I am making good progress on the Superblooms, but not enough. I really want these to be finished today, so I can take my aunt’s to the post office and mail it. I also want to show at least one of them at the meeting on Saturday. I don’t know if either will happen.
As you can see, I have made good progress. The exteriors are finished and the handles on my aunt’s are sewn on.
For my aunt’s Superbloom, I used cotton webbing for the handles that Cyndi made me take from the free table one time. It is wider than called for, but I think looks good with the exterior fabric.
SMAP Superbloom
The SMAP version is less far along. I had to rip the handles out twice. Hopefully, third time is a charm.
I’ll be working on the lining next and that is always the last step. I have a couple of interior zipper pockets for each bag to make and then lining assembly.
Who Am I? is hanging at the Twin Pines Art Center in Belmont. I am very excited.
Women’s View is an annual San Mateo County exhibition recognizing, celebrating, and honoring women artists who live or work in San Mateo County. The exhibition is co-sponsored by the San Mateo County Arts Commission, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Twin Pines Art Center in celebration of Women’s History Month.
Women’s View 2025 poster
This is the 19th year of the exhibition and features over 60 artists who have expressed themselves in photography, painting, textiles (me!), and ceramics.
I was impressed with the variety of media this year in contrast to last year. I may be mistaken, but I thought there was a wider variety of media this year. I saw quite a few mixed media pieces, which I thought were interesting.
Who Am I? in the Manor Gallery
Who Am I?
Who Am I? in the Manor Gallery
My piece, Who Am I?, was the only quilt. It had a great location in the largest gallery. I saw a lot of people stopping to look at it and talk about it. I tried to listen in to conversations (sshh!), but I either couldn’t understand what people were saying or kept getting distracted.
Although I have entered pieces I already had finished or in progress during the last two shows, I only entered pieces that I thought fit the theme. I looking at the various pieces, I wonder if my interpretation of the theme is too narrow? My interpretation for both exhibits was about how I am affected by the world or what my role is in the world. Many of the other artists chose flowers or other parts of nature. It made me think that, perhaps, my idea of the theme was too narrow. You can review the gallery guide and decide for yourself.
Elizabeth Gomez
Elizabeth Gomez detail
I did notice that there were some details that I would consider stereotypically female, as in the Amapolos de California piece above. Elizabeth Gomez has stitched a bit of the edge of the poppy with embroidery floss or thread. One of the winners did the same on a photograph of a hummingbird.
Women’s View Winners
I did not win a prize this time. Prizes were awarded by the president of the Commission on the Status of Women. One of the winning pieces was a mosaic table, which I thought did not fit the theme at all. But, if I am generous, it could be her view of the world. It was a beautiful piece. Still, I do like to win. 😉
Mom, DH and I went to the opening on Sunday and it was a very nice event. The show ends on March 30, so I hope, if you are local, you get to see it.
I was very pleased to make this Emmaline Retreat Pouch for Carrie for her birthday.
I decided to make one when I ran out of time to make her a Classmate Bag. The other thing that helped me decide was the several Retreat Bag frames I have stashed in Quilts Illustrated Tool Tote, where I keep my bagmaking hardware.
Retreat Bag for Carrie – top
I used the Color Theory fabric by Carrie Bloomston, which is the fabric I have been using for her gifts.I have some random pieces that are cut from yardage, but still good sized that I was able to use.
Retreat Bag for Carrie – side, frame detail
The whole project went really quickly. I made the whole pouch in about 3 hours while I cooked dinner during part of the making. I did finish the pouch later in the evening. It requires a frame so I had to prepare and insert the frame, then sew up the hole.
Retreat Bag for Carrie – interior
The frame means that this is an Open Wide or Wide Mouth style pouch. It is great for seeing everything you have stashed in the bag.
Carrie’s Retreat pouch – veer zipper
Carrie’s Retreat pouch – veer zipper
I am super pleased with the technique they use to veer the zipper. It made that process SO easy and it looks great. I have to remember it and try to use is on other bags. The only other pouch I can think of offhand that veers a zipper is the Cotton Candy pouch and that is a different sort of technique.
I thought it would take me longer, but am glad I was able to get it done quickly. Her birthday was a week after I made it and I had to fill and mail it as well. Carrie is super generous and I could never match her generosity, but I can make pouches and bags.
This is a free pattern, so go and take a look. Make one and tell me what you think.
I am preparing to start a new contract and the company is really a pain. It has been taking me many hours I could be sewing to set everything up. Finally on Friday, I had a nice chunk of time, so I got to work on the two Superblooms I have been wanting to make.
