Update from the Sewing Room

I keep thinking of great bloggy things that I want to write about, and then I go off and do something else (like mow the lawn or hang out the laundry) and my ideas fly away like birds. Scattershot.

So instead I’ll catch you up on my sewing life.

004

I signed up to take a block of the month class at my LQS (that stands for local quilt shop for all you non-quilters who wonder what the heck I’m talking about.) It’s a applique class that will teach me all the cool things that I can do with my sewing machine beyond simply sewing. This is my first block. I added the bird and his tail is going to extend over into the sashing, which is why it looks unfinished. I HAVE to add my own creative mark, right? Right! It’s machine applique. I’ve never done machine applique before and I am still sitting on the fence with it. It looks very…manufactured (to me, anyway.) It’s a very different look from needle-turn-by-hand.  I’m linking this new project up to the NewFO Challenge over at Cat Patches. The object of the challenge is to start a NewFO (new fabric object) every month, which can then become a UFO (unfinished fabric object), which is something I have no problem accomplishing, lol!

index

003And I also started a project from a book, which makes me eligible to link up with the Let’s Book It party over at Vrooman’s Quilts. The object here is to make a project from a book that you actually already own. What a concept! I have an entire shelf (okay, two shelves) of quilt books full of things that I want to make someday. So I have started an applique project from a book that I’ve had for years, called My Whimsical Quilt Garden by Becky Goldsmith  Linda Jenkins. It uses needle-turn applique. Here is my first block, which is NOT finished yet.

indexZemanta Related Posts Thumbnail

PLUS, I made the Ring Toss quilt  (blogged here) from my Project Linus book. So I am doubly eligible for the Let’s Book It party!

AND, my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt is featured this week as part of the Tuesday Archives over at Val’s Quilting Studio! It’s really cool to see my quilt featured on someone else’s website! Go check it out!

And on the dress front…

002

I am still working toward my goal of sewing a dress out of real fabric (as opposed to a bed sheet).

Now…can I get a Whoop Whoop?

What are you making?

Ring Toss: a quilt for Beckham

Last month a young family that I know lost their home to fire.

051

Beckham and his big sister lost everything they own.

040

So I got busy making quilts.

045

This one is for Beckham, who is an energetic toddler. I used Thomas the Tank Engine fabric because what two-year-old boy doesn’t love Thomas? And woah! Thomas the Tank Engine backing, too! What’s not to love?

052

The pattern is called Ring Toss, from the book Quilt it with Love: the Project Linus Story. I hand quilted it using the Big Stitch method with yellow-gold Perle cotton. The center of each ring is hand-tied with embroidery floss.

047

I’m making a quilt for Beckham’s big sister, too. I’ll post it as soon as it’s finished, so stay tuned!

038