Staycation Sewing

Happy Mail from Sew Love Fabrics!

Happy Fabric Mail!

From left to right:  Hop Dot in Olive, Lindy Leaf in Green,  Henna Garden in Leaf, Vintage Paisley in Seaside, Happy Butterfly in Maize, Happy Butterfly in Pumpkin, and Maybe in Tangerine, from the collections Nicey Jane, Meadowsweet and Innocent Crush.  My stash was lacking in green, yellow and orange prints.

Love the Charm Squares!

And, Lindy Leaf in Pink,  Henna Garden in Speckle, Henna Garden in Raspberry, Buttoned up in Plum and charm squares from the newly released Parisville and a velveteen from Innocent Crush!  Did you know that Ruth sends charm squares with fabric orders?  Sew fun!

Rainbow Quilting

On Friday morning, I ogled the new fabric a bit and then got busy quilting the Hide & Seek Spectrum baby quilt.  Pure pleasure!  Don't you adore the rainbow effect on the white muslin backing?  I have lots of pretty photos to show, but those will have to wait for their own post!

a gift set

Next I worked on some potholders I've been slooooowly making just because the scraps from the Modern Meadow Colorbrick quilt demanded to be used.  I would have finished them on Friday, but freemotion quilting got in the way.

I forced myself to try freemotion for the first time. I did the wavy design that Shelly used to make my sewing machine cover. After lots of quality time with my seam ripper, I got one potholder quilted "good enough." And, then, I admitted to myself that I hated the wavy design on this way-geometric potholder. So, hours of picking out thread later, a simple squared-off spiral it is.  These are a Christmas present for someone I love.

Potholders in Modern Meadow

And, there's more! Here's another pair of slightly larger potholders destined for another home near me. The inspiration for this set was the binding-making process. You know how when you piece two binding strips together you end up with little triangles of fabric when you cut the diagonal seam down to a 1/4" seam allowance? Those little triangles wanted to play! Scrappy binding = scrappy potholder.

from Binding-making scraps =)

Here are the backings.

Potholder Backing

This set is going to be a hard one for me to part with. See how it matches my home?

Hmm... the match my home so well...

So, as I was saying... finished those potholders Saturday morning. Next up was another Christmas gift - a Noel bunting.

Noel Bunting

Months ago I found a Christmasy fairy fabric that totally reminded me of someone on my gift list. It's a fairy panel from Flower Fairies by Michael Miller.

Holly Fairy

The fabric is a wee bit traditional, but I think that touches of Funky Christmas by Michael Miller and Amy Butler's full moons give it a fresh look.

the Christmas Tree Fairy

I used red velvet from our old Christmas Tree skirt to back and trim the fairy flags. Pretty, but quite a pain to work with. Give me crisp quilting cotton please!

Noel Fairy Bunting

Ok, so the tally so far for my child-free staycation is 1 quilt, 4 potholders and 1 Noel bunting - all gifts! Sounds pretty good, right? I'm thinking that after I finish up a non-sewing project this afternoon, I may get started on something completely frivolous for myself!

Enjoy your Sunday!