Look who’s working cute!

 

I tend to not work cute.  I'm capable - its just not a personal preference.  But when a niece is having her first baby and knows it's a boy and has decided on a jungle theme...  C'mon, I just gotta do cute!  Elizabeth Hartman has some terrific patterns.  I did her Koala pattern for Aussie friend - so sad a koala isn't a jungle animal because it was really cute.  Three animals are finished, and I am going to add some leaves and then try to corral these into a cohesive quilt.  

What a special time for my brother Al and his wife as they welcome their first grandchild!  

Mid-March Pursing

 Here's a batch of 8 purses.  I've been more productive in other months.  What's special about these purses is that they are primarily from scraps and odd bits that have been begging to be used.  Working with scraps is satisfying, but it is also a slower way of working.  And for now?  That's ok.

The black-and-white fabric for the straps started this grouping of 4.  You can see a red-white-and-black print, enough for a couple of flaps and bodies.  The black polka dots are left over from a quilt.  And the red and black fabric is from a UFO I never finished.  TRUTH:  I was trying to make a train trestle but actually it looked like an apron.  

The bottom four purses all include denim pockets from recycled blue jeans. The orange straps help to dress these up.  So do the quilted flaps from deconstructed quilted clothing.  

The next purses?  I 'll start with some of the fabric I've been putting aside just for the Sew Powerful girls.  Just a wee reminder:  the pattern for this purse is free and available at  sewpowerful.org. 

What? it’s mid-March already?

 

We’re in the middle of house repairs - new counter tops in kitchen and master bath, removing a whirlpool tub and converting that space into a closet, and just some general updating.  While things are going well, there’s always some discombobulation.  I’m embarrassed by the amount of wonderful scraps I have and am using them for purses - that will be the next post.  But meanwhile, my little piece of sanity is nightly stitching on this new bed quilt for us. It’s so big that it’s hard to see the quilting. So this is a mid-process post.  Now I can see that the quilting is defining the woven look of this pattern.

The backing is a mixture of a couple of low-volume Art Gallery fabrics.  This quilt is wonderful to sit under.  But there is some urgency to finish this while it’s still cold out.  Guess I better give some thought to a summer hand- quilting project!