I finally finished the guest towels from Amy Butler's In Stitches - the ones I started back in May. Here's what they look like neatly folded...and hanging from a hook in the guest bath. (It needs some paint - right now everything is white, white, white.) Next guest suite project - a curtain & valance for the window in the bathroom. It already has mini-blinds, so all I need is a something pretty to cover all the hardware. I have a few yards of "Flower Mosaic" from the Benartex "Woodstock" collection that I think will work nicely.  I'm looking for something easy, but more interesting than just "cut a rectangle and hem the edges." I've marked pages in several books and magazines - more on that in late July, early August (next occupant expected mid-August).

Isn't this a great sun hat? Perfect for protecting my neck and face from burning, and a nice one or two evening project. I bought a half yard of this brown & pink batik at the Rosemont Quilt Show a few years ago, and used coordinating batiks from my stash for the lining. The pattern is from Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter, which has lots of other projects I want to stitch this summer!

It's done! I finally finished my Big Dot Pillow - my mom liked it so much she's going to stitch one, too, but not in such bright colors ;) I made an addition to the instructions in Amy Butler's In Stitches - I added a zipper (using Zipper Foot with Guide #14) to one of the side seams, to easily remove the pillow form for laundering (and for travel - see below). Everyone in Bernina-land has been extra busy this month, prepping for Bernina University, our annual dealer meeting in July. Erika & I are teaching a class together - my Big Dot Pillow is part of a display, and I'm shipping it _minus_ the insert. After Erika & I get back home and catch up on our sleep we'll have lots of photos to share - things we saw, people we met, and, of course, the new Bernina 8 Series!

I've been poring over Amy Butler's In Stitches for quite a while and have finally decided to do two of the projects at the same time - the Big Dot Pillow from the cover (for my new guest room) and the Decorative Hanging Towels (for the guest bath). Right now the guest room is my "ironing room" and storage area, but soon all the boxes will be empty and there will be room for a bed and some pretty pillows. Instead of using solid fabrics on my towels like Amy did, I'm making extra patchwork and using it for both the pillow and the towels.

I've decided on a color scheme - remember all those lucsious fat quarters I got in February? The Woodstock collection from Benartex has the perfect shades of blue and green for the bathroom, plus the red/pink/orange I've already started in the bedroom. No, really, it's not garish, just cheerful and sunny. I picked up a few things at IKEA and the Crate & Barrel outlet (Naperville, IL) and the Springs/Wamsutta outlet that used to be here in Asheville. The cool colors tone down the hot ones, and the warm ones perk up the cool ones.  

I just finished rotary cutting my strips and I'm ready to go! Time to get out my trusty machine and Patchwork Foot #37... More on my patchwork adventures and changes I'm making to the applique instructions in future posts. Gotta check my stash of Steam-a-Seam 2 and make sure I have enough for all those circles!

Ever wonder what to do with all those little bits & pieces of leftover ribbon, trim, buttons, etc. that are just too nice to throw away? Here's a project from Susan Beck, Executive Editor at BERNINA of America, Inc., featuring four different notecard designs that you can stitch on your sewing machine. BERNINA's updated Button Sew-On Foot #18 with its "sticky" rubber sole grips buttons and keeps them from slipping as they're stitched to your project.