Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I made a Lined drawstring bag for Friend Julie for her birthday. It is a different look to all the other gifts I have made her.
She likes moon and stars themes, so when I saw this fabric at Kruusn, I knew I had to buy it and make for a gift for her.
She likes that green paired with orange, too, but I didn’t want to go crazy.
I finished the Holland Pouch while I was in Portland in October. It was a pretty quick sew – ~6 hours from start to finish. I wasn’t feeling my best, so I knew I could make it faster.
I bought this pattern at Stitch during the July trip home from Portland. The fabric was also purchased during that trip at Sewlarium. It was a great choice for this bag.
The directions show how to position fabric if it is directional, which is the first time I have seen such a feature in a pattern, that I can remember. I’d love to see this type of chart in all bag patterns. I know most say something like “all cutting directions are width x height”, but having the visual makes a huge difference for me. Even before I saw this chart, I drew little pictures of how directional fabric should be cut in my various patterns.
I used some hippo fabric and hope he remembers visiting the hippo at the zoo when he was young.
This is the first bag I have made for the YM. I hope it is one he likes and will use it. I sent it off to him for his birthday, which was on the 30th.
This is not really a Christmas pillowcase, but since it was red, I thought it would be a good one to send off in December.
This one has all the states. I am not sure why some states are in a larger font than others.
Travel doesn’t have to be around the world. There are a lot of interesting things in the states as well as I have found traveling around California with DH. If the youngest nephew can’t quite make it out of the country, perhaps he can do some stateside travel?
Frolic! was received by my friend and she sent me a wonderful text, despite her loss, when she received it.
Frolic! is a Bonnie Hunter pattern. It was one of her Winter Mystery quilts that I actually sewed with everyone else. I was also really happy with my color choices.
This is a cheerful quilt. While it wasn’t designed specifically for my friend, I thought she would like it while I work on a quilt specifically for her.
I finished the Grab & Go Sleeve very quickly and sent it straight off to my mom so she could use it right away.
Both sides essentially look the same. The only difference is that I put a label on only one side of the exterior.
I also used some ‘webbing’ that Cyndi made me take from one of the Sew Day Free Table offerings. The webbing is made out of cotton rather than plastic, like the Tula Pink webbing I used for a couple of the Take a Stand bags.
Since this is for my mom, I dug out the Laurel Burch fabric I used for her Mustang Organizers and used that for the lining.
She received it on Wednesday and said that it fits her portfolio perfectly. She said she really liked it, which makes me happy.
If I can think of things for which to use these bags I’ll make more as they are a quick bag to make, especially if you use pre-made webbing for the handles.
My Sister has taken to sending me Instagram videos. One of them showed a new Pattern by Center Street Quilts, the Atlas Zipper Case. It is a portfolio like case that can be used for tools or small projects.
I was on the fence about another new pattern until I visited with Mary. She had bought and printed out the pattern. I was able to look through it. I decided that the pattern would be a good gift.
I started right away, but struggled to get past cutting. I was dreading the quilting part until a friend mentioned MistyFuse. I used MistyFuse to fuse the lining to the foam so I could quilt it. I never tried it before, but it adhered the fabric to the foam really well.
I haven’t tried quilting it yet but my fingers are crossed that it will help keep the pieces flat.
The Grab & Go Sleeve is a project from Minikins Season 1. Honestly, it is one I never thought I would make. I have at least two laptop bags, so I really don’t need anything else. Also, there is nowhere in the bag for the mouse or the cord.
However, it is a good bag for other things like files and notepads. My mom has a portfolio she is using to take notes during a series of appointments she has. She is using the project bag I made her to carry around her portfolio. It doesn’t really fit very well.
This project immediately occurred to me once I saw what was happening. I am not sure why as I really never thought about this bag before.
This project serves a second purpose as well. I want to make the Heartlands Backpack. It is a ‘choose your own adventure’ bag. The Grab & Go Sleeve is a lighter version of a ‘choose your own adventure’ bag. It has only a few pieces and not many options. I wanted to try an easy ‘choose your own adventure’ bag before I started the Heartlands.
