I consulted with a friend who said this block is called Block Party. I did a search and found some instructions on a guild community service site. The instructions are in PDF, which is handy. I wasn’t able to find anywhere else to confirm the name.
6 more Plaid Blocks
I added another few blocks to my total during the week and am now up to 15 blocks. My first plan is for 36, which means 21 more to go.
I cut up a few more fabrics so there are some new ones included. Since I am working without a design wall, mostly, I don’t know if I am duplicating layouts. I don’t think it likely, but I also don’t think it will matter if I am.
I made blocks like this for the charity project back in February (when we could still go out). I having been wanting to make a quilt for my cousin and decided that this was the block to use. Once the pieces are cut, the block goes together really fast. Even with all the cutting, I made 7 blocks over the weekend.
I am not sure how many I am going to make. I don’t have a design wall to fill up at the moment. I am kind of flying by the seat of my pants when I make them in terms of choosing fabrics, but I’ll make a bunch of them and see where I am. In thinking about the size, I have a 6×6 grid in my mind. The blocks are 12 inches finished, which would make a quilt 72×72 inches. That is slightly larger than the last Windmill I made and would be a fine size. I’d like to have at least three quilts to take to Colleen when S-i-P is over. More if practical or possible.
The plaids I used have been languishing for a long time. I think they have been around since before the FOTY project started. I think that is the case because some of the fabrics had no cuts out of them. Some of the pieces were just FQs, so there won’t be much of them. I think this will be lively group of blocks.
I keep thinking of men’s plaid shirts when I look at these fabrics. I am thinking of a name like The Ghost of Plaid Shirts or Thinking of Plaid Shirts. I have to think up something clever.
I finally bought the Minikins Seasons 1 & 2 (no affiliation) a few weeks ago when I received a bonus from a vendor with whom I work on occasion. I talked about being obsessed with these patterns back in January since they came out. They are on sale when they first come out and then they went up in price. I plan to buy Season 3, if there ever is one, when it is on sale.
Cal themed Cotton Candy Pouch
Anyway, I made my first project from the patterns, the Cotton Candy Pouch. I made this for my SIL for her birthday. Fortunately, she lives around the corner, so I just put the bag on her doorstep during my morning walk and then texted her to take a look. Not as good a party with cake, but something during this shelter-in-place situation.
There are a few things I had trouble with. I am pretty pleased with the evenness of the zipper, but the ends were a bit of a problem. Next time, I think I will use a coordinating or solid fabric for the side pieces. I think it will highlight the themed fabric better. I find that making a project the first time is always an adventure and a learning experience.
Cal themed Cotton Candy Pouch
I also added a leash. I don’t know if she has a bag with a D-ring, but when she does, she will be able to attach it.
This pouch takes an 18″ zipper, which I thought was long. I don’t have many that size, so I’ll have to think about getting some.
I have enjoyed revisiting gifts I made for Julie and my mom. I haven’t made as many gifts for Gerre, but I decided to revisit them anyway.
I am not trying to show what a great person I am. I enjoy making gifts for other, especially useful gifts. Revisiting them is just a way to enjoy them again, I guess.
A couple of weekends ago, I realized it was a friend’s birthday today, so I needed to get busy and make a gift. I had decided to make another Mega Pinnie. I already had the fabrics and the pattern picked out. It was really just a matter of cutting and sewing.
She doesn’t celebrate her birthday anymore; she celebrates International Women’s Day.
Gerre’s Mega Pinnie Gift – other side
These are really fun to make. I really enjoyed making this one. It came together really easily (not too much unsewing). I chose some of the fabrics to go with the Dia de las Muertos fabric. I wanted to have an edgy urban look.
Gerre’s Mega Pinnie Gift – detail
I also did some things a little different. I quilted part of the main panels with decorative stitch. I thought about stitching the decorative stitch all the way down the panel, which I used to attach the pockets. I decided not to use the decorative stitch all the way down, so I switched to a straight stitch on the pockets.
I am pleased with the way this one came out. I might make another one for one of the raffle baskets.
The other day I talked about finishing up the Officer gifts that I was making. They were finally finished on Friday night before the meeting. Fortunately for me, DH didn’t get home until late, so I had some extra time to work on them.
As mentioned, these pouches are fairly speedy to make.
