Buggy Barn UFO

 

My UFO for July started the month as a pile of blocks.  These were made when a group of friends decided to get together for a “Buggy Barn Day”.  We chose our patterns and our fabrics and enjoyed a day of stacking, cutting, and sewing.  I chose the Folk Art Flowers pattern and selected a pile of country red, blue and brown fabrics.  I managed to include a few pieces of recycled shirts in the collection. 

In July I sewed the blocks together and used the leftover fabrics to make borders.  I am eager to get this one quilted, but I am waiting until I decide where it will be going.  . 

The weather has been very hot here – which makes staying inside and sewing an attractive alternative to being out in the heat of the day.  The Orca Bay top has benefitted from this extra sewing time.  I’ve made good headway on getting the blocks sewn together.  Here is a peek at how it is turning out.

Not sure when this one might be finished, but it is exciting to see all those pieces finally coming together.

Technorati Tags: UFO challenge,Buggy Barn,Orca Bay

Thread spools

 

Have you ever thought about how many different kinds of thread spools there are?  If you had asked me, I probably would have guessed there might be, maybe, a dozen different kinds.  Because there are different sizes of spools and different kinds of thread.  Yep, a dozen kinds should be lots.

I have been working on finishing up odd spools lately, and as I empty a spool I set it on the windowsill by the sewing machine.  When I added another spool to the row today I realized that the twelve lined up there were all different.  I was intrigued by the variety, so I scooped them up and took a picture.

Don’t they look good!  There are a couple of really old wooden ones, some 100 yard and 150 yard Gutermann spools, Mettler (small and large), a couple of “exotic” ones, plus the straight core out of something that I can’t remember, and the cardboard centre from my last cone of CanSew  cotton. 

Looking at them made me wonder if I had any more different ones.  I dug through the box of empty spools. There are always quite a few spools around because I keep them until I find someone who wants them .  Once I  donated them to be used them for crafts at Sunday School, and another time I heard of a fifth grade teacher that wanted some for her students to build bridges with.  They always find a home eventually.

I was astonished at how many different ones were lurking in the box.  There are 31 in this picture.  (Don’t they look like people lined up for a photo at a family reunion?)

After I took the picture I realized there are others that aren’t represented here – some different sized cones that I use on the longarm, and those stocky cones that YLI invisible thread comes on, and, oh yes, some different ones that embroidery threads come on. 

I wonder if I can find a spot to keep these, all lined up, and see how many more I can add to the collection. 

Technorati Tags: spools

Web site featuring African fabrics

 

Kitambaa designs has a new web site!

Take a look here: Kitambaa designs

You get a glimpse of the lives of a group of creative African women, and lots of inspiration.  You can purchase African fabrics or buy items made in Africa.

 

Technorati Tags: Kitambaa,African fabrics