three day weekends = bliss

I got more accomplished this past weekend creative-wise than I have in months.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that a friend is expecting a baby soon, and I felt inspired to make a girly gift.  Or maybe it was because I knew I had that one extra day to get laundry and other household tasks finished, meaning more time to sew and obsess over new fabric lines.

It's on these days that I dream about staying home and sewing for a living.  I would love to take classes, improving my clumsy skills.  I would love to wake up in the morning, cup of coffee in hand, as I decide which fabric will be used for my next idea.  I would love the ability to create and earn a living from my own two hands.

But then reality sinks in, and I try not to dwell too much when the alarm goes off, my toes hiding under the covers, the rest of my body unwilling to inch out of the bed.

So, it was a productive weekend.  I was able to complete a baby quilt top using Aneela Hoey's Posy and also decided to make a bib using the same line of fabric.  Then I found this old towel about to be placed into the "rag" pile and thought I might be able to recycle it.  When I moved here almost 14 years ago, I brought some hand-me-downs from home, and this towel was one of them.  Perhaps I can back the baby bib with a little bit of retro?

the table

In an attempt to a) get organized and b) become inspired by having a creative space of my own, I finally broke down and splurged on the Bedford project table from Pottery Barn.  I found a similar table on Amazon, but it only had three so-so reviews and didn't look as well-made.  I also found a homemade one that looked incredible, but I don't have the woodworking skills nor the time to make it.

So after pondering it for weeks, I finally broke down and bought THE table.  I don't spend money on myself and rarely shop (unless I'm buying fabric!), so I tried not to feel too guilty.  It fits in nicely with our dining room furniture and now allows me my own space to be creative, thus preventing me from sewing on the coffee table with fabric spread out across the living room floor.

I like that I can display some of my pre-cuts and fat quarters on the shelves, allowing me to see what I have when creating new items.  Now, I just need to get the rest of my fabric organized...