I decided to add some mesh pockets to the inside to provide a bit of organization.
I also added a D-ring (but rectangular) so she can clips things to the bag if she needs to do so.
After my recent post, I thought more about this quilt and decided that the Jacob’s Ladder pattern wasn’t going to work at all. I tried different ideas, different colors, but it just isn’t the right idea for my friend.
First, I really shouldn’t call it the Sad Quilt. Not a great start. I can’t help how sad I am, though.
Second, as an interim solution, I sent off Frolic! to her. I am glad I have some quilts around I can just send off to people in need.
I love this quilt and had a good time making it, so there is a lot of good karma/energy associated with it. My friend lives in Hawaii, so it wasn’t cheap to send. It was totally worth it since I can’t be there to hug her in person.
In the meantime I am still working on a design made specifically in memory of my friend’s daughter. I am thinking that I will repurpose the Tilde fabrics I bought on vacation into this quilt.
A pattern occurred to me that I bought awhile ago, but haven’t yet tried, Country Revival. I don’t know why it is called Country Revival, because it doesn’t look ‘country’ at all to me.
The QCR (etc) patterns I have made, Metro Twist and Metroscape, have come out well, so I think the end result would be successful. At least is has a chance of being successful.
Obviously the Tilde fabrics would give it a different look than the quilt on the cover. I think I need to find a common fabric I could use in the center to bring the whole quilt together. I think pink would work, even different pinks. I also have that weird blue, which might work.
Also, the example quilt is small. I would want to make it larger, maybe 9 blocks. Still work to do to bring it together, but I feel I am on the right track now.
We are thanking Laura, a longarmer in Half Moon Bay who has been longarming donation quilts for us for a year or more. Carrie is gathering gifts to make a nice basket for her.
After seeing the Center Street Quilts video on IG showing the making of a half vinyl pouch, I decided to try and make one. I actually made two. One will be for a guild swap. I thought I could probably make the pouch after watching the video, but decided to buy the pattern, the Stella Pouch from Center Street Quilts just to make the process a bit easier.
I looked for more specific directions on the Flying Geese and the vinyl, but didn’t find any. Even with the pattern, I still had plenty of figuring out to do. I knew I could do it. That is one reason I enjoy making bags. There is always something to figure out.
I think I forgot to trim the height, so the pouch is taller than the pattern states. Still, I think it will be useful. Small project bag?
One of the good things about using vinyl for this bag is I was able to use a very pretty lining fabric. Having a good fabric show through the vinyl is an added bonus.
I made a pattern in EQ8 for the Flying Geese portion. This pattern is for the large sized pouch. Make sure you print it on thin paper, or special foundation paper piecing paper**. If you don’t know how to foundation paper piece, check my tutorial. You can find all 5 parts on the Quilt Class page.
I think I might have a few more of these pouches in my future.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and support 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 received an email from DH’s cousin last week saying “i was canvassing for kamala in both reno and racine WI for 5 and 7 days in october, respectfully, just home this wednesday…..i needed a shoulder bag that would hold the door hangers we were distributing….i looked in my closet and found the bag you had made for me one christmas….it worked perfectly through many days of heat and rain!!!…just wanted to let you know you came along with me!!!”
This bag is from 2011! I am so thrilled to see it again. I didn’t remember giving it to DH’s cousin, however I am really glad it was useful.
My friend’s daughter died in a car accident. She was 17.
I have known my friend since 1981 or 1982. We were teens together for a very important year. We are not in contact every day, but she is a sister of my heart. Immediately, I thought I wanted to make her a quilt. Of course.
For a long time I have wanted to make a Jacob’s Ladder quilt – or a Jacob’s Ladder variation. The original idea for the Stepping Stones quilts came from the Pam & Nicky Lintott book, Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts. Of course, I made some variations.
