Sewing Summit - I'm Back

So to say that I had fun at Summit would be the understatement of the year. Prepare for a photo heavy post. The trip there was smooth, I saw some beautiful clouds along the way. Nature always blows my mind.

The first day was the shop hop. 

And it was totally exhausting. Who would have thought? We got back mid afternoon and went walking around the city. We had some poor soul take this awesome picture.

Friday and Saturday were full of learning. The classes were fantastic, and I got to meet all of these people that I had 'known' but never actually met. It was so weird! But awesome. Absolutely awesome.

And at night, there was open sew. It was like camp, or a giant sleepover. Haha. It was so relaxing and fun.

There were Berninas....BIG Berninas. Not going to lie, it was scary to sew on them. Look at the size of these things compared to my hand.

All in all the trip was amazing. And lucky for me, there was Starbucks just a couple blocks away. Unfornately for me, I forgot that it gets cold in the desert. My caffeine addiction made me push through though. This was my morning view.

 

Christina was there with a couple copies of her book and she signed one for me!!!!!

All in all, it was totally amazing. And I got to bring all my new friends home with me to hang out in my sewing room. 

I am still kind of recovering. The trip back was much less fun. I lost 2 shirts on the light rail, had a red eye home, got delayed due to mechanical issues on the second leg, and was awake for 40 consecutive hours. So now that I finally have nothing coming up, am done moving, and am almost settled in, I can sew at my leisure and be creative again. Happy!

Sewing Summit and a Staple Dress

So I had this great ambition to make a Staple Dress before Sewing Summit. I have since lost my mojo. It looks good on the hanger, but on me, much to much fabric hanging out in the armpits. Sigh. I have never been good at clothes. 

I am totally excited for Summit though and cannot wait to get there. I am currently gathering all my supplies, packing, organizing, and all of the crazy things you too when you are too excited to sit still. For now, my dress will stay on the hanger until I get re-motivated to try to fix it. 

Dogwood Blossoms

One of the projects for the Penny Sampler class was the Dogwood Blossom Quilt.

I continued on with the teal/navy/plum color scheme that I have been using for the Penny Sampler itself. I kinda love it. I finally finished all 80 petals with the sew turn method. Here they are, all pressed and beautiful (and stacked rather high).

I ordered the backing, but forgot the sashing. And then the company was like 'just kidding, we don't have that many consecutive yards'. Regardless, I am not sure which color to sash it in. Thoughts?

Or maybe something more subtle?

I can't wait to have it finished because I love how it is turning out!

Settling In

It's been raining and I managed to catch this awesome rainbow. I had to mess with the color a lot to get it to show up well, but in person, it was gorgeous.

In sewing news, I have been mainly working on my Penny Sampler. And the quilt patterns soon to be released, but I can't show those :(

I love this Spruce Forest block. 

But the Little Village is still my favorite. 

Something about this quilt is so charming and so wonderful. I can't wait for it to be finished. I am getting better at sketch stitching, which gives a lot of hope to my future in appliqué.

And lastly, I got my big design wall up. All by myself. It was very unsafe but I am very proud of me. 

More to come!

Resurfaced

I made it to Mount Pleasant. The move was not without its bumps and challenges, but how can you get anywhere good without being challenged, right?

Back to sewing. Here is my new space. I am in love, it is my total zen.

The closet needs some work. You can't really tell, but my unpacking method here was to just shove.

The week I moved, Rachel's Penny Sampler Class started. It was so hard to watch the first week go by while all of my sewing stuff was packed. But I have since caught up, and I am loving this class.

The first lesson (month 1) is appliqué. Appliqué has always been one of my least favorite sewing methods. Why? Not really sure. It is tedious and too precise, and turning those tiny edges under is infuriating. So why did I sign up? You can do amazing things with appliqué and I am determined to like it. 

Luckily for me, I have learned some methods that I definitely like. Sew and turn, plus sketch stitch, makes appliqué completely doable for me. It allows room for error which I totally need. 

My color palette is of the plum/teal/navy/neutral persuasion. Kind of similar to Rachel's original, but I have been waiting a long time to find the perfect quilt to use this collection of fabric. This quilt is just for me, so I am going to use my favorite colors. Plus, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

I know we are supposed to be terribly original here in blog land, and there is so much controversy when it comes to copying/inspiration. However, I am not claiming any originality in this quilt nor am I going to use any piece of it to make any money. It is part of a class to create replicas of the original, so I am giving myself a break on the need to be impeccably unique. 

So now its on to some more sewing, getting settled, and finding my groove all over again.