Getting Ready For A Trip

Lynda and I are getting ready to go on another trip so that usually means more sewing or bag making.  I am the quilter-sewer but Lynda does a lot of visiting quilt shops in her area to check out fabric or patterns that she might be interested in having.  She found a pattern for a wallet that she thought she might like to have and also use it as a cross body purse.  She leaves fabric with me and lets me chose when making something for her.

The Necessary Clutch Wallet

This is from Emmaline Bags

I fussy cut the flap to showcase the two roosters and then just used the same fabric for the rest of the outside pieces.

 

The Inside

There is room for 16 credit cards as well as a zipper compartment for coins.  I put a security flap over the one open space because the wallet opens up very wide.  That would be a great place for a cell phone but you would have to make sure that it didn't fall out when the wallet opened.  Dollar bills go in behind the credit card slots.

I also made myself a new bag to carry my non essentials when on this trip.  We only put things that are not valuable in these bags so that if it is lost or there is any theft it is not a great loss.  So we would carry our umbrella, Kleenex, sunglasses, scarf, and maybe an extra pair of socks.  In the fall I would also put a pair of gloves in there.

The Tahoe Bag

I remade this bag and made it longer than what the pattern calls for because when I travel I take my cane with me.  My cane comes apart into two pieces and it will fit in the pocket inside the bag.

I also put a gusset in this bag which the pattern did not include.  It makes the zipper very neat and also lets the bag open wider.  I bought this fabric at the Creativ Festival in April.

I made the same bag for Lynda but made it the size that the pattern calls for.  It was posted a few day ago.

Keep your eyes on the blog for posts about our trip to Nova Scotia and PEI next week.

Peggy

Catching Up

I have been sewing quite a bit lately but haven't been blogging.  I need to find the time to sit down and do it, but things just get in the way.  Since I retired about 10 years ago I am busier then ever and sometimes wonder when I would have found time to go to work.

I have seen something along this line used by other quilters when I have been to quilt bees or retreats and decided that it was time that I made one for myself.  It will keep a few things handy for me and keep other notions in another caddy that can also be close at hand.  I went to Paris, France a few years ago and found this in my stash to remind me of that wonderful time.

Flashing Lights Baby Quilt

I found this quilt on McCall's Quilting but I used polka dots instead of a black background.  I just couldn't put black on a baby quilt.

My Preserves

One of the gals at a quilt group that I attend made a quilt like this and I knew then what I was going to do with my fabric of fruits and vegetables.  I had been collecting them for a while a few years ago just because I liked them.  I could never decide what to do with this fabric.

I even added chocolate chips.  Everyone needs a little chocolate.

The pattern that I followed was a Bug Jar Pattern because I liked the size of the jars.  I had initially made it as a donation quilt but I liked it so much that I am keeping it.  I have enough fabric leftover that I could probably make another one.

Roly-Nesters

I have made a lot of these small pouches.  They are great to keep sunglasses in or other small things in your purse or bag.

  

My sister Lynda came for Easter and she always wants me to make her some things.  She wanted a quilted bowl holder for her microwave and she also lost her little wallet that I had made her before.  

I made the bag from some of the fabric that she had in my stash.  The bowl pattern is from Patchwork Posse.  She has a lot of great patterns.

The bag pattern is called The Tahoe Bag.  I bought the pattern in 2011 the year that my youngest sister got married in Lake Tahoe.

Ring Around the Roses

I got a new Quilting Book for my birthday called "Make It Mini" and this little gem was one of the patterns.  Sometimes I don't take my regular purse but put my things in one of my tote bags and my phone gets lost so this little case will come in handy.

Mystery Quilted Bag

This was a mystery quilt that the guild had in 2008.  I had made one before but my large bags are wearing out so I went through my stash and found this lovely fabric to make another one.  This bag measures 20 inches by 25 inches.  These bags are so handy for carrying supplies or quilts in.

You can see that there is still some snow on the back deck.

Peggy

New Baby Ensemble

One of my sisters is going to have a new grandchild, a little girl, and wanted me to make a quilt and a doll quilt for the mother and child.  She found a pattern called Doggy in the Window on Craftsy and we used the pattern but changed the block to a doll instead of a dog.  The fabric is Simply Gorjuss from Quilting Treasures.

