Mama's got a brand new bag...

I have had this bag on the brain for about year. It was percolating in there but I didn't know how to start, where to begin with the design. Having only made a handful of bags my construction technique wasn't up to the challenge..not yet. But then that changed and I made the bag of my dreams!

So how did I overcome my bag making shortcomings? I made a practice bag and I searched for a bunch of tutorials and inspiration. I made this bag first and I used Elizabeth Hartman's Quilt-as-you-go tutorial for bags (but I didn't use the canvas inside, I wanted a floppy bag) I looked at this picture from Fresh Lemons about a hundred times and then I just dove in. 

 

The fabrics came from my stash and there is a mix of vintage and new, just like always. I love, love this color palette; look for more of this combination coming soon! There is a little bit of Anna Maria Horner, lots of DS quilt and my favorite vintage prints that I have been hoarding for special projects. 

The inside has a canvas bottom and some of my favorite linen blend vintage lining. I put in a little pocket up top and zigzag stitched around the top. I used a pretty clever technique to make the bag handles and I may get around to sharing that here.

This is project number 2 of the new year and it's like in the top 5 favorite all time makes already. It just says ME all over it. The fabrics, the way it's put together, the fact that I didn't use a pattern but was able to construct it by myself - it all just adds up to a big 'ol YES!

What's been your favorite thing you've ever made and why?


Cheers!
Kelly

Winter's Steely Grey and Purple Quilt

Hi. It's really Christmastime now. Just a few days left until the family gathers and friends come to call. This is what all the preparation is for. But before I get back to the sewing of little person PJ's and snack bags I wanted to pop in a share a quilt finish from last month.

Remember my little boy blue quilt post? I had eluded to the two pregnant ladies in my life - one a baby boy (who is healthy and happy!) and a little girl (who is expected in February) - Baby Winter. It was baby Winter's turn and mom choose a very pretty palette of grey and purple. So I hit the stash and came back with several shades and a few creams for good measure.

Now with most of my quilt designs I wasn't exactly sure where this quilt was headed. I had a half square triangle quilt for inspiration so I started there and used The Sometimes Crafter tutorial for making HST (it's brilliant and quick).

Then I waited and during that time my circle of Do. good stitches was working on an HST quilt top inspired by this quilt top. It was just the right hues to work with the fabrics I had pulled.

So in the end it turned out beautifully. It is backed in flannel and straight-line quilted on either side of each triangle.

I am thinking of writing up a simple tutorial for this because it really is so easy to make. Would anyone be interested in that????

Cheers and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Kelly

Rainbow Scrappy: Log Cabin Quilt

Remember once upon a time when I was making rainbow inspired goodness? Well that never really stopped, I have been trucking on this quilt for just a year and a half. I made the first block on a rainbow whim and that was going to be it. A big pillow I thought. I made another for the back but I couldn't stop making them.

I made a 6 block top and showed it to the hubby. He said quilts need to be big - and I agreed. I hate that when the toes stick out or the arms aren't quite covered. So I made 3 more blocks and fudged it together with the first 6. It measures 76" x 82". All the blocks are total improv. No measuring with anything other than my eye. So making them all fit together with a little white around the edges to break up the colors was a little tricky. But I made it happen. One strip, one color and one scrap at a time.

The scraps really do tell the story of  my quilting life. There are not so pretty fabrics in there; ones that were gifted to me or that I had long before Blue Bird Sews. There is a huge amount of swapped scraps most notably from Spontaneous Threads when I won a box of scraps from her a while back. Then there was an amazing grab bag of modern scraps from one of my favorite thrift stores. There was also Stashtacular from 2 summers ago where I was the beneficiary of some wonderful and tragic prints.

The other notable aspect of this quilt is the quilting. I knew I wanted to practice hard core on it but I didn't know what patterns or ideas exactly. So I just sat down and first made little loops on the white boarders. They looked adorable so I did the DS Quilts loop d' loop on one of the blocks. Then I wanted to practice some swirls so I did that but wasn't satisfied with the density so I went back and filled in with circles. I did two of the blocks with different boarders. I did more swirls and I did repeating lines.

I did it all and I learned a bunch about how my machine jumps when I let go of the quilt. About how I can't move my left hand without losing total control over the design. And about my stitch regularity and how it needs a lot of work. And that is just what this quilt was for. Testing, growing and learning.

The last little bits that are incredible about this quilt is the backing and binding. Backing in rainbow vintage sheet and binding in vintage black on white polka dots. Perfect.

