Fabric Friday - or why I still love my mom

When my parents came to visit in June, she brought some fabric from one of her local quilt shops that was closing. I didn't really have any requests, but I said precuts are good. She brought me a Hemming House charm pack and a Vine Creek layer cake. Not sure what I am going to do with either of them yet.

This pile of fabric made my heart stop a little. There are several metres of fabric. It is one of my favourite from the "Greetings from Canada" line that came out several years ago. I hugged this fabric. I am going to cherish it and save it for just the right project (I'm thinking the next quilt I make for our bed).

Thanks mom. Sorry there is only 1 quilt shop left (there use to be 3!), but I'm sure you'll find me plenty of more treasures there :).

Where I Sew

I decided to join in on the blog tour hosted by Pink Chalk Fabrics of "Where I Sew". There are also posts by designers about their sewing space. Go here to take a look at all the sewing spaces.

I was going to share where I sew before I discovered the blog tour. We moved to a new home in June and I finally have most things where I want them. The above shelf is in our bedroom. Upstairs.

My yarn stash takes up 3 cubbies.

My fabric stash, quilt books and UFO's take up most of the other cubbies.

On top (beside the printer), is a yellow basket I couldn't pass up at Michael's last year and a stack of 3 very special quilts. I'll be sharing these quilts and some others in a series of posts every Wednesday in August. (My husband made the little origami bunny that is sitting in front of them).

Now, to my actual sewing space. It is downstairs in the garage. The lighting is ok, the privacy is amazing and if I want to be a part of what is going on, I just open the door going into the house, that opens onto the dining room/kitchen/ living room. It's great to leave a frustrating project behind doors, and not have to clean up too much when I'm in the middle of something.

Above my table, I have hung rulers, pictures I love and some mini crafts. My sister made me the Iris wall hanging, I made the butterfly cross-stitch when I was 8 or 9, and the house in the middle was painted by my mom when she was pregnant with me.

To the side is my ironing board. It's nice to finally have a regular size board. Before we moved to this house, I had been using a mini-ironing board on top of my quilt table. I use my quilt rack to hold ironed fabrics and quilt tops waiting to be quilted.

Thanks for visiting my sewing space. 

Playing with fabric - finally a QUILTING post

Finally home after a month visiting family in Canada. Didn't touch a sewing machine for a whole month! Only went in 1 quilt store (bought 2 fat quarters). Bought some fabric from a chain store to make new living room pillows for my mom, but didn't get them made. Brought the fabric back home with me... but they can wait for another day. I've had a Just Wing It and a Chrysalis layer cake waiting for me to play with them. So I pushed all the ufo's aside and played. It felt great.

First up is Just Wing It. This set has a lot of "solids" so I wanted to do something to set those off. Here is block 1. I played with the fabric in my bedroom since everyone else was in the living room.

2 more blocks.

Block 4 on my bed. (I mainly took these photos so I'd remember what fabrics I picked for each block in case they got mixed up).

I was able to get the first block made. With the four blocks it would be roughly 54 inches square. May decide they need sashing once I have all 4 completed. There will definitely be plenty of space to do some interesting quilting. My brain is already trying to decide what to do.

Got out the Chrysalis layer cake one evening after supper. It had been a frustrating meal (thanks to my son), so I asked my daughter if she wanted to play with me and the fabric. Her eyes lit up and my son and even my husband soon joined in, trying to figure out the best place for each square. I love this line and didn't want to cut it up, just a quick throw that I can lay under and enjoy looking at the fabrics. After the kids went to bed, I pieced the top and surprised them with it in the morning. It was really neat to see their minds working, trying to decide which block should go where and learning to look at the squares around it. By the end even my daughter was saying things like, "Oh, it can't go there. Then it would be too brown heavy in that corner."

Got out this thrifted tablecloth made from cheater fabric for the back. Unfortunately it was made for a circular table so I will need to add some fabric at every corner.

I am going to try and use the green fabric on the left to fill in the corners and the brown polka dot for the binding. Time to do some ironing and then quilt!

Still alive and knitting

We are still visiting family in Canada, so no sewing to report but I have been doing some knitting. Knitted this shawlette for a niece. Hope to get one more completed before I leave.

Close-up of the middle lace pattern. The yarn is a light lavender. Still needs to be blocked.

Finished this hat last night. I made a matching scarf earlier in the year.

Fits my head ok. Would like it bigger. Would add at least one more cable repeat if I do it again.

Made it to the local quilt store and picked up these 2 fat quarters.

My daughter picked this yarn out. She would like a pair of fingerless gloves. 

Only a few days left before we head home. Trying to get a few more Christmas presents finished before we go. Wish me luck.