Mosey Tote

My husband and I went to Berlin, Ohio for our Eleventh Anniversary last weekend.  Berlin is like paradise for a quilter.  There are so many quilt shops that you could only make it to all of them if you had a whole week.  By the end of the weekend, I felt a little bad for my husband since I had dragged him to at least half a dozen quilt shops.  I allowed myself to buy a project at each of the shops because I have been working so hard this year to finish up projects that were collecting dust in the dresser I keep them in. 

Right before we left for our trip, I began working on one of these dusty projects.  Last fall I was at my LQS, The Quilt Patch, for something to finish a project and saw a Mosey Tote sample that I instantly fell in love with.  Amazingly, I bought all of the supplies necessary on that trip, so when I dug it out of the drawer it came together pretty quickly. 

I used a Gobble charm pack by Moda and some yardage for the flap and lining.

I began by sewing most of the charm squares into half square triangles.

Then I played with the arrangement for several hours.

This is after the quilting.

Fully assembled!  The flower is machine appliqued.  I have only done machine applique once before with o.k. results, but this flower is amazing!

The Mosey Tote is a pattern by This & That created for 5" charm packs. 

One more dusty project finished and ready for use.  I also finished a Christmas gift for my sister, but I will keep that to myself until after Christmas. 

I have been sewing everyday since I have been home from my travels and can't wait to get started with my next project.

Heather

Giant Snap Bag

The first evening of my summer I sat down and made a gift for my daughter's second grade teacher.  She just had a baby and I thought that one of the snap bags that I made would be handy to keep diapers and wipes easy to find in the diaper bag.  The only problem with that was that the largest bag in the pattern was not nearly big enough, so I had a little math to do before I could sew.  Luckily, I enjoy math.  I think it turned out great and believe that it may be the perfect size to fit my Kindle in so that it doesn't collect all the dirt and gunk from my purse.

I used two fat quarters I bought with good intentions when I was pregnant with my 7 year old. 

Here is the inside stuffed with diapers and a package of wet wipes!

Now I need to go finish the last two block of the month blocks that I have yet to tear the paper off of.

Heather

Snap Bag Gifts

Today was the first time I have touched my machine in a few weeks.  After such a long separation, I always wonder why I allow my sewing to sit on the back burner.  When I take the time to sew, I am so much happier all around. 

This being my last week of school I needed to whip up a few small gifts to thank the moms that volunteer to help me out in the classroom.  The Snap Happy bag pattern has been floating around my house for a while now, so I thought what a perfect time to try it out! 

The bag uses old tape measures cut up to keep the bag closed.  The prairie points are used to open the bag up.  Since many sizes are featured they can be used for change purses, make up bags, ipod cases and so much more!

For all three bags I only used 3 fat quarters, some left over batting and left over interfacing!

These bags were all made this afternoon.  I started with the rolled up fat quarters and finished all three in about 2 hours.  It could have been done in an hour and a half, but my life is almost never uninterrupted!

Off to my last week of school.  Hoping to have more time for sewing next week!

Heather

Kindle Cover

For Mother's Day this year, I subtly asked for a Kindle.  O.k., maybe I was not so subtle, but it worked and I am the proud new owner of a Kindle.  After submitting my request, I immediately started looking for covers to protect it.  It would have been easy to just order one from Amazon, but what fun is that and it wouldn't look any different from anyone else's.  After a few weeks of internet research, I had found a few that were close, but not exactly what I wanted, so I went out on a limb and decided to create exactly what I wanted.  Here it is!

This is the front cover of my kindle.  You may recognize the fabric from one of the dresses made for my youngest daughter.  I did not purchase anything for this project. 

The inside of the cover holds the Kindle securely and does not interfere with the screen or the buttons.  The front and back cover are lined with firm cardboard to give support to the Kindle and hopefully protect it from injuries.

I love how this turned out.  While I was putting it together wrote out the directions and took lots of pictures so I can put a tutorial on my blog, just in case anyone else wants to make one.  That is the plan for this week, work on the tutorial.

Heather

Ancient Block of the Month Finished!

This Friday and Saturday night I finally finished the Amish block of the month quilt that I have had in progress for 8+ years.  I worked out the math and remembered that I found out I was pregnant with my now 7 year old when I started this quilt.  The colors and solid fabrics are the only things Amish about this quilt.  It is machine quilted and the binding was machine sewn on. 

I do believe I like this quilt more since it is finished than while I was working on it!

I used painter's tape to mark a straight line around the border.  This always helps me to get a super straight line.

After using a ruler and getting the tape just where I want it, I follow the line with my walking foot.  How easy can it be?

Look at that corner, isn't it great?  I'm really impressed with this since I have only used this binding technique one other time.

This makes three quilts totally finished since the beginning of the year.  Not bad, considering I work full time and am chasing around all of my very active children when I'm not working.

I think I know what I want to conquer next, but who knows, I may change my mind when I start digging through my unfinished projects, patterns, scraps and other goodies. 

Off to my stash, maybe I can get started tomorrow.

Heather



Progress

Yesterday I went to the quilt show at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio.  It was a great way to spend a day! My mother-in-law, my 7 year old and I enjoyed the beautiful quilts and a fabulous lunch together.  Quilt shows are really good at helping to keep me inspired to work on the projects I have, fix problem projects or begin new projects. 

Today the sampler quilt, from what seems like a million years ago, was the project of the day.  The quilting is nearly finished and then it needs a binding.  That means that it moves to a different pile to wait for the binding to be sewn on and finished.

I quilted each of the sampler blocks 1/4 inch in from the seams.  I wanted to be able to see the blocks.

In the sashing and the cornerstone blocks I quilted 1/4 inch from each seam allowance.  It has a neat effect at the cornerstones where the lines intersect.

It looks really cool from the backside too! 

The pictures are a not quite what I wanted them to be, but my camera killed it's batteries, so I have to make do with my husband's until I get to the store. 

Overall a productive week, let's hope for a repeat.

Heather

Small Goals

My life is a series of small goals.  Without these goals I am sure that I would never get anything accomplished.  My goal for tonight was to turn on my machine and sew something.  With my busy life which is currently being consumed by track meets, it was a lofty goal.  My machine was turned on, I quilted a partial line on the quilt, decided that I didn't like the stitch I was trying and unsewed.  After all of this I was able to quilt 4 lines in a pattern that I think I will like.  I haven't decided how I will quilt the blocks yet, but I'm sure it will come to me as I work on the sashing.

Aren't they beautiful!

Goal for tomorrow:  Enjoy my family and celebrate Easter. 

Heather