Stash Just Happened

SewMamaSew is having a sale on Kona cottons. I want more yellow in my life!! So I ordered 4 different yellows and threw in 2 purples, along with the new Kona color card, which I feel I need in order to keep my solids inventory in control, (it's an OCD thing.)

It was so easy...it sort of just happened.

Stash used: 0 yards
Stash used total: 17 yards
Stash acquired: 7 yards
Stash acquired total: 20 yards

I started the Paul Frank knit PJ pants for Alexandra but have yet to put on the waistband. I cut the waist shorter in front by almost 2 inches, and 1 inch in the back. She tried it on and that is, in fact the length of one camel toe. I can't count it as stash used until the waistband is on, so for now, that's just what's on deck.

Home for Saturday

I really needed a day in my sewing room. I awoke early and staked my claim...four hours, please, undisturbed. It's since been eight, with short breaks for sustenance. I have 6 pencil cases, 3 pillowcases, and two pairs of pj pants to show for it. The pjs aren't done, but I must stop to take Sophia to a soccer game in which she cannot partake. OK.

No time for photos now, but will edit and fill in later. Couldn't resist the stash count though...

Stash used: 7.5 yards
Stash used total: 17 yards
Stash acquired: 0 yards
Stash acquired total: 13 yards

Del Ray Fabrics

Yes, Pam at Del Ray put a bunch of good stuff on sale. I bought some fabric, but I left some there for you. Go shop!! www.delrayfabrics.com
My only criticism of her site is that it's a little hard to navigate. Also, if you are like me and you scroll using the space bar, your orders will be entered multiple times and the only way to fix it is to remove the item and add it to the cart again. Go to the section labelled "Del Ray Specials."

 



Stash used: 0 yards
Stash used total: 9.5 yards
Stash acquired: 5.5 yards
Stash acquired total: 13 yards

Halloween

It's Halloween season! I have always loved making the costumes, but I thought this year the girls might be too old to want them. Alexandra outgrew this a few years ago, alas, but this year, being on her strict budget, she asked me to make her a tutu for her Nicki Minaj costume. Yea!! I get to buy tulle!! We spent a few hours in Joann's having a really good time...the Halloween decorations are 60% off, which is still more than most are worth, but we found some cute stuff. Oh! and you should see what I didn't buy!

Here's the count:
Stash used: 5 yards
Stash used total: 9.5 yards
Stash acquired: 7.5 yards
Stash acquired total: 7.5 yards


This is not the whole costume, don't fret. The devil horns are just for her to wear to classes for this month. She got an outrageous pink wig with bangs. It's horrible and very Nicki Minaj, if google photos are to be trusted. I will try to get pictures but she won't be anywhere near home on Halloween, so I'm at her mercy in that way.

I bought some microfleece and knit for pajama pants. The giraffes were a hit, though the rise was STILL too long based on where they like the waistband to sit. They told me the term for the bump that shows below the waistband is called a camel toe. OK. I'll shorten the pattern by exactly one camel toe. Now where did I put that camel?

Electronics Junkie

I am hopelessly dependent on electronics. I also love to make great soft cases for my electronics and everybody else's, too. Here are some of the iPad and laptop cases I've made:

 Oh! and if you could only see the linings. Always sew things that make you happy.

 

 Mostly, I've used the pattern from the book, "One Yard Wonders," which allows you to custom fit to any device. I once made 12 iPad covers all at once because I got, well, carried away. They all found homes with my friends and relatives.
If you don't have that book, and you have a fabric stash that looks like this:

times about 10 or maybe even 20, then this book is a very small start at using up that stash.
All of this fabric sort of showed up in my sewing room over the last few years since I started quilting, but guess what? Even a big quilt does not require very much fabric.
iPad cases use even less.

It's a good thing that fabric makes me feel good. I love to look at it,
touch it,
wash it,
iron it,
fold it,
unfold it,
sort it,
cut it,
sew it,
photograph it. And it goes without saying, buy it.

My favorite place to buy fabric is Hawthorne Threads, but one can't achieve this level of obsession without Hancocks of Paducah, Fabricworm, and lately, Connecting Threads.
I have added knits to my collection lately, as previously I really couldn't find knits worthy of my time and effort. Go to Fabric Fairy and Girl Charlee for those terrific knits that make you feel like doing that again. (I learned to sew with knits originally. My mother worked at a place called Stretch and Sew in Hartsdale, NY, where she collected most of her stash. It was mostly polyester double knits. 'nuff said. One day, I'll do an homage to Maboo with funky pencil skirts in PolyDK and show you all what retro means to me.)

Locally, I love Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH. That's where my people are. I believe in supporting my local quilt shop, but I also believe in shopping in my pajamas. The internet is good, even if I didn't invent it.

Random Finished Projects

 Fresh Squeezed, #2, 6/21/08
This was the second quilt I finished. I used Sandy Gervais' Fresh Squeezed fabrics, which were in large part responsible for my re-entry into the fabric world. Great designers like Gervais, Tula Pink and Heather Ross brought me back to sewing. Who could resist when there were such artful, creative and beautiful fabrics available? The pattern was Pathways Batik, which I modified a little to accommodate the fabric I had stashed. I love this quilt to this day. For a long time, it protected my mother's grand piano from danger, a worthy cause.

 Posh Twin Big Flower, #51, 7/20/2011

If you've  ever used the Posh Tot pattern, you know that this quilt goes together lickity split! The thing that took me the longest on this quilt was doing the math to convert it to a twin, and figuring out yardage of a giant print. The inspiration for this fabric combination came from Peggy Anne...she inspires much of what I do!

Undercover in Chicago, #57, 10/5/11

This was a Debbie Caffrey Mystery Quilt, begun in a class at Quilted Threads. I used the Sweetwater fabrics from their first line, (I think,) Authentic. I still have a lot of stash of this, because I loved it so much. I'm not sorry! Looking that up, I discovered that Sweetwater also created the "Lucy's Crab Shack" line of fabrics, too, which I've hoarded a bit. I love that line. It speaks to me. In fact, I made a bag for Valerie from it, after she told me how meticulously Nick hung their laundry, one piece at a time, in and out of the house, while vacationing together. Here it is:

 So, now that I've opened the subject of bags, want to see some more?
I thought so, and thanks for asking!

Also for Valerie, Gallery Fiore Bag, using Peggy Anne's pattern and oh! I love that Soft and Stable batting from ByAnnie. It makes the best stable bags I've ever done. I'm planning on re-making some of my old favorites with it because the difference is THAT significant. It's expensive, and the shipping is outrageous, but I'm going to try to convince my local quilt shop to stock it; I'm thinking a whole roll, (15 yards,) would be so crazy that my loved ones would be justified in looking into some sort of institutionalization for me. Unless someone wants to share a roll with me?

These were for Mary, who is so good at being green, I think of her as the best combination of Yankee frugality and environmentalist. She has a heart of gold, and I absolutely adore her. I made these shopping totes from Alexander Henry's Natura, (I think) collection. If you can't tell, it has brightly colored peas in green beans. I love this fabric so much that I had to hoard some more after using some for these bags. I know, I know, but it's cheaper than therapy.