once apon a time

once upon a time i dabbled in quilting. i took a class or two with friends.eventually, i even braved designing my own quilt pattern.  it was a fun new hobby i was really enjoying. then i got pregnant and somehow the joy has flown. i'm hoping it's temporary and hormonal only.

yesterday i was visiting with my friend jill, who took one of those classes with me. she said she'd finally been able to download some pictures she took of our class. today i got them in an email. it made me all nostalgic for my long lost hobby.

 a shot of me and my chain pieced blocks. chain piecing is the best! so much faster than doing each bit separately. it does take some thought so you don't mix up blocks, but is not too complicated and definitely worth the extra bit of brain power you have to expend when using it. man, i really do like those heather bailey fabrics i picked for that quilt.

alas, that quilt top, minus its border, is still folded up laying on my neglected sewing table. the backing still needs to be planned out and assembled. my 8 year old daughter is now 9.  her birthday came and went without her promised quilt being completed. such a sad story, in a quilting-world kind of way.

jill also sent me a picture of her fabric selections for her quilt. she was brave enough (and savvy enough) to pick several fabrics from a variety of lines and manufacturers in her palette of lime green, pinks and reds, and turquoise blue. love it! her quilt is currently awaiting a little quilting on the border and its binding. she's several hours and steps ahead of me. can't wait to see it finished. that might be a little ways off too, though. not because jill's pregnant like me but because her kids are now home from school for the summer.

sewing class

firstly, as anyone may have noticed, my pregnancy-induced sewing slump has not improved one bit. in fact, some days the thought of sewing makes me want to puke. strange, i know. i've also stopped blogging about or reading other blogs about sewing, fabric, etc. i know there are tons of new fabrics on the market in the wake of quilt market, fabrics i was hotly anticipating just a month or so ago. right now i could care less. completely, creatively apathetic. whether this will stay or go is hard to say. this blog may be dying a slow death. i have no false notions that anyone will miss it particularly much, but i thank all who have participated along the way. i'll leave it up in case anyone wants to reference my four sq tute and so i can keep my sewing links organized, should i ever want to look at them again.

for now, this little life growing inside me is taking up all my energy, creative or otherwise. i am okay with that.

BUT . . .

somebodies besides me have been sewing. today my girls had their first sewing class with kelly hendrickson (create your own joy). i was very impressed. i only took a few photos with my phone while at her house/studio, but i intend on taking some more next week at their next class.

kelly's entryway to her home is a boutique of items she's made to sell and her entire front room is a huge sewing classroom, with lots of fun fabrics and pretty touches everywhere. my sister, marcee, told me kelly had sewing machines for her students to use. she didn't tell me they were viking sapphires (really nice, expensive machines probably ten times more costly than my sweet little project runway). obviously kelly likes nice stuff and is serious about sewing. she must also be a very patient teacher to entrust her machines to 8 year olds.

i dropped the girls off knowing they would start with making a pillowcase, everyone's first time project. when i returned two hours later, they were done with the cases and working on headbands. i arrived a bit early, so i sat in the corner and watched everyone bustling about. sitting there listening to the hum or the machines and eyeing all kelly's wonderful projects made me want to go home and sew something for the first time in weeks. alas, the desire did not last.

here's a look at my 8 year old's two projects, completed today:

the flower is on a removable clip so that it may be worn separately

looks like she was in a "blue period" mood with her fabric selection today. not bad output for her first class. next week she gets to move on to an apron, which is right up her alley! only this one will be fully finished. i'm hoping she decides to hem her other two aprons once she makes one in class. i'm more than happy to set her up on my machine.

yay for sewing class!