In the 34 years I taught for the Chicago Public Schools, my biggest issue was always changing gears: from summer days to back-to-school falls, from Christmas vacation to those dark cold days of January, even returning from Spring Break, even though there were only 10 more weeks of school. And Life's Rhythm remains the same - it's hard to get back into the swing of things after two weeks in Portugal. There is only a 6-hour time difference, but that's just enough to mess with me. The only real sewing I've done in the past week is quilting and binding this charity quilt for the Morgan Park Youth Ministry. Carol, this is ready for pickup! It's 72" x 90", all washed, and ready to go!
But what else do I want to do? First on my list are
Arabesque bags - they are simple and useful and one-day projects. I have had my eye on both of these fabrics above. The lighter fabric is for the purse lining - purse linings must be light!
These lovely neutral sandy browns are for a
Tudor bag for my friend Melissa. Tucked under the upper left corner is some dark brown vinyl that she bought - I want to use it for the bottom of the bag. And of course the lightest fabric is for the inside of the bag. This Tudor bag will be a little bit taller than the pattern because I know how Melissa uses her totes!
One of my favorite people is going to India this fall on a pilgrimage of sorts. For years she has travelled with this
Aeroplane bag. This used to be my favorite bag until I discovered the
Sloan. Jenny's bag is going to be a twin of my bag. Here's a side by side comparison of the two bags. All bags mentioned so far today are by
Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness. Her patterns are a dream to follow!
And my supply of cork is growing. So is my inspiration. The two little bags are ones I bought in Portugal. And I'm thinking carefully about what I want to do with these fabulous shades of cork.
I don't have a current hand project, so I am eyeing these 12 blocks that are all 12.5" square. What if I enlarged them using an attic windows approach and then add some hand quilting? So, thinking...
And last is a charity quilt kit I took home from from my guild, volunteering to quilt and bind it. More about this project as I get into it.
The weather has turned warm, there is a massive deconstruction project about to happen across the street, and I'm struggling with compression hose in this hot weather. But there's a new baby about to emerge into the Thompson family, and everything is blossoming and turning green. Nice!
