As promised, I made my Miranda Day Bag (40127) after Kassi got off the fabric. (See my previous meanderings for details.) It’s bigger than my Margo Handbag (59135), but my Pockets To Go (59148) work fine with it. (Click here for bags. Click here for Pockets To Go.)

I had a chance to try the new Spiral Eye Needles we got in. You know how you get the warning of a low bobbin on your computerized machine, if you have one, and you think, “Oh, I can make it to the end! I just have to go a little faster!” Well, it didn’t work this time. It was on the center of the handle, where I was using a serpentine stitch, and I didn’t want it to show, so I picked out a few stitches to have enough to run in. I love self threading needles for this (I use them in my quilting, too) but the ones I’d been using frequently snagged my thread. These are wonderful! They’re also expensive, but worth every penny. You just want to be sure to keep the safe. (Not too safe, like when you put it somewhere for safe keeping and forget where that was.) You’re going to want to use these a lot! You might make a nice needle holder or chatelaine. For now I just keep them in the package they come in. Click here for needles. I use the size 6 for running tails in. (A10076)

Here’s another use for two of my favorite rulers! (45153) (Rulers are here.) I needed to do a stitch down the center of the handles. I marked the center at one end, put it in place, then lined up one ruler, taped it down, and lined up the other. It made a little channel for my strap and I could hardly go wrong. (The photo looks like it isn’t in the center. That’s because I did a serpentine stitch and wasn’t smart enough to take the picture when the foot was in the center of the strap! And, yes, that’s actually blue painter’s tape. I was devastated to find out that the lovely purple painter’s tape doesn’t hold as well as the blue. And here I thought this was just a decorator touch, having different colors! It’s to differentiate tackiness of the tape. Darn!)

We had our Annual Sidewalk Sale and Humane Society Benefit last week. (Check the website for lots of sale items still available.) There were several ladies interested in the kitties the Humane Society brought for us on Saturday. One even went home to get her dog, to audition the cat she wanted, and the cat petted the dog gently! They acted as if they’d known each other all their lives. Of course Marcia wanted to take the cat right then, but there is the adoption process that has to be gone through. She should have him soon, though.

Anyway, we were talking about how cats will sit on the only 2” piece of fabric that you might have on the cutting table. If you have your instructions out, so much the better. I heard my daughter Cathy telling someone one day that it’s hard for her to sew at my house, because if a cat sits on her project, I make her work on something else! That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but when Kassi decided that the ironing board was a good place to be, with the pretty fabric, I came to write this, letting her enjoy the fabric.

I liked the Lazy Girl Margo bag pattern so well, that I decided to try another of hers. (I am going to make another Margo Handbag, but I’m doing another Paintstik panel for it, and that has to dry for 4 days, so it takes a while. Even longer if you haven’t started yet!) Anyway, this one is the Miranda Day Bag. (31061) It’s a little quicker than the Margo, no zipper, so I’m sure I can whip it up quickly as soon as Kassi gets her fabric fix for the moment. I added feet to my Margo bag, and I liked that, so I’ll add them to this one too.

These are my fabrics for it.

I shared how I press fabric in an earlier post. It cuts pressing time in half or more! (Click here to see it.)

And I love the new scent of Best Press we just got in. I mix my Lavender Best Press with Scent Free because it’s so strong, but Tea Rose Garden 60957 is just right for me! I especially like that when I press seams later, the delightful scent greets me again. We do have Scent Free 33479 by the gallon if you like just a hint of scent, so you can mix it. That photo shows fabric that was for a Hunter’s Star vest that I’m going to make. The fabric is pieced, but the vest fairy hasn’t visited during the night, so the vest’s not done.

The Halloween Row Quilt (36181) is quilted but I haven’t been able to get a full picture of it yet. I’ll show you that soon. I’m about finished with my second version of Shake, Rattle and Roll (you see the first version in the photo with my ironing board below,) (59284), so I’ll show you that soon too. I can’t imagine not having several things to work on!

