Labor Day Weekend

I am at the beach this weekend. Yay! No sewing for me until Tuesday.

I Am A Zakka Winner!

I have been participating, here and there, in the Zakka Style Sew Along .  Last month I made the Delightful Linen Bag and while visiting New York's Garment District, I checked my email and discovered that I had won that week's drawing, a beautiful fat quarter bundle of Rhapsodia from Art Gallery Fabrics.  Lucky me!  I am not familiar with this line of fabrics but they are gorgeous.  Receiving a package of fabric in the mail is the most wonderful thing! 

  To visit the Zakka Flickr group, go here.

April's Small Quilt

I've been following Kathleen Tracy's quilt along, trying to make one small quilt each month. I'm a bit behind but I've made five so far, not necessarily in chronological order!

See www.asentimentalquilter.blogspot.com.

Delightful Linen Pouch Shower Gift

I went to Chicago to attend my niece's bridal shower and made her this "wedding" version of the linen pouch. She also got an ice bucket.

It was fun making this and I used some of the trims I had bought in NYC. I think these make nice gifts since it is easy to make them in any size and they can be personalized.

Trip to Chicago

I am in the Chicago area visiting my sister. Of course I had to drag her to a quilt shop even though she's not a quilter. We visited Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop in Fox River Grove. Illinois. Coincidentally, they were having their anniversary sale and quilt show.

Sashiko in NYC

I am back home from NYC having spent a wonderful few days visiting my adult children and delighting in all that NY has to offer. On Monday I visited M&J Trimming and Tinsel Trading, both stores treasure troves of ribbons, buttons and lots of frou frou!

On Tuesday I took an afternoon workshop at The City Quilter. The subject was Sashiko, a traditional Japanese embroidery. I chose the class because it fit into my schedule and because I didn't know much about Sashiko. Well, I wasn't disappointed! Our teacher taught us how to draft and mark patterns and how to achieve the stitch, using a long Sashiko needle and cotton thread.

After my class, I popped over to Lion Brand Yarn Studio just to check things out on the knitting scene. I bought one ball of yarn and got a free pattern to make a cowl.

I have more news which I will report later but...it has to do with the Zakka Sew Along!