W.I.P. Wednesday

Boy, summer feels like it's upon us, almost. Maybe not entirely weather-wise, though really we can't complain, more in the way of no school, upcoming vacations...ahhhhh. But, another Wednesday is also upon us so let's take a quick look at what I have going on. 

First of all, thank you to everyone who stopped by {this post} on Friday to offer suggestions as to what I should do with my Aqua/Orange/Gray charm pack.  A few of you mentioned Granny Squares, and that's when a little light bulb turned on in my brain! 

I didn't want to chop up my charms so I'm making the blocks using the full 5" squares.  Some of the charms I received have a white or cream background, so I've set those ones aside for now and subbed in some of my own fabrics in order to create the look and contrast that I wanted.  Since taking the above photos I have completed two of the blocks, using Kona Snow for the setting triangles (following Tracey's instructions {here}) each block finishing at about 19.5" square.  My plan is to lay them out something like how Debbie designed this quilt, and how Jessica designed this one.  Solid colours for the wide borders are yet to be decided!

Asides from that, all I really have on the go right now is cutting as many 1" hexagon templates as I can in order to take along on our vacation next week.  And then I suppose I'll need to dig through my scraps too!  I'm not going with any sort of plan, just winging it and making as many as I can, and who knows when I'll ever get around to sewing them together (not my favourite thing in the world!) but at least I'll have something crafty to do while away from the sewing machine.

One last little thing - if you haven't tried PicMonkey yet, DO!  I've always used Picasa for my photo editing, but thought to give PicMonkey a try as it seems to be gaining popularity, and I love it!  The 'Auto Correct' gave me exactly the results I wanted on the first try, which never happens in Picasa for me.  PicMonkey has many many features that I haven't explored, but I think I'm a convert, at least for my basic photo editing needs.

Quilt it for me, Chelsea!

 Chelsea is having a great giveaway on her blog, and fortunately I was reminded of it by a couple of fellow-bloggers otherwise I may have forgotten.  Chelsea is giving away her long arm quilting services to TWO lucky winners.  You can click the button above for more details.

Well, I have a quilt top that I would LOVE for someone else to tackle!

Meet my strip tube pieced quilt, made using a Sweetwater Pure jelly roll.  This was my first time using this technique, and my first time using a jelly roll.  The quilt top came together super fast!  Only problem, I am not in love with this fabric, more specifically the colours, and I'm finding it reaaaally hard to motivate myself to carry on with this project.  Don't get me wrong, I think it will make a beautiful finished quilt and I have someone in mind that I want to give it to who will love it, but if Chelsea would quilt this for me, all the better!!

And I'm lucky in that I live not too far from Chelsea, so I'm hoping if I win that we can do an in-person delivery!   :)  I don't know how I would like it quilted, but I know that Chelsea is experienced and has done some beautiful work so I would trust her to do something amazing with this!

You still have time to enter, just keep in mind that if you win you will be responsible for shipping both ways.

for the love designs ~ giveaway WINNERS!

Hosting this giveaway of quilt patterns by 'for the love designs' was a lot of fun for me!  Thanks again to Lu for offering her patterns as prizes, and thanks to all of you who read my little blog and have left so many kind comments.  I do appreciate all of you!

So without further ado, the two winners who will each receive 3 patterns of your choice are.....

 ....CitricSugar & Kirsten N!  Congratulations to both of you.  I will be emailing you shortly to find out which 3 patterns you would like to receive. 

And for those of you who did not win, Lu is offering a coupon code of CRAFTING25 to receive 25% off all patterns in her shop between now and Wednesday, June 27/12 at midnight.

Friday wrap-up ~ a finish and a question

Hello all!  My kiddos are officially finished another year of school so we're busy getting used to the new routine and all of this togetherness!  It's all good though.  :)

One more non-quilting finish this week, sticking with the bag theme!  Kimberly recommended the Pocket Clutch by Michelle Patterns as a good one to try (and Kimberly is pretty much the expert on Michelle Patterns!), and I still had enough fabric leftover from my Pleated Wristlet, so I went for it. 

