The basement calls…

A wise person once said, “Whatever gets done first gets done”.

So before I go downstairs to quilt the quilt that needs quilting I will update my blog.

The dishwasher is seeing to the dishes, The washing machine is doing the laundry. The visitors are all gone and Steve has gone to work, so blogging is at the top of the list right now. I have e-mails to send but they need to wait…

When I signed up to teach the Bailey Hobo Bag class at Pieceful Heart Fabrics I never dreamt that it would fill up but it did, and there was a waiting list! Unfortunately two of our class members were sick and unable to join in the fun but that meant that Nancy was able to call and fill one of the spots with 15 minutes to spare before class started!

We set to work making our batting and fabric strips,

and stitching them together to make the body of the bag…

That was a lot of stitching!

Then we added  the inside pocket and gathered the top.

Binding the top edges came next.

And then it was time to sew up the sides, add the straps and attach a magnetic closure… It was a lot to get done, even in 6 hours and we were all at different stages by the end of our time together, but everyone looked happy and said they had had fun.

Of course I had done lots of prep for demonstration purposes so I came home with a finished bag. I used a Serenade jelly roll by Kate Spain for Moda (bought on Craftsy!)and some grey fabric for the pocket and binding. I think it looks quite modern. Perhaps I will be taking it to QuiltCon in February?

Then it was time to get ready to visit the Hinsdale Embroidery Guild for a Safari Through African Folklore Embroidery. Apart from the fact I turned left instead of right at Wolf Road and ended up at the zoo… everything went very well. I remembered to take pictures during show and tell.

But then I forgot all about the camera and there are no pictures of my new techie set up. My slide show was well received including close ups of the embroideries and some fun snaps of animals on safari with Bridget… After a brief break we started the workshop where I was able to live stream video from my iPad onto a screen so that people could see how to make each stitch from the comfort of their seats. (Thanks to Matt and James for sorting me out!) It would have been nice to have pictures of everyone at work and of their fabulous embroideries but imagination will just have to suffice on this occasion…

So, having received some advice from my kind hosts, I drove home via a much more direct route and it was time to get ready for my Thanksgiving guests! I’m not always sure that some of the family felt very guest like, what with the list of jobs I had prepared for them but the gutters got cleaned and the house number is back in place…

And there was time for a few photographs! I have just chosen two to add here…

Ruby looking pensive with her Aunty Joanne,

and Benjamin all packed up ready to go home. Did I mention the girls did some clearing out in the basement?

Roll on Christmas!! But first that quilt that needs quilting…