June UFO Challenge Update

At Sew Day, we started our sixth month, I think, of the UFO challenge. My list is thus far:

          • Serendipity Lady – did not finish, though I did work on it
          • Paris Cell Phone Wallet –done
          • EPPic
          • Rose Petrillo Bag
          • Megan’s Bone Enigma–done – this month’s project, but I had to finish it to send it to a friend so it has been done for awhile. 
          • Sheffield – done
          • Sun hat
          • Chickadee
          • Extra large project bag–done
          • Joni Tote bag
          • Catalan Storage Cube
          • Pandora Charisma –done

As I mentioned before I groan every month when the number is pulled. These are projects that I theoretically want to finish, but I groan when it actually comes to working on them. Why is that? I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I actually finish one of them which I wouldn’t have if I didn’t work on them.

I said before that I have been contemplating UFOs in general. As a result of not putting blocks away and moving on, the Warm Four Patch Fun is ready to quilt as is, as of June 21, the 1-2-3 Mosaic. The Cool Four Patch Fun is ready to be sewn together.

Canvas Vue from Sewfisticated
Canvas Vue from Sewfisticated

As I said there are projects on the list I really want to make. I have an idea for how to use the Catalan Storage Cube and was really hoping it would be pulled this month. I also want to use the Canvas Vue fabric I bought from Sewfisticated to make one of the Joni totes. As a result, I was thinking I could cut these projects out, making a small start on them as well as getting ahead in the challenge and possibly making it easier on myself.

 

BAM BOM May and June Blocks

X Plus block #2
X Plus block #2

I finished the second of the May/June blocks the night before they were due. I try to make them before or as soon as we announce them, but I didn’t this time. As a result, I almost didn’t make the deadline.

In addition, I ended up remaking the X Plus/Lozenge block. Now I have two of them. I’ll use the first one on the back. I don’t want to make it into something else, because the piecing is less than stellar, but it will look fine on the back of the quilt.

BAM BOM Drunkard's Path
BAM BOM Drunkard’s Path

I made the Drunkard’s Path/ Quarter Squares right away. I was in the frame of mind with Chaos with a Twist, so took the opportunity to make a few more in my BAM BOM fabrics.

 

 

 

May/June BAM BOM Participants
May/June BAM BOM Participants

A lot of people are participating, which made me really happy! There were some fantastic blocks shown.

 

Cosquilla in the Wild

Beth's Cosquilla in the Wild
Beth’s Cosquilla in the Wild

I love seeing bags I have made in use and not staged for my benefit. 

This was the case with the Cosquilla I made for my SIL#4 for Christmas last year. We visited them for dinner one evening and I saw the bag on a side table when I went to stash my handbag. 

This also reminded me that I need to make sure I do a good job when I sew bags. They need to not fall apart as people will actually used them. 

I struggled with the curve on this bag and am curious to see how the new machine will handle the curve.

More Pandora Charisma #2

Pandora Charisma #2: gussets
Pandora Charisma #2: gussets

After finishing the back panel, I started on the gussets. Before starting them, I looked through versions of this bag on the Sewfisticated FB group. I noticed one maker had made the back panel open wider by using the same instructions.

It is super helpful to see the different fabrics and modifications other bagmakers think up. I forget that I can do things differently. Although I have made a lot of bags and pouches, every new bag project feels unfamiliar.

Pandora Charisma #2: front panel lining
Pandora Charisma #2: front panel lining

One of the changes I am making on this one is a clear slip pocket instead of a fabric slip pocket. I thought about the utility of it and whether the vinyl would be a problem. I couldn’t think of one and I wanted to show off the lining fabric. In future I will use a plain fabric for the lining and a featured or printed fabric for the slip pocket.

Part of this step is the key leash. That is done as well. I love the way the flowers show through the glitter vinyl.

I am still having fun with this and the steps are going faster than I expected. Next is to make the mesh pocket. I have cut everything. I just haven’t sewed the zipper in.

Finished: Chaos Top & Back

Chaos with a Twist: Finished Top
Chaos with a Twist: Finished Top

I am pleased that this top is done. If you didn’t notice, I enjoyed the process quite a bit. I am already thinking about making another one. I need to watch the sessions again to take better notes on the dice throwing. 

