A Weekend of Sewing

Laurel came down to Portland for the weekend, and we sewed up a storm in the living room for two days straight. Trips to various fabric stores were made, and the leaf was put into the table so we could each sit at one end with our sewing machines and have plenty of workspace. Sewing, chatting, listening to music and stopping occasionally to eat good food, it was a pretty great time. I hadn't actually sat down at my sewing machine in several months, and boy did it feel good!

Laurel is an incredibly talented sewer and quilter, and has taught me most of what I know about the trade. She put together one small baby quilt and an entire larger quilt top (with pre-cut fabric) in the time it took me to complete a set of six reversible placemats and matching napkins.

I've been wanting some bright placemats for our table. I was originally going for blue and dark brown, but then found these two fabrics- a stripe and a matching scroll-y print in bright green, pale yellow, and light blue. There is so much blue and brown in our living room already, these will help mix things up a bit.

Cutting out bunting for some special kiddos in my life while Maggie supervises. She was very helpful throughout the weekend, sitting on all the freshly ironed things.

I used beige bias tape for the edging on the placemats. I was going for the dark brown, but was dissuaded by Laurel, for which I am grateful. This combination is just right.

Laurel's quilt squares (I didn't manage to get a photo of the completed quilt top- keep checking her blog). I love the color combination. We had a lot of discussion about the variety of fabrics and how our tastes differ. Laurel likes bright modern patterns, and I go for old fashioned ones most of the time, small floral or vintage prints. The ones I chose this weekend were very modern, for me!

Dinner alongside sewing. Entirely from our garden, except the corn, which was from the produce stand a few blocks away.

I had planned to make a skirt in dark red, for winter, but didn't find any red fabric that I liked. I'm glad I went with this one- I have lots of tops in brown, blue, and red so can wear it with a lot of things. (Made from this pattern, option D).

Laurel's passion for rickrack turned out to be contagious.

Table set done!

I remembered to have Laurel take a picture of me modeling my new skirt, but we were both giggling the whole time because I really have no idea how to model so was mostly acting like an idiot. 

What a fun and productive weekend. Thanks, friend!