A Productive Day!!!

Hello, all!!

Well, lots of snow and ice on the roads kept us inside today, but it made for a very productive day! I can't post pictures of what I'm working on because it's a gift and someone might see it - but I did learn two neat things today and wanted to pass them on.

First of all, I did use a very old piece of fabric from my stash. It had been hanging around for a long time because it was kind of unusual - a piece of warm grey batik with silver spiderwebs and spiders printed on it. I picked it up because it was an interesting piece, but I've never been able to find a use for it where the spiders weren't just a little creepy. I was debating using it in the project I was working on and had almost decided not to use it, when I took a look at the reverse of the fabric - and found out that it was a beautiful warm grey batik without the spiderwebs!! So - if you have a fabric that you can't seem to find a use for, take a look at the reverse side. It may work using that side! I've also used this trick this week when I needed a slightly less intense pink for an applique - the reverse side of the printed pink fabric was slightly lighter, and the print was vague enough that it didn't really make much of a difference in the print.

Second tip - keep a spare chopstick next to your sewing machine! It's really useful for turning things, plus it's great for pulling thread out from under your presser foot, which I find to be really awkward with my fingers - they're too big to get under the presser foot, but the chopstick is just the right size. Since I've learned to pull up my bobbin thread to the top when machine quilting, it's also great for pulling that little loop of bobbin thread through!! Takes about half the time.....

That's all I've got tonight - here's hoping the roads clear off enough for us to get to church safely tomorrow morning!! Later!!

Sarah

Snow Day!!

Well, thanks to the first snow storm to hit Tennessee in 5 or 6 years, I had a lot of time today to sew!! A friend of mine asked me to make some clothes for her little girl, and I finished a cute reversible dress for her today. Take a look at the applique on the pocket. This is a great way to use up some of that stash of cute little scraps!! I love the way this little bird came out - he's just valentine-y enough with his heart-shaped wings, and of course, he's called "tweetheart"!

I also started some appliqued t-shirts for the same little girl, once again for Valentine's day - these aren't finished yet, but they will be ladybugs with heart-shaped spots. Once again, cleaning out the stash of cute little scraps!


Next will be a St. Patrick's day-themed shirt and an Easter shirt. I also want to make a shirt for my granddaughter, Lilli - when you tell her you love her, she answers, "I you too too!" So I'm envisioning an eye, a sheep (ewe), and a tutu on the front of a shirt. A little corny, but a good way to memorialize a funny way to say "I love you too"!

I'm still working on finishing up those quilts for Quilts for Kids - five are finished, only three more to quilt and then I'll be taking a picture to post on here with all the ladies who worked on them!

So it's been a busy but fun day, thanks to the fact that we get snow so seldom in middle Tennessee that they don't plow the roads - which makes it safer to stay indoors and sew! Stay warm!! Later!

Sarah

Hello, all!

Well, today I actually accomplished something towards my new year's resolution - as you can see by this picture:

This child's quilt was made up of the left-over squares from the eight quilt tops we pieced last Saturday, which was then "window-paned" with some fabric from my stash. The border fabric and the backing are from my stash also! I'm really pleased with the result - I think it's really cheerful and very very colorful!! And I've diminished the stash, at least a little bit!

On a humorous note, my granddaughter walked in today and grabbed some fabric strips, sat down at my sewing machine, and announced, "Teach sew now, Nana - right this minute!" I guess she's not willing to wait until she's big enough to reach the foot pedal!

Saturday I'm going to be teaching a couple of ladies how to machine quilt - it should be an interesting experience! Being basically self-taught on this particular skill, I'm constantly learning new little tricks and finding easier ways to do things. For instance, I just dropped the feed dogs and used a darning foot to free-form quilt for the first time ever - it was fun and lots easier than I thought it would be - and I owe it all to watching a video on a website. The internet is an amazing thing - it never ceases to amaze me how much information is available to help you learn new skills.

Later!! Sarah