This is the first all solids quilt I have made in a long time, if ever. It is also probably the largest all solid quilt I have made. Lots of firsts. I want to keep the focus on the solids, which means that I may need the quilt quilted in a couple of colors. I am even contemplating quilting it myself as insane as that seems.

Chaos with a Twist back
Chaos with a Twist back

The back has some prints. I need my Philip Jacobs prints!

More insanity is how I am looking forward to entering this original design (!!!) into next year’s Fair.

Cleaning up Misc Projects

I spent yesterday, which was a holiday here, cleaning up small projects that I had started.

BAM BOM Lozenge Plus
BAM BOM Lozenge Plus

I finished my second BAM Block. I felt like I sewed it at the last second.

I am not really happy with the way it came out, so I plan to make it again. It isn’t terrible, so I feel like I am keeping up with the project.

I have also been working on the Hippie Specs Eyeglass case. I thought these would make good and useful gifts. I liked the curved edge of that pattern. I needed something to play around with and this was the pattern.

Book Hippie Specs Eyeglass case
Book Hippie Specs Eyeglass case

The pattern comes as a PDF or a printed pattern. There is a free video tutorial and an optional acrylic template. I made two of these so far and found the template to be super useful. I plan to make one out of vinyl just to see if it works.

I added the leash and lobster clip, because I thought it would be useful. I do that often with bags, as you know. I saw someone else in the FB Sew Hungry Hippie group do it and thought I would as well. I am going to try one without the leash and see what I think.

I also finished some sample snap trays for Megan. I was testing the use of KamSnaps vs. metal snaps using the Snap Setter. 

Pandora Charisma #2: Slip pocket and key leash
Pandora Charisma #2: Slip pocket and key

I made some small strides on the Pandora Charisma #2 as well.

It was one of those days where I cleared up a few things that had been languishing and did some testing.

 

Finished: Old Town

Old Town detail with ribbon
Old Town detail with ribbon

I finished Old Town a few months ago, but never posted about it. I think my quilt holders have been busy or out of town. After winning Second place at the Fair, I realized it and knew I needed to get it done.

Old Town with Ribbon
Old Town with Ribbon

Old Town is finished! Yay! LOL!

Old Town is the 2024 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt. I played along and sewed many of the blocks together at the BAM Retreat, then finished it up at home. 

Old Town detail
Old Town detail

Colleen quilted it for me and here we are. I was really pleased to get second place since the category in which I entered it (quilted by another) is packed. This was a much easier quilt to quilt than Patchwork Palooza since once I decided how to quilt a block, I just had Colleen quilt all the blocks the same.

Pandora Charisma #2

Pandora Charisma #2 front panel
Pandora Charisma #2 front panel

Amazingly I have recently continued to work on the Pandora Charisma #2. I didn’t have a Pandora Charisma #2, really, but decided I would make another one with the front panel I sewed when testing the Elna.

It wasn’t a done deal that I would make another one as all I could remember was the struggles I had with the binding on #1. The win really made me excited about the project. Another reason I want to work on this project again (despite the hair ripping during the first one) is I want to see how the Elna does. I also think winning Best in Show made me want to try another one. 

On Sunday, when I was done beavering away on other non-sewing chores, I really thought about the project I wanted to work on. Since I am sort of in between quilts, I am working on tidying up little tasks. I made a binding for the Warm Four Patch Fun, I processed a bunch of scraps and did a few other fabric related tasks. I wasn’t ready to start a new quilt or revisit a WIP yet, so the Pandora Charisma settled into my mind. I did really want to work on it. So I did. 

Pandora Charisma #2: back panel
Pandora Charisma #2: back panel

I made the back panel. I didn’t scream through it like I did on the front panel, but I did make it. I found it didn’t take long at all. 

So far so good. This piece uses the Diamond Quilted Vinyl that looks like pleather. I always refer to it as pleather as I think of vinyl as clear. Anyway, this stuff acts like vinyl, so I after 1 stitch put on the Teflon foot and needle plate. What a dream! Those two are a powerhouse combo! No issues with pulling or sticking. 

This time I used regular (#3??) zippers for the hidden zippers in the front and back panels. So far so good, though it was a challenge to get the zipper surround to lay flat. 

