Sewing again!

Nothing screws with your sewing time like starting a new job. And moving to a new town for that job.

Things were (still are, actually) in boxes and belongings were split between apartments.

But now life is settling into place (and my sewing table is back!)

Here's what I'm working on:

This baby quilt, from a fat-quarter bundle from Fabricworm. There's some Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and some organic fabric, Mod Basics by jay-cyn designs for Birch Fabrics.



I started by fussy cutting the Bella tree print and building log cabin blocks. Then I filled in the space with random bits of fabric.

This top is small -- about 40 by 40 inches. I've got some grey dots and leftovers from the fat quarters for the back.

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I've been doing paper piecing the last few nights.

When I get home from work, I'm pretty fried and not feeling creative at all. The by-the-numbers feel of paper piecing is just what my brain needs.



The print is a Denyse Schmidt one I found at JoAnn and the background is Kona Bone.

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I spent a fair amount of time at the Butte house during the move (doing prep for a new tenant).



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On one of my million drives from the old town to the new one, I got a killer old Hudson Bay point blanket for half off at an antique shop that was closing.



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I did sneak in a quick iPad sleeve.



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During the move, I was without my beloved sewing table for weeks! I set up my machine on the old post office desk I used when I first started sewing, and I can't believe I ever used that setup.

But now, the big guy is back!


(There's more on the walls now ... I promise)

My new place is small. REALLY tiny. I've lived in small places (about 800 square feet) since I got out of college. And those never seemed that small to me.

But this place is 600 square feet, tops. Maybe 500.

At first, I planned on renting a small office for my sewing stuff. But I do most of my sewing late at night, and decided that -- if the table would fit in my house -- that was the best place for it.

It takes up most of the living room, but that's OK. :)

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And now, the standard cute-dog shots.

Abundance

One of my co-workers is having a baby, so I get to make a baby quilt!

I've been doing some fabric selection by committee, asking everyone in sight (and a few far away) what they like.

This is the first time I've had a stash large enough to pull from for a project. A real abundance. And I think I'll be able to piece the blocks almost entirely from what I have on-hand.

I started with this:



And then this:



And now I'm down to this:


(The Xs are going away)

I think I'll add a yellow solid too.

The plan is a wonky log-cabin style block with largish strips. The elephants and birds will be the block centers.

To keep it neat-looking, I want to use a neutral sashing between blocks. I'm thinking Essex linen, which I've never used before. But the heavier weight might be nice for a baby quilt that will be washed lots.

Thoughts? Is it gender-neutral enough? Too boyish? I think the extra yellow will help.

On other fronts, I'm just about halfway done with the hand-binding on the Seattle quilt. I want to mail it by Friday.


(Ignore that stray dog hair. That's why you wash quilts before sending them)

And Tom and Chowder are, as usual, living the life.