Friday Finish: Ultimate Travel Bag

It's ridiculous how proud I am of this bag. I don't do a ton of bag-making or zipper inserting or mesh pockets, or things like that, so the fact that this turned out as nicely as it did and will be something I can use and carry around with pride on my travels? It's a miracle!

I took it to work with me the other day, just for pure showing-off fun. People would say "I love your bag!", and I'd say "Thank you - I made it!" while grinning like an idiot. It was a pretty good day.

As I suspected, I now have orders for at least 4 more of these, so my bag making journey has only just begun!

Top Finish

As planned, I finished up my Disappearing Nine Patch baby quilt last night. Piano key borders take a little bit of time, but I like what they add. My original plan was for it to be a six inch border, but I quickly discovered that I didn't have enough fabric for that, so I cut what I'd made into half and sewed a three inch border instead and I think I like it better than the six inch - or at least, that's what I'm telling myself.

I had just the perfect arrow fabric for the backing, and I inserted a strip of leftover scraps from the front into it since it needed just a few more inches in width.

I already have this up on the wall and basted, so my plan is to quilt it and finish it up over the weekend.

Plan B Baby Quilt

So, after spending a couple hours over the weekend making some cute little Preppy Whales, I decided that even though they were adorable and fun to make, they were way too time-consuming for me to finish a whole quilt in time for the baby to arrive.

So time for Plan B. One of my issues with quilts for boys is that I don't have a ton of boy-friendly fabric on hand. Luckily I happened to have a little bundle leftover from a different boy project that I thought would work, so I cut it up into 6 inch blocks, and made a very quick Disappearing 9-Patch quilt.

Disappearing 9-Patches are so fun and easy. You sew large blocks of fabric into a 9-Patch block, like this:

Then, you cut your 9-Patch block through the middle vertically and horizontally, and voila - you have 4 patchwork blocks to play around with and lay out as you please. 

I'm going to sew a narrow blue border next, and then I think I'll add a piano key border out of leftover fabrics. I think it'll look great when it's finished. I still want to make the Preppy Whales, mind you. It'll just be on a different timeline!

From the Archives: Granny Squares

Granny Square quilts were all the rage in 2012, so of course that means I made mine about a year later sometime in 2013.

I was still fairly new to quilting at this point - it was sometime in my first year or so, and I remember being proud of myself that I figured out how to do the sashing strips and corner stone blocks on my own. I followed the tutorial from Blue Elephant Stitches.

This quilt now resides with a relative - I can't remember who the lucky recipient was!

Friday Finish: Kansas Dugout

 

I finished up my mini Kansas Dugout by quilting it with a small stipple, and binding it in a black and white polka-dot fabric. I wasn't sure about the binding material, but I think it adds a certain pizazz.

The backing is from a collection I used for a mini quilt a few months back called "Strawberry Biscuits". It's printed to look like vintage patchwork, so I think it goes well with the reproduction floursack fabrics in the front.

Ultimate Travel Bag

I leave for a 10 day trip to Ireland in a few weeks, and it occurred to me that I don't have a very good carry-on tote bag. I've coveted the Amy Butler Weekender Bag for awhile now, but have heard horror stories about how hard they are to sew - lots of piping and layers and pockets and interfacing, and I don't need that kind of stress!

Craftsy sent me a free class to take for a birthday present, and I spotted one called "The Ultimate Travel Bag" which looked like a "Weekender Lite" type of thing - Similar look, but not so many tricky details. I bought all my supplies and started in on it over the weekend.

So far, this class is awesome. The teacher, some lady called Annie that I've never heard of before is great and directions are clear and easy to follow. I have all my material quilted, and all the pieces cut out so far. Next up is making straps and all the pockets. 

Prepping for Preppy the Whale

This adorable quilt has been on my to-do list for awhile now. The pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman, the same designer as the Aviatrix Medallion quilt. In case you couldn't tell, I like her stuff!

My mother asked me to make a baby quilt for a friend of hers who's having a boy, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to try this pattern out.

I went through all my solid scraps and was happy to find I have enough to do this project and won't have to buy any more fabric - can't be having that!

As with the Aviatrix Medallion, the cutting for this project is complex and time-consuming, so I'm doing a little at a time. I probably have another hour or two left, and then I can start sewing those little whales together!

