piddling

I have been falling down on the "goals"/day's plans the last couple of days---mostly piddling.

I had gone out to see one of my quilting/FB pals on Thursday morning and enjoyed both the drive over (through the back of the old Fort McClellan) AND the visit. In spite of her only being a week postop at that point we went upstairs to see her wonderful sewing space that her husband had carved out of some of the attic space! What I wouldn't give to have cupboards and a walk in storage closet! Bev showed me some of the things she was working on. She also knew that I was looking to put a flower or something on my completed purse/backpack. She lent me her little yo-yo maker for that basket block embellishment.

Now, I have never used my extra large Clover yo-yo maker yet though I have had thoughts of slowly making some over time.  A recent quilting magazine showed a quilt from Terry Atkinson, one of my all time fav designers, with rows of yo yo's on a teal background.  I even have a small heart yo-yo that came in the 1st place prize basket for the quilt show in TN but never had it out of the package yet.  But I have some things that need the embellishment, all the sudden!

Bev had recently shown us how to do a dimensional flower and I thought that was what I was going to do.  Then she started sending me links to video's on how to use the Clover deal.   Oh oh!  I was primed to follow along now.   One video hooked 6 yo-yo's or as she called them, Suffolk puffs,  together to form a flower that was adorable!

I would settle for just getting ONE made properly!  The first attempt I cut the seam allowance too small and my stitching was not holding it down enough.  2nd attempt, I actually sewed it to the base following the wrong holes around the edge.  3rd time was a charm.

After all that messing around, I wondered if doing the covered button was going to be as big an adventure.   Nothing to worry about there with those little pushers and holders.  Since I can see some sheen with the camera flash behind the fabric, I wonder if I should have interfaced it or something???    The picture shows the finished product.  The purple matches the interior of the purse and the zipped pocket linings.

Looking at the fabric leftovers from the purse, I still had interfaced pieces and searched around for my wonder wallet pattern.  I have another wallet pattern around here somewhere but could not lay hands on it---that led to a notebook search later but it still has not turned up leading me to think I may have loaned it out???  While I listened to the Cardinal-Pirates game last night I whipped this up.  Pam makes hers with the elastic band around them rather than velcro and a button so I did the same using hers for an example but not before basting the elastic down in the wrong spot, LOL.   I do carry two wonder wallets though as I keep the grocery money separately in the 2nd.  It will help that they look totally different.

Two things though----I need to get some 1/4 inch elastic the next time at the store and I hate decor-bond.  Not only was it hard to get to adhere to the fabric (which I had pre-washed for a change) but it is too heavy and too stiff.  Heavy weight interfacing will do for me but not decor-bond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's plan:  Cher's FAB challenge using the Sister's panel seen in this post .  We are meeting next Saturday to sew on this so I really, really need to cut out my stuff to kit it up for sewing day.  I think Cher okay'd some preliminary sewing too but that won't happen till I cut!  I have a small errand to run and then I AM cutting and kitting.  Enough of this goofing around, LOL.