Erica's Stitches

OK, it's been a hectic week.  The most exciting thing I can find to write about this weekend is last weekend's shop hop. I had a list of supplies for future projects and mostly stuck to the boring list: -  2.5 yards of white fabric - black pearl cotton - sewing machine needles I also found some supplies I could use: - really nice wool felt - a zipper And, finally a few small splurges: - a kit to make a flower pin (see picture above) - 2 fat quarters (see picture below) In my free time this week I got the pin mostly assembled.  I still need to finish the back and attach the pin.  I refuse to use hot glue like the instructions insist.  I really like this pattern and will probably make more of these flowers in the future.  They'll make cute gifts. And here are my fat quarters.  No, I don't really need animal prints but the called to me.  I'll fit them into a fun small quilt or a bag sometime.  But, currently I have no plans f...

Tomorrow I go Quilt Shop Hopping!  To get ready I've made myself some shopping bags.  The first its a rather large tote bag with a pocket on the inside for maps and lots of room for anything I might find while shopping. The flowers are silk flowers that have been fused down to fabric and embellished.  A technique I first saw years ago and it took me this long to try it. I went a little wild with beads and they really catch the light.  The bag is fully reversible, but with the beading on the outside, I don't think it will get reversed too often. This is the 3rd or 4th pattern that I 've tried from Lexie Barnes "Sew What! Bags" and like all the others it went together quickly and easily. Next I made a little bag from the book "Little Birds". As I went through the book I found a lot of patterns that I'd like to do someday.  This was a pattern that I wanted to do NOW.  I don't do that very often, but I put everything aside and made the b...

It's that time of the year again - the white elephant sale. Besides the usual donations there were a lot of really big donations. Bins and bins of patterns. Boxes of books. Yards of fabric, threads and yarns.  Notions.  This and that.  From one stash to another.  Yes, I brought some home with me. There must have been hundreds of charts.  Each chart represents a potential - a project that someone wanted to do but never did.  I like the ones that were started and abandoned.  I get a sense of accomplishment from finishing, even if I didn't start. Imagine all the hours of potential labor represented in those boxes?  Even worse, imagine if every chart ever made were stitched.  How much wall space would be necessary to display it all? Hmm, wonder what I should work on next?

Yesterday was Shop Hop Day! 7 stores in one day: Pueblo, Woodland Park, Castle Rock, Fountain and Colorado Springs. I've seen yarn, embroidery, fabrics, threads and all kinds of quilts.  I'm all fired up and ready to make more things. To keep myself from going crazy I only allowed myself to purchase striped fabric (there is a stripy quilt in my future) and I ended up with a few fat quarters.  The non-striped fabric in the pile is door prizes.  I also ended up with a few patterns and other goodies. I was also inspired by the mountain that followed us around all day - Pikes Peak. We saw the front. We saw the backside. And the storms moved in just as we were finishing.