Simply Gorjuss

I also made a doll quilt to go with this baby quilt.

I put a small block in this quilt to match the larger quilt.  The backing is the pink fabric.  You don't see it in the large quilt but I incorporated it into the small one to give it more colour.

I like to make a bag to go with all this and Carole had sent me a second piece of fabric so I used it for the bag with some leftover pink fabric.

A bag to carry all baby's toys in.

I mailed it all of today so she should get it in a week or so.  Snail mail is so slow here in our town.  She needs it before September 15th so I thought I would get it finished and mail it in lots of time.

Peggy

Lime Twist Tote

I finished a new bag today.  It is called the Lime Twist Tote by Brenda Miller.  She is a quilter that lives in Southern Ontario and designs bags and quilts.  Her bags finish very professionally with all seams hidden and most of them have a gusset in the top to finish the bag off.

The front of the bag. 

 I bought the fabric just because I liked it.

The back of the bag.

The instructions are very detailed in all her patterns but they come with good instructions and lots of pictures to help you make the bag.

I have a couple of Brenda's patterns and am just waiting for fabric so that I can make a few more bags.  That is why they call me the bag lady.

Peggy.

Another Baby Quilt

My sister Carole asked me to make a quilt for a new great grandson.  She picked out the pattern and the fabric at a local quilt shop in her home town,  The theme is bunnies and I had to asked her to send me new fabric because one of the fat quarters was white with very pale bunnies on it.  It all blended together and was very blah so she sent me the fabric with peach in it and the polka dots.  I like the new fabric better. 

The bunnies are appliqued to the same fabric as the border.  You can see a little bit of snow on the deck.  We were in the middle of a snowstorm but I just had to take the picture outside.  There is also ice on the deck left over from the rain yesterday.

The backing is bunnies that tie the quilt together.

I also made a small quilt 20 x 20 inches for a small stuffed bunny to go with the quilt.

There was still a bit of leftover fabric so I made a bag to put it all in.

Peggy

Two Inch Squares

I have been cutting so many scraps lately I thought I should make something out of some of them.  I decided to use some 2 inch ones to make a donation quilt.  I used a 16 patch block so that I would use a lot of the squares and make a decent sized block.

There are 560 - 2 inch squares in this quilt.

I finished this quilt using the hinge method so that it was easier to quilt.

I still have about the same number of 2 inch squares in my bin.  I guess I will be making another one soon.  I think I will look for a different pattern or use a disappearing 16 patch.  That is a neat pattern.

I found this pretty butterfly fabric at "The Circle of Friends" quilt shop.

Cora's quilt needed a bag to go with it and I thought it was great since it has so much pink in it.  I put a tab across the top instead of a zipper and found a large pink button.

Peggy

The Hinge Method Continued

I finished putting the binding on my Hinge Method Quilt and the weather was so beautiful I hung it up and took a picture of it.

There was a slight breeze but it turned out pretty good.

The temperature today was 28 C so I had to wait till the sun reached the west so that there was no shadow on the quilt.

I am really pleased with the way this all turned out and thankful for the learning experience.

I also finished 2 bags for the twin quilts I made for Joanne's twin grandsons.  Since the quilts are identical except for the backing, I made the bags to match the backing.  So one is green and the other blue.

I thought the humpty dumpty fabric was so cute for two 4 year old boys.

I like to put the quilts in bags because then the quilts can be stored in the bags or the bags can be used for toys.

Peggy

A New Baby Quilt for 2014

One of our great nieces is expecting a baby January 14 so I have been working on this quilt for her and her new little one.  They know it is a boy so that was the easy part of picking out the fabric.  I found this pattern out there somewhere on the internet but I forgot to copy the website so I can't give the designer credit.  I am really trying hard to do that when I see a pattern but sometimes I forget.  

I had to hang it on my design wall because there is far too much snow

outside to take a picture on my deck and it is

too cold to stand out there anyway.

This morning it was -35 C with a windchill of -45 C.  

I also made a bag to go with it.

I chose the dark blue for the bag

since the baby is a boy and I thought

it would co-ordinate nicely with

the quilt.

Peggy.

