elenabella Fabric Bowls

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day making fabric bowls, using the pattern link posted last June as inspiration. It was kind of a whirlwind production process, requiring the use of my more modern sewing machine, for the zigzagging. Mostly I use a vintage machine from 1951, housed in a wooden case: a piece of furniture with the names of previous owners written in pencil on the outside of a notions drawer. The zig-zag attachment, in its own intact box, is formidable and intimidating, so I switched to my plastic dial-a-zag Kenmore.

I used fabric from the quilt show held here last March, where I found a few little fat quarters in 40s era prints. The fabric reminds me of that used by my Grandmother Mary for the quilts she made way back then, with scraps from house dresses, childrens' clothes, and aprons. The shape reminds me of pumpkins, so they could be called pumpkin bowls. It was really fun to see these bowls begin to multiply as a set, during one intense day of sewing immersion.