August Mini Quilt: Kansas Dugout

I was excited and mad at the same time when I opened my August mini quilt kit from Westwood Acres. One one hand I saw a bundle of cute 1930's reproduction flour sack prints - fun! On the other hand, I saw that the pattern was the classic Kansas Dugout, which is all y-seams, my nemesis!

As expected, this one was a struggle. I pieced about 1/2 of the blocks by hand because I'd heard somewhere that hand piecing inset seams is easier than doing them by machine. I couldn't really tell any difference, but I did discover I like hand piecing - I'll have to do more of that!

In any case, I managed to sew the whole business together, and with careful pressing and quilting I think I'll manage to hide most of my mistakes and bits where things don't match up. Right now I have it basted and just need to get my machine set up to free motion quilt it. I'm thinking a more flashy design is needed to distract from the construction issues. No simple straight seams will do here!

Mustang Quilt Top Complete

I put the final border on the Mustang Quilt top. They are made out of umpteen Half Square Triangles, and it was tricky getting them to match up with the rest of the quilt. I succeeded about 75% of the time, but there are definitely some wonky parts that I'm just going with. With all the bias edges, I also had some trouble with wavy edges...I'm pretty sure I'll be able to "quilt it out" without an issue though.

I still have mixed feelings about this quilt. The pattern and material is vaguely southwestern, but the color palette is NOT, so it's a little disorienting. I'll stare it it and think "I like this!" and then 10 minutes later I'm not so sure. I'll be curious to see how it all quilts up and looks once it's finished.

Friday Finish: July Mini Quilt

As planned, I finished up my July mini quilt last weekend.

I used leftover strips from the aqua center star for the binding instead of the pink binding that came with the kit - I like the aqua better than pink!

I quilted it in a simple grid, about 1 inch apart, and I'm happy with that. I think I have enough of these now to hang them up and start my mini quilt wall!

Organizing

My fat quarters have been a big mess, all strewn in drawers and folded all goofy. Last night I pulled a stack out and refolded them, organized them, and put them back. Look how pretty! I have about a bajillion more to do, but folding fabric is kind of therapeutic.

Mustang Quilt

This Mustang quilt (named because it uses the Cotton + Steel fabric collection called "Mustang") is one that I've wanted to make for awhile. It's an unusual quilt - the fabric collection is a strange combination of color and pattern, and it's constructed in a way that makes you stare at it for awhile and think, "How is that thing put together?"

I cut out all the pieces before I left for the cabin, and my intention was to piece it up there. That didn't happen due to the Virus From Hell, but it was all ready and waiting for me when I got home, so I started working on it last weekend.

It was perfect for my virus-addled brain, because it's actually a pretty easy quilt. You can see that most of the blocks are simple squares and rectangles. I think the trickiest part is the border I'm working on now that's made of Half-Square Triangles facing different directions.

This will be another one I finish up over the weekend, and then I'm done with all four quilt tops I submitted for exhibition. Hooray!

July Mini Quilt

I'm a little behind on my July mini quilt - I actually started it right away, but then had to set it aside when the Aviatrix Medallion madness took over.

I was happy to see that it was a design made with Bonnie and Camille fabrics! Bonnie and Camille are a mother/daughter designing team, and there's something about their fabrics that is just so pretty and fun, and I love the red/aqua combo.

I know I sound like a broken record with these things, always talking about how little the units are, but it's true! The little star blocks finish at just three inches each - so small!

My plan is to finish this up over the weekend, because my August kit came last week and it's beckoning me!

August kit, all ready and waiting...

I'm Back!

Well, my week in the woods didn't quite go as I planned. Instead of 7 days of peaceful sewing, I got 7 days of some weird virus that involved GI unpleasantness. I still managed to have a great time, but I knew while I was packing that the sewing wasn't going to happen. That's OK though - it's good to take a break from things, and I know my back appreciated a rest from the sewing machine, if nothing else.

Here's what I read:

Here's what I saw: 

And today, my sister sent me this, so I guess it's time to get back in the swing of things, now that I'm on the mend. I've done a little sewing since I've been back, and I'll update on that tomorrow.