Saturday, November 30, 2013

Hello/Goodbye November

It's been a busy fall.  Okay, that's an excuse, but I don't have anything else, so imma go with it.

I started the month with 10 days on my own when The Mister went on a road trip to a big car event. I took the opportunity to take everything out of my sewing room and sort/purge/organize.  

One of the side effects of going to estate auctions is that you end up buying stuff you don't particularly want, along with the stuff you do want. And when it is fabric, it is hard to think that I will NEVER have a use for it. So, it builds up. Sometimes to the point where I am unable to use anything because there is so much 'stuff' in the way.

I was determined to reclaim my space! 

It took just about the whole 10 days and is still a bit of a work in progress because we had guests for the holiday.  Our guest accommodations are in the basement, which was my default landing place for stuff I decided not too put back in the sewing room, but did not go to charity, so that needed attention, too. 

I went through four packages of comic book boards and part way through a fifth package, to wrap anything a half yard to about 3 yards.   I have to say that while I would have rather spent the money on more fabric, the boards do make it more manageable to pull out fabric and be able to put it back in the same spot. 

I need some Billy Bookcases, though.  We will have an Ikea at some point next year and when they open, I will be ready!  For now, I am using some wire baskets on shelves. They are kind of heavy, but manageable.

Meanwhile, I got some sewing done away from home, during "The Great Upheaval".  

The KC Modern Quilt Guild had an all day retreat that allowed me to finish some string blocks for a Quilt of Valor.

This is the the top.  It has been sent away to be quilted!
A week later, we had another sew day due to a cancellation of a speaker/teacher who had an emergency and couldn't come to town.  Since we already had the room reserved, a few of us took the opportunity to sew. 

My project at the second sew day was a "Sew Together" bag.  The pattern was a souvenir of my visit to Dear Sis in October.  "Mama Said Sew", in Ft. Collins, had the pattern and a kit and I bought both. I decided to use other fabric and save the kit, thinking that my first bag might not be cute-Japanese-fabric-worthy.  
I can even put my 3.5" x 9" ruler in it with all my other supplies for sewing away from home!

The first bag turned out pretty well, but I am glad I saved the special fabric for the second bag. 



I did miss the tip about directional fabric, though, so the second bag has a front and a back. Also, I didn't put the pin cushion or needle landing in this bag and I used white muslin for the pocket linings instead of the dark chambray in the kit.  I think white makes it easier to find what I am looking for.  I have my embroidery supplies in this one, but I like to use a 5" hoop and it doesn't quite fit, so I may assign it other duties.

And then I made another!

 


This one I made with some fat eighths of Riley Blake fabric that I got for a Modern Quilt Guild challenge. We received six fat eighths of their basic fabrics and the only stipulation was that the finished item must be quilted. I made this bag two inches more narrow than the pattern, both because I was constrained by the size of the fabric and also because I have a huge supply of 7" zippers (estate sale bounty). I used almost every bit of the challenge fabric and again used white muslin for the pocket linings. 

I must say I really like this size. My plan is to use it for manicure tool/supplies, but I haven't filled it yet since our reveal is at our December meeting. I think the size will be perfect for that. I am not certain it would be big enough for sewing retreat tools, but the proportions are really cute!

The pattern is by Sew Demented and is challenging, but not really hard.  Before the spate of bag making, I believe I have put in maybe 3 or 4 zippers.  Now I have put in a dozen more and I am much more confident with the process.

I have a plan to sew a bit this weekend and get some Christmas packages sent off. I might have done a bit of Black Friday Internet fabric shopping yesterday, so I need to get busy and make some room for it!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Hold onto your hats, because Christmas is just about here!