Stitching Up a Storm

My vacation sewing seemed to inspire me to keep at it and since I've returned I've finished another Sorbetto top (my favorite yet), worked on the back for my recently finished quilt top, and stitched up a Sew and Stow bag from the latest Quilts and More, designed by none other than my friend Mel McFarland.

Quilt tops await backs at the top of the stairs

I've also started working an afternoon a week at Home Ec Workshop. As always with a new job, it's that combination of fun (Fabric! Yarn! Nice people!) and terror (Why is the cash register beeping? How much milk goes in a latte? How do I help someone pick up a dropped stitch?). I've gone in three times now and Codi and Anna have been infinitely patient.

I stitched the Sew and Stow bag as a shop sample—whipped it up after dinner one night, and it was a great excuse to combine three lovely fabrics. The instructions were super simple to follow and it seriously took less than two hours. I might make the tabs that keep it rolled up slightly longer—just an inch, really—when using fabric that's a little heavier than quilting cotton—I used Anna Maria Horner's lovely linen/cotton Ghost Wing for the body of the bag, Vanessa Christensen's Simply Style for the top exterior (and an orange solid you can't see to line the top). These would be great gifts, because they're not just tschotkes, but really useful. Yay, Mel!

My Sorbetto top is made of...the fabric name is escaping me, but I've admired it for some time. Anyone remember? The bias tape was made from a Kaffe shot cotton fat quarter: all of it actually only required a 10"square of fabric. I used this great method from Collette: took me awhile to get it the first time, but once I did it works like a charm.

Finally, I had some very exciting news this week related to my "real" job...writing. Can't share it for awhile, but you'll definitely be hearing about it later this year.