A Surprise for Mom!

 Over a year ago, I absconded with scraps left over from a quilt top Mom had pieced.  I didn't exactly sneak them out of the house - she gave them to me, but I didn't tell her what they were for.  I had found a stunning pattern for a throw pillow that I though would be perfect for her, to accent the quilt.  It was a paper-piecing pattern - the Star Flower Pillow from Moda's Bake Shop - and I started in on it right away.

I hadn't done any paper piecing for a long time, but convinced myself that, since everyone was doing it, it couldn't be too difficult...  After fighting with it and struggling over it for about four days (it literally had blood, sweat and tears in it!) and completing less than half of the 20" pillow top, I dubbed it the "pillow from hell" and relegated it to a UFO bin.  I almost threw it out, it was so frustrating.

I have felt guilty, off and on, about that pillow.  It's called to me, mocked me, and insulted me over the past year.  I would see it, every now and then, while getting fabric for other things, or digging for scraps.  I kept telling myself that I'm an intelligent, adult woman who should not be defeated by a pile of fabric and paper!  And yet, I just couldn't bring myself to try it again.

Then, while working on my Craftsy 2012 block of the month sampler quilt (yes, I'm way behind!), I watched Amy Butler's video for her paper pieced blocks.  A light bulb came on.  After using her techniques to make the sampler quilt blocks, I couldn't believe how simple and error-proof the paper piecing was.  I finally felt like I would be able to master the pillow for Mom.  I pulled the pillow out of my UFO bin, and in one afternoon had completed the entire thing.  No kidding.  One calm, relaxed, no-stress afternoon.  No blood, no sweat, no tears.

I actually enjoyed it.  I did have to take apart a little bit of what I had already done, but not much.  The next day I quilted it and finished the pillow, using this tutorial from Sew4Home to make an envelope-style back, so the cover is removable and washable.  This ended up being such a fun, successful project.  I have finally conquered paper-piecing, and completed a project that I thought would never be right.  The finished product is gorgeous.  I almost didn't want to give it away...  But I already have plans to make another one!

Sewing Room - Mom

My Sewing Room is a work in progress. Formerly the Master Bed Room, it's located just off the Living Room downstairs. After DH died I moved to one of the upstairs bedrooms, and I'm very happy there. So I recently decided to make better use of the MBR by turning it into a sewing room. I kept the soft sage green paint on the walls. The flooring is laminate tiles, ideal for sweeping up stray threads or finding dropped pins. We had added cabinets along one wall years ago, and they're perfect for storing quilting and sewing stuff.

The blocks hanging on the cabinet doors are part of an on-going series of sampler squares, where I try out new techniques or different features on my machine. Some day they may be a quilt. Right now I just love looking at them. Behind the doors on the left are my large pieces of fabric, some quilt books, and odds and ends that don't fit elsewhere. The drawers hold fabrics for particular quilts I haven't started yet, notions, hand sewing and embroidery needs, etc. The painting was done by my Grandmother, Vera Grutter, and is me as a child. The antique clock on the shelf was also hers, and the quilts piled below it were made by her and my other Grandmother, Louise Quiggle. So they are always with me when I sew, and that makes me very happy. The jars hold small scraps sorted by color. I love just looking at them and thinking about how I could use the colors. The storage on the right is ready to be rearranged to accommodate the yarns I've recently acquired for knitting and weaving.

Swinging left from the above picture you would see a tall, narrow window that isn't in the photo, and the new daybed. The door in the photo goes to the back deck, and the area in front of it is kind of my dumping ground for things I need to keep handy but haven't found a good place for yet.

The plastic bins store most of my fabric stash, lots of fat quarters. I cut on top of them. It's really too low, so I don't cut for long at one time, but I haven't decided how to arrange this part of the room better. I do like being able to move around three sides of my cutting table.

The daybed is new. One of my goals is to make a quilt and pillows for it this spring. Right now one end holds fabric and pieces for Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, while Christmas presents are collecting on the other. I plan on mounting rods on the walls for quilts and weavings in the near future.

Opposite the daybed I have my design area -- wall-mounted flannel that I can stick fabrics and squares to. Hanging there now is my "Little House on the Prairie" Triangle quilt. It's waiting to for me to make the back, then sandwich, tie and finish it with prairie points. Or do I put the prairie points on next? I'm not sure, I'll have to think about this...

I made the chair cover out of fabric from my stash. I love the sky blue color with the green walls, it makes me feel like I'm sewing in my garden! Betsy made the sewing machine cover some years ago. When she loaned me her machine, it came along for the ride. I love having three generations of family in my room. The sewing machine table backs up to the ironing board, so as I sew I look toward my pretty shelves, Grandmothers' quilts and jars of fabric scraps.

Some people have their spaces arranged so they never have to leave their chairs. It works very well for them, but I really like being forced to walk around the room as my sewing progresses. It keeps me from getting too stiff. I also find good lighting is more important as I get older, and I have a floor lamp with a goose neck attachment behind my sewing chair.

So that's my Sewing Room so far. It's lovely to have the space, and I plan to continue to enjoy it. But I'll be honest -- if I could chose I'd rather have the house full of people and be sewing on the tiny folding table I used for years. Still, we don't always get to chose the path our lives take, we can only do the best with what we have, and my sewing room is one way I'm trying to do that.