A Good Day

This little stocking was fun to stitch. It is from Blackbird Designs in the Sweet August booklet. Although the suggested fabric count is 30, I made it on 28ct and although the suggested beads are Czech glass beads, I used some little wooden beads I had in my stash.

This is the backing fabric I chose.

On to the valance project for church.............I made a sample to make sure I knew what I was doing. The lining has to smaller than the front so that when it is ironed, the backing will not show.

The lining fabric - a 50% off bargain at JoAnn's.

Cutting the lining fabric.

Sewing the lining to the front.

Sewing the rod pocket.

One valance completely done. And I had time this evening to get started on the second valance.

Now, for all my family and friends who think that I am always neat and organized, please enjoy this photo of my very messy fabric/cutting room. This is the way it usually looks. I clean it up only when expecting company.

In addition to the stitching finish and the valance finish, I also worked on some binding. It was a good day!

What did I get myself into????

This is a HUGE roll of toile fabric and a sample valance. I have been asked to make two more valances for the windows in a hallway at church. Straight sewing, right? How hard could it be?Well, getting the ten-year-old cellophane off the roll was the first challenge, then maneuvering it so that I could iron enough fabric to begin cutting.
Then maneuvering the roll back to the cutting table and straight enough to cut. I ended up clipping the edges to the cutting board so that it would not slip and slide while I cut.
I did that much last night, managing to get three lengths cut successfully. I hope to get more cut tonight and begin to sew the lengths together. The window width is 96 inches so I need to make the valance double that, or 192 inches. Oh my. That's a lot of fabric to handle - AND, it has to be lined.

In the meantime, I received my EQ7 upgrade and have been playing. What fun to design quilts. Just wish it were as easy to sew them!