It's a rather gloomy Thursday ...

... and I'm really in the mood to curl up with Aiden, a good book and a cup of tea!  I have a feeling that it's going to be one of those days where I'm just not going to get a whole lot accomplished!

Yesterday, Aiden had his weekly "Grammy Date" so we decided to venture out to explore a new-to-me quilt shop here in Sacramento:

Shirley, aka "The Knot-y Embroidery Lady" and the gals there are so much fun and their shop looks fantastic!  Of course, we didn't make it out of the store without some new goodies!  I was so thrilled to find Robot Factory by Caleb Gray for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.  I had pinned this fabric last fall but didn't order it from the Fat Quarter Shop before they ran out, so I was thrilled to find them in the shop!

While we were there, the Lately Arrived from London line by Barbara Brackman for Moda really caught my eye.  I'm not sure whether I was attracted to the name or the colors more -- I'm definitely not a Civil War prints kind of gal -- but two charm packs and a couple of fat quarters made their way home with me.  I can't wait to find out what next month's Schnibbles pattern will be to see if the fabric will work!

I have been able to get a little bit of sewing done here, despite have a really busy week!  I was able to finish up two of my Swoon Along blocks -- and I've decided to break my rule of only counting finished projects for my weekly stash update for the Swoon blocks only.  Since it's going to take several months to finish this quilt, I figured that I deserved to show some stash progress each week!

My favorite finish of the week has to be this cute summery dress for my niece's first birthday!

The fabric is Lovely by Sandy Gervais - forgot how beautiful this whole line is!! - with a coordinating lemony batik.  I haven't really ventured much into the realm of sewing clothing, but I found this great free pattern from Oliver + S called "Popover Sundress" ...

Photo from Oliver + S

... and had to try it out.  This is a great pattern (available in sizes 2-7) and is definitely beginner friendly! And as a bonus - there was enough fabric leftover to make a cheery little on-point checkerboard!

My little man just went down for a nap, so I'm off to de-clutter my sewing table and finish up some more projects!  Before I forget, though, here is my stash update:

Stash Update: 1/18/12 - 1/26/12

• Purchased:  11.75 yards including my Flurry fat quarter stash for the Swoon Along, 2 yards of Robot Factory, and 2.75 yards of Lately Arrived from London
• Used: 2.25 yards - 1.5 yards for the Birthday dress, and .375 yards each for my two swoon blocks

YTD: + 11.63 yards  

Wow!  If I hadn't done any shopping this week, I would have been breaking even.  Oh well - I promised the  hubby I'd lay off the fabric acquisitions for a little while, so maybe I'll be able to report a smaller number next week.

Happy Sewing!!