Officer Gifts: Speedy Pouches-ending
I am pretty happy with the way they came out except for the ending. That was my fault as I stopped reading the directions and just finished them.
I thought about using this pattern for the inside of the UCAB, also as mentioned so I have been mulling over how to add a leash. It doesn’t work with the binding used in the pattern, but the pattern calls for a super long piece of binding, most of which is not used. I could turn the ending in to a leash instead of cutting it off. That would also alleviate the problem of one of the ends. I might try it.
A five month project finally came to a close over the weekend.
Every year for the past few years I have gotten a group together to make gifts for the officers. At first, I didn’t think they needed anymore quilt projects, so I had the idea of making them a bag and having guild members fill the bags with small gifts. This has proven to be very successful. In the last few years, I have brought postcards, so people who cannot bring gifts can convey their thanks in writing.
Both Angela and Rhonda posted photos of their gifts, which is a good way for you to see the variety of made and bought gifts. Rhonda’s bag was a quillow, so she got a bonus and the colors are perfect for her as she loves the Japanese indigo style.
We had an extra bag, so I took mine back and will use it for something else or for next year. I have to think of a way to be better organized as I forgot one person who had agreed to make a bag early on.
I can’t believe I forgot to post about this! I didn’t even take any photos, which is very strange. I had to have Mom bring it back over. I really don’t know what I was thinking. The only explanation is that I was busy, which is boring. I do feel like I am just getting my sea legs under me after a couple of months of frantic sewing.
So, yes, I made a Mega Pinnie for mom as well. On hers and on Julie’s, I added a leash, which is not part of the pattern. On Mom’s this was specifically so she could clip it to the Poolside tote I also made for her.
Mom’s Mega Pinnie side 2
You might notice that the Mini Pinnie is missing. I did make one for her, but it is in use in her hand quilting project and she forgot to bring it. Oh well.
She has put a few things in the pocket, but I think she is still working out how she will use it. I know it is an odd sort of caddy.
Also, I used the paint tube fabric so the Pinne will match the other things I have made for her from the paint tube fabric. I am stilling liking those gift groupings.
I got to spend the day with my mom and my husband yesterday. My office was closed, but I had some things to do and I don’t get paid if I don’t work, so I worked early in the day – before Mom arrived – and then took the rest of the day off.
Yes, I received some Quilty gifts! Yay!
Gifts 2020
My nephew (really his mom who is a darling) gave me some quilty gifts off my wish list.
I already reviewed String Frenzy from a library copy, but now I can make the Straits of Mackinac quilt without worry about the loan expiring.
I did a bit of machine quilting last year and since I do mostly straight line quilting, I wanted to try the foot I asked for. The Ultimate Quilt & Stitch Presser foot* allows the quilter to follow lines that are farther apart than the presser foot. I don’t have anything to quilt at the moment, but I could finish quilting the Tarts.
*I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item you click on. 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 have been working for a few months on getting raffle baskets for the year together, as I have mentioned.
After the last meeting, I got all of the gifts and prizes my team has collected and organized them into months. I put each month’s gifts in a ziploc bag (except the books, which were too big), so I don’t have to do much once the gifts are required.
I did organize January’s basket, which includes all the gifts you see above.
Yesterday we gave out the first basket at the attendance raffle. Yay! it was a big hit and I was pleased not to embarrass myself for my efforts.
The other day I talked about the Mega Pinnie I made for Julie. You might remember I also made one for my mom (which apparently I didn’t photograph or post about!) and for a gift.
She posted about it on her blog and you can see photos of the Mega Pinnie filled up with items. The way she describes it as being “It’s kind of like having a bucket of your most necessary tools, but you don’t have to dig around in the bucket to find certain things” is so great! That is exactly the right way to describe it.
It looks like she will really use it and I am so pleased. The clip has given me another idea of a project to make for her. 🙂
I am in the process of making some of Aneela Hoey‘s pouches. I pulled this pattern out at the last minute to make some gifts that I was woefully behind on making. Although I am not finished, I am pretty pleased on how these are coming out.
The pattern I am using is called Speedy Vinyl Pouches. If I weren’t trying to make 5 at once, they would have been much speedier. 🙂 Still they are fairly quick to make. I bought this pattern on spec after seeing another one of her patterns, the Boxy Clear Pouch that Angela made and looking through the site. Of course, I want all of her patterns, but I am trying to make the patterns that I have, so I limited myself.
