Making

And just like that, the torpor was spent. I've finished two things this week, and it's only Wednesday! Nothing like that sort of record to get myself back in the momentum groove.

This is one I've been working on for a few weeks, a pretty new tote bag.

I loved almost everything about this project, maybe with the exception of cutting open and folding under and blindstiching all those leaf shapes. That was disjointed and repetitive-- lots of tying off and knotting thread. But once I was into finishing each leaf with a delicate line of contrast handstitching, I was in the zone.

The Happy Zone. I moved my studio armchair over to the window that overlooks the garden, where I could perch my supplies on the windowsill and watch it snow, if it chose to snow, and stitch. 

I'd never done reverse applique before, but I love how organic and imperfect and magical it is, really. Subtraction, not addition, creates the pattern. Neato.

I've also been working on hexagons, as you can see in the top photo, and joining them together will, I think, be my next armchair project. It's good to have one of those, for winter times.

Yesterday I finished a cover for our hand-me-down ironing board, which sported a lovely stained sheet safety-pinned in place, before I sewed this up. Not a bad project-- trace the ironing board with 3" extra all the way around, make 12 ft of 2" bias tape, cut 3 yards of 1.4 elastic and sew it all together in one fell swoop. One seam, if you don't count what it took to make the tape! Not too shabby. I used these instructions. 

Those little hexagons are going to pepper a linen table runner for our dining room, I think. I need a good, all-purpose runner for that room that isn't too fussy or season-specific, you know? Hexagons on linen should fit the bit.

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