Blankie is finished....

I finally finished the baby blanket a week later than I had intended. I think it turned out really cute. Here it is:

It's an exaggerated log cabin. I used seersucker fabric for the top and minky for the back. Yes, I forgot to take pictures with the back showing but it was a very pale yellow minky. This was my very first time working with the minky and I did a lot of research before cutting it. Surprisingly, I did not have a hard time sewing the minky with the machine. I used many, many pins and made sure that the minky was next to the feed dogs.

How did I do on my first quilt project in years?

I haven't decided yet what my next project is but I was thinking about the Swing Shift jacket pattern by Sewn square one for your style or 1 little girl version of the Vintage Baby Bubble pattern by Petite Poche (Wendy Schoen).

Happy Sewing!

Sewing again....

Listen....Did you hear that sound? No, it's the sound of my sewing machine being used. Oh, it feels so good to have one of my machine going again. I've been sewing since Sunday just about every day. What am I working on? A baby quilt. I'm not really much of a quilter but I was inspired by the January issue of Martha Stewart's Living. Of course, there aren't really any instructions other than very basic information like the size of the starting square and the width of the strips. I should have the quilt top finished tonight. Then, the challenging part starts. I will be working with Minky for the first time. I want this little quilt to have lots of texture and interest and it's going to. I post a picture next week after it is all it is all finished assuming I survive the Minky.

Happy Sewing!

I didn't know....

Wow! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I have posted anything. Well, I haven't been sewing so maybe that is one of the reasons. I have turned my serger on twice since the first of the year. How sad is that? I may not have been sewing but have been busy. A home renovation project was moved up a month. Move forward three weeks and I have a newly renovated basement. It turned out beautiful. However in the middle of the renovation, a pipe developed a leak (on the 2nd floor, of course) and it was discovered before the ceiling fell in the living room which is above the area being renovated. About 1/4 of the living room ceiling had to be replaced along with the piping above it. Those copper pipes don't last forever. With the ceiling being replaced it meant that the living room had to be repainted. Because of all the dry wall sanding the whole house has had to be cleaned. Yes, I'm still working on that. There are just too many things to do but I will be sewing soon.

Happy Sewing!

A new year for sewing!

It's a new year and I'm ready to sew. I've decided that I want new Christmas decor. I think the only way I can accomplish this is to attempt to make a plan and start early in the year. So, I will be starting with tablecloths. Here's the fabrics that I have chosen:



These fabrics are from my shop and they are wonderful. I think this very traditional look will look nice in my red dining room. I need to measure my table and check the drop before cutting the fabric. I think the gold plaid will have a traditional sewn hem and the red plaid will have a serged edge. I need to look for some decorative serger thread. Any suggestions?

Here's my goal for the year: tablecloths (2), placemats (4), napkins (4), tree skirt, and holiday pillows. I do think this is a doable list as long as I don't put anything off till the last minute. The fabric collection that the tablecloth fabric is from has lots of very traditional fabrics and I may use some of those. However, I want the treeskirt to have a scrappy look with lots of embellishments. More decorative threads.

Happy Sewing!

It's been a month..

Wow! I can't believe it's been a month since I've made any comments. I decided against the dress I was thinking about and just haven't moved on to another project. Work has been keeping me very busy. However, I have purchased a couple of new books. Here they are:












Two of the Sewing Bible books. I was disappointed with both of these books. I would recommend to anyone that these be books that you wait till they show up at the library. The slipcovers book was not what I was expecting at all and was a real disappoint. Given the picture on the front, I thought it was a book about slipcovers for furniture. Not so. There is one project in the book that is related to furniture. Other projects are tablecloths, pillow covers, etc. I think you get the idea. The clothing book might be good for a beginner but I doubt that anyone else would be very excited about it.

I decided tonight that I would look at new patterns. I know I haven't been sewing but I can dream. Here's what I found at Butterick:


Isn't this a lovely dress by Maggie London? I'm very tempted to purchase this pattern for the stash. I checked the other 3 big pattern companies and didn't find anything else as interesting.

Happy Sewing!