Potpourri of thoughts

As you can see I've been playing around with the blog settings and getting bolder about trying a couple of new things. Technology just keeps on going and it is hard to keep up and harder still to find the time to learn all this new stuff. Did you get your new IPad this week? I bought a new printer/scanner/fax recently and try as I did I couldn't get it to scan and print the size of paper I needed. So I finally gave in and called the help line to finish the set up. The technician (who was based in Montreal) was great and so patient with me. Now I am set to go - once I get the right paper!!

At one of the classes this week we talked about preparing a project ahead and smocking it later. One lady had come with this in mind and was preparing to make up 'Little Breeze' in a combination of View A and View B - the turn-down ruffled edge with the coloured panels and picot hem. 

Her plan is to have a number of garments partially constructed and ready to smock so that when she goes to the cottage in a few months she can sit and sew in the warm sun on her deck to stitch . We talked about many different way of doing this pattern and, being a quilter first, she has a wealth of fabrics in her stach just waiting to be employed. You could just see the wheels of creativity whirlling as we talked about all the things she could do and combine. I can hardly wait till next week to see what she has chosen and how these prints work together!

This is the kind of creativity I just love to see and she has promised to let me photograph her project to share with you.

You don't have to limit yourself to simply sitting on the deck to stitch. If you are taking a road trip and don't get car sick, you can often manage a bit of handwork in the car. I know the roads to our cottage so well I could practially drive them with my eyes closed (not). I can get a hem stitched or facing sewn in place easily and feel I've accomplished a great job before I even get there.

In preparation a long flight I know ladies who prepare a small project, precut their flosses and bring along a thread snip (the kind that looks like a pendant) so they don't have to carry scissors. Again you can get a lot done in an airport or on a flight and never be bored. You might want to put everything into a needle 'book' made of felt. Your threads will cling to the felt and stay tidier than in a tin or zippered case. And do include a needle threader. No matter how good your eyes are a threader will allow you to thread up those tiny eyes more easily if the ride gets a bit bumpy. Do include a number of pre-thread needles to get you going. Don't forget your laying tool for grooming those stitches if you are smocking.

The tam to the new pattern went together in a flash - no mare than 45 minutes from layig out the fabric and tracing off the pattern to finished hat. Now it is on to finishing the text, illustrations and more sample garments in a second size range. I have two fabrics that have been begging to be used, one with strawberries and the other with little bumble bees. Their time has come. They now have coordinating fabrics for the additional pieces so I will try to get something ready for photography as quickly as possible.

So until next time, keep stitching.....