Sew & Tell ~ September 2, 2024

We have turned the pages of the calendar to yet another month!  Here we are in September... I call it the "yellow" season.   My Grandma Teegarden's favorite color was yellow, and she loved going for a drive in the fall to see the turning of the leaves.  She marveled at the amount of yellow... not just the aspen trees, but so many of the grasses, small bushes and flowers are yellow as well.  She would mention multiple times, "It's all yellow."  LOL  She may have believed that the season of autumn was meant just for her ;)

Bed head gets cut off =D

The past week has had a few distractions.  On Monday morning I had planned on starting the Baby's First Year quilt for my customer.  But I kept eyeing the dress pattern and fabric that I had pulled out of my stash.  It was a free pattern ` the Benning Dress ~ from Seamwork.  

It was a simple dress to make and IT HAS POCKETS!  With the exception of the hem, I had it finished in one day.  When I showed it to Dave he asked me, "You don't make clothes.  What happened to my wife who makes quilts?"  Hahaha.

I like the dress... though I wish I had extended the bodice.  An empire waist is not the most flattering for my body.  I added a bit of elastic to draw in the waistline so that it doesn't simply hang like a gunnysack on me.  I found that wearing a different bra made a BIG difference as well. (I'll NOT share one of those photos... it was really bad. ;) )

With the dress complete, I was ready, truly ready to tackle the box of baby clothes.  They were small!  The majority of them were newborn and 3 months.  There were a few (maybe 3?) that were 6-9 months.

This meant that I needed to re-think my plan and, in the end, redesign my block to accommodate smaller pieces.  I had decided that a "potato chip" block would work since all pieces for that block were 2" x 4" finished.  The problem was that there were items that required larger than that to get the full graphics on them.  

I redesigned my block to use a 4-1/2" block, and 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" and 2-1/2" x 6-1/2" rectangles.  I even managed to get a few 6-1/2" pieces from a few dresses and the larger pieces.

My customer has asked for a twin-sized quilt.  Here's what I have so far. I'll continue piecing blocks until I run out of clothing pieces... I may be supplementing some additional blocks from my stash and large borders will help to bring the top to the proper size.

The other distraction that arrived was this sweet gal!  A vintage Franklin sewing machine that was rescued from an old farm building that was being demolished.  I was touched that our friend thought of me!  She is dusty and dirty and has one cover plate missing, but I cannot wait to clean her up.  

Dave located some replacement parts on ebay and they are on the way to us. :)  I am enchanted with her fancy decor which is in excellent condition.  The bobbin is still mounted on the front of the machine... which is a small miracle!

She will reside on a cabinet in the hall just outside of my studio so I will get to pet her, love her and admire her every time I pass by.  I have dreams of being able to use her one day.  I want to look into having a hand crank added to the wheel so that she can travel with me. Maybe it is just a dream, but wouldn't that be cool?  When Dave and I reach the real age/stage of retirement, i.e., collecting social security, we want to travel the US for 3-4 months and take time to really explore different regions.

I'll get to last week's Sew & Tell feature really quick, but first...

What do you like to dream of?

Deb at A Scrappy Quilter shared not one, but TWO string quilts that are gorgeous!  One was a wedding gift and the second will remain in her Cozy Collection.  The backs of the quilts are what set them apart.  Want to see them???? Head over to her blog by clicking on the link at the beginning of this paragraph.

Let's get this party going!  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

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

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes

m