sew sew(ing)

Since it's been too hot to leave the house much, I've spent the last couple of days sitting in front of my sewing machine. I've tackled -- and completed -- two projects: a vintage cloth picture book and a pair of chalkboard mats.

I'd been meaning to put the cloth book together for a year and a half, and I don't know why I put it off for so long -- it was incredibly simple to put together. The picture pieces came on a large fabric panel which I cut up, added batting to, and sewed together. I even decided to go ahead and do the optional machine quilting at the end, and I'm glad I did -- it adds a nice finishing touch. It's a replica of an object book originally published in the 1950s; I'm pretty smitten with how darling it turned out.


I discovered chalkboard cloth on our recent trip to Texas (at the same time that I was discovering oilcloth), and purchased some salvaged pieces to make travel chalkboard mats for the boys. In fact, all of the cloth I used for this project was salvaged: the binding and pockets used to be an old pair of khaki pants, and the backing came from the bag the boys' bedding sets came in. I saw some example chalkboard mats at the store where I purchased the chalkboard cloth, and mine were based on what I remembered of those. Inside each pocket is a piece of chalk and a square of old cloth to use as an eraser. The binding is hardly perfect, but it's good enough.


Even though both Garrett and Caleb have watched me at (and have been absolutely fascinated with) the sewing machine, neither has seen the finished products yet. I'm holding out until church on Sunday because I desperately need something new to keep them entertained and in their seats during Sacrament Meeting. Here's hoping I'm not the only one who thinks they're really cool.