Keeping in Touch!

Hello everyone.  Yes, I am still here!  There has been some craaaaazzzzzy heat in my area the past while and when that happens my brain fries so I’m not able to do a lot of work on any kind of project.  I kind of just sit still in as little clothing as possible and try not to melt.  Don’t picture it …

But I just noticed that I haven’t posted my most recently finished projects, one of which is actually a new quilt! Yay! I was able to bind it on a very infrequent cool evening and I just love how it turned out because it is so soft I just want to keep squishing it.

First, here are a couple of smaller items I worked on in the mornings before the scorching started …

This is the medium size train case (Crimson & Clover pattern by Sara Lawson at sewsweetness.com) done in a vintage looking clock print with some music on the inside.  I added a second pull to the zipper and what a different that makes not only to the appearance of it, but also to the function!

This size was definitely easier to do than the smallest one I made a while back (in red), like the difference between sewing barbie doll clothing and adult clothing! haha

I also got some couching done on a pillow cover, and used some of the fancy stitches on my sewing machine to add some quilting pizazz in bright colors for a funky look.  I used a couching foot for my Pfaff QE 4.2 to do the wavy lines of yarn and then switched to the free motion couching foot for the lettering.  I could have done it all with the free motion couching foot, but I am still getting used to it, so I wanted to save that for a small area that I could easily fix if need be 🙂

And here is my newest quilt, pieced with soft vintage looking floral prints, bordered and backed with the Quilter’s Muslin I mentioned in a previous post.  I used a finer thread on this quilt – So Fine from Superior Threads – because I’m trying to work into using that for certain projects where I just want texture that blends in more than a heavier thread that stands out.  I’m hoping to get it to work consistently for me as many quilters and teachers love it and while I have a few kinks to work out, I’m getting advice from the experts so I’m trying to stay positive that it will indeed become a good option.

Doesn’t that just look so cuddly?  And it feels like a quilt you just got from grandma, soft and loved.  I think the lighter weight thread does play a part in that.

That’s all for now, hope you are all enjoying whatever you like to do in the summer.  I’ll be inside with the blinds pulled, sipping ice water and trying to figure out where my next meal is going to come from.  They say “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”, and because even boiling something on the stove raises the room temp, I’m taking that rather literally!  FYI: there’s no shame in eating cereal for supper … and chocolate tastes better soft anyway.