I love sewing notions, don't you? I suppose most avid sewers and quilters do, and they seem to come up in my work over and over again. For my Home Sweet Home applique sampler, that is releasing in May, I wanted to include things that are near and dear in my home... what are the things that surround you that make you feel like home? My sewing room is a big part of my everyday space, so it's quite fitting that a few notions found their way into my sampler...
Already at five and seven, both of my boys always ask ahead of time which are my paper scissors and which are my fabric scissors *smile* It's never too early to train them right.
Ahhh, "basting"... that dirty word in the quilting world, (well, not for me) but safety pins are kind of a necessary evil in the notions drawer. Such a practical and little notion also deserves a space with the rest of the beloved notions.
My mom, who taught me to sew, probably felt like she wanted to pull her hair out when I wanted to leave the ironing step out when she was teaching me to sew. At the time, it just felt like it took to long to get to the end result anyway... "why waste even more time ironing?" was my thought. Nevertheless, I now realize the value of a hot iron and perfectly pressed seams.
Do you have any sewing notions that are near and dear to your heart?
It dawned on me recently that the Christmas holiday seasons were so full, that I finished two projects that I never had a chance to share. Just when the weather is starting to warm up and one is thinking about cook outs, shorts, and swimming pools, and I'm talking about Christmas... talk about a way to make your ice melt in that perfectly chilled beverage?!? So, how
about a little "where's waldo" search with me, then you might
stumble onto a few background decorations that don't exactly fit in the
hot weather months.
Last winter I had asked my youngest son what his favorite animal was? "A Bieber, Mama" (that's beaver in German) Well, I knew exactly where I needed to go for the perfect pattern... Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts, of course. I've been linking up with her Let's Bee Social for quite a while now, but this is the first time that I've sewn any of her super cute, but equally well done patterns.
The orginal pattern, found here, is with a Canadian Leaf in the body area, but I adjusted the pattern without the leaf on the body. I picked colors to match his room, and made a couple matching pillowcases. If you've not tried the burrito method of making pillowcases, let me just say that I highly recommend it - super easy, and fully finished inside and out.
I decided on a simple wavy line quilting, and always love how easy it is, not to mention that it gives a little more interest than straight line quilting. I love my walking foot and I don't have to focus like I do with free motion quilting, so the fact that I don't have to abandon it is a big plus for me.
So, perhaps it goes without saying that I will be linking up this week for Let's Bee Social.
P.S. I've been having problems with my emails, and I have not been able to answer emails for the past week. I've not forgotten... I can recieve them, but just not answer them.
