Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Not the 31 donation blocks I would have liked to make, but a fair number. Yes, I have added to the number of pink blocks for the next Color Strip donation quilt, which I talked about a few days ago. Stay tuned for more on that piece as it develops.
SueS asked me to make scissor cozies, as mentioned. I decided to make her one as well. She has done a lot of work int he past couple of months with a couple of extra projects in the works.
The annoying thing was pulling fabrics, but once that was done, it was just as easy to make 3 as it was to make two.
I wasn’t sure what color to make so went with a blue, which I, then, cut wrong and didn’t have enough yardage to cut another piece. I chose the above Allison Glass fabric and was more careful about cutting. I also chose a light blue/turquoise inside. I liked the fabric, though I probably should have gone with a white as I can see dark corners in the piece already.
You can see my Wunderlabel on the inside right side of the pouch.
I also used one of the Advent labels to add a little fun tot he piece. I really chose the label because of the color. It matches. Maybe next time I’ll think about the message as well.
I started the Cotton Candy Pouch I have been wanting to make for awhile. So far so good. I have to say that cutting isn’t annoying me as much as it has in the past. I am cutting up a storm. Maybe having the supplies and fabric organized* helps?
This is for a work colleague who arranged my second contract at the company where I work and then moved to a different department. We are still getting together occasionally for lunch and to share info, but we don’t work together anymore.
She did a lot of work to get me this contract. Since it is a cross-border department there was extra aggravation. I wanted to make her something as a thank you and this is it.
I fussy cut the main panels out of some Marsha Derse fabric . I hope they will look ok. They look a little somber to me.
Still, this is such a great pattern. I can’t wait to finish it and see how it looks.
*I don’t think I told you about the day I spent pulling fabrics and organizing supplies for bags, did I? The short version of the story is that I looked at my list of bags I wanted to make and spent a day finding all the supplies I need and putting them together in a project box.
I have added a few more gifts to the list.
I am pleased to see these bags and accessories show up when we meet to sew. It is so nice that she is using them.
SueS asked me to make scissor cozies for a couple of the officers. She bought them scissors and had them engraved. The two really went above and beyond during COVID. They entered a difficult situation, before COVID, and stepped up magnificently.
This is a Sotak Handmade pattern. Again, I watched a little of the video, but mostly read the directions and my notes on the directions. I made some additional notes to make these easier next time. I have to print some photos to keep with the directions.
I’ll write more about the specifics of each cozy later.
I made more progress. I am seeing light at the end of this tunnel.
Do the little that I have done really feels like a lot of progress. Of course, it is taking me forever to do a little.
I am happy with what I have done and am already thinking about quilting options. Shocking! I know. Who knows why quilting is even entering my mind, though this is an art quilt and there are things I want to say with it that I think I will say with quilting. More accurately, Colleen will say with quilting. 🙂
I did the line that says ‘Julie’s Friend’, using some Tula Pink ribbon I had. I used a lot of pins to keep it in place until I could sew it down. I think it looks pretty good.
As I mentioned, I had planned to do the last three lines using bias tape, but ‘Paul’s Wife’ put me off that idea. It’s disappointing, because I do like bias tape, especially the stretchiness of it.
More satin stitching comes next.
I finally finished Month 16! This is the second to last month (remember? Pink Door had to switch around M17 and M16 because of fabric shipping issues?)
This month consisted of 3.5-4 rosettes. I finished this piece a few weeks ago. You saw it already, I know, but I wanted all the pieces from the whole month together.
The other two rosettes, which are connected took me much longer. I am not sure why. I worked steadily on them even through the holidays, but still, they took forever.
I don’t think the challenge was the design or the number of pieces. The changes I made to the design might have contributed. Maybe I was just slow or there were a lot of pieces or I had to rip out a lot. Who knows. I still enjoyed the work and can’t wait to get back to the next month, M18.
I dragged out this old New Year’s fabric and made some pillowcases for my college student nephews.
It’s really fun fabric and I haven’t seen any like it in a long time. I still have two, approximately FQs, pieces left and will make some napkins. I think that may have been my original intention, but I don’t need 2.5 yards worth of napkins.
