Keeping Busy w/out a Sewing Machine

My primary sewing machine is out for over a week to get its regular service cleaning and oiling. Last weekend I spent organizing and re-folding the fabric stash.

I also have been keeping up on doing some occasional hand piecing since I took a class with Froncie Quinn of Hoopla Patterns in the fall. All the star blocks pictured are hand pieced. I have plastic templates to trace the shapes and it makes it very easy to fussy-cut particular elements into the pieces you use.

I have also given hand quilting a try. I had a very brief intro to hand quilting at a guild 'try a new technique' day. Wasn't very happy with the results that day. I tried again this week and used thicker thread and loosened up the hoop. It certainly isn't tiny invisible stitches, but I like this chunky folk style that I ended up with. I have yet to hand quilt an actual project, I guess that will come next.