Artquiltmaker Blog – Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity

Palomino Pouch Finish

The Palomino is finished! I am going to make another one right away. This pouch has only a few pieces and with the way the side panels and zipper are inserted, it is very easy to put together.

This is a gift for a friend and the fussy cutting is important.

It really went together pretty well, in general. I had some trouble inserting the lining. It does have the same glue closure as the Piebald. Not so great as I missed the instruction to stop at the 1/4 inch mark when sewing the lining together, so the edges shredded a bit (Moda fabric) when I ripped out some of the stitching. It would be really helpful to have a free arm when making this pouch. Now I know, so I’ll do better next time.

No drop-in lining or binding: perfect.

The zipper I used is one of the set I bought from Sew Hungry Hippie. I wonder if Natalie of SHH collaborates with Tula on the colors? The green matched the butterfly fabric exactly.

I thought it might be a little big, but the pattern called for a handbag zipper. I tried two zipper pulls, but it didn’t work with this pouch design so I took one off.

I took the opportunity to fussy cut the side panels as well. I can’t help that these motifs run into the partial motifs on the main panels, but I still think the side panels look good.

Green Donation Quilts Coming

My green scrap drawer has been full for awhile and now that I have made FIVE quilts from my black-grey-brown scrap drawer, it is time to move on. I really can’t get over how many quilts I made from the black-grey-brown scrap drawer. It is somewhat shocking, especially since I haven’t finished the grey improv piece or the black improv piece.

I have already made a couple of green blocks and have several in process. I am also working with smaller scraps to start the improv donation quilts now. It may turn out that I use some combined smaller pieces in the strip/chunk blocks. We’ll see.

The original green strip donation top was one of the first in this series. It is interesting to see how the various quilts, using the same sort of blocks has developed. I think I didn’t completely empty out the bin when I made that quilt, but I don’t remember. I am much more diligent about using every scrap now.

Black Improv Donation Top Continues

It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. The black pieces are getting larger and my scrap bin is getting emptier.

This is a lot more active than the grey, which you will see in a few days. Those stripes really make this piece dynamic. I think it needs some space for the eye to rest, though. I’ll have to work on that.

Palomino Pouch Start

This is another pattern from Minikins Season 3. For some reason, it struck my fancy and I decided to make it.

One of the things I already like about the pattern is that you sew the zipper to the side panel as one of the first steps. That means that when I sew the zipper to the main panels, I will sew the side pieces as well.

I did some fussy cutting of the Tula butterfly fabric, as you can see.

I had some trouble cutting this out with a rotary cutter, because the side panels have an interior 90 degree angle, which doesn’t work withe a rotary cutter. I ended up drawing lines around the template and cutting it out with scissors. I used WonderClips** to keep the fold in place while I cut the pieces out.

Palomino pouch inside inside — Palomino pouch inside

This picture (right) shows getting ready to sew the zipper and the side panels to the main panels. I used some Frankenfoam and hope that works out. I used some quite small pieces. Apparently, I can’t throw anything out! Pouches are a good use for Frankenfoam, however.

This is the same picture as above, but from the top. Stay tuned for the finishing.

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Scrappy Celebration Finished

I finally finished Scrappy Celebration! I am well in time for my niece’s wedding and shower. Now I just need to decide if I want to enter it in the Fair.If I do enter it, I’ll have to add a sleeve.

I don’t have much else to enter. If I do, it would mean not giving it to her at her shower, but I think that would be ok.

I am pleased with how it came out, but I think I want to make another quilt, or something complicated, with my man Phil’s Chrysanthemum print. I don’t know why I like the colors so much, but I do.

Scrappy Celebration - back — Scrappy Celebration – back

The back isn’t super interesting. I was reading the New Jersey issue of QuiltFolk. They said that this type of back makes the quilt a 2-sided quilt! Who knew?

Mermaid I Spy

I still don’t really have a plan for 2024 in terms of sewing. I am just not sure what type of projects I want to focus on. I am starting to think that finishing a lot of UFOs was a bad idea. It left me sort of feeling like I don’t want to generate more UFOs.

