Killing Time and Ballet on Pointe

I finished the Harley Davidson quilt top last week but didn't have the backing fabric that I wanted. While I had a few days of down time, I decided to sew some blue scraps together to make some small blocks. The blue bucket was spilling over. It's not that bad now, but it sure seems that I didn't reduce the volume by much.

I have a new set of rulers that we bought about a month ago. I wanted a 15" square ruler to make cutting tee shirts easier, but the set of four was cheap enough that I got the two smallest rulers at no cost. I didn't think I'd use the small rulers (4" and 6") but found that I was able to put them to use with the blue scraps.

I simply sewed pieces together until I had enough to cut out either 4" squares or 6" squares. Later, when I have time again, I'll make some 10" squares. Then it will be time to decide what to do with them. I've started with 12 of each size and am already finished with the smaller sizes. 

While it seems that I didn't use up a great deal of fabrics, this trash basket holds the cut off. Most are slivers smaller than a 1/2".  

All of that will come back into play when I have the HD quilt finished. Hopefully I'll be able to load it onto the long-arm tomorrow.

On Pointe
Since I needed some backing fabric for the HD quilt and Jolie needed some ballet toe pointe shoes--hers were destroyed in the fire--we decided to make an afternoon trip to Lafayette. Her dance school purchases all of their ballet shoes at The Ultimate, so that's where we headed. 

I loved the store! The two ladies were very kind and helpful. Once they learned that Jolie lost her first pair in the fire and had had them only a month, they gave her a few of the accessories that she needed. 

 The store is beautifully decorated with many ballet shoes in flower arrangements, as part of a collage of photos and mementos, and scattered around the room on small tables and in dishes. I kind of wanted to ask them to let me make an arrangement using some shoes. 

Once we got home, Jolie wasted no time in asking me to do some hand sewing. The sales lady pins the elastic and ribbon in place, but someone has to sew them in. It took me a while to figure how to stitch each piece because the thread is really a thin cord and the inside fabric of the shoe is leather. 

Poke and pull sewing is not fun. It took me an hour to sew in the elastic, so I decided to put the rest of the sewing off until tomorrow. 

Jolie called at 9:30 to beg me to finish so she could dance tonight and "break in the shoes." I don't think she will accomplish that tonight, but who knows. How about this picture of Jolie trying on the shoes. I knew she could stand on pointe, but seeing her with the ballet shoes on and in position really made it hit home. How beautiful is this picture?

Eventually I got the stitching completed. She was extremely happy to race in to pick up the shoes. 

Can you see my stitching on the side of the shoe? There are two places: on top of the elastic where it meets the heel and to the front of the elastic where the ribbon is attached.

 As a child I wanted to learn ballet and have a pair of toe pointe shoes. I guess it is possible to live life through your children and grandchildren. I can only hope that I would have sported a pair as gracefully as my beautiful granddaughter does. 

While I've repaired many strange items and I've made baby booties, I've never finished a pair of real ballet shoes. It was fun and required a bit of creative problem solving, but I think it was a success. 

And because I have a video of Milly on the move, here's a copy

Millie on the Move!