I know it’s been a week or so since I posted about gifts, but we are back to it.
I posted last week about Sue’s I Spy pouch. One of the differences I made is that Carrie got a whole color wheel in the front while Sue’s was on the back. One of the reasons I like this fabric is because it means they always have a color wheel with them.
Carrie’s I Spy – back
I found some nice zipper pulls in my hardware bag that I added. They are apples, which have nothing to do with color wheels, Carrie or Sue, but here we are. Zipper pulls, aside from being cute really help to pull zippers open.
This is the latest travel pillowcase for my youngest nephew. I sent it off a little late as we were out of town for the New Year holiday.
I am still on the travel theme. This pillowcase depicts steampunk travel. I am a fan of steampunk and really enjoy looking at the costumes and artistry. I thought this would be a fun installment in the series.
The colors are not as fun as I would have liked, but at least there isn’t a lot of brown.
I have one more pillowcase from those I made from the fabric I bought on my summer trip before I have to get more fabric.
Sometimes I feel like I need to review how many of a certain pattern I have made. I think I have made enough Lined Drawstring Bags to do that now. I also feel like I’d like to see all of them together.
This is a good pattern that can also be used for gift bags. They take more time and fabric than my tutorial, but are more useful as well. I’d like to start making a bag for each quilt I give away, but I haven’t done that yet.
Juggling Balls drawstring bag-3/4 view
Drawstring Gift Bag
Drawstring Bag – Project size
Drawstring Bag – Artist size
Diagonal Nine Patch Storage Bag
Carrie’s Lined Drawstring Bag
Lined Drawstring Bag for Gerre
Sue’s Drawstring bag -end
Lined Drawstring Bag for Julie
2015 Drawstring Bag for Michelle
2015 Drawstring Bag for Peggy
I was certain I had made more, but I think I always think that!
While I was making my sister’s Enigma bag back in July, I also made one for Gerre for Christmas. This is Enigma #6.
Skeleton Mermaid Enigma – bottom
I didn’t use my ‘regular’ sugar skull fabric for this one. I used a fabric I bought on my trip to and around Portland and I can’t decide if I like it. The key is whether Gerre likes it. I thought the seahorses and some of the ocean life were cool, but the skeletons started to creep me out after awhile. If she feels the same, I will make another one of these for her. I’ll have to see what she says.
I am pleased with the fussy cutting on the bottom. I didn’t have a lot of the fabric and was glad I had enough to highlight the main motif.
Skeleton Mermaid Enigma open
I am also pleased with the way the inside came out. The stripes I bought at the Granary are perfect for the inside.
The pattern calls for a 2.5 inch wide binding. I made the binding 2.25 inches wide, which is my norm for quilting binding. I had to stretch the binding a bit in certain places and trim seams, but mostly the 2.25 inch binding worked well.
Skeleton Mermaid Enigma – interior detail
I figured out a great place to put my label on these Enigma bags. The label fits well in the middle of the inside pocket. The label isn’t tucked away unobtrusively and I am not sure how I feel about that. I am not sure why I didn’t think of it before as it was also easy to install.
As with my sister’s Enigma bag, this one went together pretty easily. I like making the same bags over and over as they get better each time I do it.
You might remember the pajama pants that the YM made when he was visiting in the spring. Right after he left I was given a robe pattern. Carrie suggested the YM might want to use the pattern to make a matching robe. I decided that I would make him a robe for Christmas. I went out and bought more of the fabric (Tarot flannel from Joann) and started it in October while I was in Portland. I got stuck and put it all away. I needed more fabric, though I thought I had originally bought enough. This is what happens to me when I try to sew garments! Also, I used the pattern Carrie gave me rather than the pattern I used a long time ago to make a robe for my SIL#4. I must have given it away.
Anyway, I got help from MaryC. She basically finished the robe for me in about 2 hours while I entertained her. She is a master garment maker and I always appreciate her help.
There were 34 people at the Sew Day/Meeting the other day, which is some kind of record. I am not sure what generated the interest, but I am glad so many people came. We have four new members and they came, too.
BAM Pouch swap 2024
The swap was really successful. I was amazed that almost 20 people participated!
Some were wrapped and some weren’t. Mine was very popular and got stolen twice. It finally ended up with the guild president.
People did nice work, too.
Swap pouch 2024
I chose a pouch made by SueG. It matches the Poolside tote I was gifted by Angela a few years ago.
I worked hard at posting different patterns on our member forum and trying to generate interest. I guess it worked!
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.
Center Street Quilts directional fabric chart
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.
Black Cat Holland Pouch – interior
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.
Grab & Go Sleeve interior
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.
Atlas Zipper Case start
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.
Grab & Go Sleeve- lining with pockets
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.
Frolic!
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.
Country Revival QCR pattern
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.
Tilde Fabrics
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.
