Since the first of the year, work has just been - well - chaotic. For the lowdown,
click here. I have to admit that it is taking its toll. Consequently, I've been looking forward to Saturday to sew. Just sew. Without interruption (you can do that - usually - when you are empty nesting). Just sew. I have several swaps that I need to get my act together for and a quilt, and a project that has been niggling at the back of my mind for months.
Way back in October, I stopped by Target after work and found their flat sheets on sale for ridiculously low prices - like $3.97 for a king sized flat sheet. Flat sheets are awesome. They have a million uses. Think of all the yardage in a King Size flat sheet for less than four bucks! I had to have them. I bought pretty much all they had. The had a really pretty aqua, and a cream, and white, and yellow, and then they had red (more burgundy really) and blue. I really didn't have an interest in the red and the blue, but I kept coming back to them. I stood there for a long time, picking up the little boxes and putting them back, picking up another and putting it back. Finally, I decided that if I never did anything with it I was only out four dollars. I have surely wasted more money than that in my life. So I took home 7 or 8 flat sheets, including the above mentioned.
That Sunday, I subbed in Primary. We have found that the childrens' behavior is better if we are proactive about where they sit and who they sit by. We accomplish that by putting their names on their chairs. Our previous method involved construction paper and packaging tape. It was ok, but after a few weeks, really looked shabby. Anyway, when I came home from Primary I happened to look in the sewing room and spied those sheets that I didn't know what to do with. Aha! Now I knew why I bought those colors. They're Primary colors.
So, I went to the fabric store and bought some plastic and within a few days had created a pattern and cut out 30 chair covers - 10 red, 10 blue, and 10 yellow. They have a cool plastic pocket on both sides to put the child's name and class in. They are quick change. If a child only comes one Sunday, we can still put his or her name on the chair, without a lot of hassle.
Then, On Veteran's Day, I made 6 red ones. I have to admit that after the technique was perfected, they are pretty boring. And this is mid-November. It is time to start sewing for Christmas. So I put it aside and began all kinds of other things.
Finally, today, I worked on them again. I have now completed 16 of these little guys - all the red ones and 6 blue ones. Only 1 4 to go. But 16 should be enough for all the children who generally come to Primary. I will get the others done soon. Frankly, I'm tired of looking at the pieces.
When I got tired of Chair covers, I worked on Ari's Fandango Sugar Rush quilt for awhile. The pattern is by Camille Roskelly from her book "Simplify". I LOVE that book. I think I want to make every quilt and project in it. Anyway, this is a work in progress, but it is now ready to quilt. I had done the scallops one evening this week, and today I was ready to put it together, but I had to piece the back. That took much longer than I thought. The pattern calls for the final border to go under the scallops all the way, but I wanted to reduce the bulk of the scallop - and I am running out of fabric - so I only cut them long enough to sew the scallop on, and then trimmed away the excess. I really like the way it looks now, much better than before it was trimmed. I did a raw edge scallop and machine blanket stitched it on. I really like the stitching. I am thinking about free motion quilting the top. I really want to, but my machine gives me fits when I try to free motion quilt on it. Oh, well, not tonight. It's late.
I didn't get much done on the swap stuff today, but it was still an enjoyable and productive day.
