Picnic minus the grass

I wanted to get a shot of this picnic blanket on grass, but my new yard is still waiting for sod. I just got soil, which I guess is something. Not having grass does have a big advantage - time I would have wasted mowing and weeding is freed up for more sewing!

I whipped up this picnic blanket when a friend and I planned a lovely afternoon under a tree in a park to escape the sweltering heat.

I pulled the fabric from my stash - teeny flower and fruit designs I thought were perfect for a picnic blanket. I could have used a bit more yardage, but worked with the bits I had. Every bit. The binding is pieced together with leftover fabric strips and the remaining scraps weren't big enough to save.


It's reversible with the same patchwork design on each side. I prefer the blue side, which is the one I quilted with random squares and rectangles.

I can't believe how quickly I made this small quilt - pretty much in a day - compared to the long toiling over my first one. Now I feel ready to tackle a bigger project. Thankfully I need not look any farther than my stash again, with a few kits just waiting for me.

Quick and easy

I whipped up a set of pillowcases tonight for a friend's birthday with these batiks I picked up last week. The one print, predominantly a deep blue/black dotted with lighter blue triangles, kinda looked like a night sky sparkling with stars. Seemed like a perfect choice for pillowcases. The other is in matching blues with flowers.


I know I love my handmade pillowcases, so I hope she does, too. I'm going to bundle the pair with a bottle of shower gel and sponge, all tied together with a ribbon.

Tada!

My quilted tabletop is finally finished! I started this long, long ago. Well, last summer. Then it gathered dust all winter. And summer arrived. Again.

I think the delay was really just my nervousness. I made the squares when I first started sewing and I just wanted to play around with pinwheel blocks cuz they looked like a neat technique. Making an actual quilt with them seemed way too daunting. Really it wasn't too scary once I jumped in. It's by no means perfect, but I learned a lot along the way. And, hey, it doesn't look too bad.


The quilt adds a nice splash of colour to my cafe table. Now it looks like the perfect spot to sip on an iced coffee and read a book.