i'd rather be quilting....

**The Brown Needle is now Sewlio. As of 5/1/13, all new blog posts can be found at www.sewliodesigns.com . Hope to see you there!**


I sew nearly every day. I love to sew. I love to quilt. I love to create. One thing I really struggle with is blogging my creations and the processes that I go through to make them. I like blogging, but I'd rather be sewing.

In the past few months, I have really neglected my blog, but I have spent many hours writing and testing those patterns that you are all waiting so patiently for. In any case, I haven't neglected my sewing machine one bit! Part of that is due to my MAJOR sewing machine upgrade that happened in October. See.... I haven't even told you all about that! And that was HUGE!

I'm now sewing with a Janome 7700 and I am so in love with it. I consider it part of the family, and if it were practical, I would take it with me everywhere I go. I wouldn't leave it home alone. I wouldn't leave my kids home alone, right? I mean, it's not able to protect itself in an emergency. It's just a baby. I should probably name it... I digress....

Since that lovely October day when my Janome 7700 came into my life, I have made many, many things. These are the things that I haven't blogged about:

• three finished quilts
• two casserole carriers
• a Washi Dress
• two throw pillows
• a Noodlehead Sidekick Tote
• an Art Student Tote
• a laptop bag

There might be more, but this is all I can remember right now. I'm going to get them all posted.
Starting today.

This is the laptop bag that I made last week. I didn't use a pattern for this. I took measurements of my laptop, decided what shape I wanted the bag to be and just wend for it. I really like how it turned out. I have had the transistor fabric for a while. It was one of those things I bought because I really liked it, but had nothing in mind to use it for. I think that it is perfect for this bag.

The bag has a layer of batting and some heavy weight interfacing. I also wanted it to have a separate pocket for other things, whether it be my cord, or in this case, a book, sketch pad and pencils. Figuring out how to place that divider was tricky, but I like a challenge, especially when it's finished!