Facet + Plus QAL Finish

I did it!  I stuck to my goal of making just a little time for sewing (nearly) every day this month, and I finished my quilt top for the Facet +Plus Quilt-Along !  It was down to the wire, really.  I had to sneak some sewing minutes and put off some chores last night in order to have a finish to link up to Amanda's wrap up post today over at This Mom Quilts.

And, I had to get up a little early this morning in order to get a picture to share with you before getting ready for work.  But, I did it!

And here it is!

I am pretty happy  with this lap quilt, overall.  There is one fabric that I wish I could change. The white print is too close to the pale grey background. Not enough contrast in those blocks means that the overall pattern gets lost.  But, that also adds some interest, I guess.  Plus, there's just so much pretty in those prints,  that I smile every time I look at them.

This  was my first experience with a Quilt Along, and it was a great one to start with!  Amanda's directions were clear and easy to follow.  She provided pictures, diagrams and cutting charts.  There was even a coloring page which helped me with planning, but which I also kept close at hand while I pieced the top together.  I'm happy to say, all of my rows went together smoothly and correctly, thanks to that chart!

I have no immediate plans to baste or quilt this top.  I think that I want it to be not only my first Quilt Along Quilt, but also my first FMQ quilt.  However, I have a lot of practicing to do before I will be ready for that.

So, this pretty little lady will have to wait patiently for a while.

Pop over to This Mom Quilts to see Amanda's  almost-finish of her beautiful design.  She will have links to other finishers' posts, too.

Thanks, Amanda, for creating this fun QAL, and letting me join in!

National Sewing Month

And somehow, its mid-September!  Its been a whirlwind of back to school, new routines, the first cold of the school year,  and rehearsals for the musical that my daughters and I are in.  I've had intentions, most nights, of posting, but, quite frankly, this schedule has left me tired and without a lot to write about!

At the start of the month, even though I knew it would be a doozy, I set a personal goal of  getting into my sewing room every day , even if only for 10 or 15 minutes.  That was to be my own small celebration of National Sewing Month.

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month here in the U.S.?  Click the link to go to the website and learn  more!  There are a few project ideas, and a list of ways to get involved.  I'm not entirely sure how useful the list of ideas is for any of us, as I think you're likely to already be a sewist like me, if you're reading this. However, I LOVED the suggestion that employers give people time off from work to sew or teach others to sew!  Sounds good to me! Who wants to forward that to my boss?

Anyway, I haven't been 100% on in meeting my goal, but, I'm happy to say I've found time most days to get little bits done. Unfortunatley for blogging purposes, it's been mostly boring sewing of the utility type.  I've done some mending, some ironing (yuck) and FINALLY managed to shorten three pair of pants that have been sitting around so long that I had to try them on to make sure they still fit around the waist!  (They did.  I was hoping to be able to report that they were way too big now, but, no.  They fit perfectly.  Which is not exactly a bad thing, I guess).

My daughter joined me for a pants- shortening marathon over the long Labor Day weekend.  Every pair of pants she bought on our school clothes shopping trip needed to be hemmed.  She is petite, and self-conscious about it.  Now that she is fully out of girls sizes and into Junior's sizes, she is even more aware of her lack of height, as well as other body image issues.  Every single item of clothing she put on fit strangely somewhere.  Honestly, I find the same thing is true for me when I shop. Proportions and measurements just seem off. Exactly who do these clothing makers think they are dressing, anyway? What is up with the sizes?

It's an interesting topic, actually,  I've listened to a few podcasts on the issue, and have read a few eye opening articles about the lack of standardization in women's clothing sizes and how sizing "guidelines" have changed over the years.  I'm coming to realize, and hopefully teaching my daughters, that clothing sizes really have very little to do with body type, and that we fare better when we make clothing to fit our bodies, rather than fretting because our bodies don't fit the clothing.  I've started to buy clothes a bit bigger than I need, and alter as needed so I get the fit I want.  My next step is to get more comfortable for table with garment sewing so that I can make EXACTLY what I want.  My daughter already  does this a bit, and I love it when she wears something she made to school.  I think that takes a rare kind of confidence.  And, I'm so proud that she shortened her pants by herself.  Maybe she won't grow up to be someone who leaves them sit around in a pile for months!

Alright, this has been a long post with nothing fun to look at.  So, I will end with a few pictures of my slow progress on quilty things.

I am getting really, really close to having a completed Facet+Plus top!  All my blocks are done, I've laid them out and stacked them in order, now I just have to sew rows and join them!  So. Close!

 Amanda at This Mom Quilts plans to share her completed quilt on Monday, September 19, and she will link up with anyone else who has progress to share.  I am going to try really hard to have a completed top AND a completed blog post to share that day.  It's good to have a goal, right?

Yes.  There was a block missing.  Yes.  I panicked.   Yes. It has been found.

I've also done a bit of puttering with the half-square triangles that I've used as my leaders and enders for the few months.  I got curious about how many I had, and what I could do with them. Here's my favorite layout with what I have so far.

Despite the terrible lighting in this picture, I think it's going to be really pretty!

I will be linking up with a few of my favorite mid week linky parties this week.  Be sure to stop by and take a look at all the amazing works in progress out there!

                              The WIP Link  Up at Silly Mama Quilts.                      
                                Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
                           Finished or not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts