Monday, November 16, 2009

in the works

Yet another attack on the scrap drawer, using this tutorial here . I actually made the blocks a wee bit bigger and was not nearly as methodical in my piecing as she is, surprise.

Except for the dark fabric no yardage was harmed in the making of this quilt. In fact, most of the strips came from old binding leftovers, of which I had an enormous boxful. Dang it felt good to make a dent in that!
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Saturday, November 7, 2009

bermuda triangle


I cleaned, I oiled, I rethreaded top and bobbin thread multiple times, and yet every time I got to that beautiful blue square chaos reigned. It's like the Bermuda triangle of sewing. And so we have a bag topstitched not once, not twice, but 4 times. I think those handles ought to stay in there.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

new trick


OK yesterday I had a bit of a sewing binge, I just couldn't help putting some pretty pink squares together:
And the REAL adventure of the day was learning a new quilting technique that I really REALLY like. I saw this here and knew I had to try it. Scribbling all over is, after all, right up my alley.


Isn't that just cool?
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Sunday, November 1, 2009

country lovin'

There's that good sport of a husband of mine, dutifully holding up my latest project.
I have horded this fabric for years, just liking the fact that it all matched each other, until one day I realized I didn't love it like I used to. I still love it for waiting so patiently in a little gap box, all neatly folded and coordinating, but it's a more sentimental attachment than an actual affinity for country colors. But living in Iowa has made me feel the vibe and this little number is going to reside in a charming little bungalow in a town of less than 1000 people where I hope it will fit right in. I quite enjoyed piecing it, and especially quilting it, and I anticipate enjoying giving it away to a good home. The best part was using almost every single scrap of it up. My goal was to make the quilt all from fabric I already had. I ended up having to buy the binding is all. I already had the blue for the back but I wanted it to be a little bigger so I knew I had to save a little fabric to add to the blue, plus get a few more blocks on the front, hence the 8 or so string blocks, plus some leftover blue chenille blocks. Usually when I do plain squares I crosshatch them but this time I sewed straight lines about 1/4" down each seam and I REALLY like it. It was sort of labor intensive but definitely worth it.

I made a bag!!

For years I have relied on my oh-so-talented friends and family for all my sassy handbag needs. But when I was given a stray copy of the ever-inspiring-but-way-too-expensive-for-cheap-little-me Stitch Magazine I knew I had to give the cover project a shot. Go ahead, check out the cover, my lack of creativity will astonish you. I just liked that one SO MUCH I pretty much recreated it.
This was SO FUN to make I foresee more in the future, hopefully with a tiny bit of original thought thrown in.