Small Purses for New York City

My sister Lynda, my daughter Colleen and I are going to New York City for a week in March during March break.  We carry small purses that fit under our coats when we travel and then carry what we call a day bag with things like our umbrella, water bottle, hats and mitts.  Our small purses contain our money and credit cards and they are never in view of the public except when we are making a purchase.  We have tried money pouches that go around your waist and these make you look like you weigh 30 lbs more than you actually do so I came up with this idea.

I really like this pattern that I found on the Internet.  It is called "Sew Sweet Satchel" by Lazy girl designs.  I make the flap a little smaller and put a zipper under the flap.  This isn't called for in the pattern.  There is a zipper on the back with is also great.  The purse is very secure.  I have one so I made one for Lynda and one for Colleen.

This is Lynda's purse.  These purses go across your body, or they could be worn as a shoulder purse.  They are small enough to fit under a coat and not be bulky.

This is Colleen's purse.  They both wanted dark blue but I made them from different fabric so that they would be different and there would be no mistaking which one belonged to whom.

If you look at the pattern, you will see that I changed it a little.  I added a dome fastener to close the purse and a button for decoration.

Peggy.

Placemats for Meals on Wheels

A while ago I was in the local quilt shop and she had put together some 2 1/2 inch strips in like and complementary colours.  Forty strips in a group to make a jelly roll.  I purchased  a brown and orange grouping just because I liked them. 

Over the weekend I made two placemats by sewing some strip sets together.  They are quite masculine and I think they turned out very nice.  I made them different just to be different.

Peggy

My Vest is Finished

Well, I finally finished my vest.  It was a long haul since I haven't made clothes for myself in years and I probably won't make any again.  My friend Maria was a big help.  We got together last Tuesday and worked on fitting the vests.  We took a little off here and a little off there and came up with a pretty decent piece of clothing.

The binding is sewn on the right side and then folded over and stitched in the ditch on the right side.  Some of the binding didn't catch on the wrong side so I just sewed it on by hand with an invisible stitch on the wrong side.

The front

The back of the vest

There is suppose to be a zipper in the vest but I didn't put one in yet and I may not.

Peggy

The rest of the mug rugs and Lanyard

I am finished with mug rugs for now.  I have made 10 of them for the local Quilter's Guild.  Now it is onto other things.

Pretty Blue Birds

I know it isn't the season for Christmas but I couldn't resist this fabric. 

My trees have lights.

My sister Lynda, my daughter Colleen and I are going to New York in March and I am starting to get ready for the trip.  I want a secure warm place for my camera so I thought of a lanyard around my neck but the ones I have are skinny and I thought they would pull on my neck so I came up with this.

Here it is around my neck but without the camera as I had to use it to take the picture.  My camera is a point and shoot so I took the idea for the lanyard from tutorials for a cover for a camera strap. 

I think that will be more comfortable then a thin stingy lanyard from the dollar store.  And more colourful.

Peggy.

More mug rugs

I seem to like making these little things lately.  I think it is the feeling of accomplishment that you get when you are finished something.  These are for the Guild.  I hope they like them.

Peggy

Bruce Canyon Vest

Yesterday was the class to make the Bruce Canyon Vest.  We started at 10 am and ended at 4pm tired and exhausted but with a feeling of accomplishment.  It was a long day but we had a great instructor who had made the vest herself so she was extremely helpful.  We could read the pattern or we could ask for assistance.  There were 10 ladies in the class so it was a very busy place.

Here is my friend Maria working on cutting out her fabric from the pattern.

                             

This is the 2 fronts of my vest with the strips sewn together.  It is a quilt as you go vest which really goes

together quickly.

 

The back with the collar sewn on.  It still need the sides seams done and the binding applied.

Maria and I hope to get together this week and get it finished up for the Guild meeting on the 21st. 

Peggy.

My Sister's Blog

Visit my sister's blog for a great read on Graduation.  She is graduating from University this year and wrote a small essay on what Graduation means to her.  It is very enlightening.

Peggy.