Have a wonderful weekend! I will be doing a holiday market at the Portland Waldorf School on Saturday in Milwaukie. I am hoping there are lots of people who need a quilt (but not this one)!

Cheers!
Kelly

Sewing for all Seasons: Coasters Made

This book is gorgeous. Every page just drips with style. I have flipped through it about a dozen times since I WON it at PMQG meeting last week. Susan was kind enough to giveaway a few copies and I was lucky enough to walk away with it and a kit to make the coffee cozy project too!

So in my many flip throughs I decided to make the coasters out of purely practical reasons. My hubby and I invested in a new set of bedroom furniture. Like the most beautiful mission style oak bedroom set on the planet. I lurv it and I don't want to be getting any tea mug stains on it, ya know.

I choose to use a Joel Dewberry fabric Heirloom which I got the fat quarter set last year for myself for Christmas. It's already in some pillow shams I made for the bed so it fits in well. And there's beautiful roses on one side and blue/purple geometric on the other.

So we know the book is gorgeous and the writing and diagrams are good too. I decided to actually read the instructions and go with the way Susan uses to bind her quilts and things with a binding tape that is folded over the exposed edges. Very clever, a little tricky, and worth the effort. Once you sew the binding on you're done. I like that satisfaction. I choose not to baste the corners as she suggests but I can see how it totally helps out.

what's missing here? A coaster!

I did do one thing a little differently because I don't have any double sided fusible interfacing. Instead I used potholder batting which added some loft but will also keep it cool on my nightstand.  I might just need a reason to sew up the matching place mats. Like new dinning room furniture! Ha! There is no more room for furniture in my little house!

aahhh. Much better!

Thanks again to Susan for the giveaway. I have many more flip throughs with this inspiring book! I love the little library cards with fabric swatches, you must check it out!

Cheers!
Kelly

linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

Blue Hue's Scrappy Baby Quilt

Babies are coming. I have two good friends who are pregnant and due in the coming winter months. Lucky for me one is a boy and one is a girl so I get to make the best of both worlds. This past weekend was a little boy baby shower. You know it's gonna be scrappy but how scrappy would it go?

Super scrappy. I found a Thimbleberries pattern from an old quilt book of mind; 1-2-3 Quilt. The original was pastel mess but I changed it up with blue prints and solids.

All the colors and prints just ooze together for me; the whole is greater than the parts. These were prints that aren't my favorite or didn't have a lot of, just hanging out in the stash waiting for a turn. They came together so well, the overall it just cool. 

Of course I missed getting a picture with the mommy and blanket. I'll make sure to get one with the real owner when he decides to show up. 

The next quilt is for a little Winter girl. Mom and Dad are doing the room in purples so a purple, grey, white, cream half square triangle quilt will be coming, but not until after I sew up a bunch of rainbow goodness for the holiday bazaar shows. 

To be crayon rolls and notebook covers. Make me so happy to use up all these scraps! 

Cheers!

Kelly 

10 Years...

This past week my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. Our wedding was held along the banks of the Crooked River 15 miles outside of Prineville in the canyon desert land of central Oregon. 

It is a place we call home, a place we come back to for renewal and growth. 

This was a trip surround by family and friends who have become family.

It was the first time we took our son out there for camping. An adventure that will be repeated many times I hope. 

The next 10 years begins again.

Cheers, 

Kelly 

Seeing Red:: August Garden

As I was wandering the garden this month I noticed something...something other than green. Red was every where in every shade from bright orange red to soft magenta. Of course there are red tomatoes and red hot peppers but the not so apparent hints caught my eye this month. 

A special flower: The Nightwatchman variety of Holly Hock. Saving seeds as I type.  

Red Leaf lettuce.

Beets! Yum. After watching my Grandma Dutra eat these from a can I never thought beets would be a favorite. But they are easy to grow and taste like candy when roasted.

Sun Gold tomatoes; these maybe more orange than red but they are beautifully sweet.

Another bee buzzing about collecting pollen. I told my son about this magical process and now each time he sees a bee he says "Awe look Mom, a bee getting pollen." The scientist in me melts each time.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

The constant in all my gardens, nasturtium. Also saving seeds from these little ones.  

A basket full of red veggies (and green and yellow and orange). The garden is bursting. In the next couple of weeks I will be harvesting and preserving drying, freezing and canning. The bounty is too much to eat; especially when there are figs coming ripe. 

Maybe next month Orange will be the dominate color :) Till then, 

Cheers!

Kelly