I still want to sew, so I fell back on my potato chip project: the I Spy pouches. I have some templates coming from Sew Sweetness so I thought I would get ahead of the game and make the pouches in advance. The first one I finished was the Mermaid pouch AKA the Create * Make * Dream I Spy.

Create * Make * Dream I Spy - back — Create * Make * Dream I Spy – back

I used a different coneflower colorway than I did in the last I Spy. Surprisingly, I didn’t have as much of it as I thought, so the three pouches I made are sort of scrappy. This one looks relatively normal from the front, but I used a mermaid print for the back.

I bought this fabric on a whim at Cool Cottons in Portland last year, possibly for a bag for my sister. This is the first time I have used it, however. It is a fun fabric and I am glad I will have a little piece of it for myself. I still have enough left to make something for Lil Sissy.

I haven’t put any templates in yet, but it will be used for acrylic bag templates.

Gifts for Carrie

The other day I wrote a post about gifts for Gerre. I thought I would write one for the gifts I have made for Carrie as well. I thought I had made more, but I have only been making bags for her since the pandemic.

Carrie's Sew Together Bag - bottom — Carrie’s Sew Together Bag – bottom

Color Wheel Hackney - Carrie — Color Wheel Hackney – Carrie

Carrie's Kit Supply Tote — Carrie’s Kit Supply Tote

Carrie's Lined Drawstring Bag — Carrie’s Lined Drawstring Bag

Color Wheel Drawstring Bag for Carrie

As I said the other day, I had three gifts to make in the early part of March. One of them was a birthday gift for Carrie. Since I was pressed for time, I made a lined drawstring bag. I did an assembly line with Gerre’s bag and got them done in an afternoon.

You can’t see it very well, but I tried to fussy cut an entire color wheel for the outside of the bag.

Carrie's Lined Drawstring Bag - interior — Carrie’s Lined Drawstring Bag – interior

I use some of the Create ‘I’m a Maker’ fabric I bought just for this purpose. I installed it upside down, but Carrie can see it easily when she looks at it, so I am going with that as a design choice. 😉

This time I put labels on the outside of the bags, which I thought looked nice. I didn’t stuff them and take pictures (see above reference to time pressure).

2024 Revisiting Gifts for Gerre

I find it useful to keep track of all the gifts I make for my friends – and my Mom. It is really fun to see them all together. It is also useful to know what I have made, so I get an idea of what new patterns I can use going forward.

Gerre's EPP Travel Pouch — Gerre’s EPP Travel Pouch

Gerre's Journal Cover — Gerre’s Journal Cover

Gerre's Pillowcases - February 2019 — Gerre’s Pillowcases – February 2019

Gerre's Classmates Tote — Gerre’s Classmates Tote

Gerre's Mega Pinnie Gift — Gerre’s Mega Pinnie Gift

Gerre's Purse Organizer (#2) - inside — Gerre’s Purse Organizer (#2) – inside

Sheffield Tool Tote - front — Sheffield Tool Tote – front

Gerre's Project Bag — Gerre’s Project Bag

Gerre's Project Bag #2 — Gerre’s Project Bag #2

Gerre's project bag #1 — Gerre’s project bag #1

I can see that I could make an I Spy pouch for her for sure. Perhaps I should make those this year for all the bags. Still, I do enjoy trying new patterns and I have several to try, so we will see. I like to make useful bags and the I Spy pouches are very useful.

It is also fun to see the Mega Pinnie. I had forgotten about that. It might be time to make another. I have a whole bag of poly stuffing and no project in sight for that.

It is pretty amazing that I have made 15 gifts for her. It started out as a way to make her smile and has become a tradition, at least for me.

Sugar Skull Drawstring Bag

International Women’s Day came around and I forgot to post about the bag I made for Gerre.

I was a little pressed for time and had three gifts to make, so I pulled out the Lined Drawstring Bag pattern from Jeni Baker, In Color Order. As I have said before, this is a great pattern and I should make more of them.

I always have trouble with directional fabric, so I drew a picture this time, like I have done in my I Spy pattern. I hope it will help me next time I pull the pattern out.

I put a few fun things in the bag and sent it off.

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