calendar cover

**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've been sewing, sewing, sewing. Lots of exciting things are happening around here. Especially my new sewing machine that I got about a month ago... The hubs bought me a Janome 7700 Horizon for our 10th anniversary ! {Squeal- Happy Dance}I haven't been posting much because I just can't stay off of my new machine! I've managed to make 8 Christmas stockings, a Christmas tree skirt, a new handbag, 6 chair cushions, a king-sized quilt top and back (still need to quilt it) and this cute calendar cover. I also did some Halloween costume alterations in there somewhere. So, yeah, I've been a little busy.

I'm planning on doing some serious blog catch-up over the next couple of weeks... promise... but you know how plans sometimes go. I seriously love my new machine so much I just want to spend all my time with it. I'll try to post more pics of my projects. Promise! I might just throw in a post about my new machine, too!

Calendar Cover Front

This is a cover I made for my 2013 Calendar. It was a simple black MEAD calendar that was perfect for what I needed, but not so cute. With all the journal covers I've been seeing on blogs lately and the "quilt as you go" technique that I've been seeing so many talented people use on the Weekender bag, I got a little inspired to make a cover for my calendar using that technique. This is what I came up with!



Back

The back is my favorite. I kind of wish it was the front, but if I changed it, then all the text would be upside down.I used scraps from some of my recent projects that include some Denyse Schmidt, Melody Miller, Madrona Road, Joel Dewberry, Anna Maria Horner's Field Study, to name a few.

This was a lot of fun to make, and it came together in just over an hour. I'm currently looking around for the next thing I can make a cover for!

WIP Wednesday

 **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!**

 

 

Happy WIP Wednesday! Here is a little peek at my Works-In-Progress.

 

I know you've all seen this one before, but today I got this baby pin-basted and ready for quilting! Aiden picked out a blue Minkee for the back and that's making me a little nervous. I've heard it quilts nicely but is a little more difficult to work with. We shall see.

 



 

 

I'm also working on Christmas stockings for my mom. She had an existing stocking that she liked the shape of, but wanted them a bit bigger. I made my own pattern for these based on her preferences. These are made of home decor weight linen and lined with natural muslin. I used Pellon Decor Bond to make them a bit more sturdy. They will eventually all have a cuff made of a burgundy rouched taffeta that is a monster to sew with. Doesn't it sound like I like to make things as difficult as possible?

 

 

 

The final thing I'm working on is another "Starburst" Quilt. I had so many requests for the pattern for this quilt that, this time, I'm writing the instructions as I go. It's definitely a work in the baby stages, but I have great hopes it will be ready by the end of the year!

 

 

Some of you might also have noticed that I've been working on redesigning my blog. It's not finished yet and I hope I'll be able to get it finished tonight. I decided to re-do my blog because I'm finally giving in and opening an Etsy store and I thought it would be nice if my blog and my store kind of matched. Since I have been wanting a blog change for some time now, I thought that now was as good a time as any!

Aside from all that, the kids are on Fall Break, so sewing has been at a minimum this week. The beautiful fall weather has kept us out and about. I don't know about you, but I'm loving this cooler weather!

Fabric Friday

**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've been sewing, and sewing, and sewing. But I've got nothing to show you... yet. I finished quilting this quilt. We've had nothing but rain and clouds recently, so I'm just waiting for a great day to take a photo of it. Hopefully this weekend will be nice!

 

I also finished up another quilt top and have to quilt it up. It will be a Christmas gift this year. I also hope to finish up Aiden's quilt from the Redbird Bee. His birthday is just over a month away and I really want to have it done by then!

 

I created a pattern for and stitched up a Christmas stocking. I've got 7 more stockings to make before the Christmas season begins. They are for my mom's mantle. She wanted matching stockings for each of her kids and grand kids. She actually asked me to make 10 total, since there's still a potential for a little more growing in our family! (Just to be clear- not mine!) I'd post pics, but I don't have a mantle to hang them on. I like to at least try to make my photos look pretty!

 

I also have another commissioned project in. It's another t-shirt quilt. While I tell my friends NOT to advertise that I do them, I don't mind doing them for friends. They are such sentimental pieces, that I really do enjoy making them for friends!

 

There are a couple of other odds and ends that I have been stitching on as well, and while I don't have many photos for you, I can show you what I added to my stash over the past couple of weeks!