Biting off more than Lily can chew...

Lily, whose experience on the sewing machine heretofore has only been straight seams on flannel receiving blankets, decided to make a diaper bag for her friend. Not having ever used a pattern before, we spent a couple of nights learning about gathering, topstitching, making a casing for elastic, and cutting it out.

This morning she came over to get my guidance as to how to put it together. Here she is at the machine threaded with brown:
We had two machines set up. You will of course not notice piles of schoolthings and unpressed fabric:

Now she is at the "pink thread" machine. What you can't see is me, (at the "brown" machine)sewing and ripping out, sewing and ripping out (SIX times in all!!) a Stupid. Outside. Pocket. with darts and two layers and fleece and velcro and a flap. Someone needed to tell this girl that you don't pick the Super Advanced Couturier Complicated Pattern for your first try:

I must be a good teacher. She did this little bag last night at home, and just needed a zipper tutorial to finish it. She does need to learn to use a thimble. I heard a lot of *ouches* while she was slipstitching the lining in:

On my own home front, I have a new project in the works here, in black-and-white:
I was struggling with doing needle-turn applique on these gigantic (well, to me, anyway) circles, when "just in time" I find this tutorial over at Anna Maria Horner's place! (she gives credit to Kath at Material Obsession) I am now so, so excited to do sixty of these squares. I will then cut them in fourths and scramble them up--it will be a little eye-popping, but I grew up in the 60's when "op-art" was the new and cool thing.

Lily will come over tonight to finish any little bits of the diaper bag that she can't do this afternoon. It *will* be a fabulous gift for the expectant Mommy at her shower tomorrow night. And I needn't tell you how proud of my little Lily this mom-in-love is!