Weekend Wrap-Up

The weekend was a fun and productive one; my first order of business was to go visit The Quilt Man in Ashland, Virginia. The Quilt Man a/k/a Chris is known for his array of Asian themed fabrics. I have promised to make my friend, Tammy, a quilt and my idea for it includes using many Asian fabrics in rich colors that will make a lavish, sophisticated quilt. I've asked Tammy to help me pick out the fabrics (we'll be needing 30 fat quarters) next Saturday, but I wanted to do some reconnaissance work before I took her into a fabric shop and had her OCD mind completely blown. I'm happy to report that Chris' selection is awesome and I believe Tammy and I will have a wonderful time next Saturday pawing through his fabulous fabrics.

Next up, I made some boxer shorts for a friend of mine (I think he is getting them for Christmas) from a watery dolphin fabric. It is from the Simplicity pattern line. There is only one pattern piece; you cut two. You would think this would be a really simple garment to make, but no matter how many times I've done it, I have to study the instructions real closely just to make sure I get the fly done right. My topstitching isn't the best here; the blue water fabric just didn't want to take any marking at all, but I remembered that I was making underwear here, and men's underwear at that. Like he'd notice. Several things that I do differently from the directions: as soon as I cut the two pieces out, I hem the legs of the boxers. Easier to do it flat than when they are already in the round. Also, instead of snaps for the fly, I always put it in a buttonhole and then a button - it looks nicer and in my mind, it is easier.

Next, I made binding for a quilt I have out being machine quilted. Not very exciting. Making bias binding ranks right up there with cutting out a pattern or ironing your fabric. Necessary, but not thrilling. But I have found that if I make the binding while I'm waiting to get the quilt back from the machine quilter, I'm much more excited about sewing it onto the new quilt as soon as I get it. If I don't, then making and applying the binding seems like a really big hassle. Also, I like striped fabric for bias bindings - the stripes wind around the quilt when sewed on and it gives the whole quilt a little pop.

And I was able to make a few blocks for this simple lap top size quilt I'm piecing for one of my Prayer Sisters. I got the pattern last February at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. Really easy, I thought, a good pattern for something I could make quickly for a gift. And it is easy, so easy to the point that I keep losing interest, so the "easy" pattern ends up not going so fast for me. I guess I need a challenge to keep me interested.

And I got to see the new James Bond movie!! I enjoyed it immensely, but then I like my violence gratuitous, no realism for me, thank you very much. I don't know what all the critics are complaining about; Daniel Craig is one cool cat as James Bond.

And finally, the housework report: no housework done this weekend except one load of laundry that is still in the dryer, needing to be folded. I call that a successful weekend!

Parting Shot: when I went out for my walk today (and discovered the wind was much more brisk that I thought; gloves would not have been amiss!) I saw the other white squirrel. Of the two, this is the whiter one, and my mother named him Al on one of her visits. Surely this is a sign of good things to come.