Completed Project! – Artquiltmaker Blog

Finished: Enigma Bag

Hooray! I finished and I had plenty of time to post it on the blog post to win a prize. I may not win, but hope springs eternal.

I like this pouch. It’s interesting, yet normal, so surprising. It packs a punch and isn’t difficult to sew. There are some tricky bits, but it would be a boring sew, if the whole thing was easy.

Finished: Enigma Bag - open — Finished: Enigma Bag – open

As I said before, this bag reminds me of the Sew Together Bags. I think I would use it in the way I use the Sew Together Bags, if it had more pockets. I do use most of the pockets in my hand sewing dedicated Sew Together Bags. It is possible that I can put a few things in this bag and use it for a dedicated travel hand sewing kit.

Finished: Enigma bag - open flat — Finished: Enigma bag – open flat

We’ll have to see. I have some scissors and a pincushion I was gifted that I could put inside as a start.

The bag opens flat, which makes for a nice tray that keeps items confined in the car. You can see the bottom piece in the picture I took after I cut all the pieces. This will give you and idea of why it is flat.

Finished: Enigma Bag - end view — Finished: Enigma Bag – end view

The zipper, though, zips at a diagonal, which I think is part of the interesting bit of this bag. It also allows the bag to zip up small, be completely contained and then open out flat. Clever, isn’t it?

I was concerned that there would be a hole where the zipper meets the bottom of the bag, but there isn’t. WHEW!

I always wonder how Sara thinks up some of these bags. I am always curious about the designs, but then I wonder how she figures out the construction. I know enough to modify some bags, but I am not sure how I would figure out how to make a bag like this.

Finished: Enigma Bag - accordion pocket — Finished: Enigma Bag – accordion pocket

As mentioned, there is one accordion pocket. It is fully contained like the Sew Together Bag and the Ultimate Carry All Bag. This type of pocket allows the user to put something under the pocket like a ruler or quilt block (hand piecing?).

This pocket went together really well and even though the zipper contrasts with the pocket, I think it looks nice. Yes, I added one of the charms I bought when we went shopping for the Retreat. I bought a tool afterwards that makes it really easy to open the jump rings and connect the charms to the lobster clips. The tool is called Split Ring Tweezers**. Total game changer!

I love the directions for the zipper tabs in this pattern. I really think my zipper tabs came out better than they ever have. In turn, this made my zipper look really good.

As mentioned, this bag is part of Minikins Season 4. Minikins patterns are only sold in bundles. This bundle has 12. There are at least two other projects I plan to make really soon.

Now I am worried that I won’t want to finish the Hackney pouches from Minikins Season 3 I have cut out. 😉

You can see the other finished Enigma Bags on the blog post.

**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.

Cork I Spy #3

Cork I Spy - medium #1 — Cork I Spy – medium #1

Here is the last Cork I Spy pouch I made at Retreat. The lining fabric is one of my favorites and I just had a bit of it left. I had just enough for the large lining piece.

In general for the three pouches, I found the cork to be easy to sew, but not easy to turn. If (when?) I use cork again on an I Spy pouch, I will definitely round the corners. I think it will make the project much easier to turn.

All that being said, I thought the corners looked fine when I finally did get the pouch turned. I gave these to some work colleagues and they loved them.

Happy Mother’s Day 2-in-1 Case

This 2-in-1 Case is for my Mom for Mother’s Day. I cut this out at Sew Day, I think, and made it at the Retreat.

I forgot to put the foam inside. I did adhere fusible batting, so it has some structure, but it floopier than the others I have made.

I really had trouble with the snaps. I used the Snapsetter and found out that it has to be on a hard surface. The folding table that made my Retreat workstation was not stable enough so I had to redo the top cap twice. I think the bottom part may come off if she isn’t careful, so I’ll have to warn her.

Mom's 2-in-1-Case - inside — Mom’s 2-in-1-Case – inside

I think she could probably use this for non-sewing stuff in a tote bag or in her purse. I am sure she will think of some way to use it.

I got her a bigger and better gift also, which makes me not so worried about the snap.

Cork I Spy #2

Cork I Spy - medium #2 — Cork I Spy – medium #2

This is the second cork I Spy pouch.

In all of these cork I Spy projects, I used 12 inch zippers even though the pattern calls for shorter zippers. It is much easier to cut down a longer zipper after the zipper is installed.

