Lots of Sewing Going On

It's been so nice to be able to get some of the accumulated sewing done these last couple of weeks (well when I haven't been running out to the doctor or dentist at any rate!).    I've had a lot of people ask what types of sewing that I've been doing for the gal I've been sewing for the last couple of years.

And thought I'd show pics of what I've been working on for her this summer.    The first pic at the right shows one of the scrub tops that I've made the last couple of weeks.   She ends up supplying the main fabric, and then I end up adding the black on the sides (and in this case the pockets.  The 2nd picture is an example of one of the muu-muu style tops that she likes to wear.   The ones that I finished up this time were a mixed bag of having enough fabric from her to get them made, and having to add fabric to get what she ordered done.

The picture to the left shows the stack of 14 scrub tops/blouses/dresses that I have finished off these two weeks.   The stack is approximately 15 inches tall as the garments are folded.  The box with everything in it and any extra fabric from them weighs about 13 pounds.   Needless to say, it is being shipped back parcel post and not priority mail!   I still have almost 50 more garments to go yet before I finish off all the fabric that I have from her at this point (well if my spreadsheet is correct at any rate).   And if past history is anything to go by, I'm sure there will be a box of new fabric coming back my way from her because I know she hasn't stopped buying more fabric.

The main other project that I've been working on this week, has been to start my challenge quilt for the annual art challenge that I take a part in.   The theme this year is "Who am I?" or something close to that.

To make this quilt, I started by making quilted strips of fabric using two different batiks.  The fabric that looks white in the picture is actually a white background with light teal green dots on it.   Once the strips were completed, I then wove them together .   After pinning them to strips of stabilizer to hold them together I then added the fabric for the borders.   Still to do is to insert batting into the borders and quilt them, and then bind.   Final step will be to add embellishments (buttons, beads, silk flowers) to hold the woven strips in place and then write all of the words that i want to put in the piece on the light colored sections.   Haven't decided what fabric I'll use to bind it in, but I've got enough of all three of the ones that I've used in the piece.

The description that I've written for this piece and that will be printed in the show program is below:

Materials: Commercial batiks, buttons, beads, embellishments. Raw-edged strips of batiks have been quilted and woven together to form the center of the quilt, with a quilted border holding them together. The strips are not backed with any other fabric so that the viewer can see through the spaces in between them. The raw edges and spaces in between the strips, and the knots on the back of the quilt represent the times in my life when things have been difficult, the colors in the fabrics and the embellishments show the beauty found in my life. The overall composition shows the beauty that God has brought to my life. The words written on the strips are ones that I or friends have used to describe me.

Gratitudes:
1. Time to sew and success in getting things finished!
2. Good news so far from doc appts.

Back in the Groove....aka Summer Vacation

Yippee............now I know how my teachers felt when it was time for summer vacation.   It has been really nice to not have to get up at O'Dark Hundred to get ready for school......of course that doesn't mean my body has cooperated and not woken up at it's habitual time, but that's totally beside the point.

I'm thankful for my job as a teacher, but I'm also thankful for summer vacation!    So far this summer I've made a trip to TX to visit with friends and family there.   And now that I'm back home I've started the summer cycle of dentist/doc visits/medical tests interspersed with lots of sewing.   =)  Have a couple of weeks of training to also get through but that's ok.     And need to get a bunch of stuff listed on ebay to sell as well.........so needless to say I'm gonna stay busy this summer.

So far this week I've finished off a quilt top for American Heroes.   In addition I've caught up on the blocks for the two different versions of the BOM that I'm working on with friends from an online group.  The block patterns can be found on my website on the Block of the Month Page.   Both of these are being made with fabrics that I've ended up collecting but are not my normal colors.   The plan is to finish the quilts and then donate them.    Haven't decided where I'll donate them to, but ultimately that will depend on what size they end up finishing at.   I do plan on designing new settings for both of these and then will put that up on my website to go with the block instructions.

In addition I've finished off a quilt top for American Heroes.   The inspiration for this quilt was taken from the Falling Charms pattern by Missouri Quilts.  The difference in what I did and the original pattern, was to first start with 6.5" cut squares of the blue/white fabric.   I then added two 'rounds' of the scrappy reds on two sides instead of just one round.   I used assorted sized of the strips and everything came from my scrap bin for the reads.   The quilt finished out at 60" by 80".    This will be sent off with three other tops that I've had ready for American Heros for about a year, but haven't gotten in the mail.  

I've also started working hard at making a big dent in getting the commissioned clothing sewn up. It's been a year since I've been able to do much towards getting these worked up and I'd really like to get them done and outta here.   Am also hoping that I don't end up with a lot more fabric that she wants sewn up in return, but will cross that bridge if or when i get there.

Gratitudes:
1. For safety in the drive to/from TX, and the honest car dealer who found the problem and fixed my car.
2. For the health insurance that I have through my Job.