Pillows and fabric and what else?

I put out a call on Facebook asking for fabric if people have any to donate to the community service sewing I'm doing. An interesting number of people came forward and said they have some to donate! I don't mind using my own fabric or buying fabric, but it sure is nice to use some that's free.

Here's today's pillow.

I may have mentioned I'm playing with designs. Years ago, I made quilt squares and framed them to give as gifts. This project, to me, is the same thing. I'm playing with angles, color blends, and overall keeping the artsy fartsy side of me engaged. That can only be a good thing. I get lost in design and if I see something I want to try, I do it! I'm not committed to a whole quilt. It's one pillow top, or more if I desire.

On another burner, I've been making vests for myself and using wacky, colorful fabrics. I love dressing in clothes that make me feel alive.

Maybe this retirement thing isn't so bad, right? 

Sewing for Hospice House

I've mentioned that I am a volunteer for Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg. I started as the birdfeeder and birdbath caretaker and then oriented at the front desk (reception). Along the way, I learned they needed a few items sewn - simple tote bags for guest belongings, a pillow for each guest's bed as a decoration, and other small things. The pillow goes home with family.

The main person who sews pillows needed help, so I stepped in. She makes so many of them and delivered >50 recently. That's when she and I met. I was working at the front desk and she stopped by. We chatted and my assistant pillow maker gig began.

The pictured pillow was made completely from scraps today in a modified split-rail quilt block design. I was given small pieces of the fabric shown and the back of the pillow is from an old sheet that my sister gave me. The cost to me was time and the Poly-Fil, and the payback for me is a feeling of giving back and paying forward, a way to spend some of the new free time I've found since retirement, and my stash is getting smaller! That's just plain odd. 

Get out in your own community and see what kind of charity sewing you can do. Check with early intervention centers, nursing homes, hospices, any place that serves people in some way. You'll be glad you did. 

Summer sewing

It's getting really hot outside here in Virginia, and I'm spending a bit of time inside. Add to that the fact that I've officially retired, and you know how I'm going to spend that extra time - s e w i n g!

I think I'm done sewing baby balls for a while. I got into a potholder binge and have made several recently. Here's some of what I've been working on:

You can never make enough tote bags, right? And if you have a wedge ruler, it's fun to make a Dresden plate design. The cotton is from my stash of interesting calico type fabrics and the blue cotton edging the plate is a cotton faux denim that I also use for bias binding. 

A potholder using scraps of denim and some M&M fabric. I back my potholders with what started as a 9-patch recycled denim piece. I'm all about upcycling jeans, ya know.

 

 The front of these potholders is near and dear to me. I worked for years doing a hand pieced hexagon quilt top and then made another one! They came out to about twin bed sized, but we don't have a twin bed, so I made a decision to put the two together and make a larger coverlet/quilt with them. I ended up with some extra hexagon fabric, so I reinforced the pieces with zig-zag over the hand stitching, used the 9-patch denim back, and created some bias binding with the faux denim cotton. 

With all potholders I make, I use InsulBrite as the filling. It is not heat-proof, but it's about as heat-resistant as you can get. I also make the circles about 8-1/2" in diameter. The denim squares I use for the back start as 4" squares. I prefer round potholders because you can machine stitch one side of the binding and then hand stitch the other.

I also have made a doll quilt using M&M fabric triangles with denim triangles, and just yesterday, finished a lap blanket with patchwork and using fleece as the backing. I don't call it a quilt because there's no batting; the fleece serves a dual purpose of batting and backing, and it's super warm. 

Lastly, I'm working on my Cathedral Window quilt every day. I don't plan on finishing that for 5 years. 

Whew. What are y'all sewing?