I was able to get all the pieces interfaced and the side pockets made. I had some trouble with some fusible foam. It turned out to be fusible on both sides. Since it was a scrap and, I hadn’t marked it, I didn’t realize it was fusible on both sides. I don’t normally buy fusible interfacing. I especially don’t buy double sided fusible. The piece was just big enough for me to cut the foam for the bag sides. Perfect, right? Yes, until I figured out that both sides were fusible. On one hand it was good, because I could just press it on the fabric. On the other hand, I had to use a press cloth and I am not sure if my press cloth is gluey. Iron-off** is a wonderful thing for cleaning the iron.
I have a couple more pieces to cut from the new fabric I bought at Needles, but otherwise I think the rest will go quickly.
As I have mentioned the prep is the hard part.
**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.
I was on my way to lunch with Friend Julie when they closed the road and she couldn’t get through. I was near Los Altos, so I stopped at the gluten free bakery and then went to Needles Studio.
Superbloom for Auntie
I wanted to quickly see if they had some fabric I could use for the zipper tabs for one of the Superblooms on which I am working.
The iris fabric (right) is the lining fabric because my aunt loves LOVES Loves irises. I don’t want to use it for the zipper tabs, because most the design will not be visible and I think it will look chaotic. I could use a blue, but kept thinking of that ochre color in more of a tone-on-tone design.
Needles fabrics – March 2025
I found something that work and few other fabrics as well.
The blue fruit (lemon?) fabric will be an Atlas portfolio. I have no need to make another, but the fabric is pretty.
Needles was part of a shop hop (10 shops in 3 days – Yikes!). Though I wasn’t doing the shop hop, they gave me a free FQ, a free measuring tape and a pattern for some fabric buckets. I thought that was nice.
Today is International Women’s Day and I am celebrating by sending the bag to Gerre for her celebrations.
Sugar Skull Retreat Pouch-small – top view
This is the smaller version than I made for Gerre before. They are a matched set now, which I always like.
Sugar Skull Retreat Pouch-small – zipper end
I like the way all parts of this came out. The zipper ends came out especially well. I left a little space between the end of the zipper and the end of the fabric, which made it easier to sew.
I am still thinking about how to incorporate the technique used for veering the zipper in other patterns like the Cotton Candy pouch.
Sugar Skull Retreat pouch – interior
I chose a text print for the interior. I haven’t been using this particular print for Old Town, because the text is in pink. I love it as a fabric, though, and am really glad I can use it for this pouch.
This one came out really well and I am pleased, but this is a great project. I still want to try enlarging it and using a border print, as discussed a few months ago. I haven’t had the chance as I am caught up in making gifts.
I finished the Paint Tube Day Trip! Yay! This one went together a lot more quickly than the Hindsight Day Trip, but that’s the way it works, right?
I was thinking, as my Mom has started using the bag, that a slip pocket might be a good addition to the front. It would add to the layers, but would also be really useful.
I mentioned that I was making it so she could carry her cell phone with her and didn’t have to hold it in her hand as she moved around. That is working really well. She has also started using it as a wallet. When we go out, she takes it instead of her purse.
Paint Tube Day Trip
I was pleased, once again, that the cell phone pocket fits her new phone very well. I am also glad I reinforced the magnetic closure. I think it might have ripped already if not for the extra (Decovil Heavy**) reinforcement.
I also made the straps/tabs for the D-rings slightly longer. I did that because one pulled away from the edge stitching on the Hindsight Day Trip. I didn’t want that to happen again, but I noticed that the D-rings spin around now. The triangle hardware pieces would not have worked for this application, sadly. My mom doesn’t care, but I care. Another learning moment, I guess.
Paint Tube day Trip interior
The inside went together well and I love that I can turn this bag through the openings in the interior zipper pocket.
I used leftover zipper tape for the interior zippers. They are the handbag size, but it doesn’t matter.
I put different colored zipper pulls onto the the interior pockets to give a visual cue of the contents. The pulls are nice and large so easy to grasp.
I don’t really want to make a bunch of these, but I have the templates and some ideas, so I might make another one or two. One would definitely be a good Pink Project addition.
Check out all of the Minikins patterns I have made as well as some of the other Sew Sweetness patterns.
**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.
I finished a few Flying Geese over the past few days and decided to try some on the block that has been on my design wall. The Flying Geese have been missing and seeing them missing has been incentive to finish them.
I chose some light pink Flying Geese to finish this block. The block is not sewn together, so I might choose different options. I think this looks ok, though. The pink HSTs might fade a little too much into the background.