For the Guild

The annual quilt show is the end of April and the way my life goes it will be here before I know it, so I started making some items to be sold.  They were asking for potholders or mug rugs so since I finished my last 2 quilts I thought I would see what I could come up with.

The pot holder was a little tricky.  I may stick to mug rugs.

 

I think my mug rugs turned out pretty good and I have a few more ideas and will post them when I have them finished.

 

These are the in thing these days.
We had a great day a Joyce's today.  Didn't get much quilting done but a lot of friendship and gabbing going on over there.

Peggy

Dresden Plate Quilt.

I started this quilt in October at the set of classes I took at the College.  I finished the Kakabeka Quilt so then I wanted another challenge.  It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do with the squares and I came up with this quilt. 

On both of these quilts I constructed the backing in a very non-traditional way.  I read on a blog about a new method that uses less fabric and is very useful for small quilts.  This quilt is 48 x 64 so it fits into the category.  The backing fabric is cut on the diagonal and then sewn back together.  It is very useful when the width of the quilt back is 1 1/2 times or less then the width of the fabric.  It was developed by John Flynn .  There is also a neat website that does the calculation for you so you don't have to do the math to figure out how much fabric is needed for the backing.

I was skeptical at first but it works and I used a metre less fabric then I would have if I had cut the backing the traditional way and there is less waste.  I like leftover fabric but I don't like waste.

Ta-dah

Those are YKW's fingers again.



I also rounded the corners on this quilt.  I had never done that before but took my cue from the Dresden plate and it gives it real character.

Peggy

Valentine Placemats

I finished the placemats to match the simply hearts tablerunner.  I designed them myself using the same pattern.  I like my placemats big so the side borders are 4 inches instead of the 2 inches that I made the top border.   The finished measurement is 12 x 18.  I made 6 of them, 2 for me and 4 for my daughter.

I think they will make my table look real spiffy for

Valentine's Day.

Peggy

Kakabeka Quilt

Every block in this quilt is a 9-patch with a plain square in the center, confetti in the corners, and a chips-n-dip square on each side.  The pieces are turned differently in each block so that the blocks look different but they are all made up of the same 3 components.  I could have made all the blocks look the same but by turning the sections they came out so that they look like different blocks.  It was a challenge for me because I wanted the blocks to look different and yet still have the same 3 components to them.  This is the book I used to make this quilt.

Chips-N-Dip Block



Confetti Block

  I feels good to have finally finished it.  I started in the classes in October 2010.

 



Peggy

Getting organized

I have been trying to be more organized with all my patterns lately.  I have downloaded a lot of patterns and I print some of them, then when I want to make something I can't find the print out.  They are all saved on my hard drive and a thumb drive but sometimes it is easier to make something from the written page, but WHERE is it.  So I decided to do something about it.  I went to the dollar store and bought 19 packages of protective sleeves.

Then I went to Staples and bought some hanging file folders and a portable file tote, and today I went back and bought more hanging files.

This is the end result of two days of sorting.

But that is not all.  I had two binders and they are full too.

Now maybe I can find a pattern when I am looking for it.  I found so many patterns for placemats that I forgot I had and I could have used them when I was making all those placemats at Christmas time.  So, next time I know where to look for a pattern.

Peggy.

Bruce Canyon Vest

I am taking a class in February to make the Bruce Canyon Vest.  I have picked out the fabric but can't decide on the final colours.  If anyone has an opinion please let me know.  I realize that colours don't show up too good sometimes on websites but I am going to post them anyway.  The first picture is the original colours I picked out.

The second colour from the bottom is different.  I saw it and liked it, but know I think that it might be too bright to go with the other three blues.

I have also picked out the lining and I chose a dark colour as well.  I am going to have the dark colour at the front and sides and the lighter colours in between.

This is going to be a totally new experience since I haven't made clothes in years.  They never seemed to fit so I gave up trying.  Wish me luck.

Peggy. 

I've been buying fabric again

At the last Guild meeting they were getting ready for the Annual Quilt Show and we were brainstorming to see what could be sold at the Guild booth.  Some of the suggestions were potholders, mugrugs with a mug to match, aprons, and colourful luggage handle wrappers.  So I went shopping to see what I could find.  I was thinking that if I made potholders I would make a block and put binding and a loop on it and call it a potholder.  I have lots of Insul Brite to go inside them.  So, of course, I had to go shopping. 