The next step is to make the gussets for the inside. It was a good stopping point. Stay tuned!

Finished: Lupine

Lupine finished
Lupine finished

Lupine is finished.

It is a little large, so my quilt holder had a tough time. I hope to remember to get some guild members to help me get a better photo.

Lupine back - fnished
Lupine back – finished

The poor quilt has been languishing between travel and other more urgent projects. In the middle of all the chaos I finally was able to sew the binding down.

 

Divided Basket

Divided Basket
Divided Basket

Mary and I talked about this pattern when I visited her. She had the pattern it was on her list to make. I saw it at Picking Daisies, as mentioned, and decided to buy it. Noodlehead patterns are pretty good and I was interested to see how the divided lining was created.

Continuing with the Picking Daisies theme, I used the roses fabric I bought during my visit. The front pocket fabric is an Alison Glass, I think. It was in my fabric closet.

Divided Basket - back
Divided Basket – back

I was surprised at how large this basket is. I did look at the dimensions, but I can never visualize them until I see the actual bag made. It would be good temporary storage for a bag project. 

I thought, after I made it that I could place a pocket on the back as well for even more storage.

Divided Basket - interior
Divided Basket – interior

I was pleased to learn the technique for a divider.

I sewed the whole thing together, then realized I really should have anchored the lining, so I took the basket apart and anchored the lining. I was much happier after I did that.

I sent the basket off to its new home and hope the recipient likes it.

Hello Pythagoras

Do you know that feeling when you step into a hole and everything tilts. That happened to me, without the sprained ankle, when I asked DH a simple question.

Boxing corners :(
Boxing corners 🙁

I was working on the Open Wide pouches I talked about the other day. Anna from Noodlehead has makers line up the corner seams, sewing then cutting off a bit to box the corners. I prefer to cut out a box and then do the lining up.

I asked him how to find the number to cut out the box from the “lining up the seams and cutting off a bit” number.

DH said “Pythagorean theorem”.

Holy smokes!

That &*^%$ math! He showed me the theorem. We talked through it and I understood a bit more about how it worked. Am I an expert? No. No, I am not.

I am really annoyed, though. If I had been shown how to make a pouch, then given this problem I would have understood the concept. Instead math teachers throughout my education wrote lines of numbers and letters on a chalkboard that all looked like gobbledy gook to me. Now I get it. Years too late to do more than squeak by in every math class I ever took after 3rd grade. Sigh.

Thanks to www.inchcalculator.com
Thanks to www.inchcalculator.com

OK, so here it is. Remember, I am not an expert, so your mileage my vary.

The key number is the number Anna said to cut off after lining up the points. It was 4.5 inches. 

The triangle has to be a right triangle, which means that one corner is 90 degrees. Your formula works like this:

a² + b² = c²

a=b

a² + a² = c²

2a² = c²

c=4.5 inches

In numbers this formula looks like:

4.5² =2a²

some math using the calculator

20.25 =2a²

10 1/8 =2a²

3.28=a

 

I looked at the number given in the small and medium sized Open Wide pouches and did the match. I came up with 4 (medium) and 3.5 (small). 3.28 isn’t a great number for quiltmaking or bagmaking, so I rounded. I found the Open Wides came out a bit of a weird shape. Still useful, but a little odd. I’ll have to play with the formula bit and I think rounding down might be the way to go.

More Chaos

Chaos - early June 2026
Chaos – early June 2026

I worked really hard last week to finish the Chaos top before class. I made good progress, but did not finish the top.

It is what it is, so I am continuing. This will be a large quilt and it has a lot of blocks, so I just have to soldier on. 

The class is over, which is sad, but I hope to make another quilt like this using the same techniques.

Another Winner

I went to the San Mateo County Fair on Thursday with SIL#4.

Winner 2026: Pandora Charisma
Winner 2026: Pandora Charisma

I was shocked and amazed that the Pandora Charisma won at the County Fair. Lee Ann shared the news with me at Sew Day, so it wasn’t a surprise. I was, however, so excited to see the evidence in person. I am in wonder at the size of those ribbons!

Old Town with Ribbon
Old Town with Ribbon

I was also pleased that one of my quilts, Old Town,  won a second prize. While second place can seem like nothing special, this quilt was entered into a category where a lot of quilts are entered (quilted by someone else). After thinking about it, I was very pleased even with a second place in this category.

