Quilt Show 2011

The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show was this past week, and due to family illnesses, I was only able to go for a few hours. But I'm very thankful for those few hours!! Thinking I'd get a chance to come back and see the juried quilt displays, I spent my time shopping. So I missed out on all the great quilts, but I did scoop up some fabric for the stash!

Fat quarters - blue ones uknown, green/orange from Farmers Market line by Sandi Hendersen

Six piece 1/2 yard bundle - no clue what these fabrics are - help??

Study Hall Skirt by Anna Maria Horner. I've had the idea to do an inverted box pleat skirt for awhile, but needed just the right pattern. Did I ever tell you how much I love box pleats? So crisp and sharp. Maybe my cheerleading skirt days influenced me too much. Now to carve out sewing time.

One of the best parts about the quilt show is that there are plenty of booths featuring your not-so-typical fabric and fiber wares. One booth sells vintage quilts. There were several yarn booths. And my favorite - the vintage booth! I wish I remembered the name of the shop. They featured thousands of vintage buttons, trims, hefty stacks of vintage table cloths, tea towels and handkerchiefs. Just standing in the midst of it all and absorbing those great colors is a treat! I brought home this tea towel and hankies. There are a few ideas cooking up in my head as to what I'll do with them. But for now, I'm just enjoying their loveliness.

February Lady

The kids' flu bug has now bitten me. I'm slowly getting back up to full speed, but wow. I felt too sick to even KNIT (but just for a day. My fingers start twitching after that long). And knitting is about all that's been happening around here lately. I'm trying to finish this sweater with hopes of wearing it once or twice before the Southern spring weather finally sets in.

detail of the gull lace pattern - don't you love those yellow undertones in the yarn?

It's the February Lady Sweater (Ravelry link). I figured if 10,000 people have knit this, than it can't be a miss! It's knit in Shepherd's Wool. This is the softest 100% wool yarn I've ever felt! mmmmm! I picked up the yarn while visiting Michigan; the Stonehedge Fiber Mill that produces it happens to be up there, too. And the color? "Lakeshore." How could I resist? It actually reminded me more of the turquoise jewelry you find in the souvenir shops in northern Michigan. I bought some silver buttons for 50 cents each that fit right in with the detailed turquoise & silver rings I've collected from trips to Mackinaw Island.

I'm halfway through the body, knitting from the neck down. Sleeves will get added after the body is complete. It'd be nice to get my "Febrary Lady" done while it's still February!

Dress distress

The Anthro-copy dress is in time-out. I got so frustrated working on it that I wanted to chop it to bits with the scissors. So I'm taking a little break from it, hopefully I can resurrect it in a week or so and come out with something fab.

In the meantime, I'm working on my Arcadia quilt. No great progress photos to show, but I'm ready to cut my sewn strips into half-square triangles. Strip piecing is new to me, so I'm going slowly.

3 kids down with the flu this weekend, so I don't anticipate much of anything getting accomplished.

Anthro-copy

I was inspired by this dress over at Anthropologie, so I thought I'd take a stab at making my own. There was a bunch of matte jersey yardage at the thrift shop for $2. For that price, how could I go wrong? I'm still working on the draping on the bodice... Today I hope to attach the skirt and try it on for length.