Scouting

As you may have seen, I'm almost finished with quilting my precious little chevrons... which means I'm already scouting out my next endeavor. I'm conflicted about whether I should go on a binding binge and finish out some vintage sheet baby quilt tops I'd already started this summer (that have plans to be in the Spring Craft Fair booth that I will share with my mom and my nana) or put those off for Christmas break and start on something new and exciting.

I've been poking around pinterest and my fabric stash. I want to start a new project that will utilize as much of my scraps as possible--so I can keep a limit on the new fabric I'm purchasing for each new project. I have a ton of fabric that's practically ready to explode out of that kitchen island in my craft room and I need to use it somewhere so I can get it out! I also try to look in thrift stores and in the curtain (sale) aisles at Walmart before I buy a lot of yardage. 

First world problem: I have so much fabric I don't know what to do with most of it...

But I'm not going to lie, I just got a bunch of coupons for Hancock Fabrics AND Joann's... and I want to go and buy absolutely everything. Planning is key, and will help me from spending too much. So here's what I'm thinking about:

Quilting:

Maybe it's the cooler weather that has gotten  me hooked on quilting. It has been nice to have something to stitch every night this week, and if you follow my tweets (@kopfdrop), you know that I am very prone to crafting during the school week in order to destress!

Here's a tutorial I tried earlier this year with limited success. I recently bought some lighter weight interfacing that I think will help my problems with bulk from earlier. This is from Sew Mama Sew, and instructs mini quilts to be laid out on top of interfacing, fused together, and then stitched when everything is already stuck! I love this idea, and it makes piecing so much faster and approachable. I'm thinking of applying this technique to this kind of quilt: 

This beautiful quilt comes from a blog I've recently discovered: Jeni's In Color Order. I'm telling you, this girl gets me. Her work is beautiful and her sense of color is fantastic. I love this simple nine patch quilt and I'd love to make one on a large scale someday. For now, I see these squares as an easy intro into, well, squares. My experience thus far has been limited to lines and triangles. 

You can check out my pinterest sewing board for all my many sewing options. I have lately been obsessing over appliqued letters and typography in the fabric medium... maybe I could make some Mr. and Mrs. pillows?

Apparel:

I want to find some cute printed flannel to finally make a legitimate Wiksten Tova top! My muslin turned out beautifully, but my first attempt at a flannel dress/top was a circus tent of a disaster (my bad.) I want to find a plaid lumberjack kind of flannel, but I haven't been able to find one in a large-scale pattern. The small stuff looks too much like pajamas.

Though something aztec-y or southwestern could be hip and relevant.

From JoAnn's

I just wish this were in some different, less fall-type colors.

I would totally make this into a long sleeve shirt for myself... and wear it in public.

Confession: I have wanted a dinosaur tshirt for myself ever since I saw Michelle Pfieffer pull off her son's look in "One Fine Day." 

As a mom someday, I hope I am small enough to still wear youth larges.

And what girl doesn't need a flannel shirt with ponies on it?

I want to force myself to complete the Tova before I get started on any other new apparel project... but I just got some Denyse Schmidt fabric which is screaming "elastic waist skirt" at me every time I walk past it...

AND hero-of-my-life Rae has been posting photos of all the people who have made her Washi dress so far and they're all turning out beautiful. Must. Have. Pattern.

AND I know I don't have babies yet, but I have nieces, and I want to make them a million versions of her Pierrot dress.

In addition to all this business, I'm feeling fairly good about my pattern for the knot-top, and have been sketching out embroidery patterns from the designs I made. I hope to have an etsy shop with more than just pincushions at the end of Thanksgiving Break! Oh if only the money would just magically appear and I could just play all day! But I'm not going to lie, teaching is a pretty fantastic gig for me. No complaints :)

...And I know my students are also thinking this... 21 more days until Thanksgiving Break!