I went to the Stepping Stones posts and looked at the EQ project file, but decided that it wasn’t quite right. I want to make another version of this quilt sometime, but today is not that day
I looked at blocks in EQ and designed a Jacob’s Ladder type quilt.
This was my first attempt at color, using the Sweet & Plenty charm pack I bought at Ocean Waves in Eureka as a base. I went through a lot of iterations of color, placement of groups of color, etc.
This design wasn’t working for me. It didn’t feel right for the purpose. I thought about forcing myself to make it. I have a date with Colleen in a couple of weeks and would like to get a quilt to her to speed the process along.
I decided I needed to make the right quilt. I am going to keep trying.
I will look through the quilts I have made and see if there is one that will stand in for a fit for purpose quilt.
I said I would make a few additional Ribbon Friendship Stars to make up where someone bailed out. I was supposed to make another 5, but only had the fabric for another four. I hope that is good enough, though I can whip up one on the special Sew Day next week if we need an extra.
Despite my objections to the zipper installation, I decided to make another Holland Pouch. While I was in Portland, I went to Modern Domestic and bought some fabric, then went back to my AirBnB and made the pouch. The second time it only took me about 4 hours from cutting to completion. I couldn’t make these for a living, but I was pleased with how fast I did it.
I have been buying a few Charlie Harper bird prints lately. I don’t know why as I don’t usually make projects out of novelty prints. I bought this particular print because Amanda loves animals. The print is sophisticated as well. Most of Charlie Harper prints have a bit of humor as well as some sophistication.
The inside of the bag is made from a Ruby Star scattered star print. The color doesn’t exactly go with the outside, but choices were limited at Modern Domestic. I think the variation looks nice.
I also couldn’t wash the fabric (AirBnB and all), but for a bag, just this once I was ok with it. I was concerned about the smell from ironing the fabric, but I didn’t smell anything and didn’t have any breakouts, so it was all ok. The Charley Harper fabric is organic, so maybe that makes a difference?
This pattern requires quilting the exterior, foam and lining fabrics together. Instead of quilting on each side of blue tape only, I put down a piece of blue tape, measured 3 inches to the right and put down another piece. I did that on both sides of the center piece of blue tape until I ran out of space. This means that my quilting isn’t as close together as in the Oxbow tote. It also took less time and I didn’t get as irritated.
The quilting went faster, but it means there is a 3 inch gap between some of the quilting lines. You can see that there is a dearth of quilting lines on the side towards the top, because of the 3 inch gap. I probably should have turned the fabric around, so there was more quilting on the top.
I also had a bit of trouble keeping the fabric taut, so the 3 inch spacing may not have been the best interval. Oh well. Live and learn.
This bag has a bit of an accent around the zipper, which I think looks nice in this bag.
This is a very quick bag to make and I am pleased with the outcome. I was more pleased that Amanda loved it. She really helped me during the visit and this was a small token of my gratitude.
I am on the fence about whether this pillowcase encourages travel or not. I thought the fabric was entertaining, so I bought it and now it is off to be encouragement for the youngest nephew. Fingers crossed.
Friend Julie told me that most of these monsters are made up to give each National Park a monster (or legend?).
I found an article on a site I have never heard of called “6 Mythical Beasts and the National Parks They Call Home.” The article tells you what equipment you’ll need to stalk them.
There is also a calendar of National Park monsters.
I am making good progress on the Holland Pouch.
The one objection I have to Center Street Quilts patterns are that she doesn’t cover the zipper with the lining. I know this is super petty and have been told so by people to whom I have mentioned this quirk. After all, zipper tape doesn’t fray and if you use a matching thread, the thread doesn’t even show.
I didn’t have a lot of thread colors with me, but I had one that matched the zipper I chose.
The picture (right) shows how the pouch is finished when the lining and exterior fabrics are quilted. You have to bind the edges from boxing the corners. I have done this by hand before. This time I did it by machine. Again, with matching thread, it would look better. I need to practice this.
I am almost finished. This will be a Christmas gift for the YM.