Now that Red is finished, I can focus on Coral the Mermaid. I have been working on her in bits and pieces, but focusing on finishing Red. One finished is better than none finished.
Coral is sewn, but not yet turned and stuffed. I decided I would reinforce the sections of stitching where I have to clip as I had some almost seam failures after stuffing Red.
Coral’s quilt just needs to be quilted to be completed. I suppose I could tie it with some embroidery floss. I haven’t that and it might be a good excuse to learn how to do it.
Coral’s Fin
Mom put elastic into the fin for me. I thought that would be better than having ties. Less frustrating for little fingers.
Recently we started having Craft Night again.I am not sure when we stopped, but I know that I was able to finish my Sampler because I took it to Craft Night. Life became too busy with little kids around.
This time the attendees consist of my two SILs and me. Almost all of our kids are out of the house. One left Tuesday for college, three are out on their own with jobs, families, etc and my YM is back at school and out of my hair until Thanksgiving. (I say that in a loving way) We alternate houses and mostly do crafts rather than quilting, though all of my projects are quilt related — or fabric related, I guess.
Craft Night Selfie
The other week the SILs made cushions for SIL #3’s couch. SIL #2 has a lot of fabric so they used fabric she had on hand. SIL #2 had all of the supplies on hand including pillow forms and by the end of the night SIL #3, who did the work, had two new cushions.
I have been able to cut up Triangle Technique pieces, finish Red, work on Under the Sea and do other handwork. It is sometimes a crush to get there, but I am getting a lot done and having fun catching up with the SILs.
It never ceases to amaze me that I see new things as I walk around the neighborhood. Then I realized that everything is mostly the same but the details are different. Different flowers are bloom, plants are different colors, people put new decorations up for different seasons and holidays.
Because of the drought, people are using a lot more succulents. Succulents are not my favorite, but I am trying to see the beauty in them. I saw this yellow flower on a succulent and took a super close-up.
Yellow Spiky Flower Inspiration
Because I can’t resist fiddling, I moved the circles and did a, mostly, different palette.
Yellow Spiky Flower Inspiration 2
There are little bits of warm colors – pinky reds and reds – and I capitalized on them. Still, this palette is not bright enough for me. I think I’ll need to find some tropical flowers and make some palettes out of them. 😉
Little Red Riding Hood is finished! She went from a panel to a finished doll in not very long.
Craft Night Work
Red and Wolf
I did need some help. Mom helped with the gathering of the skirt, SIL #3 gave me some stuffing and SIL #2 offered various types of advice and some ribbon for her necklace. Group effort.
Red detailRed pieces
I am pretty pleased with how the whole group came out and I can’t wait to send it off and see what happens.
I spent some days on the weekend finishing the Petrillo Bag #3 (Buy the pattern from Sew Sweetness). I have a few threads to weave in before I can say DONE, but it is close.
In this bag, I made a few more changes to the original pattern.
Elastic sides
First, I made the bag larger again, but instead of using clips like last time, I bought some wide elastic and used that. The reason I need to use something rather than let the bag be free is because I want the front closure to still work. It is a magnetic closure and probably wouldn’t be strong enough to keep the bag closed if the shape weren’t similar to the original bag. I want it bigger to be able to get stuff out easier (this bag is GREAT for conferences) and be able to stuff a sweater in for cold conference rooms.
I didn’t have enough of the sew-in magnetic closures that Sara of Sew Sweetness recommends, so I bought one more at Joann. Big mistake. Use the ones that Sara recommends; they are MUCH better.
Saggy zipper pocket from Petrillo Bag #2
Next, I needed a way for the interior zipper pocket to be stabilized. I use the zipper pocket a lot and it was completely saggy. You can see the outside folded over to the inside from the weight. One solution was to lessen the amount of stuff in the pocket.I do like my stuff so I sewed close to the edge on the top of the pocket as one possible solution to keep the pocket stable.
Stabilize zipper pocket
However, I thought of a solution that would allow me to keep the same amount of stuff in the pocket and not be saggy. I thought of this at the last minute when the bag was almost completely together, so my options for making it super nice were limited. I sewed tabs on to the ends of the zipper. They were sticking out just enough to allow me to do so, then I sewed the tabs into the side seam.
Stabilize zipper pocket – detail
I didn’t finish the tabs, but I figured it wouldn’t matter much since the stablizers were on the inside. I would finish the edges and make real zipper tabs if I were making the bag again.
Petrillo Bag Slip Pocket
In a further effort to stabilize the interior zipper pocket, I also added a slip pocket to the outside of the padded pocket. I got this idea from making the Cargo Duffle. I hope to put the pens in this pocket instead of in the zipper pocket, which should help the stabilization. I divided the slip pocket into two sections using my phone as a guide for size.
The slip pocket isn’t in exactly the right place. I should have put it down a little further, because in its current location, it interferes with the padded pocket flap. Thinking about this made me realize that I probably don’t need a flap over the padded pocket.
I think I will have to make this bag again with further refined hacks.
I haven’t shown FOTY squares for awhile. Not sure why, but I haven’t been working as much as I like so I haven’t been cutting. I guess. You can see several recent projects in the squares. I am getting a nice stack.
The good thing about machine embroidery is that it can happen while the maker is piecing since the machine works independently. Still, SIL is making crazy good progress. After a few napkins last week, she gave me a bunch this week.
