Sew Sew Modern

So I finally decided on the pillow I was going to send to my partner and got it off in the mail last Friday.  I decided after stalking her blog, her Flickr photostream and her mosaic that she would be happier with a more colorful selection.  And so the plus pillow is heading her way.  Honestly, the more I look at this one the more I think that I'm going to have to create another one - this time for me.

I quilted it by outlining the pluses about 1/4 inch away from the edges. This was my first quilted project since Penelope came back from the doctor, and the tension is a lot tighter now.  It made quilting this a bit of a challenge at first.  (Guess it really was time for Penny to have a check-up!)

 The inner border is straight-line quilted and the outer border isn't quilted at all.  I like the different textures this gives the pillow and the way the straight lines cross in the corner. (OK, small amusements for small minds, but hey! - )

I made her a 1-Hour Fat Quarter Tote to go with it.  This one is a little quirky, fabric-wise, but I don't dislike it. 

I used some Heather Ross sock monkey fabric (from Hancock Fabrics last summer) for the main part of the bag, along with some pearl bracelets that I bought for something else and didn't use, and some random yellow with orange leaves that seemed to tie the two together.

I quilted it with some super-fast and easy loops, but they seemed to go well with the pearl bracelets.

So here's the little package that is winging its way to my partner.  I hope she likes it.

Catching up...

(Let me start out by saying that you may want to read to the end of this post...  Just sayin'!)  

It's been quite awhile since I did a blog post, hasn't it?  Well, first I had a little mishap with my machine.  I hit a pin, which has happened a million times, but somehow this one went down into the bobbin case and created all kinds of havoc.  I've hit pins before, but never with such a devastating result.  In the process of becoming accordion pleated itself, said pin dislodged the bobbin case, nicked the shield to the bobbin case, and generally prevented the machine from stitching.  Hence, Penelope made a quick visit to the doctor.  Thankfully, the repairman was able to fix her and get her up and running for only the cost of a service call (despite the up to $250 estimate I received - whew!).  And truly, she's been used hard this year, so a service call was sorely needed anyway.

And the other reason I haven't posted lately is that I've become totally obsessed with my GMFG quilt top.  It seems to consume all my spare time.  For some reason, I seem to work on it compulsively.  My friend made me 100-or-so yellow hexies for the fences, and so I was able to get to this point...

And I couldn't rest until I made about 100 more...

And so it progresses.

And it's a perfect project to do when you can't do anything else...

So, while I was following all the commenting on Flickr about my Waterfall pillow, I got the feeling that I was on the wrong track for my partner.  (But on the right track for my son, apparently - this is the only one of  my projects he has faved on Flickr!)

So I made another, which I hope is more to my partner's taste.  I love that I was able to use up some binding I had left over from my Outfoxed quilt, and lots of other scraps.  I've been wanting to make a plus pillow.  It was really fun.  There may be more plus projects in my future!

So that's what's been going on around here.  What have you been up to?  I'd love to hear!  Leave a comment and tell me about your latest project.  There may be a little something in it for you.  (Hint!)

TTFN