Admiring the Finish

I mended my friend Cheryl's little black dress for a special occasion. And I finished it two weeks in advance, not the day of the event, so I was very pleased with myself. I texted Cheryl to say I would be brining the dress back to her that evening. Done and done. 

But wait, there is more.....

When I got to Cheryl's home, neighbors were waiting there to see the dress. There was pizza.  People patted me on the back and offered to get me drinks. The dress was handed around for each person to admire the new zipper I had just finished. Then a guy I didn't even know played Pomp and Circumstance on his phone while a tiny parade returned the dress to a place of honor in Cheryl's closet. I know, I couldn't believe it either. It was like being in a Beatrix Potter story. It was an actual mending party!

So I'm relaying this strange but beautiful circumstance to ask; how do you celebrate your craft?

Are you like me?  The minute I finish a quilt, I start another quilt. 

It has never occurred to me to be like Cheryl's neighborhood and truly recognize the finish. Even after reviewing Visible Mending here on the blog, and believing i had a new found attitude of celebrating stitches, and thereby fearlessly creating more art pieces , wow - it still never dawned on me to just honor a finish. 

Next time... I'll wear my tiara. What will you do?

Collage Quilt Planning

 

I want to try and quilt this vintage travel poster using 

Sandi's method in @Quiltcabana ebook, Fabric Sketch Collage

 

 

I think it's a good candidate for collage quilting, except for the beach(?) background.

I might dumb that down a lot.  Any advice?

 

And what if we changed the sky to blue?

hmmm...……

 

Anyway, Sandi's book is great, you should try it.

She makes a scary new technique simple and fearless.

I'm inspired :)

Vintage Remake

I found this flannel log cabin in a vintage shop some years ago. 

It is small, about 30" square. The red centers are only 1/2"!

I've always wished to try recreating this very clever design. 

Have you seen this block before? Does it have a name?

The leftover honeybun scraps from Bergamot cat quilt are ideal for this project!

And there are even enough scraps for two colorways; orange and white. 

This is Moda bakeshop, Last Bloom by Sandi Gervais, and I absolutely love it!

 I got this right before the lock down, it was just the 

IDEAL colors I had dreamed of for creating Bergamot - 

California poppy orange and depression jade. 

(Hence the name, Bergamot;)

 

Here are the orange log-cabin flower centers. So far so good. 

I will get back with you about the white/green blocks. Honeybun centers finish at 1" square, so my project will be twice as large as the original vintage inspiration.

Don't you just love it when a wish quilt comes together? 

In this case, one honeybun is making 3 dream quilts! 

(Bergamot, orange log-cabin, white log-cabin)

BTW:  Bergamot is with the photographer. 

As soon as I have a pattern cover pic, you will see it in the Etsy shop.

Covid Sewing Stories

I was telling my neighbor about the sewing adventures I have seen while selling sewing machines during the quarantine. She said the news was inspiring. Here are my stories, so you can judge for yourself.

A young couple with a new baby came in. They had just received their stimulus check and asked me to help them pick a serger. They wanted to sew their own baby clothes.

Half a dozen men with no sewing experience have come into the shop. They were all starting mask making businesses because they had been laid-off from work. They were fearlessly learning to sew, read patterns, and set-up Etsy shops.

Likewise, the design school students. Imagine having fashion design as an online course, and thus unexpectedly having to teach yourself sewing when you had been promised to learn in class. One young man had bought a sewing machine on Offer-Up; no ankle, no feet, nothing good. I was able to Frankenstein some working parts together for him from different brands that he could afford. BTW, there are 3 design schools in our region. When I finished high school here, you had to go to New York for fashion school. So I especially love helping the baby designers.

Speaking of beginning sewers, a lady came in for "the cheapest easiest machine you have. I don't even want to learn sewing, and the minute this is all over I am donating that machine to a church or someplace." She went on to explain that her husband was a police officer, and he was allocated only one mask per day, which was too dirty for use long before lunchtime. She was learning to sew in order to make him mask covers. I said, "Sure I'll give you the cheapest machine. But you'll be back for an upgrade when the sewing bug gets you." You know mask making is only a gateway hobby.

Lots of mom and daughters have also come in for "starter" machines. They are learning to sew together with their bonus home school time. One lady had twins, and I found a good sale for her so she was able to get a machine for each child. 

Speaking of sewing time, one night close to closing, a nurse stopped by the shop, wearing her scrubs on the way to work. She was living in her garage while her husband worked from home with their two toddlers. The family comes to the window to wave bye to their mom when she goes to work. She told me that even with the hospital overtime, she was so bored in her garage room. She had asked her husband to bring the sewing machine outside for her because she had always wanted to learn quilting. I said you sure have come to the right place, and I showed her every dream ruler foot, ditch walking foot, you know, everything you wish you had when you started quilting. I was also fair to outline options for her, cheaper ways to get started, etc. But she said, "I will never again have this much money and time all at once. I'm going large - wrap it all up."

Sewing is essential.