Pumpkin motif for napkins
This group of motifs is fun. The pie and the corn, along with the pumpkin, which you saw last week, are two of my favorites. I took a close up of the pumpkin, so you could see what a nice design it is.
We sent the YM off on Tuesday for a brief trip to visit his freshman year roommate before he heads back to college.
Already! Can you believe it? The four months flew by.
I made pillowcases for his friends.
College Pillowcases
I saw some Pokemon fabric the last time I went to the hairdresser and described it to the YM . He wasn’t interested but he must have described the fabric (the skills of the quiltmaker’s young) to his sophomore year roommate who wanted a pillowcase from it. I bought some and made it. In the course of rummaging for cuff fabric, I found some chocolate fabric I had designated for a pillowcase and sewed that one up as well. The chocolate pillowcase went to the girl of the trio. I haven’t heard if they received them, but I am sure they did.
As I said, we were in Southern California all weekend. One of the things we did was to give a check to St. John’s Hospital for their Craniofacial Anomalies/Cleft Palate program. It is a comprehensive program that includes pediatricians, dentists, social workers, plastic surgeons, ENTs and a score of other medical professionals who help get kids out of the land of being branded a Frankenstein and into a “normal” life.
There is a quilt hanging in the reception/intake area. We spent time in that room before the program started. I had noticed it last year, but didn’t have a chance to take a picture. I had the opportunity to look at it more closely, because the Grand Historian asked me whether it was a quilt, because he saw the applique. His question gave me the opportunity to look at the quilt more carefully, share my knowledge and take a photo. Since I wasn’t able to visit any quilt shops, I was thrilled.
Down East by Terry Waldron
The quilt is called Down East by Terry Waldron. The color is very rich. It is mostly batiks with some velvets. There is quite a bit of embellishment using raw edge applique and yarn. There is piecing as well in the form of log cabin blocks. The quilt is behind plexiglass, thus the glare. You can see a picture of the artist with the quilt, though I don’t see the quilt listed on her website.
Down East by Terry Waldron, detail
There was one bit of quilting that I liked very much. I thought it was a clever way to highlight a motif that was not a block.
At this event, the Grand President, my DH, gave St. John’s a check for $55,000. Less that 1/2 of 1% of your donation goes to administrative costs. This is one of the best events for me, because each dollar of that $55,000 came from $5 raffle tickets, $10 BBQ tickets and $2 fines for cell phone use during meetings. There were no millionaires who chipped in $20,000. All the money came from members and their families. $55,000 is a lot of $2, $5, and $10. All of the trustees donate their time, including travel costs. Feel free to donate to the NSGW Charitable Foundation to support kids with craniofacial anomalies and their families.
I am making some progress on Under the Sea. It is a shock, because this piece has been on my list and a UFO for YEARS. I really never thought I would finish it and here I am.
Under the Sea – Late August 2016
We went to Southern California for the weekend, so no sewing machine and I missed the BAMQG meeting. My DH better know I love him. 😉 I did take Under the Sea and my EPP project to work on. I didn’t do much in general – no sewing, no EPP, no quilt shop visits, but I worked on Under the Sea a little on the way home in the car.
I bought some 12wt Aurifil and have used a little of it along with the Perl Cotton that I have had laying around. It is fun to add layers of texture to this piece. The stitches are adding interest.
Under the Sea (detail) – Late August 2016
I am not sure about the green circles. I like them as a motif. I am not sure I like them around the turquoise dots. I don’t want to disrupt that bubble like effect.
I am hoping that the viewer won’t see them until they get closer. We’ll have to see.
The 3rd Petrillo Bag has been cut out and on my to do list for awhile. Last Sew Day was the day to start it. I worked on the donation and when I finished that, I started working on this bag. I decided that I needed to clear off my To Do list and I also want my first Chubby Charmer back. I have been using it as a storage space for the pieces to this bag.
I really don’t know why I waited. It has gone together fairly easily thus far even though I have had to do some ripping.
Petrillo Bag #3 in process
With this bag, you get a lot of bang for your buck quickly. Within a few seams, you get something that looks like a bag.
Is it finished? No, but I am making progress.
I had some trouble with the flap and after ripping a few times, I decided to remake. I am also making a couple of adjustments. I am making the bag larger again, but using elastic this time. I wasn’t careful when I sewed it in and needed to rip it out and sew it more securely.
Mom had a great idea, which I will also do. I have a pen problem. I always have several with me. I have been using the hidden zipper pocket to hold them and everything else, which makes the bag sag. She suggested I put a slip pocket on the padded pocket and put the pens there. Brilliant!
I am still trying to figure out how to stabilize the hidden zipper pocket. That is a bit of a holdup, but not terrible.
Pattern: Petrillo Bag by Sew Sweetness Fabric: Home Dec, Pristine Poppies by Joel Dewberry; various dots for trim and Art Gallery Red (not sure this is the name of the colorway) solid for some of the pockets and other trim.
SIL is embroidering napkins for the napkin project at a furious pace. I need to get busy on the tablerunners. September will be here before we know it and October and November will be hard on its heels.
SIL has finished some more napkins.
Two motifs included in this most recent batch came out very well. I really like the tree and I, especially, like the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Napkin
I think they are coming out very well and I will be happy to put them on my table at Thanksgiving.
