I decided to participate in the BAM swap, which was a pincushion swap. I was a little overwhelmed with life, so I just sewed my old standby pincushion, the Clippy Pincushion. The pattern is from Love of Patchwork and Quilting, issue 39. The pattern is also available digitally in the Apple and Google Play stores. I used this pattern to make the Clippy Pockets in the UCAB, which I find to be very useful. It isn’t rocket science, so I am sure you can make something similar without the pattern.
BAM Swap pincushion 2023
I did supersize this one a little bit. I wanted to make it slightly larger to accommodate the cool selvedges from which I made the back.
At first I machine sewed the stuffing hole closed, but then I unstitched and hand sewed it closed. I think it looks better hand stitched.
I am sure you can imagine that I was super careful when sewing this project back together. After all the ripping I had to do, I hope I learned my lesson.
It didn’t take me very long to sew the top together, but it would have taken me less time if I had paid better attention the first time.
This quilt was returned to the guild’s community quilts project at last month’s meeting by Lee Ann. She named it ‘Leftovers’ after I told her the story of the three food quilts and how I make the Ends quilts.
I am really pleased that a number of my quilt tops have been finished recently.
I am getting to the part of the year where I cannot show all of my progress on various projects. It simply means I need more time to sew! Here are some donation blocks for this month. I might make another QST 16 Patch quilt with some of these. On the other hand, I have an overflowing black scrap drawer that needs some attention, so I am back to making more color strip blocks in blacks and greys.
Pink Corners donation block
Orange dot diagonal donation block
Dark orange donation block
Light Pink donation block
Dark grey strip donation block #12
Orange and red-orange donation block
Dark grey strip donation block #13
Dark grey strip donation block #14
Dark grey strip donation block #15
Dark grey strip donation block #16
Dark grey strip donation block #17
I am trying to organize the patches in the gallery above so they don’t look as random and weird.
I did a lot of ripping last week and the result is that I can resew the QST 16 patch #2.
I had to rip more than I originally thought. Here is the layout I will use. The stripes are all going in the correct direction and the secondary pattern is in order.
I am pleased with how it looks. I like the fussy cutting of the flower fabric (I bought that flower fabric at the Quilt Loft). It is sweet looking, though not modern at all.
I am a sucker for striped binding. I think it works. I think black and white would have been classic, but too much of a contrast with the flowers.
2-in-1 Case #4 exterior – open
The magnetic snap is gold. I am not sure why I had a gold one. I don’t usually buy gold, but the brand was one carried by Joann, so maybe I bought it there on ‘spec?
I was able to line up the stripes pretty well on the snap tab. Honestly, it was a happy accident. 😉
2-in-1 Case #4 interior
The inside looks pretty good as well, though the contrast between the outside (sweet and flowery) and the inside (modern) is very obvious. At least the user can’t see the flowers when the case is open.
I am looking forward to seeing the last two. The photo below shows the ones I have so far.
2-in-1 Cases – closed
Joelle made the red version. Cyndi contributed the blue example in the center and mine is on the right. They look so different!
I sewed this top together quickly the other night. I thought I was being super careful to keep everything in the right place.
WRONG!
Not only did I mess up the dark and light triangles, but I also put blocks with the stripes going in the wrong direction in the wrong place. I can live with the stripes, but I have to fix the secondary pattern.
I don’t normally transport quilts for the guild, but I am this week. Claire is out of town and I agreed to collect the quilts. There are about 30 quilts and the bag on the right is super heavy. I needed the wagon to bring them to the meeting.
I decided that 2-in-1 Cases would be great to use for the gifts going to the guild officers. I am, once again, in charge of organizing that effort. I think it is important to thank the officers, but I seem to be one of the few who wants to organize the effort. Sue and Carrie are helping, which is great. they are sensible friends who offer excellent advice.
2-in-1 Case #4 size test
In the past I have made large bags and then had people make small gifts to fill the bags. I didn’t have time for that this year, so I am gathering cash and gift cards. I needed something to hold cards and gifts and the 2-in-1 cases are the thing. They are useful for sewing supplies, but also the right size for cards and gift cards. I am gathering quite a hoard, so I hope they are large enough.
This strategy also means I do not have to cajole people into making large bags or small gift items. I was prepared to make all of these 2-in-1 cases, but a few people volunteered. I was very grateful for the others efforts. I am making one, as you see.
I had to take a break for some seam ripping on the Kit Supply Tote and do some handwork on the other bags I worked on over the weekend. That meant I was able to start sewing this bag. I cut it out at Sew Day earlier this month. It is going together much more quickly than the first ones.
2-in-1 Case #4 magnetic snap
One of the things I did was try a magnetic snap, which is recommended in the pattern. These are different than the other snaps, installed with a Snap Setter, that I used before.
Except for being quite large, I think the magnetic snap came out pretty well. The instructions in the book for installing it were a little vague, but I used some pliers to bend the arms of the snap down. That worked for me.
Here is the second of my new series, apparently. More orange, though i didn’t have quite enough and had to use some pink blocks. We’ll see if they stay.
I hope to have this done for the meeting on Saturday.
Carrie is having fun making door prize collections.
BAM Picnic themed Door Prize
This one has a picnic theme, which I think is very clever. She is using some contributions from other team members, such as an interesting pouch that Tim made. The basket is from Amazon**, but there free patterns* for rope baskets, too. They are a good project for using up fabric scraps.
*N.B. I haven’t tried this pattern so your mileage may vary.
**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.
The big question is whether I will make another QST 16 patch donation quilt with these blocks? Of course, I can’t make much with so few blocks, but hope springs eternal.
Stay tuned for the answer!
Different oranges donation block
Orange #2 donation block
Light orange donation block
Orange flower donation block
Perhaps I subconsciously made Halloween themed blocks this month?
Mary and I talk about bags all the time, which is super fun. I was pleased and surprised to see that she was working on various projects for the guild Door Prize team.
She wanted to change some of the fabrics after she already started the Fold-up Sewing Folio, so that project is in a bag like the I Spy pouch waiting for another day. I am not sure of the designer or the name for the I Spy-like pouch. This will be a set.
Book and Tool Folio in process
She is also working on the Book and Tool Folio. I love the fabric she chose for this pouch. I think Mary’s choice of the flower fabric paired with some tone-on-tones. It is a great combination of fabric.
I feel like I should try the Book and Tool Folio now. Mary is fearless when it comes to making bags. She just tries and works through the challenges. I am impressed and inspired.
The QST 16 Patch donation quilt is coming along pretty well.
I used some random blocks I had been making for the guild, as I mentioned, but I also added a few more to make the quilt just a little larger.
I used some of that striped black fabric I bought a lot of twice( !!!) by accident. I think I have enough of that stripe to make another one of these quilts. Of course, I should finish this one first. 😉
