A Report: Friday Night Sew-In & Saturday Morning Yard Sale Finds

Well, considering I had the whole evening to me, myself, and I....I didn't get a whole lot accomplished.

For the record, I have THIRTY Kimono blocks done.  I've packed them away for the time being until I find something for the sashing. 

I went to Cherished Pieces yesterday with my SIL--a new quilter, but definitely bitten by the quilt bug, HARD! -- where owner Cynthia is having a sale (ends today).  I couldn't resist a clearance priced jelly roll: Candy Kisses by Sandy Gervais.  So that's what I tinkered with last night.

I have an idea of what I'm doing, but just plastered the finished blocks up on my design wall in order to sort them.  I'll put them in some semblance of a quilt top as I complete more blocks.

The yard sales were pretty good this morning, though I limited myself to only a few purchases: some school supplies, a shirt to repurpose, and these two tins of sewing treasures.

The seller let me have both tins for $3.  The round one seems to be mostly buttons.  Okay...so I didn't really NEED any of this stuff, but I was inspired by a podcast I listened to last night: GreenStitch, which Vesuviusmama referred to in her blog (thank you, Erin!).  Episode 3 featured an interview with Ginger Hendrix, of Weinerdog Tricks who recommended maintaining a 'stash' in order to promote creativity, but also stressed the necessity of "culling" the stash in order to prevent the stash from taking over!

In the realm of what has been inspiring me laterly, I made a trip to the public library last night, and found this book by Cassie Barden.

Not only did I find inspiration in some of the really sweet projects, including the "Birdwatcher Messenger Bag"...

and the "Novella Composition Book Cover"...

...but I also liked what the author had to say in her introduction, answering the question: what is the "new homemade"?

"...we're experiencing a resurgence of all things handmade.  You see it in food, in art, and especially in crafts like sewing, knitting, quilting, and embroidery. As the world gets larger and more complex, more plugged in and surrounded by automation and technology and gadgets, as we become more separated from the processes that create our food, our clothing, and our homes, we're starting to miss the connection to the things around us.  We want to feel like we took part in the process, whether it's making a meal from scratch or wearing a piece of clothing we constructed ourselves."

Doesn't that explain it exactly???  I had a conversation with my SIL on the drive to Tilsonburg yesterday, discussing this very idea: the immensely satisfying sense of accomplishment that one feels when able to give form to, and shape a part of her world independantly.