As a child, I used to bug my mother to let me use a sheet from her big pad of Strathmore drawing paper. The pad of drawing paper just seemed so much more glamorous and official than whatever surface I might have been drawing on instead. She relented on at least one occasion, but only if I agreed that I was going to do "a serious drawing."
As an adult, I certainly don't begrudge my mother for not wanting to give a grade-schooler sheets of expensive paper. In fact, I'm surprised she gave me that one I can remember! Still, I often find myself in a similar position of wanting to save certain fabric for "a serious project."
These Radiance (silk/cotton blend, yum!) solids, and the Melody Miller Ruby Star Spring fabric at the top of this post are good examples. I've had both for a while, but I've hesitated to cut into them, because I don't have some kind of master plan.
And I've resolved to just let it go. I need to just do some sewing for fun. I need to approach some new projects without feeling like I have to design a new pattern for them first. I might even (gasp!) make something other than quilts with some of this. After all, those handmade zip bags and potholders and pillows and all those other little projects are so nice to have around!
One project that is a) a quilt, and b) something I have a plan for is a replacement for my Tokyo Subway Map quilt. (I gave the original away.) I totally lucked out and found some of this older Echino print, which is one of my all-time favorites. I'm going to make all the "lines" with different solids and the "stops" with fussy-cut pieces of the Echino.
So here's to sewing for fun! I'm going to have the house to myself for the next few days and plan on using some of this beautiful fabric.
By the way, if you like that Melody Miller fabric, you might want to check out this video about how to use the giant bee fabric to make a cute skirt.


