I slipped away with girlfriends for a few days and came home to a missed family, a clean kitchen, one quilt ready for binding and another ready for quilting. I'm going to ease into this week, exercise, grocery shop, sew my ass off and start the garden. You?

I slipped away with girlfriends for a few days and came home to a missed family, a clean kitchen, one quilt ready for binding and another ready for quilting. I'm going to ease into this week, exercise, grocery shop, sew my ass off and start the garden. You?

I was leaning towards the solid, if you wondered. I told Fatty that I put it up on the blog because most of the time, through the comments your thoughts get me thinking about situations in ways I haven't before. And whether or not I come up with the same end result as the majority, I feel like I consider all angles when I listen to other opinions. So thank you. You help more than you realize.

As it turns out, you all convinced me to give the print a try. And, as suggested, I asked Kate her preference. Of course, I knew she'd want the print, too. But, I wasn't sold until I sat down to piece it. The lightbulb went off and I now have one quilt back, with a second almost finished.

It's sandwich time, folks.

I was leaning towards the solid, if you wondered. I told Fatty that I put it up on the blog because most of the time, through the comments your thoughts get me thinking about situations in ways I haven't before. And whether or not I come up with the same end result as the majority, I feel like I consider all angles when I listen to other opinions. So thank you. You help more than you realize.

As it turns out, you all convinced me to give the print a try. And, as suggested, I asked Kate her preference. Of course, I knew she'd want the print, too. But, I wasn't sold until I sat down to piece it. The lightbulb went off and I now have one quilt back, with a second almost finished.

It's sandwich time, folks.

The auction went well. Really well. I'm in recovery mode. After spending a few hours setting up on Saturday morning, I logged a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. And today, I repeated that. I guess I really had no idea how tired I was! I plan on writing a post about all the projects, etc., later this week - I just can't wrap my head around everything right now. Soon. Pinky swear.

In the meantime, I'm giddy thinking about all the sewing I want to do. Close to first on my list is to finish Kate's single girl quilts. The tops have been finished for a long time, maybe even close to a year. I think the reason I haven't finished them yet is that I've been having an internal debate about what to back them with and exactly how I want to quilt them. The quilting part is pretty much decided and I've narrowed the back down to two options.

Option 1:  Use the solid khaki, the same as the background fabric. The binding will also be this solid.  I like this option because I think it would make the patchwork part of the quilts sing. It seems a bit simpler than the print and maybe a bit cleaner?

Option 2: Use the pattern. It's a coordinting print from the same line as the patchwork rings, but it isn't included on the front. This seems a bit funner and younger, a little sassier, but also a smidge fussy.

Either option could have a patchwork strip of the other prints, too.

Solid or Pattern? Which would you go with? Why?

The auction quilts are finished - full reveal once I get some photos taken.

I found a plant that the cat won't eat. I love those tiny daffodils.

Happy weekend everyone!

The auction quilts are finished - full reveal once I get some photos taken.

I found a plant that the cat won't eat. I love those tiny daffodils.

Happy weekend everyone!

There are moments when I feel like I need to create right then.  Unfortunately, it's not entirely possible or practical to give in to those whims all the time. The other night, however, after working on auction projects for many hours, I gave in to my desire to make.  I quickly gathered a pile of scraps from the over-filling grocery bags on the studio floor. The blues and bits of red were calling to me so I dug until I had a good assortment to choose from. I started playing with fabric, cutting bits and stitching them together.

I guess you'd call it a potholder - there are a few layers of batting sandwiched between all the fabric and I did add a red twill tape loop. In my mind, though, it's a little more than that. One of my goals this year is to not be so restrained when it comes to sewing. I really want to play more - developed palettes, use different techniques, loosen up a bit. I want to ride the creative waves when they appear and see where they might take me. This is a start.

I used free motion for the quilting which I find much easier to control when I use it for small details. Go figure. As I said, the fabrics are all scraps, including the linen piece with the nest. I printed that with my gocco a few years ago and was happy to find it in the scrap bag. I quilted the back differently because I didn't want the reverse of the words showing. I think it was a good decision.

It felt great to make something without a plan. I need to give myself permission to do that more often.

In the meantime, I'll be working on the auction quilts (almost done!!!). As I finish up the other projects, I'll share those, too. I'm really happy with how they are all coming together, but there is still quite a bit of work to do.  Back here soon.