Jan Finishes

This is my second little quilt finish of the Simple Whatnots Club 1. Didn't sign up for Club 2 because I still have four little quilt patterns to do from the first club. I've got one started and hope to have it finished next month.

The Candy Hearts quilt was quick and I'm thrilled to have a heart quilt ready for Feb. I'm also happy to say at least 98% of this fabric came from my stash. #sewmystash2015challenge1 #sewmystash2015
The pattern is from Emily Anns Kloset on Etsy.

I've had this idea for a while and found the inspiration to get this done. The vinyl is heavy enough to give the bag good stability. The bird fabric worked out well for this bag.

Happy Quilting!

Notion Organizer

I finished my Notion Nest organizer this week. The zipper was tricky and took me three times to get it right, I'm finally happy with how it turned out. The zipper goes across the top and down both sides to fully open. This picture shows the organizer closed and ready to go. This was designed and taught by the very talented Shelley of As the Spool Turns.

Here is the a open view showing bigger pockets made with fabric and some smaller pockets made with vinyl.

A view with all my stuff ready to take to my retreat in a couple weeks, it full with cutters, rulers and other sewing items. I'm going to hang this on the wall in my sewing room and then I won't misplace that rotary cutter so often. I seem to always be loosing my small rulers, hopefully this will keep me better organized.

Here is the back view when it's open.

I have one of these purse hangers and never used it, I think it will be great for taking to classes and hanging off the table. Now I can get back to sewing a St. Patricks Day quilt, you can find the tutorial at Kim's Big Quilting Adventures and take a look at the one Carol made.

Happy Quilting.

Finished and Almost Finished

I feel like I have too many things close to being finished. My scrappy 4 patch quilt is completed finally....well its a fimsy anyway. I've been trying to get this one sewn for a few weeks especially since it was only the sashing than needed done. The blocks have been ready for months. It didn't help that I got food poisoning last week and a cold the week before that. I'm so much better now. No more colds for me! 

The top border is really done, it's just not in this picture, I was trying to get some pictures when the light was good and it was before the last border went on. This quilt is a nice lap size, I love how it turned out. Those little white squares are finished at 1".

Again another project so close to being finished. I started this notion organizer at a class before Xmas, it only needs the binding at this point. It took so long because the zipper was tricky and I was waiting for the instructions. I'll show the inside next time, it' has pockets to keep everything in one place.

At least the purse is a more resent class a couple weeks ago before all the sickness but look it's still waiting for zipper and handles. I feel like there are too many things going at once and nothing to show. So there you go a few almost finished projects. I hope to have something more finished next time.

Happy Quilting.

Simply Romantic Again

Well I haven't made any progress on my scrappy blocks I showed in my last post. I did get my romantic flimsy quilted. I did a pattern called Botanical Blossoms, it's one of my favourite.

The start of the week I had a class to teach on the heart runner I did here, I woke up that morning with a sore throat and running nose but it was to late to cancel so I went ahead and did the class. The class went well and some made very different versions with fabric choices. One runner was done in batiks, another in whites and green and a really cute one done with chicken fabrics....they had a great time playing with with these hearts. I changed the cutting from the first one I did to a easier version with 5" squares and 2 1/2" squares.

Tracy it's so cute. I hope you don't mind I posted this picture.

Getting a picture of the whole quilt is no easy task when you don't have the floor space, our house is charming but not so practical. The quilt is 61"x79", the binding is not in this picture but it's one of the blues.  The remainder of the week was sleeping, drinking lots of tea, working and at the end of the week I took a bag class, I can't wait to have this one finished, it's a purse size and really cute. Sew much to do, sew little time to get it all done.

Happy Quilting!

Christmas, Snow and Reno's

So much has happened this past week....a bit of a long post. I finished the bag for my Mom and mailed it before the snow storm. The bag is bigger than I expected, I should pay attention to the dimensions before deciding on a pattern. If it looks cute in the picture, I dive right in.

It snowed for two days straight, very unexpected. It caused a lot of problems with traffic.  With hills in my area, trucks and buses couldn't make it up, the roads were too slippery. I couldn't leave the house, I'm thinking we got at least 12", ask me how I know this....I shoveled the front walk a few times because DH was away on a business trip. 

Fonz had fun playing in the snow.

In the middle of a snow storm the contractor insisted he could still make it over to install doors. His half hour drive took 3 hours but he made it here. Before: This is the ugly back door off the kitchen.

