I went up to the studio yesterday morning for the first time since I returned home. The first thing I did was vacuum. Right before I left for Quilt Con, I had a choice: make lanyards or vacuum. There really wasn't a contest because sewing (almost) always wins. Looking around, clean floor and all, I couldn't figure out just where to start, what to work on. Although I felt like sewing, I wasn't sure what I wanted to sew. Directionless, I went back downstairs to wait for a FedEx package that required a signature, telling myself that I would never hear the doorbell on the third floor (a very likely scenario). Later in the afternoon after the package had arrived and the kids were home from school, I saw Meredith ask for some help with a quilt on Instagram. I immediately went up to the studio and made quick work of the block she requested. It was the perfect gateway project: she specified the fabric and the block, I just had to do the sewing. And it was fast! And gratifying! Now on a roll, I pulled out one of the quilt kit projects and began working on it. Not as quick to sew up, but still very satisfying to take fabric and thread and make something. Or in this case, sew something, cut it up and then sew it back together. I'm anxious to work on it more today.

I left last Wednesday morning for QuiltCon and was back this morning at 2:30 a.m. Six extra hours of airport time had me very thankful that I packed some handwork from my Alison Glass applique class in my carry on. I started the day with one plus appliqued and finished with only 1.5 left to go. I have a lot to say about this (wool! over-dyes!), but I don't think I can string the words together right now. The whole weekend was great and fun and inspiring and overwhelming and exhausting and filled with friends (new and old) and lots of things to think about and creative exercises to try and more things to make. There is a lot of stuff swirling around in my head and I'm going to drink (more) coffee, wait for the dryer repair guy, stitch the remaining pluses and try to make sense of it all while attempting to ascertain just what groceries are needed and what to make for dinner. Then, maybe, I will unpack. Look for more snippets (or postcards, if you will) over the next week or so as I ease back into my days.

Cleaning out the kitchen last night, I stumbled across these artist trading cards that Jane painted last October. Using her own photos as reference, she used watercolors to render small snapshots of a trip that she and Fatty took to San Francisco over her fall break.  I find them completely charming and delightful - I think I will have them framed as a little memento for her. And I just love, love, love that she always finds a way to express herself creatively. She inspires me to continue my own painting practice and now I am itching to get to the studio later today. (Friday is painting day!!!!)

Finding these cards was perfect timing. One of my readers, Rose, has an active group of kids (ages 4 to 14) that swap artist trading cards like these. I told her that I would help her spread the word. I remember just how much fun my girls had when Blair and I hosted the kids atc swap six (!!!) years ago. If you think this is something you and your children would be interested in, you can find more information in Rose's group on Facebook.

Have a great weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!

I spent the better part of this past week's sewing time making new pillow covers for this little window seat nook on our front stair landing. It's been on my mental to-do list for the better part of a year and I have looked at home dec fabric from time to time with this project in mind. I wasn't sure how I was going to combine the soft blues and greens that I love with the yellow in our stained glass until I saw that bird fabric. The colors are just what I wanted, the aqua and teal, soft green and the gold and bonus points for raspberry!

I had the cushion recovered by my upholsterer. She did it so quickly - about a week! - that I wasn't really ready to jump into the pillows, but I did anyways. Smartest move ever. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the progression: fussy cutting the birds, making the aqua welt, moving on to the aqua pillows, layering and sewing down the flat trims, putting the brush fringe on the polka dots. What you didn't see was the good 40 minutes I fussed with an invisible zipper on the first pillow that just would not work. After a ton of wrestling and some swearing, I ripped that sucker out, threw it in the trash and decided to sew the pillow shut by hand. And I kept on hand stitching them shut as I realized that I had never once removed the covers on the previous pillows in 10+ years.

The result makes me happy, happy, happy! I smile every time I walk by. It was such a simple project - I am not sure what took me so long to get to it. But now that I have started, I may not stop. The family room pillows are looking a little worse for the wear....

(My tutorials on how to add a lapped zipper to your pillow and how to make piping for a pillow can be found here and here. I swear the zipper thing is easy - I just had a bum zip! Happy sewing!)