Back in the Saddle Again

October 15

So I have been battling a stomach bug, my sewing room, and learning how to get the blog up and running all this past week, so excuse the radio silence!

I'm amazed and impressed by how prolific my fellow bloggers are--not only are all quilting and sewing and crafting your fingers away, but you are also capturing it all on your blogs! Certainly setting the bar high for me!

Anyway, I'm trying to dip my toes in the water here by at least throwing my hat into the ring! I first wanted to share a picture of my very first quilt. I've always love antique patchwork quilts. I've always loved the stories they carried through their worn fabrics. I loved the ideas that the quilts were made from someone's dress shirt, sunday best dress, favorite school skirt, and that by having a passed down quilt I possessed a part of someone's family's history. My family wasn't lucky enough to have any quilts passed down through our family, so the first quilt I owned was bought with money saved up from babysitting. She is a 1904 bowtie quilt from Ohio:

She has a gorgeous rosy patterned back:

With that first purchase, I was hooked! I've made a few quilts by hand, but only recently have I begun to quilt in earnest. Now that I've actually learned how to use the sewing machine my parents gave me for Christmas when I was 15 (more than a good decade or two ago!) I've discovered that sewing is shockingly easier with it! It's a steep learning curve, but I'm starting to get the hang of things.

So, before I lose whoever my 1 or 2 faithful readers so far may be, let me quickly wrap up! First, a big thank you to Susan who was my benefactor of my very first giveaway! I was the lucky recipient of yummy fat quarters! As I'm in the throes of just building up my stash (and, frankly, who isn't really always looking for just "one more" fat quarter to flesh out their stash??), I was thrilled to get these great fabrics in the post just this week! Many thanks, Susan!

And, finally, I have joined the Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap, led by the aforementioned, fabulous Susan. After some hemming and hawing, I have settled in on a design with some wonky trees and houses (if you're wandering this way, secret partner, and do have a change of mind, do speak up!). I did a practice paper piecing tree today and wasn't half disappointed with myself. The bottom wobbly part needs to be cleaned up a bit, but I think the colors work okay, and I quite like the Tufted Tweets bird fussy cut up at the top of the tree. I think once I get it framed in the main color fabric, it should look sharper. Whaddya think?

Okay, off to tackle the hand quilting on my God awful mug rug. For another time, but apparently I try to bite off more than I can chew (shocker there!) and just had to try difficult inset seam piecing before I was ready. Not a pretty sight. I'm trying to let it just be a learning piece, but I may screw up my courage and let go of my pride and take a pic for the blog. Happy Saturday all!