This was an easy design to put together, I think the most time consuming part is cutting out the pieces!  A challenge when one is used to using a rotary cutter for everything.  :)  What?  I have to use scissors?  If anyone makes this pattern, the one thing I will strongly recommend is to use a walking foot on your machine, especially for the last few steps when there are a whole bunch of layers to sew through.  It helped immensely!

This little clutch is big enough to hold a bit of money, some cards, maybe some keys, depending how big your key ring is, and would probably fit a cell phone but what do I know as I don't have one!  I don't think I would put coins in it as they'd probably get lost - I don't think they would fall out if the clutch was closed, but without a zip section I don't think I would risk it. 

On a different note, I received the above charm pack (56 - 5" charm squares) from Jenelle's recent aqua/orange/gray mystery charm swap.  Isn't it pretty?  (photo is Jenelle's, used with permission)  I want to actually do something with these charms.  So I'm asking all of you - what would you do with these?  Do you have any favourite charm-friendly tutorials/patterns?  Quilts or otherwise.  I'd love your input!

Have a wonderful weekend!

W.I.P. Wednesday

* for the love designs pattern giveaway can be found {here} ~ entries will be open until Saturday, June 23, 2012 * 

I've been finishing some things lately and starting and finishing other things, and then there's those W.I.P.'s that I've been ignoring!  I'm thinking I should maybe give these quilt tops some attention sometime soon....

{L: strip tube quilt top; R: scrappy postage stamp quilt top}

For some reason, I'm not really excited about either of these.  Actually, I think I know what it is.  Basting.  I really dislike basting.  My space is limited so I have to clear away our kitchen eating area in order to have enough space to baste, then being down on my knees pinning for an hour or more....doesn't hold much appeal at the moment!

Today is my kids' last day of school.  Woohoo!  They're excited, and so am I.  Where has another year gone?  I think I say that every year at this time.  Both of them have been playing with my sewing machine a lot lately.  Scraps of fabric, some of my less-than-favourite thread, mixed with some decorative stitches and they are entertained for as long as I'll let them play.  Lu has been making drawstring bags with her kids, which would be fun I think, but I'm looking for more ideas of fun (and simple) things to sew with kids....boys to be exact!

A question for all of you who sew bags/pouches, etc.  What is the most useful length of zipper to have on hand?  I've been browsing Zipit and am amazed by the prices, but want to be sure that I purchase what will be most useful for future projects.

Have a good week everyone!

Pleated Wristlet ~ finished, and a mini review

I've totally been bitten by the bag bug.  Maybe it's summer that has me thinking about smaller projects, as opposed to quilts.  Maybe Purse Palooza has me inspired.  Probably a combination of reasons.  At any rate, I'm having a lot of fun and am learning a lot of new things!  First I made the Hexagon Pencil Case, then I tried a Dumpling (not blogged, but you can see it on flickr), and now.....the Pleated Wristlet by Michelle Patterns.  The pattern includes 3 sizes.  This is the medium, which actually ended up bigger than I expected.

This pattern has amazingly clear directions - even the recessed zipper was a cinch, just taking it one step at a time.  A little tip for you - hand basting a zipper in place before sewing with the machine is TOTALLY WORTH IT.  This pattern didn't say to, it just suggested pinning and machine basting, but I hand basted the zipper when I made the Dumpling, so I did it here as well and it made all the difference in the world.  Pins just get in the way, in my opinion.  Oh, and by the way, I didn't even use a zipper foot for this project.

I lined the bag with my new favourite colour - plum!  The lining is quilted with a thin batting and muslin backing.  Not sure if I would do this step again for this pattern.  I think a light interfacing or a layer of flannel would be sufficient for the lining, especially since the bag's exterior has a lot of structure already.

 

Speaking of interfacing and structure, all of the exterior bag pieces, including the wrist strap are backed with a heavyweight fusible.  Being new to this, and experimenting with products I've never used before, I wasn't sure what type of interfacing to use.  I went with a heavyweight because I have attempted bags in the past that ended up way too floppy.  For this particular bag though, I think a medium weight would have been sufficient, especially for the strap.  Don't get me wrong though, the heavyweight was actually okay but it may just have been a tad over-kill!  I guess in the end, deciding which interfacing to use has a lot to do with the fabric you are using.

