Spilling Over with Ideas ~ Sew & Tell

Have you ever had so many ideas and creative opportunities come at you in what seems like rapid fire?  That is what this week has been... sometimes the ideas are complete and concise and easily handled, achieved or researched.  Sometimes they take a little longer.  Let's get started with my Sew & Tell...

I've not made much progress in researching and reading for future sew along events.  The book about Cathy Williams, the only female buffalo soldier has been returned.  While interesting, the writing style did not hold my attention.  It was more about details of dates and locations, repeated three to four times.  

My current read is the book/diary of Susan Magoffin, as she journeyed with her husband from Independence, MO to Mexico.  I grew up hearing her name as they had a longer than normal stay at Bent's Fort.  They took up residence in one of the rooms just off the fort's plaza as she was in need of medical care as she miscarried a baby.  I am enjoying Susan's journal entries as much as I enjoyed Marion Sloan Russell's.  I can probably safely set the book aside and purchase a personal copy so that I can mark as I desire.

I still have two more books checked out from the library about the Old Spanish trail, one with just a few days left on the loan period.  These books are not long reads and I believe that I will quickly be able to determine whether it is a topic I want to continue to research... if I can keep all of those little squirrel projects from distracting me.

Squirrel #1 - Using the cut-off scraps from the carousel quilt, I prepped some quilted hearts that need only a little bit embellishment with buttons, beads, ribbon or lace.  While at it, I pulled out a single orphan quilt block and did the same thing with it.

Sixteen hearts ready to entertain me as we travel and camp.

(hint: We are making plans for a 10-ish day trip mid-October... YAY!)

Squirrel #2 - While pulling out the orphan block for the hearts I located two improv pieces that will become a part of my mini-quilt challenge.  

Squirrel #3 - I found a free on-line course by Shannon Brinkley about fabric dyeing ~ Fabric to Flowers.  It was interesting and I would certainly enjoy an afternoon or two of doing it... much as I did with my friend a few years ago when she taught me about Eco-printing.  While fun, it is not something I would like to dive into deeply or exclusively.

Squirrel #4 - Tricia Robinson is an artist that has inspired me with several quilty projects... my church series of minis and my Peace & Love dove that I made this year as part of the mini-quilt challenge.  I saw a recent ad for a paper doll that was available as a free download.  It looked fun... and then I saw a free coloring page for my daughter and I do as we study the book of Esther in a couple weeks.

I have plans for using her paper doll and "verse dress" to make a card... stay tuned. :)  The idea has not fully jelled, but it will involve photo fabric and if I can figure out how to do it... she will have an opportunity to have multiple verse dresses.

Squirrel #5 - I recall seeing an Advent calendar with sewing notions as the "prizes".  I was surfing the net and found a few.  One was really cute, but way over priced, IMO.  There were similar items on Amazon that were less than 1/2 the cost of the pricey one. Plus, it is not like I need another seam ripper, pin cushion, or such.  It would, however, be a fun thing to get for the grand-daughters in a few years if they express interest in continuing to sew.

But... what caught my eye was this one with small sew-in tags.  I need this like a hole in my head (as my Dad would have said)... I will add to my list and consider.  It is listed as the 2022 calendar, so... if it happens to get discounted... I'll grab it then.  These tags would be fun to include on special things... like the memory bears I made for my friend.  

So... as I pondered the idea of (and cost of) custom tags, I pulled out some iron-on transfer paper I had in my stash and some twill tape that I also had in my trims and baubles stash.  In just a short time, I had some custom tags designed... I only made 6 for now.  My plan is to use them on my mini-quilts.  Maybe as decoration... or maybe as a "hanger" on the back.  By the way, the background of my tags is one of the pieces prepped for a future mini-quilt. 

The ideas were flowing at such a rate that I was unable to truly focus on just one... I was quickly jotting down my ideas and have printed all of the various things I need to move forward with some future plans... And, with the hearts ready to go and my sewing bag with lace and trims for them replenished, I have that off of my mind.  What do you do when your mind gets bogged down with ideas and you get somewhat "paralyzed"?  What helps you get focused?  Leave a comment... I'd welcome ideas that might help me. :) 

I still need to get a table cover for Dave's worktable in the shop... maybe this week!  Here's the fabric I got printed with his logo.  It is nothing fancy... it will be simple to cut the blocks apart and piece them together with some other pre-cut squares I have on hand.  To satisfy my curiosity and to utilize some of the things I learned in the on-line natural dye class, I will try a few things in a dye process so that the fabric isn't stark white. White in a shop that is filled with wood dust, metal chips, oil and more is not the best choice.  If it doesn't work out... no biggie.  It will simply get dirty anyway. LOL!

It's been a fun week, and I am looking forward to getting some actual sewing time on my machine.  Let's take a look at Alycia's Blue Batik quilt... She also had some adorable puppy pictures!  Who could resist that face?  

The Sew & Tell Party is now open for you to share your projects.  The more the merrier!

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do

To Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt

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