(Semi-)Successful Saturday

I made a quick trip over to Burkholder's today.  I was hoping to see the "Executive Committee".  I missed them  but did find some fabric to make a pillowcase for my granddaughter's Easter basket.

Ms. Bella is becoming an avid horsewoman.  I couldn't find anything that was specific to hunter/jumper riding so I thought this would be appropriate.  She is only 10 so I am walking a fine line between little girl and nearly a tween.   I think the addition of the black for the cuff will give the pillowcase a hint of sophistication.

Her brother's pillowcase was much easier.  You can't go wrong with "Batman" for a 7 year old boy!

Find a Friend Friday

Visiting here for the first time from "Find a Friend Friday" on Sew Many Ways?  Welcome!! Please wander around my blog, check out my profile and if you would like, leave me a comment!

Thread!!

The postman left these on my porch

Connecting Threads had some thread sets that they are discontinuing so I bought them because the price was just too good to pass up.  I added the black and white thread set in order to get the free shipping.  I love free anything!  With all these beautiful colors, there is no excuse for not finishing all those WIPs that are shoved in drawers, in boxes, in tote, on shelves...

Jelly rolls

I really like working with jelly rolls.  I love the fact that at least a portion of the cutting has been done for me because I am not wild about cutting.  I also like that a jelly roll has so many different fabric choices and they all look good together.  Yes, I do like choosing fabric on my own but I am not a snob about it.  I like collections, too.  (I have discussed at length my lust for anything designed by 3 Sisters for Moda!)  I picked up a quilt book to give my sister for Christmas and then forgot where I put it.  I discovered it pushed under the sleep sofa in the living room which I do not move often because it weighs just under a ton.

There are some really darling small quilts in this book.  Most of them are either lap quilt size or baby crib size. I had ordered a jelly roll on clearance (Sophie by Chez Moi for Moda) and thought it would make a sweet quilt for a baby.

Don't these just scream "baby girl"?

The quilt will be constructed on point with Kona white alternating blocks.

There are 20 strips of fabric remaining from the roll that will make another baby quilt.  I like getting a little extra bang for the buck!

Quilt show

I stopped in at a LQS not too far from my home yesterday afternoon.  I was coming back from our companies sister operation in Lancaster.  When we got near the shop, my boss (male) asked if I would like to stop in for a bit.  (Have I ever mentioned that the guy I work for is terrific?!)  There were so many women milling about the sale fabric that was outside and then there were more women inside the shop.  I think it took me a good 4 or 5 minutes to realize they were all there because the AQS show is in Lancaster this week.

It totally slipped my mind as I rarely go to that show.  I always wait for the show in Hershey since it is in July (and the air conditioning feels so good!), is not quite as crowded and I don't have to traipse hither and yon to see visit vendor's booths.  Are you going to Lancaster?

Got some pretties in the mail!

Lovely Lori from Studio Waterstone had some leather scraps she was giving away.  Apparently she had a LOT of scraps because they went to three different women.  I was one of the fortunate recipients and I love every.single.piece!

There is such a nice assortment of colors and textures and weights of leather pieces.  Lori reclaims leather from different sources and that is why you see stitching lines or seams on some of the pieces.  There are two pieces that look like some sort of reptile and I am really loving those.  There is a piece of red leather and I know exactly what I am going to do with it.  For a while I have been pondering using bits of leather in some of my bag designs.  I like the way leather looks combined with quilted fabric on some VB bags I have seen lately.  I am not going hog wild (snicker, snicker) but just using small accents, closures and maybe a tiny strap or two.

I love leather.  I love the feel of it and the smell of it.  True story - about 35 years ago I worked for a large company as the receptionist.  The guys in the shop used to order their work boots through the company and they were delivered to the office via UPS.  When the UPS guy arrived, he would hand me the box and tell me he had something special for me.  I opened every single box just to smell the boots because they were always leather.  Thankfully, my obsession with boot sniffing ends after the first time the boots are worn!

If you are in the market for a beautifully designed and artfully crafted leather bag, please check out Lori's blog page and her shop.  Right now she is nursing a bad arm but will have new items for the spring.  She is an amazing artist and delightful blogger.

I swear I just went in to look for children's books!

I stopped at Goodwill on the way home from work last evening.  My grandchildren are coming for Easter and my youngest granddaughter likes to pull something new to read from the children's bookshelf I have in the guest room.  She is 10 now so I wanted to pick up some books that would appeal to her since I think she has read everything I have already!  I made the mistake of wandering through the houseware section.  (I am always on the lookout for a piece of silver, ironstone or crystal.)  In a box on the bottom shelf in the "white" section was this

She (all sewing machines are "she") was dirty with some kind of weird film but there was a plastic grocery bag attached to the handle with the manual and foot pedal/power cord.  I learned how to sew on a Necchi so I bought it.  It was only $6.97 and I could return it within 7 days if it didn't work.  So I cleaned it, only found 2 scratches and the drawer inside the free arm cover had the original plastic bag with the felt spool "thingies", a screwdriver, seam ripper, 10 bobbins and extra feet.  As I discovered, the only thing missing is the buttonhole foot but I have one that will work.  I oiled it thoroughly, wound a bobbin and sewed.  Perfect stitches!

It has several built in utility stitches and even a few decorative stitches.

The pinkish hue on the stitch diagram is from a reflection of a quilt coming off the front of my china cabinet and not a defect on the machine!

The feed dogs drop but it does not have a needle down feature so quilting on it would be a possibility but not likely.  It is all metal construction with the exception of the free arm cover so it is built to last.  My sister teaches sewing to children in the summer so I think this machine will end up at her house (because I am nice that way!)  All in all, I am pretty darned pleased with my purchase.

Oh, I did find a large bag of books for my granddaughter including 2 Newberry Prize winners...for just $3.97.  Now if I could just learn to pick up only what I go in for and not wander around!

Project storage

Do you have an AC Moore near you?  Starting on Sunday, 3/4, they have scrapbook project storage boxes on sale at 3 for $10.

They are regularly $9.99 each.  I have several stacked on the top of the large bookcase in my studio.  The boxes are pretty and are perfect for storing blocks.  They have a lot of different prints and solid colors.  I bet you could find some that would look great in your sewing studio, too!