Inspiration Overload

Today was a total girls day for me and my mom.  She had an extra ticket to the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo at the Cleveland IX-Center, so I got to spend the entire day drooling over machines, gathering inspiration, and having a blast with my mom.

Mom & I

I'm not going to lie.... I was in complete awe when I saw some of the new machines (embroidery and sewing) and it made me drool just a bit.  I've got a Brother embroidery machine that is about 8 years old and more temperamental than a 2-year old child.  Some days it likes to work, other days it likes to eat the thread and garble the fabric.  I do, however, have an awesome serger and sewing machine that are work horses.  It was really cool though to see how far the embroidery machines have come since I bought mine, and it makes me want to sell a kidney so that I can upgrade.  Ha ha ha.

One of the big bonuses to the show is all the vendors there with goods to sell.  Honestly, I was very well behaved and only managed to spend about $80.  A pattern (Playtime by KariePatch Designs), a couple of half-yards of fabric, and a pair of rag scissors was all I bought.  Had I have not been on a self-inflicted spending freeze, I might have gone nuts and walked out of there with an entire sewing room's worth of stuff!  Mom, on the other hand, had no hesitation and spent for the both of us.  Albeit, she has a larger room to accommodate all the loot, not to mention a new grandbaby to sew for.... so I can see how it was easy for her to shop.

My Loot (minus the pattern)

After the show, I met up with my BFF for some dinner and some retail therapy at JoAnn's.  With the prices of fabric at the expo a little out of my budget, I decided to check out the sale ads.  Low and behold... JoAnn's had flannel on sale :-)  So.... Miss Em and I headed off to the store, armed with the pattern I bought from the expo and a handful of coupons.

Flannel Galore!

I got enough stuff to make two cuddle blankets that I bought the pattern for... one boy and one girl.  I can't wait to get started!  It's been so long since I've sewn that my machines and all my supplies are still packed in a closet from when we moved my sewing room a few years ago.  The pattern doesn't seem too intricate, so I think it'll be a great warm-up project to get me back into the swing of things again.