just a pillow cover

Several nights ago I haphazardly pieced some leftover fabric coordinates. The finished "top" was too small for a playmat or quilt, so I decided to make another envelope pillow cover.  I actually haven't made one of these in a few years, but I was excited to find the tutorial I originally used was still available here courtesy of Cluck Cluck Sew.  It is easy to follow, the creative possibilities are endless, and it makes for a rewarding beginner project.

If you're a quilter, then you can clearly see I didn't take great care in piecing these 2 1/2 inch squares together.  I know there's a method to the madness, and I know better, but it was 11 at night, my baby was finally asleep, and I just wanted to make something.  Anything.

So I randomly started sewing them together.  And it was almost the perfect size for a 15x15" cover...slightly long one way and a tad short on the other, but it would work.

It only required two fabric rectangles in addition to the front cover.

Using her instructions, I quickly pinned and stitched, right sides together.

I contemplated adding batting and quilting the cover itself, but decided to leave it as it was.

The colors alone make me happy.

meet my brother

Two days ago I decided I was getting myself a serger.  For the longest time I didn't really need it because I did more quilting than anything, but when I recently started sewing clothing, I thought it finally time to do so.

I had actually been contemplating this purchase for a long time and read various reviews, but I kept putting it off.  I didn't know if it was worth spending the money.

The problem is, I suffer from serger-phobia.  Its appearance alone with multiple spools (rather large spools, I might add) feeding in all directions is incredibly intimidating.  I mean, how on earth do you thread this thing?  I feared it might end up collecting dust in the corner of the closet, simply because I feared IT.

But my hope is that my "garments" might look a tad more polished and professional, and the only way to improve my sewing is to continue challenging myself with new obstacles.

So here I will share what I learn as I go, starting with the most basic of skills: figuring out how to turn it on.

Ha!

I went with the Brother 1034D and found it on Amazon.  This seems to be a pretty basic serger and quite popular, I might add; the reviews were decent.  It also looks like it's been around a while, as the married couple on the box look to be hitched circa 1990.

It even came with some handy thread in primary colors to get started.  I guess this means I can use regular spools instead of those humongous ones?  That's a bonus in itself.

So, if you're new to serging too and want to share your progress or offer some insight, please feel free to do so.  I would love having people along on this new adventure...

it's a WIP wednesday

I'm hoping if I designate Wednesday as my WIP (work in progress) day, I might actually get some of my projects finished.  I don't have much free time these days, so a few hours during the weekends is my only chance to be creative.

I have a quilt top that I started for Sophia a while ago.  I never finished it because I wasn't fond of the colors...typically I prefer lots of whites and brights, but I veered away from my normal path with a darker red and yellow and pink.  It's still not particularly pleasing to my eye, but I really want to finish it at this point.  I just can't decide what to back or bind it with, so if you have any suggestions, please comment.  

This other WIP resulted from insomnia last night.  I was wired, everyone else was asleep, so I just started sewing some scraps left over from a jelly roll.  As usual, I didn't have a plan.  Typically, my unplanned adventures result in a pile of wasted fabric.

Unfortunately, I only had a few coordinates, so I'm not sure if I will make this into a pillow or a mini/doll quilt, as it's not even large enough to be a playmat.  We shall see...

I am terrible at following rules.  I didn't measure, nor did I pin, and my cutting was careless.  I know there's a particular way to piece these so they lay nice and flat, corners nesting into one another just so.  But I'm either too stubborn or lazy, or both.  I did press all my seams, though, so hopefully the finished product won't be too wonky.