In general, I like the whole block and am pleased with how it is coming out.
I was thinking about the quilt I talked about a few days ago. I am not liking the gold. The fabric is nice as yardage, but in a white quilt it is pretty overwhelming. I really want this to read as a white quilt and the gold might interfere with that.
Checking out the back
I checked out the back of the fabric and the gold comes through, but is much more subtle.
The vertical sashing on the right is the back of the fabric while the sashing on the far left is the right side of the fabric. I think the back of the fabric might work.
I am letting it sit for a day or two to see what I think.
Mom came along, but I didn’t have to do as much for her. She is moving slowly, but moving around a lot more. It is great to see her progress.
Superbloom 3 & 4 pieces
The first thing I did was cut out pieces for my next Superbloom totes. I was able to, mostly, cut out the larger pieces. That is super helpful, because of my small cutting table.
I thought I had everything in a project bag, but I didn’t check before I left. It turned out that I forgot ShapeFlex, Soft & Stable and lining for one of the bags. Oh well! I cut out as much as I could, so that is some progress. Definitely better than nothing.
I also worked on Old Town a bit. I had to line up and mark the pieces for a million Flying Geese, so I did that.
March Sew Day scraps cut
Finally, I worked on my scrap bin some more. Did I make as much progress as I wanted? No, but I never do. I had about 2 zipper bags of scraps. Now I have 1.5, so some progress.
First, I cut all the shapes I need for various projects. Not tons, but quite a few.
Scrap strips
Next, I cut strips, which will be used for quilts like the white color strip top I discussed the other day.
For some reason, I have a lot of orange. I also have a lot of grey, which will add to the grey improv top sitting on my design wall. I know they are strips and I should make some color strip blocks with them, but I want to get that grey improv top to the community quilt people. It has been hanging around for an eternity.
I also found some triangles, which I will make into HSTs for that mythical HST quilt I have on my mind.
Not bad for a Sew Day. I would have liked to have gotten more done, but what can I do?
Mary C’s baby quilt
Mary put a baby quilt together. It is Playmat – newborn size and made from two charm packs.
Mom worked on the binding of her first (!!!) quilt while chatting with Friend Julie’s mom who joined us also. The quilt has been finished except for the binding for years. I am glad she is working on it. I am also glad she has something on which to work.
I finally have enough blocks to get a top on the wall. Well, it isn’t a top yet, but I am getting there.
I am using the fabric I got in the Sew Hungry Hippie box at Christmas as the sashing. It has a lot of gold, which isn’t white, but it might be interesting.
I also planned for the sashing to be 1.5 inches finished. That is a little larger than previous versions of this type of quilt.
I sent off two quilts to a great niece and nephew. I made two lined drawstring bags as gift bags and quilt storage bags. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of one of them, but I hope my nephew will be able to do it for me.
The other bag I made for his sister was made from some of the V&Co Confetti dot ombre. That one came out really well as I had big pieces to use and didn’t have to do any piecing. That bag will house the Hugs and a Kiss quilt.
Sheesh! March already. Can you believe it? I can’t.
Passport Pillowcase
A new month means a new pillowcase. This month I am sending off the Passport pillowcase. This is one of the travel pillowcases I made with the new fabrics I bought last month.
With this pillowcase I sent a note encouraging my nephew to get a passport, if he doesn’t already have one.
Rose Petrillo bag – I found the pieces for this bag cut out, but not sewn.
Still UFOs
I still have UFOs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled, it hasn’t been worked on in awhile or it is waiting its turn to be worked on. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
I am annoyed that some of these are still UFOs. I have to give myself credit for completing some of them last year.
Handbag Sampler – I found the blocks! I found them in a bin I thought I had thoroughly searched! I also found the fabrics carefully stored together. Hooray!!
As you probably know from my frequent mentions of Sue and Carrie, my excellent students, I teach a quiltmaking class. You can find notes and tutorials here on the blog for the class, but no video. If you want personalized teaching there is a fee. Recently, I have added notes and links from the design class that I also teach. For the design class, I will give lectures on one topic to groups. Contact me if you want to discuss those lectures.
I saw this tutorial a long time ago, but found it again when I reviewed my guild’s old blog. If you like the Japanese cute animal style, this is for you. It is useful also.
Kylie and the Machine have a free pattern called Snippy Pouch. The instruction booklet tells you how to measure your scissors for a perfect fit.