I read a review of this pattern, and that particular blogger said that she wasn't crazy about how the exterior corners were finished and would do it differently next time.  Me?  I LOVE these corners!  I think it's ingenius and very unique.  I would totally do it this way again.

Bottom line - I would absolutely recommend this pattern and I look forward to trying more of Michelle's designs in the future.  I think the biggest thing I am learning is this:  when making bags, it is important to GO SLOW.  We get so used to piecing and quilting and just zipping fabric through the machine really fast - well, that just won't work with a bag that requires precision.  I took every step really slowly and carefully, and am so pleased with the result.  

Oh, and that zippers can be our friend!  Don't be afraid of them - I challenge you to try something with a zipper if you never have.  You'll be very proud of yourself!

P.S.  A shout out to Rebecca of Sew Festive Handmade for her recent post, suggesting using a roll of wrapping paper as a backdrop for taking photos.  Awesome.

Linked up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

Tuesday at the {Summer} Table

My contribution today for Tuesday at the {Summer} Table isn't something strictly to do with summer, but it is something that we have recently been learning about and definitely something typical of the area where we live.  Crabbing!!  That said, we've lived where we do for 10yrs and have only just started now so it is definitely not something that everyone here does, but it's an awesome family activity that is actually quite relaxing.

First step, buy a $21 license, borrow a crab trap from friends, drive to the local crabbing dock, put some raw chicken in as bait (ewwww!), throw the trap and then....wait.  This activity requires a fair bit of patience.  While you're waiting you can either do this....

......or this...... (just can't wait to pull that trap up!)

You might even catch a glimpse of this (off our crabbing dock, it's pretty much guaranteed) - meet Lucy, our local mascot:

After a sufficient amount of time - usually about 1/2 hour - or until the kids can't wait any longer, you pull the trap up and see what you get!  If the crabs are too small, like these ones below, they have to go back in the water.  But if they're at least 6.5" across the body, they're yours to keep....and eat.  I think there's a limit as to how many you can take in one day, but so far we've only ever caught one in the same day that was big enough to keep, plus I don't know if we'd want to bring more than one home at a time anyways!

I'll admit, I don't love eating it and don't particularly enjoy the smell that lingers in the kitchen after boiling crab, but the rest of my family loves it so for once in awhile, it's okay.  For me, it's more about the experience than about the meal that it gives!

for the love designs ~ pattern GIVEAWAY

For those who regularly read my blog, it's no secret that I loved making the Frankie quilt, from for the love designs, that I recently completed.  It was a very straight forward pattern, pre-cut friendly, beginner friendly, awesome support from the designer....what more can I say!  Highly recommended!  (p.s.  She also has a super cute blog!)

 {my version of 'Frankie'}

Lu has many other lovely designs, 9 in all, and some of my other favourites are....

Lu has generously offered to give away three patterns of your choice, to two lucky winners!

In order to enter, please visit Lu's pattern shop then come back and leave one comment on this post telling me which of her quilt designs is your favourite.

I will leave the giveaway open until next Saturday, June 23, 2012, 5pm PST.  I will contact the two winners by email to find out which three patterns you would like, then the patterns you choose will be emailed directly to you by Lu.

Good luck!

Frankie ~ finished, and visiting the beach!

I am hosting a giveaway for three 'for the love designs' patterns of your choice.  To enter, {click here}.  Giveaway ends Saturday, June 23/12 at 5pm PST.

Frankie is finished, has had a nice gentle wash in the machine (p.s. the washable Crayola marker I used for marking the top all came out!  Awesome!), so what comes next?  Photos!  Often I will use the clothesline in the back yard for quilt photos, but today I decided to venture out to the beach.  We're very fortunate to live where we do and I hope you enjoy seeing a part of my world.

