2024 Studio Post #33 - a Placemat and Pockets in my Nightgown

What an interesting week! I was able to spend a few days up at the lake with my sister Ann. I brought a number of different projects (sewing and otherwise). My first priority was to add pockets to my white nightgown (originally a robe, but I use it as a nightgown). 

I like pockets! I like having my phone with me (partially because I use a step tracker app) and pockets save my hands from having to grab and hold. They aren't super pretty, but they're very functional. When I got home, I serged the seams so they won't fray. 

This photo looks weird because the nightgown is inside out (to show the pockets) and the way it's draped makes it look wider than tall!

I also made a label for my bed quilt. I decided to name it "Refracting Rainbows." I haven't stitched the label in yet, but I may do it today.

I also repaired my "sub purse." The strap was really frayed. I wear it every time I substitute teach. It has gum, pens, bandaids, etc. It's just handy! I have the fabric set aside to sew a new one, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Before I went up to the lake, I had started on a strawberry-themed placemat. Some of our placemats at the lake are looking a bit rough. I quilted and bound it yesterday. I'm not super happy with how it turned out but I'm also unsure how to make others that are better. I'm still learning!

The placemat is actually rectangular, but the angle is due to trying to keep my hands from making shadows on it . . . it's still kind of wonky.

My Brain

I wanted to find my map of Florida so I went through my maps box. I couldn't find Florida, so I laid out all my maps on the guest room bed. I didn't have Florida! (I found it later in my file folder for the trip we're planning to Florida . . . )

As I looked at all these maps, I wondered why I hadn't just stored them in alpha order. Then I remembered. Some maps have two completely different states on them. How does one alphabetize "Colorado Wyoming" or any North / South states?

 

I thought about making folders for the regions of the United States (West, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast), Canada, and other locations (county, Caribbean, etc.). And where do Alaska and Hawaii belong?! Then I realized that investing time in this level of organization is completely unnecessary! I just stacked them up and put them back in my map box.

 

My brain sometimes frustrates me. I want things to be organized and orderly. I chose the word "Simplify" for the 2024-25 school year. I'm tired of making things more difficult than they need to be. I really like having paper maps sometimes. But I don't use them often. I almost always have technology at my fingertips. It's okay to just chuck these in a box and access them when I want / need to.

 

Forgetting that I had already taken the Florida map out and put it with my trip planning info . . . that's a separate brain issue!

2024 Studio Blog #32 - Medora Pattern

 At last Saturday's MQ meeting, I won a pattern! The 2025 show will feature "Medora" quilts. The pattern designer (Jill Blair of Materiella) was at the meeting and shared some of her quilts. Then she gave away twenty copies of the pattern. I'm not much of a pattern person, but I could also stand to follow directions and be more careful!

Since I can be a bit wild with my ideas and sewing, I decided to start by making a crib quilt. It's small and do-able. So when I got home from the meeting, I picked out some fabrics. That's it. That's as far as I got. But I love feeling excited and inspired!

If I like the design and the process, I may make a larger Medora quilt. It would be so nice to have a quilt in the 2025 show. And I'd love to build up a stash of baby quilts to give as gifts when someone's expecting.