More Samplin'

Don't get used to these everyday posts, guys. I'm going back to work soon, and I'll be way less productive (at least in sewing)...which is why I'm trying to soak up all possible creative goodness over the next few days. And this sampler is doing the trick to keep me motivated. It's fun to make just one of each block. They become more unique and special.

I tackled the HSTs first (I'm not sure what the name of this block is?). I'm seeing these everywhere on Flickr and had to have my very own! But wow, it's been a while since I did any precision piecing, and let me assure I did not achieve the perfect accurate points I was going for.

I'm trying to banish "perfect" from my vocabulary. Perfection is a myth, anyway...why should I put so much stock in something that doesn't exist? This project has been going on for several years now...still a WIP :o) On the bright side, I did something with those HST that I think looks really beautiful.

Next I wanted to do some freestyling. This lovely quilt captured my imagination a while ago. So simple, yet it really gave me pause. There is just something peaceful about it. So I grabbed this guy and gave it a gray frame...

...stepped back, and realized I was re-creating a rainy day-- the gray clouds, the raindrops and puddles, the way that everything growing becomes greener. True to the scene, I cooked up a little sun that may or may not look much more like a rose:

But even so, I love it! These pentagon improv blocks are rocking my world. So satisfying to make and very delicious eye candy. And now for the big reveal...my fabric version of a cloudy, rainy day:

 

Eeekk!! Why does this make me so happy?!!

Up next: these little orphans. Looking forward to sewing them into something tomorrow...

Gifts!

You know what I love about making gifts? You get to try new stuff. Stuff you would never otherwise attempt. And a deadline can be a good encouragement to make a decision and move on. I tend to grind to a halt if perfection gets in my gears. No so with Poppy's adorable doll quilt. Below is the back, which I actually made first. Those aren't polka dots in the upper right corner...they're raindrops! Love! Big thanks to my quilt model, Mr. Awesome ;o)

I whipped up this little envelope purse last week. Happy Birthday to my best friend! Yup, that's a hand-quilted "A" to hold to magnet in place. Magnet closures are so satisfying.

 

The perfect card holder for a note to my BFF. She's running the San Francisco Marathon tomorrow...amazing!

And a rear view...I followed this tutorial for the Scrappy Pouch on One Shabby Chic's blog. Super quick and easy.

My friend's mom is run/walking the half marathon. (Inspiring family, huh?) What better way to celebrate than with a mug rug for her post-race Gatorade and power bar? I saw this pentagonal mug rug over on Flickr and was inspired. My idea was to make an unfolding flower. Not sure if that happened, but I like the result nevertheless. I'm eager to try an improv pentagon again.

And the back. Seems like a good setting for a story about Anansi, the trickster spider.


















When making something quickly (like the mug rug, which took about 3 hours), I have a lingering consideration: Is it done? Without time to really sit with a project, I often wonder if I'm sending it out into the world incomplete.

But perhaps the answer is ultimately unknowable. Where is the line between overworked and underdone? It's like taking bread from the oven-- very difficult to tell at first glance. I wonder if certainty will come with time.

What with all the inspiring and the gifting, I decided to do a little something for myself and give my scraps a better home than that hideous plastic bag they've been living in. Lo and behold, Salvation Army had gobs of these beautiful glass containers. I took ten off their hands for only $15!! Score! (The other two hold ribbons and elastics.) They pretty up the room and I can see what I've got...which is a lot more scrap-busting to do. And I'm not complaining :o)