{had to include an arbutus tree in one photo!}

{one of my favourite things at the beach.  I'm amazed how these manage to flower and thrive in the rock}

Quilt stats:

Pattern:  Frankie, by for the love designs

Finished size:  64" x 72"

Fabric:  Freebird by Momo for Moda, Kona Ash, Heritage Cotton 

solids in Chocolate and Plum, a little bit of Hometown Reunion 

(small yellow floral), and Sonoma by Franchelle 

Contreras for Henry Glass Fabrics (backing)

Quilted by:  me, using Aurifil 50wt thread in an all-over 

randomly spaced straight line grid (though let's be real, I

marked every single one of those lines - thank you Crayola!)

W.I.P. Wednesday

This week, I started and finished a small project and made a lot of progress on a large project.  The small finished project is this pencil case from "I Love Patchwork" by Rashida Coleman-Hale (also the author of the very popular "Zakka Style").  This was a bit of a challenging project, and you can read more about it {here}.

And the large project ~ Frankie.  Last Wednesday I had this quilt basted, and this week I'm starting to hand-stitch the binding to the back.  I feel like it's gone so fast, which is not like me.  I usually get hung up either at purchasing backing, or at getting projects basted, but not this time!  

I tried something different this time, which you might notice in the photo.  It drives me bananas how much the edges of the quilt and binding strips fray while I'm hand-stitching, so for the first time I zigzagged around the whole perimeter to hopefully control the fraying as much as possible.   Will let you know if it ends up being worth it.  You might also notice some Crayola marking on the quilt top, though they're not too noticeable in this photo.  Here's hoping they wash out in a couple of days when I finish the binding.  Fingers crossed!  OH, and I was going to ask - has anyone else ever had a squeaky walking foot?  I've used my walking foot a lot and it is still working perfectly fine but it squeaks and it's driving me crazy!  I'm thinking a drop of oil somewhere might help but I don't know where to put it.  Any help?

Nothing else in the works at the moment, especially with summer fast approaching and probably not as much sewing/quilting time in my immediate future, I'm not planning a whole bunch of stuff.  I do hope to try a few more smaller, quicker projects though. That said, I'm a little bit in love with the Supernova quilt from "Quilting Modern"....

Have a good rest of the week, and I look forward to peeking at what the rest of you are up to as well.

Hexagon Pencil Case

This little project is the Pencil Case from "I Love Patchwork" by Rashida Coleman-Hale.  In the end, it turned out soooo very cute, but it was very fiddly and this was a huge learning experience for me.

I've worked with zippers a few times before, but the way this one was installed made the process so easy.  You create a 'zipper panel' as opposed to sewing the outer and lining pieces directly to the zipper, which is where I've struggled in the past.  So, zipper - check!  Applying heavy interfacing to all outer pieces - check!  Making adorable 1/2" hexagons with scrap solids - check!  

Sewing large end hexagons to outer pieces....hmmmmmm.  I really thought there was an error in the pattern because I could not figure out how this size hexagon was supposed to fit!  I even sent the designer an email.  In the meantime though, I figured it out - sort of.  I got the hang of it by the end, having to do it 4 times - twice on the outer and twice on the lining - but believe me it is NOT pretty on the inside!  Thankfully, that is the part that will never be seen.  :)

The lining was another struggle, and hand stitching it in place was not easy and there really is quite a bit of excess lining bagging in the bottom of the pouch (not sure why?) but in the end I got over that hurdle as well. 

So, the verdict:

• a beautiful book and a really sweet pattern, even though it's tricky - maybe I just need more practice.  I look forward to trying more of her patterns.
• I LOVE this way of installing a zipper
• I omitted the little fabric loops on each end of the zipper, and now I wish I hadn't.  I can see their use now that it's finished.  Something to grab onto when opening/closing the zipper, of course!  Duh!  I omitted them because it involved turning a 1/2" wide fabric tube which I could not figure out how to do, and didn't have any ribbon suitable to use in its place, so I skipped that step.  Now I wish I'd been more patient.
• Would I make it again??  Maybe.  I want to make more zip pouches but I think I need to practice on some designs that are a bit larger (and maybe with no hexagon shaped ends!) to get the hang of the process before attempting something small like this again.  

All said though, my Crayola marking pens now have a new home!

Tell me, if you've made zip pouches, what have been your favourite patterns/tutorials???