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I’m super excited, because I signed up for TWO separate classes at my local quilt shop: Quilting for Beginners, which is a five week course starting the first week in October, and Machine Quilting Basics, which is a one-day course in late October.
Which means that by the time November arrives, I’ll actually have a little bit of a better idea of how to quilt!
Granted, I could have probably taught myself just fine without too many problems. But I really think that to do the best I possibly can, and spare myself a lot of frustration, it would be better to actually see the process in person, rather than just via the internet and books.
The thing is, there are SO many quilts and quilting challenges I want to do right now. For instance:
- The Modern Quilt Guild just announced the first challenge in their Project Modern series: Inspiration. The challenge looks like so much fun, and the prizes are amazing!
- Oh Fransson is posting the details on her gorgeous Tokyo Subway Map quilt. I absolutely love the pattern and colors, so beautiful.
- Fat Quarterly is starting their quilt-a-long on September 6th. I know I’ve mentioned this one before, and I’m really, really tempted to join along, even before my class.
Really, though, I can’t join any of these right now. I have my class to look forward to, and it will teach me how to quilt correctly, so that I don’t waste time or fabric. So, no. I am not joining in. I just don’t have the time.
Devil on my shoulder: But, Susan, the Fat Quarterly quilt top only takes one jelly roll! That’s not too much of a commitment! And it’s such a pretty quilt! You can find the time, can’t you? Maybe you should just look at the jell rolls – I bet there’s one out there that would be just perfect. Oh look, what’s that?
Apparently I have no willpower and am easily distracted by pretty fabric.
Here’s hoping I don’t learn too many bad quilting habits before my class.
I’m so excited! Last week I heard from the owners of a brand new boutique in southern Indiana. It’s called Creative. {handmade arts boutique}. They’re preparing to open in just a few short weeks, and asked if I’d like to include some of my items in the shop. Of course I said yes!
They have a gorgeous space in downtown New Albany, near restaurants and galleries. They’re doing a fantastic job getting everything set up. You can follow the progress on their blog as they get ready to open.
I can’t wait until the grand opening so I can do a little shopping myself! And if you’re in the area, and want to see some Sweeter Lemon items up close and personal, here’s your chance!
Magnets and tacks, lined up and waiting for the grand opening!
A quick update of this and that.
1. Secret Knitting
I have been doing a lot of knitting on the sly, along with everything else that’s been going on. I haven’t been able to say too much, since these are gifts and the recipients may possibly read this. I won’t go into much detail, but they are coming along so nicely I had to share a quick peek:
Secret Project #1, and
Secret Project #2.
They are both so cute, I can’t wait until I can show you the rest of them!
2. Quilt-a-Long
I’m always late on finding these, but here’s a quilt-a-long that was just announced at the Fat Quarterly blog. The quilt looks cute, and only requires one jelly roll (a bundle of 2.5″ strips) for the piecing.
The first post with cutting instructions will go up on September 6th, so that’s plenty of time to raid the stash or get shopping!
3. Giveaway!
My good friend Shutterboo is having a Sweeter Lemon giveaway! She even interviewed me, which was a lot of fun. The giveaway prize is a set of rainbow magnets – if you’re interested, hurry over and sign up, the giveaway ends this Friday, August 27th!
I actually managed to do a little sewing this weekend, and promptly messed up.
I keep forgetting that I have a large melon head, which means that standard adult size head accessories don’t always fit me correctly:
Is this not the cutest headband? I absolutely love it, but the amount of elastic required to make it fit my head was a bit excessive. I got discouraged, and didn’t even finish it.
Now, a few days later, I’m thinking of this crafty “fail” and started writing a little list of “Don’ts” to keep me on track.
You know – Don’t get discouraged, don’t worry so much, etc. etc. etc.
But those “Don’ts” bothered me. It made me think of the old Psych 101 experiment. If you tell someone, “Don’t think of pink elephants,” what’s the first thing you think of? Pink elephants! If you tell a child, “Don’t spill the soup, ” let’s face it, spilling the soup is almost guaranteed. Why? Because the idea has been voiced. It’s out there. Better to say, “Think about red hippos” or “Keep your shirt clean,” because they are more positive, and don’t require you to think of the worst case scenario first.
Hence, my list of today’s crafty “Do’s”:
- Do remain confident.
- Do stay focused.
- Do strive and learn.
- Do keep trying.
- Do keep moving forward.
- Do have fun.
- Do make things.
Those sound SO much better.
Is there a “Do” that I’m missing? I’d love to hear it!