A Homemade Christmas

Christmas is over and the new year will be here soon.  It was a topsy-turvy Christmas this year.  There were some very sad days before Christmas, my sister-in-law passed away very suddenly in Florida where she lives and my niece in Kenora had her house burn down and her 13 year old son was flown to Winnipeg with severe burns.  When these kinds of things happen at Christmas time it is impossible to be with the people who need you most.  So I sent lots of good wishes and prayers their way.

Now that Christmas is over and things are starting to get back to normal (I said starting) I can post all the gifts I made and gave.

An Iron Caddy

Placemat with wine leaves and wine sayings.

A bag for Christine.

A table runner and placemats for both my

children.  I made 8 placemats and 2

table runners.

Mug Rugs, Oven Mitts, and a Hot Pad for 

Lynda who loves anything rooster.

A couple of Mug Rugs for 2 young

ladies who came for Christmas dinner.

I also made lots of Kleenex holders.

All in all it turned out to be a very nice Christmas.  I had 11 people for dinner and was lucky this year that I was prepared and had made 12 new placemats.

Peggy.

I'm Still Here

I've been under the weather and in hospital so I haven't done much sewing lately.  I am on the mend and decided to finish up the fall purse that I started over 10 days.  I purchased the fabric a long time ago and all I know is that it is a Moda Fabric.  I made this pattern up as I went along when I made the yellow purse with the sunflowers on it so I decided to give it an other try.

I laid the fabric out on my work table because I couldn't decide how to put it together.

I only had some fat quarters and some charm squares.

This is the result.

The handles are from different fabric since

I has so little to go with.

I want to put a button the pocket but

I want a funky one if I can find one.

I also added a zipper to the top.

Peggy.

Purse Number Three

Spring is in the air, well at least it was a week or so ago, and I seem to be making purses these days.  I had finished this one a week or so ago but I put the zipper in backwards.  I carry my purse on my left shoulder so I like the zipper to open at the front when I have it on my shoulder.  I used the purse once and just couldn't make it work for me so I ripped the zipper out and finally put it back in tonight.  

I designed this purse myself using some of the bags that I had made in the past for inspiration, adding a little bit here and a little bit there.  It has lots of pockets and since I got a new iPhone I made one of the pockets at the front of the bag the right size to drop it into.

You can see there is still a little bit of snow on the ground.

It is starting to melt and when it does I won't miss it.

The fabric is from Henry Glass called Bee Happy.

I thought it was great for a new summer bag.

Peggy

Two New Bags

It is over a year ago now that my youngest sister was married in Lake Tahoe and I purchased the pattern and fabric for the latest bag I made.  It is called Carmel from A Quilter's Dream.  It is made from 6 fat quarters with very little left over.  I added more pockets then the pattern called for; that is the usual thing I do.  I always need lots of pockets.

Carmel from A Quilter's Dream

I also made another bag from a pattern that I found in a new book called Bags, Pillows and Pincushions Volume Two.  It is called Sweet Pleat and can also be found here.

Sweet Pleat

The fabric is "Bee Happy" from Henry Glass.

Peggy

Baby Gifts

Theresa had her baby the other day so Grandma Pierina will be leaving town soon to be with her.  My little gifts will be tucked inside her suitcase. 

A receiving blanket

and 2 bibs.

This little blanket has 2 pieces of flannelette

of different sizes, sewn together.

The pattern is found HERE.

 

I also made a little bag for babies

toys and things.

 

Right now the bag contains the blanket

and bibs.

Congratulations to the new parents Theresa and Brad.

 

 

Finishing things

I have finished 2 Table Toppers and a quilt this past 3 days.   YKW is out of town at the cabin planting his garden so I have been hard at work quilting.  I have the binding to sew on yet so I won't post pictures till that is finished.  Probably within the next few days.

I do have one finished project.

This is made from upholstery fabric that was given to me a few days ago

at a quilting group that I started attending.

There were lots of ends of fabric that the supplier

was throwing away so I managed to take

a few pieces.

Really nice to make bags out of. 

It is lined with a silky lining

that is almost drapery material.

Very different to work with, 

so I lined it with

fusible interfacing to give

it some stiffness,

otherwise it would just

flop over.

It also has a quilt inside it

so it looks a little wonky.

Peggy.