I really like highlighting some good fabrics in the window of the pouch.

May the Fourth Be With You Pillowcases

Like the other pillowcases for the beginning of this year, I finished these pillowcases in February.

I also bought this fabric at the Granary on my birthday. I wasn’t planning on buying pillowcase fabric that day, but I saw it there and got inspired. Strike while the iron is hot, right?

I thought it would be a better choice than some kind of Veteran’s Day fabric. I suppose I could have chosen Cinco de Mayo themed fabric. Lots of choices there. I have an image in my mind of pillowcases covered in avocados!

Both will be home soon so these are the last for these boys. I’ll have to send them a care package occasionally next year.

Cork I Spy #1

I bought some cork from Sew Hungry Hippie to make the YM a pouch. A lot of cork arrived, though I didn’t think I bought that much.

Cork I Spy - large #1 — Cork I Spy – large #1

I had to make some gifts so I decided to use the cork. I cut the lining before I left on Retreat, but did everything else at the Retreat. I could have made more complicated pouches, but I needed to get these done. This one has a super cheerful lining.

The YM still has no pouch.

Finished: Tarts Come to Tea

The Tarts Come to Tea Finished — The Tarts Come to Tea

I cannot find that I posted the final photos of this quilt, The Tarts Come to Tea. I went looking for information about the finished piece when I entered the San Mateo County Fair and couldn’t find the final post, so here we are.

The Tarts Come to Tea - back — The Tarts Come to Tea – back

Yes, the Tarts is finished, including the sleeve. It finishes at 40.5 x 54.25. It is machine pieced, machine appliqued and machine quilted by me (!!!). It took forever.

I entered it in the Fair. I hope it gets a prize.

Finished: Pink Strip Donation Top

Pink Strip donation top - finished — Pink Strip donation top – finished

Hooray! I finished the Pink Strip donation top and back. It is a serious pink explosion. It is very fun, though and I do like it.

It looks like Alison might quilt it then donate to an organization in her area. I am thrilled that she has taken an interest. We’ll see.

Pink Strip donation back - finished — Pink Strip donation back – finished

I used up some pink on the back as well. It didn’t make a dent in my collection of pink, of course, but every little bit helps.

On to a Spiky 16 patch.

Amanda’s Hackney

Yes! Another Hackney. I still think I will get sick of this pattern, but I am not sick of it yet and I still want to try to make the finished product better.

This is another version of the large size. I still haven’t tried the small or medium yet, though now that I have cut out a small bag, it is time.

Amanda's Hackney - top — Amanda’s Hackney – top

She loves animals, but I didn’t have any animal fabric that I thought would suit, so I used the coneflowers. I wasn’t sure about the yellow zipper, but it makes the bag look really cheerful. The zipper is more of a sunshine, or orangey-yellow than a neon yellow and that helps a lot.

Amanda's Hackney -handle — Amanda’s Hackney -handle

The zipper came out a little better this time. I used the washaway doublestick tape** for putting in the zipper on this one. I think I just have to use that tape each time.

On a note about tape, Sew Sweetness has the new ByAnnie washaway double stick tape. I bought some to try out, so stay tuned for a comment (maybe a review??) about that brand.

I had to add a handle. I think that is de rigeur now. It makes the bag more useful.

Amanda's Hackney - lining — Amanda’s Hackney – lining

I made the inside cover a little different this time and I think I will like that option best. I used doublefold elastic to make tool or pen holders. I talked a little about how I sewed the tool holders to maximize the space available for storage in a previous post.

All in all, I am pleased with this one and hope Amanda likes it, too.

**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.

Color Wheel Hackney #2

Color Wheel Hackney - Sue — Color Wheel Hackney – Sue

I tend to make Carrie and Sue the same pouches with slight differences. They are good friends and I think that they were great students.

Color Wheel Hackney - Sue - interior — Color Wheel Hackney – Sue – interior

So, as I made a Hackney for Carrie, so I made a Hackney for Sue. In this case, the exterior fabric is the same, but cut a little different and the interior fabric, zippers and other detail parts are different. I made the interiors different, but still relating to being creative. I am excited about the interior. I also fussy cut it and am pleased with the fussy cutting. It is super fun.

Color Wheel Hackney - end (Sue) — Color Wheel Hackney – end (Sue)

This one also has a handle. As I said before, they are useful.

