PJ's, Long-Arm quilting, and my fabric hiatus

This blog has been quiet for a while due to constant illness at my house. After three emotional meltdowns, two rounds of antibiotics, and lots of Tylenol - I think we are finally on the mend. It was miserable! The only good thing about it was that I had an excuse to revisit my first loved hobby, reading. I have read a lot of good books lately; like this, this, and this.

Right before virus-ville 2011 visited us, I finished these pajamas for Gregory. If they look familiar, that is because I already made them in a 9-12 months size that didn't fit him at all (even though he was maybe 6 months old). This pair is 3T, so I am thinking he will be wearing them this summer, just before his second birthday. I arranged for a bunch of friends and I to take a long-arm quilting class on March 5. Despite still dealing with the plague, I went (BIG MISTAKE!). I was too comatose to even think about taking pictures, so I will have to refer you to my friend's blog post to see what the class was like. Despite feeling like death, I scheduled with Laurena to come back a week later to quilt my first quilt. Here are a few pictures:

I thought that starting my long-arm career with doing a pantograph would be the best way to go. Next time I feel more keen to try free-motion quilting. Overall, it was a good experience. The only problem was that this quilt top had thick fusible web on the border flowers and ric-rac - the machine didn't like either of those elements.

I will show the completed quilt once I am able to bind it.

The only thing I really sewed within the last few weeks was an apron for my future sister-in-law. I loosely followed a Joann's $1 sale "Sewing For Dummies" pattern and chose fabrics from my stash.

I think the pear fabric is adorable and I still have a yard left - maybe I will make an apron for me at some point. I was really thrilled with how well the Michael Miller Brown Henna Garden fabric went with the fruit fabric.

Finally, I am proud to report that I have not bought fabric in about a month. The last two things I bought was this awesome Ugly Duckling (and gender neutral) fabric from Lizzy House (pictured below) and I bought a few yards of this versatile dot by Jennifer Paganelli at a LQS. I have unsubscribed from most email fabric newsletters and I am simply trying to save my pennies for fabric I really want. I am excited for Sherbet Pips, Aviary 2, and 1001 Peeps. Having too much fabric can feel like a big "to do" list and it feels good to focus on what I have instead of acquiring more - always in fear that things go out of print or won't go on sale again.