I have some leftover yellow color strip donation blocks on my design wall. They were leftover from the Rainbow Strip donation quilt. Apparently, they were lonely, because I started making more in different colors. I started with the green ones, because I had some green strips laying around. I suppose I intended to make another Rainbow Strip donation quilt, but then I started in on pink. Now I think I’ll make a pink Color Strip donation quilt. I haven’t made a pink one and my pink scrap drawer is full to bursting. No surprise there.
It’s a good start for my 2023 donation blocks effort.
I am taking the day off as it is my birthday! I know I have taken a lot of time off from the blog lately, but this will pretty much be it until Thanksgiving.
Have a great day!
I continued to work on Who Am I? over the winter break. I wanted to finish it and just be done, but other projects and resting prevailed. Still, I was able to add another line of text to the piece.
I used bias tape to add Paul’s Wife to the piece. I had good luck using bias tape in the Red Scribbles quilt and also when I taught my students how to make bias tape and use it. Thus, I thought it would be easier than it was. I think the loops and swirls were smaller than my previous works. I used 1/4 inch bias tape, which is the smallest I could make. Still, I am happy with the result.
Two more rows to go!
As an added bonus, I used my new Daylight light table** for the first time. It is awesome.
**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 had to show you my Christmas gifts. We didn’t buy each other a lot of gifts this year because we are buying some things for the house. I was pleased with what I received.
Most of this is from my stocking, but I received a pair of pajamas that I love. I got a lot of candy and snacks, which is great, because I don’t have to store them. Well, I don’t have to store them for long. 😉
One of the items above is a pattern holder for knitting.I have to start that second sock, so I think it will come in handy.
I also got a couple of gift certificates, so I bought some stuff from Sew Sweetness and some zippers for the projects I organized over my break.
Julie gave me a bonanza. That ruler on the left is the HuRTy ruler from Latifah Saafir. It makes Half Rectangle triangles. Remember my guidelines?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I will so I can add the info to the tutorial.
In September I did a gift inventory as I worked on various projects for the holidays. It takes time to make gifts, so I do periodic inventories so I am not scrambling at the last second. During this excavation, I found that the zipper on Julie’s Take a Stand bag had the same problem as mine! Fortunately, I realized this in September, not November 30, and took care of the problem right away. It really only took me a few minutes, since I had already fixed the issue on my bag.
I took 15 minutes while DH made dinner and fixed the zipper. I was able to tighten up the size of the zipper tab at the same time, which made me feel better. I don’t like zipper tabs that are big and floppy. I realize that the one on the end was not big and floppy before I fixed it, but it was not the right size either.
Now the bag opens wide. Yay!
And I was able to admire the inside again, which came out very well. I am very proud of it.
I really felt irritated with myself. What was the deal with those two zipper heads? If I did it twice, there had to be something in the pattern.
In addition to the Pink Moto pouch I made, I also made a black one.
I have said I like to make more than one of the same pattern so I can get the process in my head or smooth out the challenges I had with a pattern. These two pouches were no exception.
As mentioned, I struggled a bit with the drop-in lining on the pink version. I don’t sew patterns with drop-in linings very often, but I would be smart to make more to cement the techniques for making them look good in my mind.
I used the same lining as the Skeleton Hackney, because it was handy, I think, and looks good with the black.
It is somewhat cheerful. The background fabric used for Who Am I? is the same print, but in a different colorway.
I am pretty happy with the way the lining came out. It isn’t too saggy-baggy. Since the lining is sewn separately and then inserted, it is pretty easy to sew it with a smaller seam allowance.
As you can see I added in a Wunderlabel at the last minute. That’s why it ended up in such a weird place. I am trying to be better about sewing them on intentionally.
I can’t remember what size Moto Pouches I made. I think these might be medium. They were fiddly enough without going to the small. I really admire the testers for Sara’s patterns. They have to make all the sizes whether they want to or not.
I think this a useful size. Not sure what I would use it for, but I would probably make it again as a gift. It might be good for the nephews.
I guess I am revisiting all the gifts for my friends regularly now. it is really fun to see them all together. I also enjoy seeing how my fabric choices for each person have evolved.
