Mini Quilt Swap

Way back in the fall (October I believe), I participated in the Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap.  I think I have done almost every round now except maybe one the summer we moved.  Anyway its a secret mini swap hosted by Kristi of Schnitzel and Boo on Instagram.  It's really a lot of fun and I highly recommend it.  My partner loved rational styled quilts out of traditional reproduction fabrics.  This was a fun and interesting challenge since I mostly work with modern type fabrics.  I found this fun layer cake from French General (the collection name is escaping me at the moment) and I used my Farmer's Wife Sampler book for the blocks.  The Farmer's wife blocks finish up at 6" so I chose 9 different blocks to make up the quilt.  Since the blocks are so busy I added some sashing with corner stones.  

Here I was just getting started,  You can tell it was October since I have my daughter's costume pattern out too ;)

This is what I chose to be my final layout. I did some machine quilting on it around the blocks and sashing and then a little bit of hand quilting to accent the blocks in a cream colored perle cotton.

One of the most fun part about swaps is choosing a few 'extras" to surprise your partner with!  Here is the mini along with some treats.

And a few final pics for fun :)

Have a great day!

Cargo Duffel

So, I made this waaaaay back in the fall.  I've been making tons of things I'm just super bad about taking photos and actually documenting them :/  Oh well.  I think instagram doesn't help with the blogging process but I'm going to give it another go anyhow. 

Anyway . . . the pattern is the Noodlehead Cargo Duffel.  Its free on the Robert Kaufman website.  This is the third one that I have made.  And the second out of these exact fabrics lol.  This was made at the request of my mom for my aunt (her twin sister).  The other one like this I made for her.  I used Anna Maria Horner's Pretty Potent and Robert Kaufman Essex yarn dyed in leather for the bottom accent and handles.  The inside is plain canvas with bound edges.  I chose to leave the snaps off mainly because it kind of scared me to install them.  I did just complete one recently that I did install snaps and it really wasn't that big of a deal. 

The pattern is pretty simple and straightforward.  The quilting of the pieces probably takes the most time.  I do find straight line quilting a bit meditative.  As far as putting the whole thing together you just make sure to go slowly and use a pretty big needle (especially for the binding!!).

I hope that you have a great weekend!!

Long Time and a Big Move

So once again it's been a while.  We just moved across the country to Southern California which would be the reason for my silence.  So far we are liking it here, so much different here though.  I've been able to sew a few things since we have gotten pretty much settled here.  Ill try and get some photos and posts going soon.  I just wanted to pop in and update though.  Lots more to come :)

Bonnie Christine Ribbon Tour

I am so excited to be a part of the Bonnie Christine ribbon tour! Bonnie Christine is a surface pattern designer, mother hen of the Roost Tribe and author of Going Home to Roost - a blog dedicated to living an extraordinarily creative life. She is inspired by the great outdoors and is passionate about sharing what she knows and creating community around creativity.

This line of ribbons was inspired by a love for nature and sunshine. They represent working in the garden, growing flowers and watching the bees, birds and butterflies take flight. Bonnie most enjoys using the ribbons to add cheer to everyday objects like notebooks, bags, key chains and clothing. Her goal has always been to create patterns that are organic and natural, joyful and lovely. She believes patterns are one of the ways we can express ourselves and make our spaces beautiful.

I was so lucky to be able to make a few things from Bonnie's lovely fabric and these equally lovely ribbons.  We had a lovely Easter this Sunday and my family and I were able to get out to our local arboretum to take photos of everything.

First up, I made the double pocket pouch by Aneela Hoey.  She released the pattern last week and when I saw it I just knew I had to make it.  I used Bonnie Christine Sweet as honey fabrics paired with her ribbon in Pink & Yellow Sweet Floral.  It's really a great sized pouch for carrying small stitching projects and all the fun notions that go along.

  

Next up (and probably my all time favorite), is a pair of mini Hudson pants by True Bias.  I used the Winged knit fabric for these and added the Pale Pink Butterflies ribbon as kind of a tuxedo stripe detail along the side.  I left the drawstring out of these.  I really can't say enough about the Art Gallery Fabrics knits they are just perfect, very soft with great stretch and recovery.  If you haven't tried them you should.  The pants are paired with a Figgy's Celestial tee I made last summer.

Last, is this pinafore made from a vintage pattern. The pattern is Simplicity 2822 from the late 1940s.  I modified this pattern a bit from the original.  I cut the sleeve flutters down a lot.  Changed the back so the buttons only went to the waist and altered the length.  I used the winged fabric and the Pale Pink Butterflies ribbon again as a waist detail.

Of course we needed a photo by the butterfly bench!

You can check out these gorgeous ribbons here and they can be purchased through Renaissance Ribbons or A Stitch in Time).

This is the last stop in the tour but be sure to take a peek at yesterday's blogger, Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter and the full line up here.

Thanks so much Bonnie Christine for including me in this tour. It has been so much fun working with these ribbons!

Finished January Quilt

Good Afternoon all!  I wanted to share the finished January quilt I had been working on.  The baby its intended for is coming a little earlier than expected (today!) so I rushed to finish it up for her.  The patten is the January block by Lady Harvatine you can find it here.  It was a really fun pattern to sew up.  My first time piecing curves!  I used mostly Anna Maria Horner's line folk song with a few of the Cotton + Steel basics mixed in.  Its backed in folk song as well (sorry I didn't get a photo of the back).  The binding is moda dottie leftover from backing of a quilt I did a while ago.  It was 108" backing fabric I think a poplin.  

 Have a great day!!