a sewing studio
It’s going to take a while to get all the pre-holiday projects ready to share with you, so I’m going to show you something I found this weekend.
I love mail. It is full of hope and possibilities. I love heading to the mailbox everyday to check for suprises. It must have been fate when I came across The Elevated Envelope hosted by Tara over at Ephemera. I think I’m going to sign up. I think you should too. Wont it be fun?
It’s been a while since we’ve all been here together, let’s catch up. While I was gone I hosted a holiday, made some table linens, made a Weekender bag, made some cookies, put one quilt aside, put together a book, made more cookies, put together another book, laid out anther quilt, changed my mind, bought more fabric, and laid it out again. I’ve been to three different cities and back home again. All in 2 months. That sounds about right for the holiday season doesn’t it? I have only just recovered from the post holiday funk a few days ago. I have lots of things to share with you. We’ll get to that. For now, check out this super cute skirt I found on Pinterest. It’s where Architecture Nerd meets Awesome. I think this would be a great Spoonflower project.
I have a confession to make. I am in possession of some seriously beautiful fabric that I have no idea what to do with. This is not a recent thing, I’ve had this fabric for years and am afraid to cut into it. What if I make a wrong cut and ruin it!!!
It all started here in 2006 when I spotted some fabric that I had to own. Wouldn’t you know, mom made that dream come true. (Just like with the thimbles! She is like a magical fairy princess!) So, since the winter of 2006 I have had in my possession yards of this fabric. I’ve
thought about making it into a duvet cover, table runner with matching napkins, or sofa pillows. I could frame it and hang it on the wall or upholster a side chair in it. Guess what, I can’t decide. Someone must help before a few more years go by and I will have had this fabric for a decade. I welcome your suggestions.
Fabric by Mairo www.mairo.se
I seem to be drawn to pictures of beds. I found this one while flipping through the Crate and Barrel catalog. I would like to lay here and stare up at those antlers and twinkle lights. I love the subtle knit details like that pillow on the bed and the vase in the footboard.
This New Wave has a lot of cutting involved. A lot. It’s clearly evident in my stack of 72 trapezoids. That’s 4-6 cuts per piece. That’s 288-432 cuts and that doesn’t even include the sashing (we are getting all mathy up in here lately). Of course, I didn’t actually make all 432 cuts. I did get smart and cut many pieces at once. Still. It’s taken days, but they are very pretty. I’m eager to see how this one comes together; there is something very charming about those whales and pinwheels.
When I first saw a photo of the New Wave quilt you know what I thought? “Gee that sure looks pretty.” You know what I should have thought? “Gee look at all those pieces.”
These pillows have been a long time coming. I’ve done the math. It’s been Exactly 100 days since I originally showed you this fabric. Little did I know at the time, that was the Summer Totem fabric in grapefruit (pale pink background) not tart (white background) as I originally thought. It’s been about 93 days since I ordered the white fabric from Esty, about 24 days since it all got washed, and 22 since I bought the zippers. It’s been 12 days since I looked up tutorials (I used this super easy one from design sponge) and 10 days since I made the pillows. That’s 100 days from fabric to blog post. How long did it take me to actually make the pillows? Oh, about 2 hours. Well worth it since we now have our summer pillows and it’s October. Oh well. They really pop against our light gray sofa. I love them. They are backed in Little Folks voile Pastry Line in olive and are super soft ( I used some interfacing to give the voile a little more stability.) The best part: zippers! I made our last pillow covers before I hade uncovered the mysteries of zippers and ended up sewing them right on the pillows. This is much more convenient. So now I have my summer pillows, it’s time to think about my fall pillows….
I have an announcement to make. Christmas sewing has commenced! I have never been this on top of things before. Ever. I have a few projects I want to get done for Christmas, some of them are super secret until later. One of them is that super cute baby quilt with that beautiful fabric from a few days ago. Fabric has been purchased, washed, ironed, and some of it has even been cut. It’s going to be a good Christmas.
Seen in Georgetown, a two story store front filled with vintage sewing machines. Brilliant.
Another trip to City Craft yields the makings of a super cute baby quilt. I think I’m going to try Elizabeth Hartman’s New Wave this time. We’ve fallen head over heals for the Whale Watch in this house. I think I’ll have to go back and get some more.
Left Column: Kona Cotton, Natural | Little Apples by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics, Aqua Sweater Check | Jay-Cyn Designs Storyboek for Birch Fabric, Whale Watch in Shroom
Center Column: Robert Allen, Metro Living in Pewter | Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Millwer, Stripes in Aqua | Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller, Pinwheels in Cream
Right Column: City Weekend By Liesl Gibson for Oliver + S for Moda #11165 | Jay-Cyn Designs Storyboek for Birch Fabric, Field Friends in Coral | City Weekend by Liesl Gibson for Oliver + S for Moda #11166
