The latest sewing projects!

A few weeks ago we went to Grand Junction, both to watch the girls compete in a marching band competition and parade, and to see our beautiful little granddaughter (6 months old) because she happens to live there!

I had to bring some things for her that her Nan (me) made for her, of course!

First, a grocery cart seat cover, complete with inside pockets for toys and sippy cups. I made this according to the pattern I bought- and added a couple of purse clips to the back strap, thinking that they could clip to the cart rungs. They will come off easily if this proves to be wrong.

And a teeny tiny little personalized Trick-or-Treat bag! Of course, she is too little to go out this year, but we have to be ready, right? 

And a photo of the little sweetheart herself, waiting in Pops' arms for the parade to start. Isn't she just the sweetest thing? She has a personality to match!

And for good measure, a couple of photos of the girls:

Heidi, 17, with her sousaphone. She is 5'2 1/2 " and weighs 110 lbs soaking wet- which is important to know since the instrument weighs almost half as much as she does! 

And Chloe, 13, with her mellophone- a marching version of the French horn.

The girls attend Columbine Senior High; Heidi is a senior, and Chloe is a freshman. They are both members of the Columbine High School Rebel Marching Band. The band just participated in the state Quarter-finals today, and unfortunately didn't make it to the semi-finals round.

But they have had a really great season and most importantly, had a lot of fun!

"THE" Class

That's right: if you live in Colorado, and you want to make better art, The Language of Color and Design class, created and taught by Heather Thomas, is THE class to take. That is a well-known fact around here!

If you don't live close by, you can buy a copy of Heather's book, and work the lessons on your own- they are all in there!

There are so many things to LOVE about this book! It's spiral bound so it lays flat and stays open. It's laid out with tips and page reference numbers throughout so that you can go back and cross-reference things or re-read something relevant. It's written and explained in a way that you can go through it on your own, at your own pace, and includes a variety of examples to look at for everything. I guarantee it will be a very valuable resource in your workspace. It's also just a joy to look at. Look at the cover and you will see what I mean!

I have been immersed in my first assignment and I think I am finally starting to pull it all together. Heather said she prefers if we do our own thing to demonstrate our understanding of the lesson, rather than using a pattern. And she prefers it if we do things that are a little out of our comfort zone, choosing to do things in a way we wouldn't normally. That makes sense to me.

From time to time, I have gone a little off the pattern path, and designed something on my own. Most of those times have resulted in me learning a LOT, because I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I am okay with that. There is a saying I like: Fail faster, succeed sooner.

HOWEVER, I have never been in the position that I not only have to make something that shows my grasp of a concept, but I have to show it and explain it in front of everyone in the class. That's a whole different thing!

Heather suggested we might want to take notes or keep a journal along the way, and I decided that is a great idea. I made some rough sketches and jotted down some ideas. And what is appearing in front of me is pretty different than what I first envisioned.

I will show you my finished project and my process after I have taken it to class and received my critique.

If you are interested in learning more about this class, this book, machine quilting, and a host of other things, you really should start following Heather's blog:

http://heatherthomasblog.blogspot.com/

That's all for today, but I will be back this week to show you a couple of other things I have made in between.