WIP Wednesday #1

So I'm going to start doing these!   I think it's going to be good to give myself some kind of "Hey you haven't finished this yet" kind of motivation.

So, without further ado, here's what I've got in progress:

#1: Spinning Stars Quilt




The plan is to do an ombre effect, going from light to dark aqua/teals.   I'm using two low-volume bundles I purchased from Westwood Acres on Etsy, along with some scraps that I managed to pull out of my scrap bin.   I didn't have a lot of low-volume scraps, but I did have some of the aqua and grey on white swirl fabric you see above in the middle of this block - it's from the Washi Line by Rashida Coleman-Hale.   I purchased a half yard bundle of that on pure whim last year and it's really come in handy for zip bags, pouches, etc.   I'm sad to see the last of these fabrics go, but I'm also glad they're being used.   It's so satisfying to know that I used up some fabric.    It is similar to using the last little bit of toothpaste.

These blocks are cut from a template, all pretty much on the bias.   If you look at how the block is constructed, you have to sew these two triangle pieces together.   Since my machine's favorite late night snack is little bits of fabric, I start sewing the triangle pieces together in the middle and sew out on both sides.   It takes a little longer, but if you look closely you can see that everything is really lining up quite nicely, despite all the sewing being on bias.   Here you can see how well the first block went:


Pretty impressive, if I say so myself.   I managed to get 3 blocks done, and the rest should come together quite quickly with most of the cutting already done.   Here are the 3 blocks together:


(Not Shown, for very boring reasons) Fabric Cut:
3/4 of A pieces
24/128 of B pieces
All of the C pieces

#2: Feather Bed Quilt

All blocks completed, just languishing in a nice neat pile.   I have the backing all picked out for this, and I already know how I'm going to quilt it.   The assembly of this quilt is open-ended, so when I got to that step I admittedly faltered.   I didn't want to just copy her pattern - I wanted to make it a little different.   I also didn't like how the pattern wasn't clear on what size cuts of fabric to make to "fill in" the spots between the feathers.   I don't have a design wall, so I'm going to need a dedicated day to decide how to do the layout and sew it all up.

#3: Roller Skate Dress

I have the lining cut and the fabric pre-washed.   It should theoretically take me about 2 hours to finish this.  In reality, it will probably take me 2 weeks.   I think Claire will really like this, and since she's a little short in the shorts department (ha!), she could really use the dress to beef up her wardrobe until I either go buy shorts or ask my sister-in-law for the hand-me-downs.

#4: Dessert of the Month, Winter Sampler & Woodland Sampler (in-progress)


No progress on the winter, and April is coming along nicely.   But let's not forget how I skipped over March.   I really like their Spring Sampler,  but I hesitate to buy it when I already have so many projects half-done.

#5: Grandmother's "zip-pouch/purse" thing (not started)

My grandmother wants me to make a "zip-pouch/purse" thing.   But it needs to be smaller than the one I showed her, with a handle.  *sigh*   Nothing is ever easy for her.   But I'll get around to it ... I basically don't want to have to make something up.   So that means I'll be browsing the interwebs for some awesome tutorial that will be the correct size.   Boo.

#6: 3/4" Hexagon Pillow

Obviously a long term project.   I maybe have a 5"x6" portion of the 20" pillow done.

Linking to Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Lately

I've been busy!   I've made lots of new things, but no quilts.   I have a sketch for my next one though. We will see if it actually comes to life...

First, an Easter basket.

No pattern, no real plan.  I knew how the construction was, so in my crazy head I though it'd all be ok!   In reality, it's floppy, too wide, and the walls of the basket part are too short.   Oh well.   It's cute!   Hopefully it'll prove useful carrying babies around or something...

Second, a Miss Maggie bunny from Posy Gets Cozy.

Here is the finished bunny.   I wrapped up bunny construction on Saturday night.   Then I whipped up the dress a little quicker than I would have liked to.   Here's a picture of Claire and Miss Maggie:


"Take a picture of Miss Maggie Momma!"
All the work was worth it because in the morning Claire got this really excited grin, grabbed the doll and whispered to her really quietly "We're going to be best friends.   You can sleep with me."   Melted my heart!

I have yet to complete the boots and the cape.   I haven't finished the boots because I've been busy with other stuff, and I haven't finished the cape because it looks terri-bad.   No, really.   I'm really glad it's a gift for a 3 year old.  

Third, I made Claire a dress!

Here it is!  