And After: Isn't it pretty with the big open window, I'm am so thrilled with my new door. The kitchen is much brighter.....I really love how it looks. 

Before: This door is off the dinning room and goes out to a deck on the side of the house. Isn't it the ugliest door......yuck, I've always disliked this door since we bought the house.

And After: Oh so much more light and a pretty door. Oops I took a picture before the tape was removed from glass.  The new doors are solid wood. I agonized over picking the stain colour, and even paid someone to help me (what do I know about stain and doors) and in the end I wasted my money, I didn't like the colour she suggested....I'm so happy with my choice.

Boo is showing us he is in charge of the tree. He plays with the ornaments and climbs up the middle. The tree doesn't look as nice now, Boo has done some rearranging himself and he's definitely happy about it.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Clear Bag

 

HOT HOT....it's been too hot here....I'm not complaining, we've waited a long time for this warm weather but still it could be a little less hot. With all this heat I'm not feeling too much like being in my sewing room. I did manage to make this vinyl pouch to teach a class last weekend. It's my own pattern (well if you could call it that) I didn't write any instructions. The girls loved making this and it has many uses for carrying all kinds of sewing stuff ie: notions, stitchery or use as a toiletry bag. If you'd like the cutting dimensions I would be happy to send along, just keep in mind there will not be any written instructions.

Edited to add cutting instructions.

Cutting

Cut 4 - 2" x 11 1/2" fabric for top of bag

Cut 4 - 3" x 11 1/2" fabric for bottom of bag

Cut 2 - 7 1/2" x 11 1/2" clear vinyl

Cut 4 - 2" x 11 1/2" interfacing (med weight)

Cut 4 - 3" x 11 1/2" interfacing (med weight)

Keep cool!

Clear Pouch and SSA

 

This is a Atkinson Designs pattern and very fun to make. A week ago Carol had made this pattern and I thought, I have that pattern, why don't I make a few for Christmas gifts. The clear plastic front makes it easy to see the contents, I've made the largest pouch here. You should visit Carol's blog, she is making one Christmas project per day for the month of July, it's very inspiring.

 

The first block of Temecula Summer Star Sew Along, one block per week. The blocks will all be stars and this one is 4" finished.

Happy Quilting.

Another Bucket Bag

 

Boo is thinking I made this bucket for his amusement. Hmmmm......he is wondering if there will be enough room to climb in.

He was so fast I almost didn't get a picture, as you can see there isn't enough room for him. Boo departs the photo session just as fast as he appeared. 

 

I made this using the pink and brown Anna Maria Horner fabric as my inspiration and Kaffe Fassett ribbons. I plan to use this bucket for my stitching while watching my favourite shows.

Happy Quilting.

Bucket Bag

 

I made this bucket bag for my sisters birthday. The fabric is a panel and worked out to be the right size for making this bag. I'm hoping she will use it for crocheting and knitting projects. Now I better get it in the mail because her birthday is this weekend.

 

Boo ran up while I was taking the picture and tried to get in the bag. A little too small for him but he had to try.

Happy Quilting!

More Bags

 

I'm still in the mood for making bags, a couple more to add to the gift box. These two bags will be for my nieces. The size is prefect for a cell phone and small camera.


Happy Quilting.

Wishing for Spring

 

We had a beautiful sunny weekend, it felt like spring had arrived. Today it's cold, drizzly and feels more like winter than spring. I made this little bag using spring colours to bring a bit of sun back. The bag is called Lollipop bag and has a hidden bottom. You can find the pattern at Atkinson Designs. My gift box is growing, I'm hooked on bags and making more.

Happy Quilting.

Retreat Progress

 

I'm so happy with my progress last week at the retreat. I'm all caught up on my mystery BOM using pretty fabrics. I didn't touch the civil war BOM but that's okay.

We all had a great time......sewing, eating, chatting, playing games, sewing, eating, walking, sewing and mostly having fun with great friends. This is a small group I meet with twice a month, they are a wonderful group friends...I only wish it didn't go by so fast.  Edenvale retreat center really spoiled us with their home made meals, desserts and snacks.....this is the only time I have dessert twice a day......after lunch AND dinner.....talk about being spoiled.

 

Stella brought along few bags patterns and got us excited about making a bag or two.  The red bag she supplied the fabrics (and I love it) and the bright colourful bag was some fabric I purchased at a quilt shop on the way to the retreat. I didn't have a plan for the fabric and making the bags worked out great. I'm going to make more for gifts.