Speedy Pouch Gift
The materials are pretty easy to gather up from what you have around the house, except for the zippers. I didn’t have 4″ zippers, but I did have 5″ or 6″ zippers and I just cut them off. It worked fine. Well, it has worked fine so far. We’ see when the pouches are finished.
The thing I really wanted to tell you is that the pattern is great! It is very clearly written, has a great font and is easy to follow — even for me! There was one line with the binding that I didn’t understand, but I made my own way and it seems to work. I guess we’ll see when I sew the binding down.
As you can see, I cut the fabric the wrong way, so the zipper is on the side. Oh well! One thing about this pattern is the orientation of the fabric. She is clear about it. I was trying to use scraps and cut the wrong way, then didn’t have more, so I am going with the flow.
Once I started working on this pattern, I thought I might be able to suggest the pattern to the Bag-a-Long group as an alternative to the ones the designer of the Ultimate Carryall Bag sells. I have nothing against her bags, but I think people might like an alternative to those pouches. I am not sure if this pattern will work as I can’t see a way to add a leash. I could add something as a zipper pull with a lobster clip on the end, but I am not excited about that option. I am going to consult with Lynette on Saturday.
I have had this pattern in my pattern box for a long time. This is one of the things I gave Julie for Christmas last week. Since I gave her a small iron last year, I decided that this travel iron caddy was the perfect accessory.
I used some of the aluminized, quilted fabric I bought at Britex instead of using the aluminized, non-quilted fabric that came with the pattern. I have enough of the quilted version and it saved me from having to quilt anything.
The directions are confusing, because the project is complicated. Once I got the hang of it I sort of blew through the project. I am pleased with the way this project came out. However, I don’t know that I will make one of these again. I suppose making it a second time would be easier.
This is the Mega-Pinnie I made for Julie. I am really pleased with the fabrics I used. They were mostly handy, but I did crawl into the ‘attic’ of the fabric closet to make sure I found the most special fabrics to use for her version.
I gave it to her when we went out on New Year’s Eve. I forgot to photocopy tools to put in the pockets, so I had to explain that there were pockets and that always feels awkward to me.
Julie’s Mega-Pinnie with lobster clip
It occurred to me when I was explaining that it would be a good caddy if you wanted to carry some stuff to another room and work on a project away from your studio.
I’ll have to make her something to which she can clip the Mega-Pinnie.
I might be done with these Mega-Pinnies for awhile. I have an idea for one more, so we’ll have to see.
I forgot to take photos of this pouch before I sent it off, but Friend Julie was kind enough to send me some photos. The photos were much better than I would have taken so I was glad I asked her.
This is another version of the Persimmon Dumpling Pouch by Sara Lawson. You can find this free pattern at the Sew Sweetness website. I made a few of these during my fabric gift foray (November 2019) and found it to be a clever design.
Persimmon Pouch for Julie side 2
I made this one, as well as another, with Soft and Stable*. I think the pattern calls for Soft & Stable, so I cut the pieces out, but decided not to use it in the first pouches I made. I just used fabric with SF101/ ShapeFlex* and that worked fine. After making a few of these, I decided I was ready to tackle one with Soft & Stable*. I used the Soft & Stable as a base and piece it using the Quilt as you Go. This prevented me from having to quilt the pieces later. I also got to use up some scraps. I didn’t do anything crazy, though I can see improv possibilities using QAYG.
Persimmon Pouch for Julie bottom
One thing I like about this pattern is the zipper installation. It is very clever and there are no issues with the ends of the zipper. The ends get tucked into the lining out of sight. There is no need for zipper tabs or cutting zippers or anything.
Persimmon Pouch for Julie lining
Turning the pouch was a little tricky because of the Soft & Stable, but not terrible. Normally, I like to make my interfacing a little smaller than the fabric, to reduce layers. When I make this pouch again with Soft & Stable, I will cut the piece larger than the pattern and then trim after I sew fabric pieces to the Soft & Stable. I had a couple of problems with the ends and I think this method would increase accuracy.
I did not hand sew the inside shut. I just wasn’t up for it. Still, I think the piece looks nice and Julie seems to be happy. The only other thing I would change is to get a zipper than matches.
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