I used the Roller Skate Pattern from Oliver + S.   The fabric is from the Habitat Line by Jay McCarroll.   I got it $6/yd a few months ago.   There's enough fabric left Mommy might need a matching shirt!   Claire also really loved this.   She wore it all day long, and the next day, and made sure I was washing it so she could wear it again.   I made the size 5.   It was a really good fit.   A little big in the arm holes, but not exposing.   I have another all ready to go - a pink AMH voile this time!   The only thing I'm not fond of is the lining color.   I didn't think about it (next time I will), but I wish it were a color not so obvious.   Or I could have picked a really cute color, hot pink, light blue, etc.   It was easy to construct and I'm planning on finishing up #2 this week!

Next time I'll talk about my private swap with my sewing buddy and everything else I've been up to!

Elizabeth

#scrappytripalong

I just couldn't resist.   It looked so quick and easy.   And it was.   It really, really was.


Here is a picture of the quilt with my lovely husband (aka quilt holder).

I used all fabrics from my stash.   Once I had pulled a bunch of them out - I created a few rules:
1. No reds, blacks, or browns.
2. Stick to cool colors.

I think i was pretty successful in this.   There's one particular Lizzy House print that reads more "red" than the purple it is, but other than that I think all the colors are working well together.  As I look at the picture, I also see that the quilter's linen in dark purple looks black.   I also wish it had been left out, but I was trying to give the quilt a lot of different values.   I think it would have looked better if I'd stuck to all light/medium value fabrics.

I backed the fabric in grey sheet that came from a sheet set I had bought for backing a queen size bed quilt.   I'm glad to have used it!   The binding is a light grey herringbone, Riley Blake, I believe?

This quilt is headed to my sister-in-law's family.   They have been very generous with baby items.   Clothes, toys, essentials.   Just my way of paying them back!   Plus, we don't need any more quilts.  :)

My first post! And a weekender bag.

My blog is doomed to failure.   Why?   Because nothing can live up to the awesomeness of this completed weekender bag in my first post.   (Minus the lining, of course.  But that's a small detail that I plan on finishing up this weekend!)  My next post will be terribly boring and won't live up to the standards that this bag has set.


It's pretty awesome, right?   I was inspired by all the patchwork bags I saw popping up in instagram right before they all left for Sewing Summit.   I was particularly inspired by Lucy and Norman.   She made such a lovely bag.   But when I succumbed to the Black Friday purchase of the Cherry Limeade bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics, I knew just what to do with it!

I used the construction method that Elizabeth Hartman outlines here on her blog, Oh Fransson!.   I did a couple of things differently though.   I started out with 2.5" squares and sewed them into patchwork panels slightly larger than the pattern pieces.    I then made my quilt sandwich with batting (cut 1/2" smaller) and canvas (cut the pattern size).   I quilted 3/8" apart.   That part was particularly boring.

The only part that I wasn't able to use this on was the Top Panel pieces.   There I cut my batting to size and used the exact QAYG method from the link above.   I started in the middle of the shape (for lack of a better word), and extended it from both sides.   This way I was able to use up some of the weirdly shaped pieces left over from cutting up the fat quarters.

I also changed the handles.   I cut my material at 5" wide instead of what the pattern recommends, and added some length (I forget the exact measurement.   I held it up to my body until it felt right.).   I also used a medium weight interfacing, so the handles seem pretty squishy & sturdy, all at the same time.  

I'm undecided if I want to use purse feet!    I've never used them before and I'm kinda scared to cut holes in the bottom of my bag!   We'll see how brave I get.

I didn't have any trouble finding the zipper at Hobby Lobby.   I decided to go with the 24".   When I was still sewing it all together, I had my zipper come unattached from the other side.   gasp!   Apparently I got one of those zippers that are used for jackets?  I've thrown away the package, so I'm not sure what kind of zipper to never buy again.   Thankfully it was pretty easy to put the zipper back onto the other set of zipper teeth.

If I had to make another Weekender Bag, I think that I would forgo the piping around the main parts of the bag.   That was a lot of trouble to match up when I was sewing my bag together, and it made it terribly obvious when I wasn't exactly on the 1/2" seam.

Also: I forgot to add that my sewing machine just wasn't cutting it for this project!   I could barely fit the bag underneath the sewing foot.   So I took that off.   It still wasn't getting close enough to that 1/2" seam allowance that I needed.   So I took off the part that holds onto the 1/4" foot I usually use.   Basically, all I had was the bar sticking down that attaches to the sewing feet, and a very quickly moving needle.   I'm glad to report there are no bandages on my fingers.

Beth

Fabric Details:  Cherry Limeade Bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics & Essex Linen in Black