 

My main goal was to make a big dent in my daughters quilt. She picked all the Kaffe Fasset fabrics over a year ago and I felt bad I hadn't even started her quilt. The picture only shows half of the quilt, it's a queen size. She is going to see it today, I hope she'll still love it as much as when she picked the fabrics.

 

A close up of the fabrics. I think she did wonderful at picking the colours. The only thing left to do is the 2" border of the green and it's done! I'm so excited I was able to piece the whole thing at the retreat.

Happy Quilting!

Strawberry or Watermelon?

When I finished making this bag and stood back to look at it, the first thing I thought was it looked like a watermelon. I can't resist making bags and this one reminds me of everything I love about summer.....fresh strawberries and juicy watermelon.

I didn't like the way the ends were flapping about so I added a little detail to keep it tucked in.

Here is the pattern I used, I omitted the stitchery and put in a focus fabric. This made the bag much faster to make. For now it's on display at the quilt shop I work at, visit Creative Edge in N. Van if you'd like to see it in person.

What do you get when you have a curious cat and a clueless painter? I would have thought the painter would have noticed a cat looking at him thought the windows.....because Boo is so curious, he has to see what's going on outside. The painter opened the window and painted the sill, then decided it was lunch time and didn't close the window. I walked into the front room to see cute little cat prints all over my 100 year old wood floor. Boo likes to get into everything. In my panic I didn't think to take pictures....the prints were really very cute. The good news is the paint came off the floor no problem, but Boo has to let most of the paint wear off his paws.

Happy Quilting!

Little Purse

The little hexagon purse is finished, you can see I started it here. I didn't want to cover up the hexagon's with the stitchery so I made another purse with one piece of fabric and added the stitchery, it says "Happiness is: a Little Stitching Each Day".

A better view of the stitchery, you can see by the rotary cutter how small these really are, I was surprised when I finally read the pattern, the finished size is 3"x6".

I hope you get a little time for stitching too.

New Bag

I'm back with the bag I made over the weekend. This is the first time I used only interfacing to give the bag stability, usually I would use a batting to give shape to a bag. The middle section with gathers doesn't have the interfacing but the lining and the bottom of the bag has fusible interfacing. I think it's about !5"x 16" or so, which is a nice size for carrying books, magazines and my stitchery stuff.

I'm so happy with my new bag.

Bags and Birthdays

It sure took me long enough to sew on those straps. I made this bag in a class with Agnes, she is a wonderful teacher and makes fantastic bags. I think I've done four of her classes over several years. The handles are hand sewn on, that's what took me sooooo long. The long strap is easy, just clip it to the fabric loops. Here is the bag folded over.

Or you can use the small handles and carry it this way. The two smaller patches at the bottom are outside pockets.

My daughters birthday was last weekend. I made her this pincushion, and Steve made the bright orange pen for school, she was thrilled and loved them both. We went out for the best pizza I've ever had, fresh toppings and healthy. After lunch we found some really delicious not so healthy peanut butter cups....yummo!

What can I say? Never a dull moment.

Until next time.

More Blocks

I've made some progress on a few more blocks this week. Cheri has posted the completed quilt and it's so adorable, I just love it. Something else I've done it a bag class with this lovely teacher, she makes some very unique custom bags. Scroll down on her blog and you'll see the Paris Cross Over bag, that's the one we took in class. I just need to add the handles and I'll have a wonderful new bag.

Kitchen Progress and a Little Sewing

Last week we had the counter tops installed, with two strong guys the granite went it. They had to do some grinding of the granite to get it to fit the uneven walls and cabinets. The following day was the install of kitchen sink, I never would have thought it could take 3 hours to install a sink but when I looked under the cupboard and saw the construction they did to hold the sink in place I was amazed. Next step is the back splash tiling. I still need to decide what to put there and then finish up painting. The wainscoting you can see in front of the island needs paint as well as the box with the microwave.

I did a little sewing, the bottom polka dots is a plastic. I didn't have a plan when I started making the bag, only that I had a small piece of plastic left over from a friend who made cushions for her patio. I just knew somehow I was going to make a bag from it and this is what came out.  I did more stitching on the Ruby's Garden but nothing finished to show yet.

We are having gorgeous weather with sun but not too hot, prefect for sitting out on the deck.