Make-a-List Monday 03-29-16

Tags

cats, embroidery, Make-A-List Monday, Othello, Pasco, SCRAP Tri-Cities, sewing, Wade Park, Washington

Nature Refuge in Othello, WA

Make-A-List Monday is an idea that I borrowed from Sarah Craig over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and I thank her for inspiring me to try it!

A little late, but still in there swingin’!

Let’s see how I did on my list from 3/15:

• Top priority:  make my sister’s birthday present. 

Done!  Took about forever, but look how cute these cat coasters turned out!

Somebody posted the link for these on one of my Facebook sewing groups a while ago and I just KNEW I had to make them for my sister.  She just got new furniture for her living room, so I made them in coordinating colors.  The fabric is hand-dyed wool felt from the stash, and the picture doesn’t do it justice–it is gorgeous stuff.

Lots of TINY bits of felt here; I used Tacky Glue to hold things in place, then used a blanket stitch on the larger pieces, running stitch on the tiny ones (the instructions just say to “stitch” without specifying how).

• Make the Kaffee Fassett dress. 

Almost done–just need to attach the bodice to the skirt, sew hems, and do buttons and buttonholes.  And I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.  Might have been better if I’d used the collar??  Hmmm . . . .

• Do a Make-a-List Monday post, hopefully on Monday. 

Well, I got to it eventually.

• Stretch goal:  do last few bits of spiffing up in my sewing room and take some pictures.

Nope.  I usually clean up the sewing room after I finish a project, and I’m still in the middle of working on that dress, so it’s a bit scary in here right now.

 

Goals for this week are mostly to tidy up unfinished business as the quarter is ending and I’ll need to link up my finishes.

• Finish the dress.
• Do a post about it.
• Do a post about the cycling jacket (still don’t have pics!)
• Work on some more Splendid Sampler blocks.  I’m really longing to get to some of the blocks that have applique and embroidery!
• Test at least one of the circle skirt tutorials I’ve found online in preparation for next month’s class at SCRAP.

 

In the meantime, here a little bit of what’s been happening here:

New fabric!  I did some house-sitting for my mother and sister while they were in Oregon last week, and they brought back this Kaffe Fassett jelly roll for me.  According to my sister, she had to talk my mother out of getting the pastel cabbage rose fabric–TOTALLY dodged a bullet there.

I also got this lightweight border print (well, it’s actually embroidered, but you know what I mean) denim at SCRAP the other day.  I saw this post and knew this fabric would be perfect for that pattern. It’s a little wrinkly in this pic, but not bad considering this is after two days sitting in the dryer (hey, I’ve been busy).

I went to the Sandhill Crane Festival in Othello the other day, thinking I might learn something about the local birds.  What I actually learned:  birders are very nice people, but I will never, ever be excited enough about which sparrow is which to be one of them.  Also, you get some pretty premium swag when you go to the Sandhill Crane Festival.

And spring is here!  With the accompanying allergies and gale-force winds!  Here are some tiny flowers I found in Wade Park, next to the walking path.

Have a great week, everybody, and I hope you’re getting some spring wherever you are.

 

STH

Sunday Sevens 09-13-15

Tags

Columbia River, CozyAfternoonQuilt, Pasco, quilting, sewing, Sunday Sevens, Wade Park, Washington

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series in which we post seven-or-so pictures from our week and give our online friends a little peek into what we’re up to.  Please feel free to join us–every week or whenever the mood strikes.  Seven pictures, three pictures, ten pictures–whatever.  😉  See Natalie at Threads and Bobbins for more info.

Was a bit more productive this week, I’m happy to say, and exercised a bit more, always a good thing.

On Tuesday, I took a walk along the Columbia starting at Wade Park in Pasco.  Not sure what island that is there . . . .

I always take (and post) pictures of GREEN wherever I find it, but this is pretty much what eastern Washington looks like in late summer:

Nice haul from the fruit stand this week, including zucchini, red and yellow onions, a butternut squash, and a box of tomatoes.

Some of the tomatoes will go into recipes this week–the ones I save for tomato season–and the rest will be chopped up and frozen.  We have a massive freezer, but little storage space, so it makes more sense for me to freeze them than to can them.

My mother went through her fabric and gave me some cast-offs.  Some of these will go to SCRAP, but I’m definitely hanging on to that swirly rayon challis in the middle of the pile there and the stripey knit on top.

More home improvement–made a valance for this (formerly very bare and quite sad) little window in the bathroom.  Please forgive the terrible lighting and weird color here; it was the best I could do.  The fabric is the same one I used for the tote bag I made recently; the lining is from an old blue rayon shift dress (loved the fabric, but it wasn’t sturdy enough for clothing and kept developing holes at stress points).

I had a brain cramp while cutting this out and put the wrong edge of the pattern on the fold, leaving me with a valance with a long center and short sides.

*headdesk*

After a few deep breaths and some swearing, I decided to slit the fold and just put a seam in the middle.  Not ideal, but good enough.  And I have to say I’m loving all the color in this window now.

I did the embroidery for my fourth Cozy Afternoon block; hoping to finish the block today, just in time for the next one coming tomorrow.

Is this cute or what?

I’m also planning to cut out my Greenstyle Laurel today, as the Greenstyle Facebook group is having a contest.  I’ve been agonizing over sizing on this, but I just need to dive in–what I’m making is supposed to be a muslin, anyway.

Have a crafty week, everybody!

STH

Sunday Sevens 05-31-2015

Tags

bags, Columbia River, cooking, Kennewick, Pasco, quilting, recipe, SCRAP Tri-Cities, sewing, Sunday Sevens, Wade Park

Much sewing–and thinking about sewing–happened here this week.

I’ve been playing around with quilt blocks made from my new Mary Engelbreit fabrics.  It’s been forever since I pieced quilt blocks, so I needed the practice.  No idea what these will be used for yet.

(The blocks are freebies from Craftsy.)

Working on replacing the zipper in this orange cycling jersey I made for my honey a couple of years ago.

Note to self:  DO NOT SEW ZIPPERS SO SECURELY.

Settled on a plan for the barkcloth I got the other day:  (yet another) travel bag, a tote bag for short trips.

I will enlarge this pattern a few inches and maybe add some pockets to it.  If I can be bothered, that is.

Discovered the solution to the “too many leftovers” problem this week:  put leftovers on grilled pizza and serve ’em again.

This one had grilled marinated chicken and veg from the previous night’s dinner; I just added some green onion and mozzarella for the pizza.

On Friday, I went over to SCRAP Tri-Cities to volunteer and–what do ya know–they had more Mary Engelbreit fabric.

SEWING THEMED Mary Engelbreit fabric.

I was, of course, helpless to resist.

I’m setting these aside for the moment since, at last count, I had 5 projects planned (plus 3 more I’m considering:  summer PJs, another BOM, and a scrappy quilt)  And I need to finish the jersey zipper and the blouse I’m making before I get distracted by shiny objects again.

On Saturday evening, my partner and I went out for a walk.  Temp was still close to 90F–summer has arrived here!–but there was a steady breeze off the water and it was very comfortable.

(Enlarge for geese.)

This is Wade Park in Pasco, looking across the Columbia River toward Kennewick.

Have an excellent week, everybody, and may the sewing mojo be with you.

STH

ETA:  Corrected date in title.  CALENDARS HOW DO THEY WORK?