Kassi got hungry and left the ironing board, so I got the fabric pressed. By the way, I used to keep making ironing board covers. It took up sewing time to do that, and once when I brought home some ironing board fabric (979377) I had it folded lengthwise on the board until I’d get around to making the cover. And there it stayed! I found that if it gets soiled, or cut, I can just turn it over, and when both sides are bad, I throw it out and get a new piece. I use a piece the length of the ironing board from one end to the other, folded in half. I like the finish on this fabric and it stays clean longer than cotton.

If you like reading my meanderings, please enter your email on the right side of this webpage to get it delivered to you any time I write something new!

(To find the item on our web page after clicking on the lighter purple words, hold down the “Ctrl” key and touch F. Enter the item number in the box, and you’ll be taken to that item!)

You can see what’s new at Erica’s almost every day! Any page of our website has a column on the left that tells you where to find things, and all you have to do is look for “What’s New” in purple, and click to find out.

But first,

I hardly ever just watch television. I’m either at the computer, at the sewing machine, or at my Handi Quilter, when the TV’s on. Usually I’m only half listening, too.

So there I was, during my staycation (see previous post and the rest of this one), busily piecing my Shake, Rattle, and Roll (I’m doing Rattle), when I hear a voice say “I hear you’re struggling with the quilt!”
Huhhhh??? There was no one here but me and the cats, and this wasn’t one of the cats. (I recognize their voices!)

So she continues, saying that she’s Sandy, and she’s here to help me, with her one-step program to break the quilt habit! Well, I don’t know about you, but to me those are fighting words!!
Then she says “Quilt is towel-speak for air!” What the…?

Imagine my relief when I look up and see a gal with “quilted” paper towels! Those people never understood what “quilted” means anyway! (Remember when the commercials for “quilted” paper towels had a group of ladies around the table quilting… with knitting needles?!)

She ends up with “Try Viva, and Quit the Quilt!” Nope, definitely not my idea of a good commercial. Be still my heart!

So now my staycation is over! Aside from having to round up three cats from under beds and bribe them with food to get them into an inner bathroom with no windows during a tornado warning, we had a great time! I got so much done! I finished up my Handi Quilter Pro-Stitcher Sampler (thanks to Debby Brown).

I got the applique leaves and acorns on all the side borders of my Autumn Trails quilt (53058) and got those sewn to the quilt. I used Quilter’s Preview Paper (25770) after I finished the first one, to trace the layout, and then used it a guide for the other three sides. That made it really quick!

Since I didn’t have batting and backing home yet for the Autumn Trails quilt, I put our Halloween Row Quilt (36181) on my HQ frame and ditch-stitched the blocks so I can get right to the creative part when I go back to it.

Then I did Design Magic (59305) with my favorite Paintstik colors and the new Fractured-X stencil. (59315) It was so quick and easy, that I think I’ll do another one, this time with a bit darker fabric, for my Margo Handbag (59135).

Then I lit into my Triple ExpressO Shake, Rattle and Roll, (59284) making lots of notes to share tips. Probably my favorite tip is to make the flying geese units larger, and trim them with the Wing Clipper (48109) to have them exactly the right size! This is my first version, and I have the pieces cut to start my second one.

I was amazed that I got so much done ,and eagerly anticipate the next time my husband takes a bunch of ladies out of town without me!! (You have to read my previous post if this makes no sense to you.) Oh, and the Quilt Shows were great, too!

(To find the item on our web page after clicking on the link, hold down the “Ctrl” key and touch F. Enter the item number in the box, and you’ll be taken to that item!)

Do you know that you can see what’s new at Erica’s almost every day?? Cheryl does a great job of updating that page every time she adds something. Sometimes it’s brand new fabric, books, tools, accessories or yarn, and sometimes it’s what just went up on our Rummage Page or Bargain Ends of Bolts. Sometimes it’s something that we expect in soon that you can preorder. Any page of our website has a column on the left that tells you where to find things, and all you have to do is look for “What’s New” in purple, and click to find out! Many people have told us they bookmark that page, so they’re always up to date!