Sewin' Crazy

I've been getting to spend time at the sewing machine every day, and I couldn't be happier about it!

I made my second, size 2-4, Dress a Girl Around the World pillow case style dress. This one is sewn with a lovely, sturdy weight of Cloud 9 organic fabric. It's so rewarding to make these cute little dresses!

Mostly I've continued to piece bits together for my Scrap Vortex quilt. After hours of sewing, I put my small blocks on the design wall, as CrazyMomQuilts, Amanda Jean, suggested we do in week two. It started to look like something!

Returning to the sewing machine, I sewed some of the blocks together.

It continued to be quite the mess.

And then I realized that some of the small orphan blocks I have - like 4-1/2" X 4-1/2" unfinished - sort of fit into the scrappiness.

So in random places, I inserted these odd blocks.

I even sewed into the design a Quick Curve Ruler test block, and a small Nine Patch leftover from my Friendship Medallion quilt.

Today the scrappiness continues. The plastic bag at the bottom of the photo is all teeny bits and trimmings that will be given to a friend who uses them to stuff animal beds that she makes and donates to a shelter.

My design wall is filling up as I continue to sew. We're on to week three now. I'll say that I've done much more cutting than I thought I would. It turns out that most of my scraps are in chunks and strips - like leftover bindings - that I've cut smaller. It seems sort of silly to intentionally cut up more scraps, but on the other hand, after seeing several other Scrap Vortex quilts in progress (on Instagram), I definitely prefer them made with smaller pieces. The overall effect is more pronounced.

It's been gratifying to note that of my eight canvas scrap bins, four are seeing a dramatic reduction in fullness.

Progress on My Small World has slowed as I've worked on Scrap Vortex. But as I go along, I've been cutting 1-1/2" X 1-1/2" squares of neutral prints. That's because a total of 375 of them are needed for My Small World. I'm also prepping and working on the hand-sewn parts, including appliquéd pieces needed in Section 2.

Sections 4 and 5 need three small embroidered pieces, and I've stitched two. The pattern calls for the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Harbour Bridge (Sydney), but I want to reflect my locale. Certainly, palms and golf carts (our primary mode of transportation) feature prominently in my world! The third embroidery will be the lighthouse on a nearby lake.

I guess you could say I'm sewin' crazy, and toodling along! Linda