I found a new bag pattern designer: Love You Sews. I really like the Leah Travel Bag. It has a nice shape and good pockets. I love the way she has used, what looks like some webbing, as a pen holder. I wonder if that would be better than foldover / doublefold elastic**?
Struggling with wavy borders? Check out this comparison of two methods of adding borders.
If you need a tutorial on how to use and refill your Sewline pencil, the tutorial on the Sewline site tells everything you need quickly. 4-6 leads only to refill was the key to getting my pencil back up and running.
My mom is thinking of finishing her Scrapitude quilt. She sewed hers at the same time I sewed mine, but never had the quilting done. This forced me to go look at Charlotte Hawkes’ site again. She has some interesting patterns in her shop and a new mystery quilt just started. You might want to join to see if you like her patterns.
MessyGoat (Elaine P) showed a picture of her Kraken quilt, which is really amazing! Her quilt led me to LegitKits and the various patterns and kits they sell. They have really interesting designs!
I am looking at needlepoint again. I am working on the Ehrman design I bought, but am not finished yet. That means I really shouldn’t buy anymore. In all the QuiltCon hullaballoo, Anna Maria has been showing off her new website and fabrics. I took a look at the site and found some needlepoint kits. I like them, but I think I like the Ehrman designs better. They have some Kaffe designs I might try next if I continue with a needlepoint project.
I really like the pineapple (fruit) blocks. I have a lot to do, but might make one. I found some directions and noticed when I was searching that people made them from all sorts of different units.
This isn’t intended to be a photo post, but I do like to throw one in every now and again. A group of fabric seems like a good idea.
I like the colors in this group, but not all of the prints. The prints with the dots are the best. I may actually buy the pink and turquoise dot fabrics. Too bad the one with the dots on cream is not on white. I want to take a look at that large motif design in person. It is hard to see the entire motif.
Jammin’ Threads has a label that warns people about donation a quilt you made to thrift store that I find really funny.
Did you know you can download fabric image files from the FreeSpirit site? Click on a collection and then choose download files.
I really dislike taping patterns together, which is why I usually buy, if possible, the printed pattern. On Sunday February 2, 2025, Sara Lawson presented her Sewcial Sunday show and talked about PDF Plotting. PDF Plotting prints your patterns out on AO paper (very large) and mails them rolled not folded. I haven’t tried it yet, but you can bet I will. Our guild challenge this year is to use a pattern we’ve had laying around. I’ll have to check through my PDF patterns and see what I can use to try out the service.
Judy Martin is updating her Encyclopedia of Judy Martin Blocks & Quilts. It is only an e-book. I with it were in print. “The 588-page Encyclopedia features 957 original block designs shown in drawings and 1029 original quilt designs shown in 247 quilt photos, 197 quilt drawings, and 585 setting variations. It also has 16 original, full-size quilting patterns with sketches showing how to arrange them for blocks and borders. I have added photos for every design that was presented with a photo.” The price is really good for so many patterns and designs.
I am giving up on my main Oliso iron. It stopped working and is no longer under warranty despite receiving a replacement just about a year ago. I LOVE the up and down feature. I also love that it sits on the base, so is lower to the ironing board. I am, however, sick of it giving out on me. I have a backup iron, which is subpar, but works. Either I am going back to buying cheap irons and replacing them when they die or I might get a Reliable iron**. Stay tuned.
Check out the video where Tula Pink introduces her new TTrue Colors for 2025. The variety of prints – the size of the motif on the print – is GREAT. Variety of the size of the motif in the fabrics you choose for your quilt adds a lot of interest.
Parents magazine has an article about “Grandma Hobbies.” Seriously? Grandma Hobbies? I knew many of my grandmothers and all except one I loved dearly. Most of them did some kind of needlework and did it very well. I also have a lot of friends who are mostly not yet grandmas who enjoy quilting, crochet, knitting, needlepoint, and scrapbooking. I currently have a number of quiltmaking projects and a needlepoint cushion on the go. WTH, Parents mag? I am glad teens are delving into pastimes such as these, but why are they called grandma hobbies? Do they know about the thriving knitting community? Crocheters who knit many hats, etc for all different types of communities in need?
Joann Fabric filed for bankruptcy again! An article in BHG talks about it, but it is mostly anecdotal. There isn’t a lot of meaty information. In my opinion, having sales all the time is the big problem. Macy’s has the same problem. Sales bring in shoppers, but too many sales sets the expectation that shoppers can just wait until the next sale. I hope the new owners settle into a routine that includes plenty of help and less mess in stores.
Exhibits and Organizations
Join our guild. We’d love to share sewing projects with you.
NQR
**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.