BAM members in general did really well! I was thrilled to see so many BAM cards on prize winning exhibits.

See previous winners.

More Open Wide Pouches

Open Wide pouches by Noodlehead make great gifts. As mentioned previously, they are easy to make, but complex enough to be interesting. Also, the pattern is free.

Small, medium Open Wide pouches
Small, medium Open Wide pouches

I spent some time making some Open Wide pouches for the wife of a friend of my Mom’s. He drove Mom and stepdad to an appointment on his wife’s birthday. I thought a couple of pouches would show appreciation.

I used the new Martha Negley fabric I bought at Picking Daisies a few weeks ago.

Large Open Wide for Mom's friend
Large Open Wide for Mom’s friend

The one thing I did was delve into math again. The pattern tells you to line up the corners, sew and then cut off the excess. I get better results by cutting out a box and then lining up the edges. DH reminded me of the Pythagorean theorem (!!!!). It is one of those with a lot of letters that made me crazy as an eighth grader. More detail on that later. 

Small, medium Open Wide pouches-open
Small, medium Open Wide pouches-open

Needless to say, I used this theorem and my calculator to figure out a box size for these pouches.  Closed they look a little weird, but open they look ok. The open wide aspect is so useful.

I’ll have to work on figuring out the best size to make these look ok.

Large Open Wide- open
Large Open Wide- open

I have to say that exercise was interesting. I showed DH how a pouch goes together every step during the process and he was really interested. I think he thought the practical use of the Pythagorean theorem was fascinating. I have to say that learning the practical use of one of those stupid math concepts was a revelation.

The other thing I noticed was a lot of similarities in the construction of this pouch and the Retreat Pouch, also free, from Emmaline.

 

New to Me Bag Patterns

In a way this post is an adjunct to my regular Various & Sundry posts. I did NOT buy these patterns. I just took pictures because there was something interesting about them. I have a record when/if I need the type of bag.

Modern Mat Bag
Modern Mat Bag

First was a Mat bag. It is called the Modern Mat Bag by Sew Organized Design. This is the most likely pattern I will buy. I have wanted to find a good Mat bag pattern to make as gifts for people I want to encourage to go to Sew Day.

Sew Organized Design is a company I have never heard of before. I went and looked them up and found they only have a few patterns listed on their website. All of them are on-the-go sewing related.

Hopscotch Handbag pattern
Hopscotch Handbag pattern

Next is the Hopscotch Handbag. It is designed by Karen Pratt of Creamcraft Goods. This another company which is new to me.

I liked the shape and design of this bag. I have to admit that the quilting on the top really adds to the look of the bag. I saw one site that sells this bag that had photos of the inside as well.

Karen has a nice blog post on another project called the Tri-Fold Journal Folio and Journaling tote.

Rambler by Karen Pratt
Rambler by Karen Pratt

As mentioned in the Picking Daisies post, I saw more Karen Pratt patterns at that shop. Don’t worry, I am not going to tell you about all of the Karen Pratt patterns. I just wonder about how her bags came out of nowhere for me. I also liked the look of the Rambler pattern. It is a small messenger type bag with inside pockets for your phone and other small items.

I think including the hardware is a good idea, especially for new bag makers, however it means you are stuck with the chosen color rather than selecting the hardware finish you like.

Tube Frame Pouch by Karen Pratt
Tube Frame Pouch by Karen Pratt

The other pattern I saw at Picking Daisies was the Wide Open Tube Frame Pouch. Since I am enamored with open wide bags at the moment, this one caught my attention. This open-wide bag is in pouch form. As shown and described the bag opens fully so you can see everything inside. It would be great for a knitting project bag.

The Side Hustle by Mrs. H.
The Side Hustle by Mrs. H.

The Side Hustle is a Mrs. H pattern. Mrs. H has a lot of patterns, a bag club, a book and bag retreats. The Side Hustle is a messenger-style bag that is designed for carrying a laptop and files. I really like the name of this bag, but also that rounded slip pocket on the front in the photo.

These bags have really widened my horizons in terms of bag designers. I know there are only a few. This is another reason I like to visit quilt shops when I travel.