A Successful Shopping Day

Last Saturday I went fabric shopping and it was a bust. Bought nothing - for a variety of reasons.

Today I went shopping with C and it was a huge success.  Normally C, L, and I go out together - L is out for a bit because she has a newborn.

We started in a local quilt shop that had a 30% off pre-inventory sale - off everything, notions included (with a .5m minimum cut on bolts). They were shut down for about 3 weeks with the ice storm we had in December - usually this sale is between Christmas and New Year's - this year it's later and longer.  I also registered for the last leg of my Dear Jane class.

I shopped away and picked up this bundle

The colour is off in this picture - it's various shades of cream with a purple blender type fabric. It will be a low volume quilt for someone I work with. I'll take more pictures of the progress in daylight so the colours should show up better.

I also picked up this pattern:

I've seen it made - someone at guild made one - it's stunning. I owe a cousin a wedding quilt - she's been married about 5 years now so it's time I got going on it. In my defence, for my late start, she can't decide what she wants or a colour scheme so I've decided for her.

Then we hit a yarn shop. C would like to learn to knit so we decided to stop there to see what they had.
There I got:

It's a pattern for fingerless and mostly thumbless mitts. The yarn is cashmere and feels delightful. The colours aren't great here either - the top is a pink/red/tomato colour for me and the bottom a purple for C.

Then a quick stop for lunch.

The we headed into Toronto to Sew Sisters. I've never been there. It's a great shop and I'd definitely go again.
There I picked up:

This pattern book - I like the one on the front cover.

And this fabric for crib shoes:

It's a lot of sports fabric - which would suit some boys.

Overall, I outspent C by quite a bit. This is highly unusual. Usually C and L bully each other into spending and I'm a tight wad. Today I spent. It is good.

On the way home, we were busy chatting and took a detour through the airport because of a turn we made. I'd just like to say that I wasn't driving.

Tonight I finished this Dear Jane block:

TR1

And I did some marking too and my pile finally looks like it might be shrinking.

How did you spend your Saturday?

A Book Finished and Dear Jane

 I finished reading A Game of Thrones on Friday night. It was okay, but I didn't think it was as great as all the hype is about it. I did buy the second book though.

I finished my Dear Jane homework for July. I've used 974 pieces to date - that seems like so many! I used a different background for the photos - my cutting mat as opposed to my sewing table - I'm going back to the sewing table.

C13

D4 Attempt #1 - it's too small with Y seams so I re-sewed without Y seams

D4

E13

F10

G7  This is the very centre of the quilt

G13

H12

R4

Tomorrow I'm going to re-start sewing a quilt for my cousin - it is for her wedding and she's soon to celebrate her 5th anniversary so I'm a bit behind.

Book Finished, Dear Jane, My Job

Well, it's been a very busy week. My job is taking up entirely too much of my free time - but it's that time of year and I'm nearly on vacation time.
I finished reading Sarah's Key on Tuesday I think - I liked it. I think it's as much about atonement and forgiveness as anything else.
I had my Dear Jane class yesterday. We had a tutorial on applique techniques, especially in prepping the pieces. I learned a few things. My teacher suggested a small iron to do the pressing, so I went out this morning and got the one she suggested - it's a Rowenta travel iron that I picked up at Bed, Bath & Beyond - if you go to their website and do email signup they'll send you a 20% off coupon. I tried out the iron today and it worked great. I also learned how to have better "less than 90 degree" angles and I'm happy with how these ones turned out. I also got some tips on getting my paper piecing to not shrink so much - don't use steam cause it shrinks/distorts the paper, and some trimming suggestions. I'll post on how it goes when I try it.

J1

new book to read

My Nest Isn't Empty, it just has more closet space - Lisa Scottoline - I saw this on another blog - it's a collection of news columns this woman writes - one is about how we don't have enough stories in our lives (soap operas, etc.) so we use gossip to fill the void.

Another book finished

I've finished reading another book - my tabs are updated. Really I should be packing, but also need to relax.

Not Much Going On

I had to get a pile of marking finished - it's mostly done. I've finished a couple of books - will post them in the finished books tab. I started knitting a scarf made of silk - bought the yarn in Vancouver this fall - it's nice, but very fine.