Personal Post – Sew Bittersweet Designs

Survivor!

2 Comments / Custom Quilting, Customer Quilt, Innova, Long Arm Quilting, Personal Post, Spike / By Melissa Dunworth

Hi Everyone! I’m back!

It’s so good to be back in my studio and hanging out with Spike again. I’ve missed him terribly. I finished my student teaching last Friday. I was blessed to work with two amazing mentor teachers. In the fall I worked with an awesome 6th grade teacher, who is also a quilter! BONUS! In the winter, I did my 450 hour internship with an awesome 8th grade teacher who was so supportive. I learned so much from him and my incredible 8th graders, who I miss so very much! Shout out to my kiddos from Bush Middle School! While I wait for my university and the state to process my certifications, I am firing Spike up and getting back to work. I’ve got a stack of customer quilts a mile high!

This is the first one I will be working on. I’m told this gorgeous quilt will become a car seat cover. Lucky baby!

You will be seeing a lot more of me now that I’m done with student teaching. Now the job search begins, cross your fingers!

Have a great Wednesday!

2017 Word of the Year

5 Comments / Personal Post / By Melissa Dunworth

It’s that time of the year when people start setting resolutions and picking a word for the year. I am not setting any resolutions – I have a constant goal to take better care of myself and my people, but I don’t consider that a resolution because I don’t think I’ve ever really done a bad job of that in the past.

I do like to pick a word for the year though. This year I have chosen to focus on Compassion. Compassion for myself – stop blaming myself and start forgiving myself. Compassion for other – if we all had a little bit more compassion for our fellow man maybe things wouldn’t feel as scary as the do these days.

Instead of jumping to conclusions or assuming the worst, I am going to focus on being compassionate to those around me.

What is your word for the year?

I’m still quilting away out here in Washington and would love to quilt for you too! I am trying to go back to school to finish my teaching credential so feel free to help me pay for it by hiring me!

Best of luck to everyone in 2017!

First Day of First Grade!

4 Comments / 2016 Finishes, Clothes, Personal Post / By Melissa Dunworth

Whoever told my Anne that she could grow up…I’m not happy with you! She needs to stay little and mine forever!

Seeing as I’m not going to get my way and she is going to keep growing up into a beautiful little girl, I need to come to terms and celebrate that! Today she started First Grade! I am in shock and yet so proud of her too. She handles everything that is thrown her way with such grace and poise, she is wise beyond her years. Here are our standard back to school photos in the new dress that I made her.

She told me that she wants to be a doctor, and given the amount of time that she has had to spend in hospitals during her short lifespan I think she would be amazing. I know she would be full of empathy for her patients and beyond understanding of nervous parents. That being said…she is six and surely her dreams will change many times between now and when she needs to make tough grown up decisions like what she wants to be when she grows up. Heck I’m 35 and still haven’t quite figured that out!

Dress information – Fabric is House of Hoppington by Violet Craft and the pattern is by Simplicity. It is the same pattern that she picked out last year except this year she wanted the version with the cap sleeves.

And now that school has started, I will be spending quite a number of hours with Spike, we have 5 customer quilts ready and waiting and hopefully will be receiving two more tonight. We plan to burn the school hours together until I get my little girl back! I hope everyone has a very happy Wednesday and I have a few projects to show you in the next several days that I didn’t get to share before I went on vacation last month! So stay tuned!

May Do Good Stitches Blocks

10 Comments / Do.Good Stitches, Personal Post / By Melissa Dunworth

I’m a bit behind. Things have been kind of emotional in my house lately, my husband is getting ready to go to Korea for a year with the army and let’s face it, that’s hard on everyone. I’m just not ready for it and to be honest, I would probably be even more concerned if I was ready for it. Separations are not easy and this is the fourth long term separation since our darling Anne was born. Let me be the first to say, that it does not actually get easier. The uncertain political situation in Korea is frightening. The fact that Anne has a true understanding of how long a year is and she knows how much she will miss, all add to the fact that this will be a tough year. He leaves one month from tomorrow, and I will probably be a bit scarce between now and then. I promise it isn’t from a place of not wanting to blog but from a place of needing to refocus my energy for a little while. In the meantime, here are my May blocks for Do Good Stitches.

These great Spider Web blocks are from .House. of A La Mode. You can find the tutorial here.

Sewing Weekend With Mom

7 Comments / Personal Post, quilting / By Melissa Dunworth

I feel so blessed! Last Wednesday a very special visitor came to Washington, my mom! On Thursday we went to the Sew Expo in Puyallup, WA and had a lot of fun shopping and playing with long arm quilt machines. On Friday and Saturday we sewed! It was fantastic!

We are working on our first quilt together. We have sewn in the past and she taught me how to quilt and sew, but this is the first project that is a 50/50 creative effort together. The nice thing about owning as many sewing machines as I do, is that I had an extra one I could set up and we could sew at the same time. We only had to share the iron. And speaking of ironing, she pressed all the fabrics – a task that I can’t stand, and I did all the cutting – a task that she can’t stand. It really was a great partnership.

By the time she had to leave, we finished 12 whales for our quilt. She took some of the fabric home to finish more and I kept the rest. She will eventually mail me her whales and I will piece the top and quilt it. Then I will ship it back to her and she will do the binding, because I can’t stand hand work.

The pattern is Preppy the Whale by Elizabeth Hartman.

I hope you all had a great weekend and are having a very happy Leap Day! Enjoy today, it only comes around once every four years!