Winter is for sewing.

I don't have much good to say about January in Iowa except for that it's a great time to get some sewing done!  It's much too cold to go outside, so I'm staying warm inside, having some fun with fabric.

I spent a few days re-organizing my sewing room.  I moved a desk out and some cubbies in.  I had a whole bunch of fun re-folding and re-organizing my fabric stash.  I had it stored in the closet, but I really like having it in the cubbies where I can see it.  I'm definitely a visual person, so this really works better for me.  I found some fabric I'd totally forgotten about, so sorting through everything was a bit like Christmas!  Another thing I've been wanting to do is to use up some scraps, and so I tried my hand at making a doll quilt.  It was so much fun that I made two!  And I'll very likely make more.  I like a project I can complete in a day or two.  Here are the results:

I was really pleased to finish 2 projects using only fabric that I already had on hand!  For some reason this feels like a real accomplishment.








One of my goals for the new year (in addition to sewing room organization!) was to expand my sewing skills beyond quilts.  A couple of years ago I managed to make an apron with a great deal of help from a friend who is an expert sewist, and so I thought I would start with an apron.

I managed to do it.  I had to re-do the waistband/sash because the pattern that I used as the basis for this very simple apron called for a much skinnier sash....which I found absolutely impossible to turn right-side-out.  Eventually I gave up and made a wider one.  Keeping that in mind, I soldiered on....

As you can see, this apron has a really big sash!  I like to wrap the sash around and tie my aprons in the front, don't you?  This apron has two layers: the top one, made from a linen calendar from 1974, is because I find myself wiping my hands on my aprons instead of grabbing a towel.  I thought this would be pretty useful.

During the week of apron-making, I did venture out to Joann's and lo and behold: they had dress forms on sale!  Now, I don't know about you, but there is just something about a dress form....I have wanted one for the longest time but couldn't justify the cost because I don't sew clothes.  But aprons are kind of like clothes, right?  And for $40 I decided that I would resist no longer.  So I brought it home and put a necklace on her (those are vintage 1950's beads) and had more fun than I should have taking apron photos.

I'm playing around with some new ideas for quilts too.  A few days ago I discovered a line of Jane Austen-inspired fabric called Ardently Austen.  Naturally I had to get some.  Showing admirable restraint, I ordered just one of the prints:

I can't think of too many things in the whole world better than this.  For me, this is especially wonderful, as it brings 2 of my very favorite things in the whole wide world together, Jane Austen novels and fabric.  I think that this fabric really deserves to be showcased in a quilt.  Don't you?

Happy sewing!