It seems like I've had this book forever. I've had it so long that there's now a new and improved version available, although I prefer the cover of my older version. I'm in love with everything about the quilt on the cover - the color choices, the curvy design, the use of many reds for the background, and the folk art style.
So, why haven't I made it yet, you ask? And on a related note, hubby keeps wondering why I'm making all these cool blocks and sending them away.
I've known for a long time that I'm much more productive when there are deadlines. When I make something for myself there are no deadlines, which results in lots of UFO's. Being a part of the Long Distance Quilting Bee (LDQB) has given me deadlines.
So, one of the gals from the LDQB requested a block with flowers. I seized the opportunity and finally made a block from this quilt. It was difficult to part with when it was done, but I'm now inspired to make the quilt for myself.
I modified it a bit because I didn't want to hand applique all those little berries, leaves seemed a lot easier. I'm happy to say that I stuck with my goal to use fabrics I already owned. The flowers and leaves were made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics, leftovers from a quilt that I made for me - that I actually finished long ago! It probably would've been better to use a different stem color but I ran out of greenish Kaffe fabrics. Anyway, I love how it turned out and am excited to get started on mine!
This young lady was dying to learn how to sew. She came over one afternoon and we made a pillowcase. I let her pick fabrics from my stash, which aren't the most teen friendly fabrics. She's an amazing anime artist but I've got absolutely no anime fabric. It does exist though, but I think she should design her own and submit it to Spoonflower. Anyway, she also likes music and was able to find some sheet music. Ha!
Making a pillowcase is a great beginner project. She learned how to used a rotary cutter, how to pin, how to sew a straight line, how to stop before the pins and not sew over them, and how to keep a steady speed. She did a great job for her first time ever. She's a natural! I was really happy that she didn't slice an artery or sew through a finger. Phew!
There are lots of beautiful blog tutorials and free pillowcase patterns out there, but for me, this one was the most informational.
Sew, to all my nieces out there who want to learn to sew. I'm thinking about teaching you online. What do you think? Is that something you're interested in? I know that GG already knows how to make a pillowcase and has moved on to more advanced things, but what about the rest of you?
