Tag-along Sewing Project

Sorry for the long absence.  I recently took a two week vacation overseas.  I recently went to the Philippines and that is a 15 HOUR plane ride from Southern California.  To ensure I had something to keep me occupied on the plane, I brought 2 Logic Puzzle magazines, an I-Pad (thanks for lending it to me Trish), and a new embroidery project.  I'm sure you've all heard the saying "Idles hands are a devil's workshop" ;-)

So, here's a peek at the embroidery project I brought with me.

This pattern is from Crabapple Hill and it is called "Winter Wonderland".  The entire quilt measures 64x71 and there are 10 different panels to embroider.  And believe it or not, I traced all 10 panels and brought it with me on my trip!  Okay, what was I thinking?  Clearly, I couldn't possibly embroider that fast.  But, I wanted to bring it all with me so I'd have a choice of which panel to start on.

When I travel, I usually bring a Redwork project with me just because it is easy to pack and I don't have to change tread colors often.

In my little sewing kit, I bring these itty bitty scissors, which can't cut anything but thread.  Occasionally, it can tackle a tag from brand new clothing.  I also bring with me a spool (ok I admit, I brought 2 spools because God forbid I run out) of Cosmo floss.  I love that Cosmo has 2 strands of embroidery thread already on a spool.  I place this inside a used dental floss container so it doesn't unravel in my sewing kit and I can also use the top as a cutter.

I am happy to report that I did get one panel done.  Most of the time though, I slept on the plane.  

A 30s String Quilt

String quilts were very popular in the past and they are an easy way to use up scraps to make a quilt.

I started this project maybe 9 or 10 years ago.  I don't really recall exactly when I started this but I took a class taught by my friend Marcia when she was teaching at Leah's.

I have a HUGE collection of 30s fabrics and cut them into strips and sewed them unto muslin.  I love 30s fabrics.   Here's a close up of some of the fabrics I used. There's Little Bo-peep...

And here's Alice in Wonderland...

And here's some puppy prints....

I finally pulled this quilt from the back of my closet and decided to finish it once and for all.  Here's the finished quilt.

I had it quilted at Bear's Quilt shop and it will be given to a family friend in Xiamen,China.

Here's the back of the quilt.  I hope you can see the large rose quilted design.