What I've been up to....

I've been having fun sewing lately. I made a skirt last week: M4970. It turned out well. The seam over the zipper isn't as perfect as I would like it to be, but for only my second zipper, I'm not complaining. Each tier has an unfinished seam, and since I haven't washed it yet I didn't bother with the pictures.

On the pic front, I have good news. I'm going to be collecting at least one quilt this weekend, so I should post more pics next week. Maybe I'll try taking pictures of a bunch of mom's quilts while I'm there. I don't know that I'll have anything specific to say about them, but pictures are fun all by themselves, right?

I started a new block of the month from the LJ Community: Block of the Month. I'm really psyched about it because 1. I get to use my stash and 2. since everyone else is using their stash too, we are getting to see lots of great variations for each block.



I've been giving my niece sewing lessons. She's seven so even though she's shown an interest in sewing, I wasn't sure how the lessons would go. Then yesterday she called me to hunt me down and see if I was on my way so that she could finish her project! Obviously I'm holding her back! I'm thinking she's having fun. ;)

Her first project was a simple apron using bias tape for the ties. The sewing machine was a bit too much for her, so after the lesson I decided to do a handstitching project for lesson two. I found this doll pattern on the blog Plush You. I've gotten totally addicted to making these dolls, as the pics will clearly illustrate...

first attempt:


made to order for my three year-old niece who picked out the materials:


my most recent:


When I showed this latest doll to one of the professors I work with, she immediately picked out this book to go with it. I think I'm going to have to hunt down my own copy now, so I can give both the doll and the book to my nephew.

That's about it for me. I have several projects in the works, but they are in the early stages.