Hometown quilt top

Wonders never cease to happen - I have spent most of the day at the sewing machine! Apart from stitching umpteen little pieces together for a new quilt, I finally got round to joining the strips of my Hometown quilt with vertical sashing strips.You only get to see a portion of it here, draped over a chair - I need more space and light to take a proper picture. I had originally thought I might piece a backing of some of my precious Hometown yardage, but I just measured a length of IKEA door fabric I have on hand, and it's just big enough for the back, so I think the decision might be made.

Doors might be a fitting theme for a Hometown quilt, don't you think? I'm playing with the idea of quilting it from the back, following the lines of the doors, but I'm not entirely sure. I'll mull it over and get back to piecing the other quilt for now. More about that one next time.

Quiet time

 I haven't really got round to quilting again since the holidays. It is just too cold and dark in my sewing corner. I might call it something grand like "my studio" or my "sewing room", but it is really just a corner of my bedroom, and by the time I get home from work it is dark and cold and all I want to do is to snuggle up under a quilt in my living room and watch TV. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though - a bit of winter hibernation might be just the thing I need now. And there's always handstitching. I'm working on this pillow right now, and I can't believe how far I've got since I picked it up again on Christmas Day.

I've finished with all the counting bits, so it is just a bit of mindless filling in of the background and then the border - I can't wait to see how it all comes together once the empty space is filled with that soft, buttery yellow. I'll just keep at it until the temperature rises and my quilting mojo returns. I will just take the pillow text to heart: "Life is full of ups and downs, sometimes it feels like a rodeo, the secret is to enjoy the ride"!

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Edited to add: The design is by the faboulous Emily Peacock - go have a look at her Hug and Kiss pillows as well!

Ah, let the sewing begin!

Christmas decorating creates a lot of mess elsewhere when there is little storage space. I place my christmas tree in a corner of the living room where I usually keep a small table with this lamp on. The table serves as a stand for some of my santas in the hallway and the lamp usually ends up on my sewing table along with a lot of other stuff that needs to be put out of the way during the holidays. Today the tree went back to the basement and everything else got put back where it belongs.

I much prefer the view of the sewing machine today. There's still a lot that needs sorting, but right next to the machine: a tempting pile of new fabric which arrived yesterday! I have other projects on the go, and these need a go in the washing machine before I start using them, but the image is a great inspiration to start sewing again after a couple of weeks' rest.

I couldn't resist the typewriter fabric and just had to make sure that I got me some ;-) And why waste the time, effort and postage of ordering just one fabric, so I added a few more... I'm gradually building up my stash of solids, and also found some other inspiration along the way. That pie fabric might look good on an apron perhaps. The film strips are for a special project, but the rest - who knows what they will become? Let the sewing begin!