Summer winds down

We have had a much milder summer here compared to the past two summers. There has been a lot more rain. This is a good thing! The photo below, was taken outside our house. See the blue sky peeking through the clouds? See those super dark gray clouds coming over the trees? We had a short downpour from this mini-storm. At one point those dark clouds covered the sky and it was as if night had fallen. I am glad the ominous black skies didn't produce hail!

I have had a super busy (and not so pleasant) week. Today I stayed busy in the studio all morning. It really is the most wonderful therapy! I took lots of photos starting last weekend, till now. I hope you enjoy seeing all the projects going on!

Here is a corner of my cutting/layout table:

The directions for Jingle Belle pieced block #5 are there in the upper left. Below that is the center medallion for the Love Entwined BOM. To the right is a photo showing women of all different shapes that all weigh 150 lbs. I will be using that in the "Healthy Eating, Healthy Living" group that I co-teach. And down the center is a new thin-line fabric marking pencil and a water brush. Those last two items were specifically purchased to use on the LE (Love Entwined) project.

The LE group had a posting about using a water brush to soften up areas where fabric glue may have gotten too thick. Some appliquérs (myself included) might use glue to temporarily hold fabrics in place before they are sewn down. The trouble is that it can make it difficult to hand-sew through. If you dampen it a little, it softens up. I have been using this tool for several evenings now and absolutely love it!

Closeup of the center face of the medallion:

Progress on the outer dots (taken last weekend):

Done!

Jingle Belle Pieced block #5:

Altoid tin Re-do begins:

Beaded and Painted:

Inside, a pincushion:

Outside, a flamingo:

I know there is a chance the recipient of this pincushion will see this before she gets it. I really wanted to share the process a bit though, so I couldn't wait. I hope she likes it!

New fabric arrived:

Only five more dots to go!

Morning glories in front of my studio window:

I've been a little under the weather for a few days and plan to take it easy till I feel better. Thankfully, taking it easy means I will sit and work on one of three appliqué projects I have going! Since I have so much going on I think I will link this up to Off the Wall Friday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sew-On!