I also have this really nice Halloween fabric that could be used for something.

Christmas fabric was also on sale so I got a good selection of that for placemats for the guild and probably some potholders.  Time will tell what it is made into.

 

I think the only thing I am going to need in the near future will be some thread.

Peggy

Work in Progress

I have been quilting my Kakabeka quilt this past week.  I'm not sure I enjoy this part of quilting but I do it if the quilt I am making is not too big.  It is 55x68 so I consider this to be slightly larger than a lap quilt.

The Thursday group got together again last week.  The first time since before Christmas.  We had so much catching up to do that we got started late with any sewing but we were able to make some pin cushion thread catchers.  So maybe next Thursday I will remember to take my camera and take some pictures of them being used.  They will save Joyce's house from being too messy with threads all over.

Peggy.

My Orchid has bloomed

Last year for my birthday my daughter gave me an Orchid plant.  It is a Phalaenopsis.  The directions say it could bloom twice a year but mine only bloomed once and I am very happy with that.  When I got it there were blooms on it and they lasted a long time.  I am not good with house plants but I thought I would give it a try.  I let it do it's own thing and watered it when I thought it needed it.  A few months ago a new shoot came on it and then some little buds.  The little buds have started to open and I have 2 beautiful blooms.

Peggy.

Thread Catcher Pin Cushion

I finished the Thread Catcher Pin Cushion last night.  These are so handy when you are taking a class or working on a project away from home.  It keeps all your scraps in one place and not all over the floor.  I changed the pattern that I used as I thought the Thread Catcher was too long so I loped off 2 inches and made it shorter but the same diameter.

For stiffness I used heavy strapping that is found around crates and boxes when you get things delivered but I found mine on the floor in Home Depot.  Their motto is they can help so thanks Home Depot.  I found the pattern at Merriment Designs .  There is also another pattern at Teddy Bear Patterns . 

The pin cushion is stuffed with dried peas.  You have heard of a bean bag well mine is a pea bag.  YKW came up with the idea when we were looking for sand or a weight for the pin cushion.  When you have a hobby farmer in the family who knows what they will come up with.

Peggy.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day

This is a pattern I have wanted to make for a long time but couldn't find the fabric I wanted to use until recently.  The original pattern showed the background as white with black and pink and red hearts but I think my red background with pink hearts shows the hearts better.  The pattern is called "simply hearts" and it came from Cottage Quilt Designs .  I made 2, one for my daughter and one for me, and I also plan on using the pattern to make matching placemats.  I have them designed and cut as a kit and will get them done before February 14th but I have some other things I want to try first.  I have a pincushion thread catcher half made.  It seems I can't be making just one thing, my brain takes off and I end up going in another direction.

The quilt my sister calls Kakabeka is ready to be quilted also, so I will starting that in the near future.

I have it sprayed and I let it dry overnight so now I have to decide just how I will do this.  I am not good at free motion quilting so I may just do some stitch in the ditch or out lining the stars.  Big decisions to be made.

Peggy

First project of 2011

When I was cleaning my sewing room I came across some small triangles that were left over from a tablerunner that I made.  They seemed to be calling out to me so I sewed them together and came up with this small quilt.  It is 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.   The squares are 1 1/2 inches.  The fabric is "Objects of Desire" from Moda.  I had used it in a tablerunner called "Little Charmers III". 

YKW asked me what it was and I said it was just a nothing.  He said I should make it into a wall hanging or something after all the work I had put into it.  So now I will put a hanging sleeve on it and hang it on the wall.

I used my rotating mat as a background to put the small quilt in perspective.  This way you can see how small it actually is.

Peggy.

My Machine is Home

I got the call this afternoon that my machine was all fixed.  Electronic machines can sure give you grief!!!  It was just a setting that had to be changed.  I am so glad to have it back.  Now to get to some serious quilting.  

Peggy.