A good week for UFOs

While waiting for my Bernina to come back from repair, I picked up a hand sewing project that had been idle for awhile.  Have you seen the candle mat patterns from Bareroots?  They are fun to do - good tv projects, perfect for car trips or being without a sewing machine.  One of the patterns (Firecrackers) was supposed to be my vacation project for last summer's vacation.  Hmmmm .... as usual, something got in the way of finishing the project!

So far, I have made the pumpkin, fall leaves, bunnies, and hearts & flowers mats.  My arthritic hands keep me from doing handwork for any length of time, but I enjoy fitting a few minutes in occasionally.  You can make these from wool or wool felt.  I prefer working with the wool (easier on the hands) although it is more expensive.  Many quilt stores carry the patterns and some even have a selection of wool or wool felt.  I stumbled across a website, Woolfelt Central, that carries lots of patterns and gorgeous colors of wool felt.  This could become an obsession!  Or should I say, another obsession?  I haven't bought anything from them yet, but I'm tempted.

With the Bernina out of commission, I spent lots of time finishing up the hearts & flowers mat and getting back to the firecrackers.  Hopefully, I'll finish the firecrackers mat in time for 4th of July 2010.

I also spent some Bernina-less time cutting out dresses for Miss T., the elder, and Miss T., the younger, for Easter gifts.  I just love the Sister Smocks pattern from Indygo Junction and couldn't wait for Tasha to reach a size 1 so I could make matching dresses for the girls.  I bought the pink and green ladybug fabric last year in Utah and picked up a couple of fat quarters at Road to California to complete the outfit.

I found the ladybug fabric in a cute quilt shop in a wonderful little town near St. George, Utah.  It was the end of our vacation, and I had gone just a tad overboard buying fabric and reached the point where the guilt starts to creep in.  That is inevitably the same point when you find fabric that just cannot be passed up.  This little shop had a full bolt of the pink and another full bolt of the same fabric in lime green with pink ladybugs!  Sadly, I walked out of the store without buying any.  Off and on throughout the night, I awoke thinking about how damned cute that fabric was and how perfect it would be for Talia whose favorite color is, of course, PINK!

I convinced my DH to go back to that little town because we missed seeing the bakery (good line, huh?) and rushed back to the quilt shop.  The green bolt was gone - all of it! - but I walked out with 2 yards of the pink.

I had so much fabric left over that I'm making Tasha a coloring bag tote.  I can just imagine Miss T., the elder's, reaction when she realizes that little sister has a PINK coloring bag!  It might get ugly.

And don't you think these outfits must have matching hairbows?  Time to search the web for a good tutorial on making hairbows .....