Sew Wrong

A Simple Sewing Project

New sewing machine cover
 

Today is my last day of a week-long vacation, the majority of which I was in PA staying with my parents, and I decided to make a quicky sewing project that was long overdue: a cover for my Bernina 550.  Considering that I just got it cleaned and serviced last week, I want to keep my little beauty as lint-free as possible.  And what fabric could be more perfect for a sewing machine cover than Alexander Henry’s “Home Sewing is Easy!”

There’s something to be said about simple sewing projects – it’s not that they’re mindless, but there isn’t as much thinking involved can be a kind of mediative way to pass a few hours.  Other than taking the measurements of the dimension of my machine, I cut out the pieces fairly quickly with my rotary cutter, did some simple quilting following the lines of the print, and assembled my cover with lining in an afternoon.

Maybe it’s because I’m still recovering from sewing my wedding dress this year (final dress post to come soon, we just got the photos back!), but I’ve been in a bit of a sewing + blogging rut lately.  There’s three projects I made since the wedding in June that I have yet to blog, but shared some project detail images on Instagram.  I dunno…I just don’t feel the motivation to get all dressed and dolled up, find a place to take photos, set up my tripod etc.  Plus, it’s been so awful hot here…I’m sure this sentiment will pass, I’m just being whiny.  But rest assured, there’s some garment sewing going on over here.  Just not at a fast and furious rate, I’ll probably switch over to early-fall sewing in August once I make a swimsuit and/or coverup for our Ogunquit beach vacation coming up.

 

Thread card
Something that’s sparking my creativity right now is quilting.  After going to some fabric stores, the Hershey Quilt Show, and a quilt exhibit last week in PA, I think I’m at the point now that I really want to sit down and give it a try.  The last time I was interested in quilting was back in 2009 (here’s a really old blog post with no images!) and I remember how fun it was to turn cotton prints into geometric shapes.  Oh yeah, I also attempted to make a quilt two years ago but got discouraged when my blocks were all wonky and my pieces weren’t as accurately cut as they needed to be.  I started a Pinterest board this week to gather ideas on the type of quilt I want to make, something small and simple that can be used on the couch as a throw blanket.  I’m also planning on making some placemats this week out of a charm pack I found at a quilt shop last week – that will be some good practice before I try to start a real quilt.

How’s your summer sewing going?

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Quilt Flu


My mom has a sign on the door to her sewing room at home:

“WARNING!
QUILT POX
VERY CONTAGIOUS TO ADULTS!

Continual complaint as to need for snuggling under a handmade quilt. Patient has blank expression, sometimes deaf to spouse and kids. Has no taste for bedspreads or electric blankets. Hangs out at Quilting Bees. Mumbles to self “Log Cabin”, “Double Wedding Ring”, “Ohio Rose”…

NO KNOWN CURE!

Treatment:

Medication is useless, disease is not fatal. Victim should attend as many quilt shows and quilt shops as possible.”

I now understand that sign.

I guess my interest in quilting was piqued when I visited a quilt shop last fall with my mom. There were so many interesting and colorful fabrics that I had no idea existed; I was used to seeing the traditional fabrics my mom kept stockpiled in her sewing room closet when I was younger. I knew of Amy Butler, but Michael Miller? Alexander Henry? These fabrics were fantastic! So I bought two Benartex prints and whipped up Amy Butler’s Birdie Sling.

That was fun! Now what?
I mean, you can only have so many fabric bags. Enter Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.


Again, quite a different take on quilting than I was used to. The projects were simple and non-intimidating, and the use of modern fabrics made simple pincushions and lap quilts seem exciting. Quilting seemed like a daunting, time consuming hobby to me before. Now, it can be easy and quite rewarding.

I have a whole slew of projects in mind: placemats, floormats, pincushions, a small quilt to nap under, maybe a bedspread and matching pillowcases, and perhaps a wallhanging if I can muster up to the challenge. I’ve done a few practice pieces so far, such as the four patch and nine-patch blocks above. I also whipped up this set of coasters from the Last Minute Gift book:

The set of four took about 10 minutes each to quilt once I cut the fabric and batting and assembled the pieces together. It was a good intro to working with multiple layers and practicing even stitching. The odd one in the grouping was a strip pieced nine patch block that I practiced on first before I tackled the Amy Butler set.

So I’ve stocked up on lots of new fabric (which is currently in the wash right now!) and am looking forward to sharing my progress here on my new hobby!

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