Doggy Bag

Last month around this time something internal switched itself off, and I've spent the last 4 weeks drifting through a depression. I could get the bare minimum done that any given day required, but for the most part I acted as a lap for Zoe and read Dick Francis novels, starting with his first and chain reading the days away.

Last weekend it became apparent that I was going to have to get my rear in gear and get some sewing done. The annual Competition for Sweet Adelines Region 10 is coming up this Saturday, and I wanted to make a couple of things for my chorus Secret Sister. I mainly wanted to make a personalized Cabana Mesh Tote bag for her, and I knew it would take several days.

I started with this, a hastily photographed signature on a sign-up sheet at one of our rehearsals. My i-for-idiot flip-phone doesn't do close-up photography well.

Assembled

 I did manage to find one partial seam in each corner that could be completed on the machine, but most of those green/cranberry/green corners were about fiddling with too much fabric, seam allowances ironed the wrong way (lots of clipping so I could flip them just before the corners), and hand stitching down all the folded-under edges. SO glad that's done!

I got pretty good at the Mosaic filter too with this project. That's what I used to obscure all the personal information on this quilt.

This gives a really good picture of the quality of my mother's embroidery hand-work.

Now maybe I'll have a few days without Johnny Cash's "Jackson" running through my head!

Selfish Sewing

10/31 Addition: this was sent to me recently--a group photo of some of the Austin Harmony Chorus who gathered for an outdoor, masked, and distanced get-together. It was at this event that I distributed the bulk of the masks. We gave them a try-out, singing some songs together (despite only having 3 parts in attendance), and we're feeling hopeful this'll be a viable rehearsal option.

I fly out again to Oregon in 2 days. I've been home for most of October, but it wasn't until yesterday that I had the chance to do some sewing just for me, some selfish sewing.

The Austin Harmony Chorus had been playing around with the idea of socially-distanced outdoor rehearsals, but before that idea could realistically advance, we needed Singers' Masks. Guess who volunteered to make some?

A Mischief of Corvids

Except for a 5-day respite in February, I've barely been away from my various machines for anything other than meals, chorus rehearsals, and sleeping.

The respite was the advent of the biennial flocking of the Magpies, when we all landed in San Marcos and spent some glorious time together at the QuiltCon in Austin, on the Riverwalk in San Antonio (the Alamo was evacuated and cordoned off due to an undisclosed package), watching cattle roping in New Braunfels, with plenty of down time thrown in just for chatting and schmoozing. For each group of uninitiated 'Pies, trips were made to the nearby Buc-ee's as well. (I just don't get the allure!)

Eight (or 10) is Enough

I was gifted a bag like this several years ago and it has lived in my car ever since. From it I "drafted" the rough pattern and have been making these as fundraisers and quick gifts. They're fun to make, needing only a fat quarter each of two coordinating fabrics (a great way to use novelties) and some heavy plastic for lining. 

I Spy

Despite all the hype, there were only enough square inches to produce one child-sized top, and it came together over a weekend.

My first thought was to digitalize everything and arrange/rearrange the blocks on my computer. All it took was a blank virtual design wall to show me the error of my thinking--I couldn't seem to get started! So I went analog:

putting up four of the largest blocks and building them out with combinations of smaller blocks. The sticky-notes helped 'keep score' so I could see at a glance which numbers worked. (This pad of sticky-notes is practically useless for anything more than a word or a couple of characters--too much advertising, not enough useful writing space.)

With all the number juggling, the most helpful note was the one reminding me of the finished size I was working toward!

CA-bound #5: Card Trick

Quilt #5 sent to Robert Kaufman for the #quiltsforCA drive:

44" x 58"

This top has been sitting quietly in one of my project drawers for over 20 years. Twenty years! I have proof of this, thanks to my defunct Geocities page:

I made both this top and its twin at the same time; the quilted twin was donated to a woman active on the RCTQ newsgroup at the time, for a charity called "Sisters".

Seeing red. Seeing spots. Seeing red spots!

I just took on a job for a friend (the Lead in my quartet) who's nurturing a new business: Downsize My Home. She asked me to create some work aprons with her logo embroidered on the front. Of the 11 aprons that can be cut from the endbolt of muslin she purchased, I embroidered 6 today.

I was thrilled with the first one off the machine and ironed it carefully, easing the fullness of the stabilizer onto the fabric once I took it off the hoop. For a final flourish, I gave it a good steam burst to really give the adhesive an extra boost.

Sonuvabitch.

This iron has been doing heavy-duty duty (snicker--she said "doody doody") for the past couple of weeks while I made 16 (SIXTEEN!) of these bags (linking to what I found to be the best of many tutorials):

Every bag was embroidered with the name of its new owner. Note the fun bi-colored zipper!

Using up the trimming from the 100' roll of mesh I bought for the cabana bags. Liner and outer shell have this as the bottom.

The bags are heavily lined with stabilizer, and I went through several cups of water while I steamed yards of the stuff onto yards of fabrics. It's not as though the water's been sitting there for months with nothing to do but rust the innards of the iron!

Yet rust it did, and I didn't take the precaution of 'bursting' onto a rag or the end of the ironing board. I could just kick myself. If a light bleach solution doesn't solve this, then I'll give it to my friend with apologies and explain it was the prototype. Luckily, she contracted me to only make 10 aprons, so this is technically an extra. Still, I was hoping I could give her a little more for the money she's spending.

Update: She's thrilled! She grabbed the spotty one for her own, and even paid me more than the agreed-upon price for the bundle o' aprons. The bleach basically turned the unbleached muslin into bleached muslin wherever I applied it, and did nothing to fade those damn spots. Out! Out!! (Channeling Lady M.)