The Auction is Tomorrow!

The 2010 auction is tomorrow. I even bought a new dress! Molly is having a friend over whose parents are also going to the auction. Wonderful Monica is going to watch them and they're having an all-out girly night.

Here are final photos!

Back:

Bargello placemats

About a year and a half ago, we offered a class on Bargello Placemats. It was moderately popular, but we're no longer offering it. So I decided to donate the class samples to Molly's school for their auction.Set of four
Closeup of one placemat.
Back.

One of these days I'll get this kind of stuff up on Etsy. But what if no one buys my stuff? I put the value of these at $50, because honestly, that's about what I'd have to charge just to get any kind of profit out of them at all. The backing fabric alone is $10. Add to that the fronts, fabric lost while piecing, typical waste, binding etc., and we'll looking at at least $30 worth of fabric. Plus thread and batting. I don't think $50 is crazy considering it would be less than double my materials cost. But would people really spend $50 on a set of placemats?

Lego sewing machine

All backgrounds done!

Here's the auction quilt so far:All the background (white) is quilted. The little + signs are disappearing ink, so I'll make them go away, of course, before it's really done. Tomorrow I will go into school and have the kids pick a quilting pattern for their blocks. Then I'll quilt it in front of them. It's nice to be on the home stretch. Then, I just have to hide a few threads, make the binding, apply the binding and sew the binding to the back by hand.

curls, a friend and a house block

I went to Target and bought some fabric covered foam curlers for Molly. She loved them and looked so cute! I need more practice, though, to make them lay right.I also sewed with Amy on Monday...
... and made a house block. This will eventually become a wall hanging for an advanced beginner class I'm doing. I'll tell ya, that fence will force you to perfect your quarter inch seam!

Mama's new toy

Well, I'm making more progress on this year's auction quilt. On Friday, I basted it. This is the last time I do a true white background. There were so many threads to cut! I spent at least and hour and a half trimming threads from the quilt back.Also, my new machine is here! Don't ask, but it was actually available when I ordered it on Monday (they had one in stock, apparently, that I could have had). Oh well. It made me get a couple things done in preparation. But here she is! I've done some quilting on her already. Now I just need a name. Any ideas?

Dress done (except buttons)

Here's the dress from the KwikSew pattern I mentioned in a previous post. I like my fabrics way better than the ones in their photo. It's all done, except that I need to add the buttons and corresponding buttonholes. I have never done this before, so it will be an adventure. One thing I did discover is that Aurifil thread (cotton mako 50) is not really strong enough to do gathering stitches. It's great for other sewing, though. It has hardly any lint, so it's become my favorite piecing thread.