Have You Ever Been Short of Fabric

I had so much fun putting together the Halloween placemats that I thought I could use the Christmas fabric I have in my stash to make another set. So out came my small pile of Christmas fabrics to audition for the part. I found the perfect pieces for the top, then had to scrounge for a piece large enough to make the backings of the placemats. The large piece was left over from a rug that I made several years ago.

First, I cut the backing, just to make sure I had the right amount. I was hoping to make six, since that is how many are in the family, but there was only enough for four. Now, onto the fabrics for the top. I had measured each piece carefully to make sure there was enough yardage to make the project. When I opened each piece, I quickly remembered that I had used these to back stockings, since there was a piece missing in the shape of a stocking. Oh My!! Strategically cutting and careful measuring, allowed me to get enough of the fabric for the centers and thin border. I was hoping to have enough to get the outer border since I had the right number of strips.

As you can see, there was only enough red wreath fabric to complete three of the placemats. Fortunately, there was a small piece of cream fabric with the same wreaths on it in my stash. This will become the placemat of honor. I am positive my children will fight over this one!

So, there was not quite enough fabric to make all of them exactly the same. So what! They are great and will be used often.

What will I sew this week? Not sure yet. Oh, my prep areas are mostly clean, which is a huge improvement over last week!

Happy Sewing

Heather

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Tackling My Gremlins

There are gremlins in my sewing spaces. I know it couldn't have been me that made this gigantic mess! Maybe I could blame my children. So this is how my work surfaces get when I am spending almost all of my free time sewing. Who wants to spend time picking up, when creating the projects is so much more fun?

This is my cutting table. There is an overfull bin of fabrics that I have used on recent projects, perhaps I should sort out those scraps and put them away. The bin is so full the fabrics have seeped across the table to create several more piles of recently used scraps. If I put all of these away, it might be easier to cut projects out and lay them out when I am ready.

This is my staging area. There are new purchases that are waiting to be put away, projects in progress and other things that find their home here. Do you like my phone? My little one likes to sit with me, play with me or talk to me while I sew.

Even though this is a part of the creative process, I think we all know what I will be working on this week. This will get picked up this week or I may lose my sanity.

Happy Sewing

Heather

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Midi Bag

Tonight is probably the slowest my week gets. The rest of the week is packed full of musical practice, conferences and a football game. So, I thought I would finish up the Midi bag I started this weekend.

This bag is so easy to put together. I think that is what makes it so fun for a busy mama, like myself to make during the week. After working all day and doing the necessary chores at home, my mind is not always at it's sharpest. That might explain me forgetting to leave an opening for turning in the lining. At least I caught it before I had assembled the whole bag!

 

Don't you just love the purple, gray, turquoise and black together?

The lining is my favorite fabric in this bag. It makes a nice light colored lining, which makes it easier to see inside the bag when digging for keys or chapstick.

Now to go dig through some more of my fabrics to find things to go with the other fabrics I purchased. Who am I kidding, it is time to go pack the lunches.

Happy Sewing

Heather

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Super Simple Placemats

After work this evening, I decided to cut out the placemats that I wanted to make. They are quilt as you go, so I thought it might be possible to finish one in the time I had to spare.

Suggestion to self: look at the fabric yardages to try and remember which fabric is for each piece. This would allow me to avoid a panic attack over lack of fabric to finish the project. Lucky for me, I had some solid black left over from the binding of the t-shirt quilt I made this spring. Pretty sure these black fabrics are from the same bolt. I know they are from the same store. If you have ever tried to match solid black fabric, you know what I am talking about.

This placemat is so cute that I can't wait to put the other 3 together. The pattern I used is called Framed Seasons and is made by QP Quilts & Co. There is also a video tutorial here.

Happy Sewing

Heather

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