Dresden Pouch

A couple of days ago I was leafing through a book I have called Sew Gifts.  A few months ago I made a pencil-case from the book.   I decided that I was in the mood to sew another zippered pouch when I saw the Dresden plate one.  

It was an easy matter to zip up some petals--- i just used my handy dresden plate ruler and cut ny pieces from 2-1/2" strips...

I decided to sew an arc for each side of the pouch, using 19 different fabrics,

I also added in a layer of quilt batting to give the pouch a bit more body.

Not much quilting, just some pink hand-stitching to echo the shape, and a few rows of machine stitching in light grey.

I was pretty happy with how it turned out.   It was just the day for a quick and easy project. 

why do we do this?

Last weekend I attended a quilting/sewing retreat.  i enjoyed it quite a lot, even though I didn't actually do a lot of sewing.  I did do a lot of socializing, and even had some meaningful conversations with a few people.  I made me think about all the different reasons why we are involved in this past-time of sewing.   And of course, we have different reasons at different times,...

So, I am curious about what you think.  What are some of the reasons why you love to sew?

above, this was a nice color coordinated moment at my sewing station, 

At the show and tell, i think we all loved Tanya's small squares

Amazing quilt by Sandy

I loved Allisons Tortilla Strips, wouldn't it be great on a bed? 

Sewing lately,

since Quiltmarket, i havent done much quilting, as i seem to have crashed a bit in that department.  

however, i have done a little bit of general sewing, 

some pillow shams, two down and two to go

and a simple pullover shirt out of linen, 

i used a bit of old lace as the collar facing, 

i can't seem to decide on what to sew next,  hmmm

do you ever get stuck? 

Jumbled Up quilt market

At Quilt Market, I often move back and forth between looking at quilt exhibits, and looking at sales booths.  the contrast from one perspective to the other keeps things more interesting

Jaybird Quilts, here you can see how large this quilt really is,

the next few are from the cotton and steel booth,

this dress is sewn from the new double-gauze fabric,

I'm sorry I can't tell which booth these were from, but the machine quilting on this sample was really great,

another shot of the RJR booth

more Tim Holtz,

Back to the quilt exhibits area, and the wide open aisles,

Beneath my Wing, by David Taylor

Bike Boys, by Lea McComas

Fade into Gray, by Stephanie Ruyle

detail, Fade into Gray, by Stephanie Ruyle

Cycles Two, by Leanne Chahley

detail, Cycles Two, by Leanne Chahley

Chloe a la Klimt by Helena Scheffer

Green Bee Patterns booth,

Kokka fabrics, at the Seven Islands booth