A Hot Mess

Valentine Confession: I have started a sewing project that I am completely out of love with now.

It started off well. Good intentions. Using up scraps. Trying a new technique. I have seen so many other quilters turn scraps into improv quilt blocks (ala Denise Schmidt) into gorgeous works of art. They always say, "don't edit" and "just pick a piece of fabric and sew." Well, my friends, I am here to tell you I stink at it and can't stand to look at what I have sewn together. 

I even got together with a sewing friend recently and she helped me sew up a few more blocks. Loved the time we had together, but when I got home and spread all the blocks on the floor my husband's response just confirmed my fears. He just stared at the haphazard arrangement on the floor and asked if I intentionally made this because (in his words) it looked like a "crafting disaster." 

And it does. 

So now I have 20 or so 12x12" blocks and I don't even want to keep them. Can you help me see the beauty in this mess? What would you do with them? Would you just sewing them together and be done with it? Maybe hack the blocks apart and pair them with a solid?

Can this be saved? Can I fall back in love with this project? 

Love is a fickle thing. And I am ready to call it quits!

Selfish sewing- travel garment bag

Next week I leave for a business trip to GA. (Please, no bad weather on the east coast going to or from!) 

Every time I travel I wish I had a garment bag. Either to place an extra pair of shoes or to bring dirty laundry home in. Every time I travel I usually end up swiping the dry cleaning bag from the hotel closet for these purposes. They work, but they are not as cute as this (excuse the iPad photos): 

It is fairly large (17x20''-ish) with a zipper top. Lined with an ivory poly lining found at a thrift store ages ago. The exterior fabric is called Wash Day Washing Line Blue designed by The Henley Studio for Andover fabrics. (Find it onsale here- https://www.fabric.com/buy/0301941/wash-day-washing-line-blue?cm_vc=756b1813-cbc1-43b3-84bd-29889bf8fb7b) 

I used a half yard for the exterior. For a more spacious interior and to keep that slippery poly lining in place, I boxed the corners and tacked the flap to the exterior with little yellow buttons. I probably have thousands of buttons, but do you know how hard it was to find two yellow buttons the same size?! Remarkably so. 

Reorganizing my fabric stash definitely has had a positive effect on my creative output. Next on the sewing to-do list are some clothing makeovers.