called Pieced Curves So Simple. I’m definitely going to be getting this book!! It was a 2 hour class, and completely and totally worth the time and the money. Shirley taught the process very nicely, making it quick and easy to understand. I loved her focus on the technique, giving us a very simple little project (potholder) so that we can practice the process and end up with...
read moreApplique Santa and Reindeer Candlemat
It’s apprantly time for me to learn all the nuances of applique because it keeps coming up everytime I turn around. While this particular project may look like the latest, technically it was the first. I signed up for the EGA SoCal chapter’s workshop on candlemat back in June, but the event was held at the end of the September. In the meantime, I’d taken the class on needle-turn applique, done the 2 experimental block-party applique things, and then watched a mind blowing demo on the Baltimore applique techniques using...
read moreSFVQA Quilt Block Party for Aug/Sept 2011
This is the San Fernando Valley Quilt Association Block Party pattern for the August and September. You may remember last time was the liberty star which gave me fits and let me know that piecing was not as easy as it looked. This time, the pattern is an appliqued Forget-Me-Not from the old Mountain Mist patterns. When I got the instructions for the new block at the last meeting, I had just finished signing for the Beginning Applique class being held at Quilt Emporium. Talk about fortuitous timing!! I did the pillow, which post-mortem follows...
read moreApplique Flower Pillow
Last week I took a class at the Quilt Emporium called Beginning Applique. That class taught us the basics of needle turn applique. Step one of the process involves using clear vinyl (I used the fronts of those clear vinyl things you get when you buy sheets or curtains). You tape the vinyl to the finished template and use a sharpie to copy the pattern onto the vinyl. Make sure that the center vertical and horizontal lines are included, for positioning purposes. Step two involves making the template pieces into something a bit stronger than...
read moreFrench Braid Halloween Table Runner
Last week I took another class at Quilt Emporium. This one was on the quilting block pattern called a French Braid. This is an image of a quilt from the Fabric Cupboard’s blogspot page: I decided to take this class because it would directly challenge what I consider to be a weak spot — color co-ordination in design. Since the class at Quilt Emporium was only going to be 2 hours long, I opted for the smaller table runner and decided to go with 10 different fabrics plus a central and accent color. Having little faith in myself, I...
read moreBlack Doublet made to match pants
Several years ago we commissioned a set of clothing from Brayton’s Legendary Costume Works. This was when they were first getting starting but they quickly grew too busy to complete the outfit. Brayton finished up the pants, then gave me the material he had left. From there, I drafted the doublet and made it to match. I have to say, they matched VERY well!!! So much so that people with an eye for clothing, like Logan, had no idea they weren’t made at the same time or by the same person. *polishes nails on shirt* I’m very...
read moreMeals-On-Wheels Placemat #1
The San Fernando Valley Quilter’s Association which I recently joined has a whole lot of charity work that they do. One of them is making placemats for the Meals-On-Wheels program. At every meeting, they have a box full of ‘kits’, which actually amount to 2 pieces of cotton fabric and some batting, which you can take so that you can make the placemat. Figuring that this would be a great way to practice some skills and have a home for the finished product while not being obligated to making a full set of 4 or 8 of them, I...
read moreBrown and Turquoise Fairy Pillow
Every now and then, something fun and crazy just has to be sewn. My housemate is wanting a whole bunch of pillows for her daybed, and I figured that would be a great opportunity to experiment with different things that I’ve been wanting to either try or practice. She painted her room in shades of brown and is using turquoise as an accent color. While at Joanne’s one day I found some really nice brown and turq fabric which I picked up, and on the way home had an idea. While looking around for something to use as the ruffle, I found...
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