Fabric fancy

Ikat seems to be everywhere these days. I saw this ikat-inspired fabric and instantly knew it needed to become pillowcases for a good friend's birthday present. Although, I must admit, it was very tempting to keep it for myself. Which reminds me, when am I going to make a set for my bed?!

I picked up these three fabrics below during a recent jaunt to NYC with my CFF. The colours are so vibrant, the patterns so unique. By Westminster Fabrics, it's inspired by the Victoria & Albert Museum of decorative arts and design in London. At home, I decided napkins would be a great way to show off the fabric. Back at City Quilter, I didn't have a plan. I just picked three fabrics I liked and got a yard of each. I wish I found four, since a set of three napkins is kinda weird. Or maybe innovative?

Sewing mitered-corner napkins is a nifty trick. But a damn lot of ironing. Combine lots of time at the ironing board, a sweltering day and a stuffy craftroom and things start to heat up. The result: no-pants sewing. The added advantage is that errant threads don't stick to bare legs. The sweaty sewing session was totally worth these lovely napkins with smart little corners.

Fine doggy dining

I was tired of looking at the low-rent plastic mat under my dog's food and water bowls. Using four fat quarters I picked up on a shop hop, I made this much nicer looking placemat. Very dignified for doggy dining.

The project, of course, was not without a snag or two. I pieced together a strip for the binding with all four patterns. I had a sinking feeling in my gut as I rounded the corners and the binding got shorter and shorter - then stopped with a two inch gap. OK. I can deal with that. Except I didn't have any pieces left that were wide enough, necessitating a fix for the fix. Sigh. But then it was smooth sailing.

Thinking it wasn't enough work to sew together 25 strips, I decided to go for an even 50 to do both sides with one-inch strips before finishing it with quilted diagonal lines. The fabric appealed to me because the colours are nothing like what I usually go for, but often those are the things you end up really liking. I hope my spoiled pup likes it, too.

Addendum: This is how much thread was left on the spool when I finished. So close!

Sink or swim. Or a bit of both

Alexi made her first trip to the beach this past weekend. I wasn't sure how a pampered city dog like her would do at the cottage. But I was pleased to see she settled into the rustic life, sleeping on the sand, gobbling up bones, barking and charging at people who had the nerve to walk on the beach in front of the cottage and, yes, going into the water. I learned doggy paddling does not come naturally to all dogs. She wasn't sure what the heck to do with her back legs, so mostly they floated. She kept trying to shake the water out of her ears, not realizing one she stopped paddling she would sink. Then she'd forget what to do all together and start madly thwaping the water's surface with her front paws while her back end sank. But she kept bravely wading in, giving swimming the ol' Borzoi try. I think she was just happy to cool off, even if it did mean a near-death experience with each trip out into the waves.

Here she is relaxing on the sand:

She also liked to sit inside on the dog bed in the path of the breeze coming in through the screen door, rustling her extra-white fur from a dip in the lake.

Crazy head

So what was I doing the night before my New York trip with my CFF? You'd think packing, right? Any sane person would assume so. But no. I was sewing pillow cases for my parents. They did turn out lovely with the Amy Butler fabric.

I find it's best to leave packing until the last minute, anyway. Otherwise I just start throwing in more and more entirely unnecessary stuff. Pack 15 shirts for five nights - Why not!? Something could happen, like a leaky cup dripping coffee down my shirt or dousing myself with a bottle of sparkling water. True stories.

Welcome home, friend

Finally my sewing machine returned home from the repair shop. Old friend, it seems like you've been gone for ages. Thankfully the repair was simple and (relatively) cheap with only a blown fuse to replace. (And it's a relief my clumsy sewing didn't cause a catastrophic problem. Phew!)

And how best to celebrate its return - sew bunting!

I got started with a tutorial, then made a few changes and additions. Unfortunately while I was finishing the project, I realized a couple of stupid mistakes I made along the way. Oh well, craft and learn. (And I'm probably the only one who will notice the oopsies anyway. I beg you - don't look closely at the photos!)

True to form, I had to make it a bit more complicated than the tutorial by stitching around all the triangles (30!) with a complementary pinkish thread, but I think the extra work makes them more stable - especially since they'll be outdoors - and neatly finished.

The tutorial shows loops at the end to hang them on the wall. Instead I sewed on an extra length on each end to make a handy tie. Then I figured I should make some matching fabric ties. Again, more work. Thankfully I picked up yards and yards of bias tape in a great New York trim shop to skip the tedious step of making my own.

Finally it was time to hang the bunting today!

So sweet, I think. The pinks and flowers are perfect for summer. (I am a bit worried my neighbours will think the single girl has really gone off her rocker.)

I must admit I had to take a break from this post to take it all down and adjust it for reasons that will really make me sound crazy. But now it's just right.

A tip of the hat to another crafter . . . my dad made the lovely wooden planters at the front of my house. I can't believe how much the plants have grown. Another lesson - buy less plants than you think you'll need. Some of them disappeared under the petunias.

On edge

My sewing has been derailed indefinitely by a broken sewing machine. Of course that happened while I was just a few stitched lines away from finishing a quilt top. Frustrating! I took it into the repair shop a little over a week ago and I'm still waiting to hear what needs to be fixed and, gulp, how much it's going to cost.

Meanwhile, I'm getting rather anxious about not being able to sew. I broke down and called the shop a couple days ago and the polite but somewhat annoyed woman on the other end reassured me they would call. By coincidence my mom also had to take her sewing machine in for a repair. Lucky for her she has a back-up, but not lucky for me that she needs it when I could too.

The woman at the sewing shop said she'd put a rush on my machine. I wonder how many frantic calls she gets from women anxious to get back their sewing machines.

Thanks Mom

Today is Mother's Day and a reminder to me to be thankful for a great mom who is also my crafting paragon. She taught me most of what I know craftwise - knitting, sewing, crocheting, cross-stitching, needlepoint and more - and her great skill and passion are both inspiring and humbling.

Yesterday we went on a shop hop together - my first and I'd definitely recommend one. It was nice to see four fabric shops I've never been to before, but I especially enjoyed the drive through the area countryside on a lovely sunny day with my mom. And of course a lunch break between all the fabric browsing. She mentioned she'd like to make a blue and yellow quilt, so I wrapped her Mother's Day gift in a blue and yellow fat quarter and tucked another fat quarter under the yellow ribbon - appropriately blue ribbons on a yellow background.

Inside is a gift card for a spa visit - manicure, pedicure and facial. She definitely deserves pampering and a little break from her intense crafting. But not too long a break because she always has a long and ever-growing list of projects.