My Generous Friends

Downstate Illinois was hit particularly hard by tornadoes two weeks ago, and several small towns were devastated.  The Crystal Lake Modern Quilt Guild has a member who personally knows of families in great need and is soliciting quilts, books, and stuffed animals.  I learned of this effort through their Facebook page and shared the information.  My buddies Midge and Cecilia responded with these gifts.  Saturday I'll be dropping these off at The Material Girl, a fabulous fabric shop in Crystal Lake.  And seriously, I'll have to go in.  And look around a wee bit. 

Two Days of Play

One Side...

and the other

This is just 8 inches by 11 inches

Little Things

The charity quilts from my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild were delivered this morning and most happily received.  While I was honored to be a part of this and have these quilts in my house, I am THRILLED to have empty space and a list with such a huge completed task.  Now I can resume some little things, like this Louis Armstrong Mors bag from a t-shirt - John is doing a presentation at the Brookfield Jazz Society in January on Armstrong, and this is the door prize.   Also, I want to make some little drawstring bags and some more little Runarounds.  The scrap baskets remain out, and I've been lovingly studying what's in them.  There are a couple of small commissions, and I'm saving my Marcia Derse kits for January.  My shelf of blacks, red, and neutrals is calling to me, but I can't quite hear what it's saying.  I'm saying that a couple of maquettes might be in order - maybe then I'll be able to hear better.  All these little things?  They make me happy.

A Short Happy Zipper Story

Guildster Eileen bought a ton of zippers and shared them with me.  I bought her a chicken shawarma and baba ganoush.  We are both happy.  The End. 

Chicago Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilts

Here are 23 quilts, all labelled and ready to be delivered to the Teen Living offices in time for holiday distribution.  My Chicago Modern Quilt Guild really rose to this charitable occasion  I'm proud to know such generous quilters!

Whose Clean Studio is This?

Ok, Christmas, bring it on.  I'm ready.

Just one more to go

The last charity quilt for Teen Living is on the basting table.  There's also one that I'm just about finished quilting.  I'm a bit ahead of my self-imposed schedule and feel good about this.  Now I'm heading over the river and through the woods (ok, ok, the Salt Creek isn't exactly a river and the woods are part of the Cook Country Forest Preserves but you get the idea...) to visit my parents and deliver some things that John's been cooking - chili and ham loaf.  Guess who's getting a quilt/project fashion show, whether they want it or not...

No Apologies: I Like To Sew

And that's what I did this weekend. Just sew.  Six Mors bags from my "Too Ugly to Live" batik collection (batiks are sturdy and don't need a lining and are perfect for that Sunday morning walk for the newspaper). Eight RunAround bags, all from various scraps that are too small to be used for other things. And an incomplete Retro Bag, the one from the August issue of Stitch magazine. There's a problem with the pattern (truly, the pattern and not the sewist), and I need to be thoughtful about how to proceed. But now it's back to the Teen Living charity quilts - I have two more to baste and quilt.

Running Around with Saturated Colors

Runaround Bags - 7" x 9"

One side has a zipper, and there's even a little pocket on the inside. The other side has a nice deep pocket. The strap is long enough so that the bag can be worn across the body. And it can be knotted to make it shorted. These Marcia Derse fabrics are so lovely to work with. I think I know what I'm doing the rest of today... Here's where to get this little bag pattern.

Little RunArounds with Marcia Derse

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy

Gotta leave the house.  Gotta try to not get hair gel on the keyboard.  Gotta remember to do the other eye.  All the gottas.  But all I really want to do is play with these fabrics.  They are so special I am even going to try to bit of FMQ!  But later...  Gotta get out of here...