I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the handle and front panel interacted – the way the fabric motifs overlapped and interfered with each other, but I think fussy cutting the top draws the viewer’s attention to that space and you don’t see the mashup of motifs where the handle is attached.

The front of the front panel (which is a gusset) looks really good, I think. That little piece of color wheel is appealing.

As I said with Carrie’s Hackney, Sue’s also goes with her Boxy Clear Pouch. You know I love to make sets of bags.

Color Wheel Hackney

I finished my most recent class with my fabulous students, Sue and Carrie. I had planned to make them each a Hackney for Christmas with this great Carrie Bloomston fabric, but moved the gifts up to be ready for our end of class lunch last Sunday.

One of the reasons I chose this fabric is that it matches another pouch, the Boxy Clear Pouch, I made for them. the fabric is fun and cheerful despite the dark background. Because I can’t stop teaching, I also wanted a reminder to them to use their color wheel. 😉 Finally, this is great fabric. Doesn’t it look like an explosion of color?

Color Wheel Hackney - end (Carrie) — Color Wheel Hackney – end (Carrie)

This Hackney is like all the others. I have added a handle to this one and think that is a standard addition I will make to all the others I make. Having a handle is useful. I am not sure why Sara didn’t include one in the original directions. Perhaps the pattern is intended to go into a suitcase or something? Regardless, I think a handle is useful.

Color Wheel Hackney - interior (Carrie) — Color Wheel Hackney – interior (Carrie)

I am particularly pleased with the fussy cutting I did on the inside bottom. Don’t those pencils look great? I measured very carefully to get the whole pencil on the bottom and am thrilled with how successful I was.

I am still not 100% happy with the mesh pocket. I think it is useful, that is not in dispute, but the construction doesn’t appeal. The zipper tabs end up being too thick. I made a vinyl pocket on the Sugar Skull Hackney. I think it came out ok, but I wasn’t concerned about the final topstitching. My next test will be making pencil loops on the top. I’ll see how those come out.

Color Wheel Hackney - filled interior (Carrie) — Color Wheel Hackney – filled interior (Carrie)

I have put a few things in the bag including some Adagio tea.

Easter Pillowcases

As mentioned, I sewed all the remaining pillowcases at once when I made the Valentine’s Day pillowcases. I didn’t want to miss sending them out after the Valentine’s Day pillowcase debacle.

I bought this fabric at the Granary on my birthday. It isn’t exactly Easter-ish, but I thought it would be better for college boys. I didn’t want the pillowcases to be too girly.

I have to say that I am getting a little short of fabrics for cuffs. I have a few more nieces and nephews going to college in the next few years, so I guess I have time to stock up.

The boys seem to appreciate getting something in the mail. I am not sure how they feel about pillowcases exactly.

Finished Pointillist Palette #4

I also finished Pointillist Palette #4. Another finish feels like an embarrassment of riches.

I finished 5 quilts last year, but they felt really hard won. So far this year, I have finished, really finished, 3 quilts and a table runner.

This quilt is 56×56 inches. I forgot to add the size to the back, which will annoy me into the future, I am sure.

You can read more about the series on the Pointillist Palette series page.

Finished: 2-in-1 Case #2

I finished the second 2-in-1 Case pretty quickly and this one looks good enough to give as a door prize. The first one was a good learning experience.

Yes, I am using a lot of that coneflower fabric lately. I like it despite the brown in the print. I am not sure what is so appealing about it to me.

This time, you can see that I was much more careful and attentive to the closure. I thought about using one with a pointy tip, but decided against it in the end. There is a pattern for a project with the pointy tip closure in the book**, but I thought I would try it a different time. I was on a bit of a deadline and didn’t want to mix up the process until I had gotten it right.

I used the same interior fabric, as mentioned. I thought it looked nice and it was on my cutting table, so why not?

I used longer zippers this time, as I said I would. I know I said I might use even longer zipper next time. I don’t think the project needs the zipper stop. also, I like to being able to get the zipper head as close as possible to the binding. I think it looks better.

As before, I used some foam to give it a little more heft. I wonder if that makes the pouch less useful? I wonder if the recipient can put in fewer items, because the pouch has more structure?

I am pleased with the binding. I think less contrast looks better.

So, another project finished and this one has been sent off to Carrie for the door prize assembly for the guild.

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