placemat done, placemat to be...

Yes, that darn quilting is getting the best of me. But a delightful "quick fix" is doing quilted placemats.
One I have completed (and adore... and yes, you'll notice the similarities in color scheme with this and the quilt I completed for the littlest... you see, I don't plan ahead, I just go ahead and whack a bunch of 4" squares and I had a lot left over ;) ):

The backing is a wonderfully mod piece of material I got in a scrap box!

And this placemat has been nicely washed up so that it's all quilty and textural now!

I'm working on a lot right now for a Farmer's Market that my sister's salon participates in. My sister is a cosmetologist at a quite nice salon and the owner carries some wonderful stuff... and has asked if I would like to sell some items at their booth! What a lovely opportunity!

I do need to work more, but here is one pre-quilted but pieced top of a "Earth, Wind and Fire" set I'm working on:

What a quilt!

I'm so very excited about this quilt... I machine quilted it thoroughly (a square spiral of sorts) and I even did the binding properly! I sewed it on with my machine, folded it over and HAND STITCHED it to the back. I've never done that before.

Now, it's not the biggest quilt on the block.. in fact, it's a bit on the smallish side since the squares are 4" x 4" ... but it's just right for my littlest :)

The backing is just a nice pink with white polka dots fabric I've had for a while.

The strips along the edges are a favorite Heather Ross print of mine. I *adore* this print and the colors with it... and the feel of the fabric is divine. It's slightly brushed which makes it oh-so-soft!

Here are some of my favorite fabrics in the quilt (though I am quite partial to them all ;) ):

Top left: more of the Heather Ross dandelions print, this time in pink

Top right: a very fun Euro fabric

Bottom left: a GORGEOUS Oilily reprint... it's probably one of my all-time favorite fabrics. While the print is perfect, the feel is amazing. It's like a silky, drapey poplin. I wish I would have bought more when I did (though it's terribly pricey here in the states) because I'd love to make something for ME out of that!

Bottom right: a coordinating stripe for many of the Heather Ross prints... again, this is slightly brushed for an oh-so-soft feeling. The stripes run vertically on the fabric, but I cut them on the bias to add a bit of fun!

I love, love, love this quilt. I think pink and orange (with a touch of red) is just so fun and warm.

I have the quilt in the dryer right now (having gone through the washer already) to see what fun it will bring when it's all properly quilted up!

Binge and purge...

Yes, *another* entry in a day. Two weeks with nothing and then two in one day. Such is the story of my sewing. It's all-or-nothing here.
I finished this up this afternoon, though it was started before that.
One of my husband's cousins is graduating from high school on Sunday, so I made this bag for her. She had mentioned once (about a year ago?) something about me making a cherry bag for her because she loved cherries. Well, she never got back to me and I never pursued it that much, so it never got done.
I hope this isn't too 'countryish' for her. I hope it's spunky/funky enough for a high school graduate. I guess we'll see.
The lighting is terrible this afternoon here, so I had to use the flash.
First, the full purse shot:

The obligatory inside, pocket shot:

A shot of the not-so-quiltiness that's going on. I might just have to wash this before giving it to her because I want it to look quilty-er.

And again, I did an unfinished-edges braided strap. I just love the rough-ish look of them... plus, it really makes for a sturdy handle.

Have I professed my love of my authentic Bernina walking foot yet? Because I could sing its praises from the mountain tops. It has changed the way I sew. Maybe because I'm loving quilting things.
And, just for fun because I was curious as to the value of the walking foot, I looked on eBay the other day... and there was one on there with the complete plastic case, styrofoam and original box with instructions, which is exactly what I have. It went for $81!!!
Have I mentioned I got my Bernina 1010 for just $100 (plus $40 for shipping)?!?! So, in essense (almost), I paid just $19 for my sewing machine ;)
I like to look at things that way. It makes me feel better about stuff for some reason.

Summer, summer, come out and play!

I promise I've been sewing more than I've been showing. I'm just terrible at remembering I actually *do* have a digital camera sometimes. I guess I lived without one for so long that I got used to not taking photos. Plus, it's terrible having grown up in a house that always had excellent photo-editing software. Sometimes I just can't be bothered to upload photos because there's so much fun I can have with them and it just takes so long....
But I did sew something last night. There are other projects that are begging for my attention, but I *HAD* to dive into this! Really, I *HAD* to. So I did. And I am so pleased with the results... and so is the oldest.
This outfit screams, "SUMMER! Come out and play!" Which is pretty much the opposite of our local weather lately. But, as I typed this, I checked the forecast for tomorrow and it's supposed to jump 20F (up to 83F) from today's temperature to tomorrow's. Wow. That's our seasonal shift. One thing to another... no gradual shifts here.
Oh, but on to the dress....

It's quite a large photo when clicked on, but that's because I loaded it straight off of the camera disk onto photoshop. No editing at all (well, I think I *might* have resized it just a bit).
I plan on making these as tops, dresses and beyond. They're PERFECT summer fare, I think. Light, breezy, fun, and cute too!
Editing to add: Goodness, I wasn't good at actually listing much about the actual outfit... I just blabbered on about the weather -- how unkind of me!
The pattern is from my beloved Farbenmix... this is the e-book direct link http://www.farbenmix.eu/E-Books/Empirchen-E-Book::7922.html ... and the gorgeous fabrics used in this creation were purchased here http://www.fabrichound.com/ ... Myrinda really is fabulous to work with and her selection is amazing, I think ;) I know I've had plenty of fun over there!
...
Edited again.... I don't know why that photo shows up sideways... when you click it it's right-side-up. I haven't a clue why it does that.
Plus, I'm thinking of using another photo hosting site online that doesn't link back to my actual albums. Anybody know of one? Or do I have to create an account simply for the purpose of blog-sharing so that one cannot snoop through other photos?
...
One last edit.... I tried editing via photoshop and we'll see if this works. It's a shot of the back, sort of....

Sheesh... but at least I have pretty fabric..

I haven't gotten to sewing much. Not for lack of trying, but that darn thing called "life" and "being a mother" that seems to be getting in the way.
Tonight the girls (at least the older two) are going to be spending the night at my MILs house, so maybe I can get in some quality sewing time!
But until then, I'll share my version of happiness....