YM PJ Pants At the last minute, or nearly the last minute, before the YM went home, he finished his PJ pants. I provided a little help. We only had to do the casing for the elastic, and the hem, but it still took a couple of hours. He did a lot better at sewing this time. His stitch lines were a lot straighter than last time, so he didn’t have to rip anything out. There were a couple of details in the pattern instructions I didn’t understand, but I think we made the finishing work. Having to finish before he went home stressed him out a little, but I just kept supporting him and reeling him ba ..read more

Retreat Treats I got back from the guild retreat on Monday night. I had time to relax, look at my projects, unpack as DH was out at a class. Friend Julie was much more organized than me and took some photos of getting ready to leave. I thought about it several times as I packed, but it just didn’t happen. You can imagine what my living room looked like: bags, sewing machine, tools all piled by the door ready to be loaded into the car. SIL#2 and I drove down to San Juan Bautista  on Friday where they have a Retreat Center. The guild went there last year, too.  We couldn’t get into t ..read more

Pink Palomino I started another Palomino Pouch as part of the Pink Project. I wanted to try and succeed at the gluing step that closes up the sides. I have everything cut out, but have to find a zipper that matches. The fabric is definitely pink, but more of a peachy pink than the Pink Dot Bluestem or the Pink Piebald and I am not sure I have one that will match. I might have to use white or some other contrasting color. I do like it when the zippers look like they belong on the pouch ..read more

April Pantone Blocks Along with garment sewing and a new bracelet, I also got some more Pantone blocks from Julie at Sew Day. I have a stack of postcards to match and plan to do that this weekend. I owe her several and hope to bring them to the Retreat. Pantone ideas – evolving We are almost done making the blocks, then it will be time to put the quilt together. Perhaps I will use this design – or something like it – sooner than I think ..read more

Julie designed slap bracelet Julie made a cool cover for the bracelet from the Retreat last year. She used the slap bracelet as a base to slide inside the cover. Mine has been sitting on my desk for a year not doing anything. I thought hers was so cool that I asked her to make me one. This is the package I got at Sew Day the other day. The thing with buttons is the cover for my slap bracelet.   Wearing my new bracelet I had to do some jamming in to get the bracelet into the cover. Then I sewed the piece shut and can wear it ..read more

At Sew Day the other week, I spent the time helping the YM start some PJ Pants. I know you are ROTFL when you think of me and garment sewing. Have no fear, I was under complete supervision. I was thrilled, and kind of surprised, that the YM was willing to go to Sew Day with me. PJ Pants pattern He is in town working during the week, but comes over on the weekends. He wants to learn to make clothes better, especially costumes for events like Sakura-Con. I am not a great garment maker, but I thought I could handle this pattern, if Mary was there to answer questions. SIL #2 was also available for ..read more

Brown improv ‘slab’ No more brown for me for awhile. I sewed this ‘slab’ together, but am out of brown scraps. As a result, I gave it to Marty to work on at Sew Day the other day. I don’t know what she’ll make with it, but something. I am more interested in the grey and black slabs ..read more

Palomino Pouch Finished The Palomino is finished! I am going to make another one right away. This pouch has only a few pieces and with the way the side panels and zipper are inserted, it is very easy to put together. This is a gift for a friend and the fussy cutting is important. Palomino Pouch-lining Finished It really went together pretty well, in general. I had some trouble inserting the lining. It does have the same glue closure as the Piebald. Not so great as I missed the instruction to stop at the 1/4 inch mark when sewing the lining together, so the edges shredded a bit (Moda fabric) wh ..read more

Green scrap drawer: full My green scrap drawer has been full for awhile and now that I have made FIVE quilts from my black-grey-brown scrap drawer, it is time to move on. I really can’t get over how many quilts I made from the black-grey-brown scrap drawer. It is somewhat shocking, especially since I haven’t finished the grey improv piece or the black improv piece. I have already made a couple of green blocks and have several in process. I am also working with smaller scraps to start the improv donation quilts now. It may turn out that I use some combined smaller pieces in the strip/chunk bl ..read more

Grey Improv donation top start The grey improv top is looking good! It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. I am very pleased. Yes, I have made some good progress and I really like the way it is turning out. This piece is approximately 24.5 w x 17.25 tall. I have some sewing to do before it can be considered large enough for a donation quilt. Still, I really like it and it is shaping up nicely. I am still concerned I won’t have enough scraps to make it large enough. I am trying not to worry about it. Sometimes I can’t help it ..read more