More Excitement from my Creative Studio

I think it is my mother's fault that I love to sew.  In fact, it is her fault I love a lot of things - camping, backpacking and traveling to name a few.  She let me start sewing early, even when she probably wished I would just get off of her machine so she could make something.   I imagine she was rather tired of hearing, "Mom, it came unthreaded" or "Mom, it isn't working."  I am grateful to her for her love and teaching me how to sew.  I learned so much from her and the love of creating has stuck with me.  Anytime I sew or make something with fabric, I think of my Mom and all of the things she did for me.  As I raise my own children, I find myself remembering many things she did that I thought were odd and now I understand why she did them.  I am even learning to share my sewing space with my daughters.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  I love you.

Here is a photo splash of all I have done in the last two months or so.

My friend had to leave town before making a costume for her daughter.  I got to try out my dressmaking skills.  What do you think?  Not bad for someone who had no clue what she was doing.  Most importantly, the girl was pleased.

This is a flannel blanket I made for no particular reason.  I am sure I will find someone with whom I can share.

 This is the back.  I really like it.

 This fabric is called Postcard Garden.  I really love the prints.  It think it will be on my bed this summer, but it is not quite a king.  I love Dave.  Who else would allow his wife to mount an empty curtain rod on the wall of our hallway solely for the purpose of photographing quilts?

 Finally, I made this apron in February.  I have always wanted to make an apron and never really found a pattern I liked.  I had two events where I was working in the kitchen. and wanted to have an apron.  Something my mom always wore was an apron and I have stained many shirts, but still somehow avoided acquiring one.  I really wanted to love it.  I found this one and I bought the fabric at Hobby Lobby.  I will post the link to the pattern, if I can find it.  Try to ignore the non-matching pink shirt.  I should also mention that I now have a terrific apron from France.  Now, I have one to wash and one to wear.

Stay tune next time for my new laptop case.  What do you do when you don't have a case for your new laptop?  Rush off to the fabric store and make one of course.  Also, look for a few more quilts I need to finish binding.

Sewing Retreat in Estes

This week has been really busy, but last weekend was a lot of fun.  Three friends and I went on a sewing retreat to Estes Park, Colorado.  We rented a home there and spent the weekend sewing, sewing, sewing.  Here is a shot of my bedroom.

The view from my private deck - next time I won't have this room.

Here is the view from our sewing machines and a couple of shots of our sewing area.

 This is my sewing station.  You can see my first project on the left was a oil cloth lined shopping bag.  It is now used to collect all of the scrap fabrics leftover from all of our projects.

I spent a large portion of the weekend working on this cute caddy.  It took forever and there were lots of little steps.  It turned out pretty nicely, but I doubt I will make another anytime soon.  It even has a zipper pocket on one end.  I love the yellow fabric.

This last photo is the view from my deck the day we departed.  I love the snow.  It is so beautiful and serene.  I am pretty sure I could live quite happily in the mountains.

Next time I will try and post a shot or two of the other bag I finished and of the quilt I finished binding this week.  One of my children already told me she would be happy to give it a home, if I need.  Not a chance. 

Fun Projects I Have Completed

I have decided to use this blog to post pictures of the things I am doing.  So here are a few shots of some things I have done this week.

I enjoy making these patchwork baskets and one is being given as a birthday gift.  Go here, if you want to read how to make your own.

This clever project holds a lot of quilting tools which I will use a lot.  I sew with friends and it is really nice to have a neat place to keep things in transit and once I arrive.  I purchased the "Toolsy"pattern from Craftsy.

     I have made several of these dress form pincushions for friends and they do turn out rather fancy.  This is the only photo I have of it though.  The pattern was on DIY Dish.