A Little... SEWING?

I went to visit my parents in their home near Portland, Oregon, last weekend.  It was good to see them.  The weather was gorgeous during my visit and I enjoyed sitting outside on their back deck, looking at their beautiful yard... noticing what has changed and what has stayted the same since our family moved into the house in the late 1970's.  While there, my mom "gifted" me a Pfaff 7570 Sewing and Embroidery Machine.  While the machine has been around for awhile, it is amazing technology and so much better than the machine I've been using (a Singer machine I used to sew on when I was in high school). 

My new Pfaff is amazing. (Thanks, Mom!)  I have nearly 30 feet for the machine... I had to count them.  I have dozens of memory cards, and each card contains programs for multiple embroidery designs.  I could go on and on about this new toy fine piece of highly tuned German engineering and I am sure I will be revealing to you the amazing features of this beast of a machine as I continue to experiment and find more time to sew.  For now, I am using fabric in my craft closet and, with what I have on hand, I have lots of fun projects lined up.  These are a few pot holders I whipped up using pockets from old blue jeans (of course!) and pre-quilted, heat-resistant fabric (from my local quilt store).  I just stitched them together, right sides together, left a space un-stitched for turning, and then turned them inside out and hand-sewed the opening shut.  Ta-dah!

While in Oregon, we drove to Portland to the Rhododendron Gardens near Reed College.  I was so fortunate to visit during this time... the flowers were in full bloom.  Understandably I got a horrible case of Kodak Fever so here are some lovely photos to share...