Ta-Daa!

Here are two of the three pillows from my Patchwork Pillow Series class. I'm absolutely nutty over that antique map fabric. It's from an Anna Griffin collection called "Blythe." There are other script-y/text prints in the group, too. Scrumptious!

Mmmm...

The best part about starting a new patchwork project? Choosing the fabrics, of course! This group is going into samples for a Patchwork Pillow series I'll be teaching at the workroom on Queen Street West.

Hereditary Yarn Love

Mom knitted beautifully.

She tried to teach me several times as a kid, but since I am left-handed and she's not, I had a hard time with the whole mirror-image learning thing. She also sewed like a fiend (in the nicest, best possible way). Happily, I picked that up.

This funky Granny Square poncho must have been a one-off crochet project for her. She made it for my sister circa 1975. The acrylic has gotten a bit crunchy, but it's still awesome!

Look, Ma! I'm crochet-ing!

Since I decided that yarn was a whole area that I had been shamefully neglecting in my high-fibre diet, I looked to Martha for help...

Granny Square directions! Right there on her website! That, combined with an uncharacteristic perusal of the yarn aisle at Zellers (I'm not fancy... yet...) and I'm five squares into a retro-fabulous brown and turquoise scarf. Dig it!

Stuff With Scraps #1

With a big stash comes... scraps. Lots of them. I whipped up this little bag out of strippy scraps of some fave fabrics. And the best part? Pen pockets! Since I carry a totebag instead of a purse, this little bag holds the important stuff so I don't have to fish around the whole big totebag for my wallet and lip balm. Yay!

...the forest for the trees...

So. I'm working on an entry for the 2008 Canadian Quilters' Association (CQA) show. For me, this is the Big Deal show. I have three weeks to finish it. No pressure... (Yeah, right...) Things are coming together after many stalls and starts.

But...

I think I need a little more of a certain fabric. A fabric that I used a while back for parts of a quilt that are ending up in this one. A fabric that I got for really cheap and in abundance. A fabric that I decided I didn't need any more of and got rid of the excess...

What. Have. I. Done?!

Days pass... Should I cannibalize the pieces I have and sort of surgically remove little sections that I think won't show and relocate them in patches elsewhere? Should I go against my own better judgement and just leave it as-is? Should I...? Should I...?

Now today. I buy some hotdog buns around the corner. I get them home, take off my boots, settle in and then see that the bag has a tear in it from the store and half the buns are kinda hard and stale. Ew.

So I go into my front hall and start putting my boots back on to return the buns for fresh. I look up at the front door in mid-shoelace tie...

...and there is a pristine swatch of the fabric I need!!!

I had made a window cover out if it for the long narrow window in my front door a long time ago! In passing it a thousand times since I made it, I didn't see it any more.

Thank you, Fabric Fairy! I'll try to pay more attention from now on! You rock!!!

Resolution...

Happy New Year, everyone!!