Cecilia's Basket and Ben's Quilt, in process

 Cecilia's Crochet Basket has been  delivered and was most happily received.  This basket is designed to hold 8 - 9 skeins of yarn and the project, in its various stages.  This basket stands and has handles so that it can be easily moved.  My basket, the one of the left, has a dark inside, which makes it difficult to locate things.  Cecilia's basket is 8 inches taller and has a lighter lining, so important when looking for things.  This pattern was modified from one in friend Ebony Love's book, Cut It, Sew It, Stow It. 

 Meanwhile, I have been making steady progress on grandson Ben's quilt.  The top is mostly constructed - I'm just adding some red and black borders so that it is an appropriate twin bed size.  For the back of his quilt John found some NBA Bulls fabric at Joann's, and I found a link to the local newspaper from last June, when Ben was the Illinois Free Throw Champion.  I printed this page out onto fabric, and it will also be part of the back of the quilt.  Ben has the best disposition - can't wait to get this quilt to him!

All Kitted and Ready to Sew

In an attempt to quell my frenetic state at this time of year (2014 is new, whole year ahead of us, goals, yadda yadda), I am creating inner peace by getting these projects down on paper.  So to speak.  The first three I am eager to do.  But the last three have immediate deadlines.  This Spectrum kit by Jinny Beyer is calling to me.  It includes 150 6" squares of fabrics prearranged (no, I did not pay full price - just the charm pack was on sale). 

                                                   These Marcia Derse fabrics are wonderful. The design is a pattern from Blue Underground Studios, ECHO.  See below for annotation.

This bundle of Pepper Cory Shot Cottons are ones I bought at Material Girl in Crystal Lake.  I need more of the Oyster, the lightest color, to make this quilt FAST LANE.   This too is a pattern from Blue Underground Studio's book In Love with Squares and Rectangles.  The background will be the Oyster, and the dotted white lines will be the fabulous colors of these cottons. 

Bev, my dental hygienist, had two big things happen with two months.  Her daughter married, and her mother died.  At Bev's daughter's request, we are making a bed throw of the wedding dress and the clothes worn by Bev's parents at a wedding ceremony held in Florida, especially so that Bev's parents could be there. The wedding accent color was black, and we are incorporating a lot of greys and the wedding dress into this Winning Hand design.  I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I know it will be beautiful. 

 Good friend Cecilia saw this basket I when I was testing friend Ebony Love's pattern for her book Cut It, Sew It, Stow It.  Cecilia needs a crochet basket, so I will make this 6 inches taller and think it will be what she will be able to use.  It's a very clever pattern designed by a very clever woman. 

But the last shall be first.  Grandson Ben is getting his first quilt from me.  I don't think I made him a baby quilt.  Is that possible?  Ben is a smart and talented kid with the best disposition and attitude ever.  He's the one we wrapped a present for in a box of Cheetos.  He tore off the paper, saw the Cheetos box, and yelled, "This is great!  I love Cheetos!"  I'm getting busy on this today with the intent of getting it to my fabulous long armers Terri and Frank by next Sunday.  Then Cecilia's crochet basket.  And then the Wedding Grandparent quilt.  And I will save for another post all the UFO's and other projects I want to do in 2014!

Why, Yes!

Seriously,  Mors Bags in Three Stooges Fabric?

Aren't those pattern pieces for the Aragon Bag?

Didn't you just use those same fabrics in a new bed quilt for yourself?

Do you really intend to turn these scraps into a RunAround for Cousin Marian?

Do you love being snowed in at the beginning of a new year?

Big Quilt, In Process

Three Marcia Derse fabrics bought last February at QuiltCon

Testing the design with six 18" blocks Maple Island Big Quilt 1

Loving how this is turning out - still need six more blocks... layout to be tweaked!

Seriously, I'm putting the zippers away

 We have another family dinner today with our son, his wife and their three sons.  Jeannine has been doing a 35-session round of  radiation for breast cancer and is one-third of the way through.  What is my offering to her?  A RunAround bag of course.  She gets her choice of these three (middle fabric came from Scotland!).  I am excited to put away my zippers temporarily and begin work on big things.  I have a box of Marcia Derse fabrics, and I think I know the direction I want to go in with these fabrics.  The goal is a new bed quilt for us.  And youngest grandson Ben (mentioned above) has not had his quilt.  Ben's a basketball fan and wants a Bulls quilt with perhaps a bit of the Hawks in it.  Notice the Kona card so I can find just that perfect shade of red.  Sure hope it isn't the Kona named "Lipstick."  Somehow that would just be wrong for Ben's sports-themed quilt...

These will go back into their box.

And these are coming out to play!

The beginning of Ben's Bulls quilt

The Elves have left the building...

Four little Runarounds for my niece Laura's little girls

My sewing is complete - for the next few days.  Time to reorganize, put away, and focus on the bigger projects I've been wanting to start.

Interested in the WOW/Duffel Tote bag pattern mentioned below and before?  You can order it from Dusty Attic Quilt shop in Maryland. 

The opposite sides of the above bags

For the granddaughters and another niece

Little zippered pouches, at the request of my trainer.  (Phone included just for size)

WOW Duffel/Totes for Richard and Laurel

Special Fairies in My Life

John is the Christmas Fairy.  He's decorated the house, sent out cards, and blinged my Quilted Christmas Tree. All I had to do was some present shopping for him and continue sewing.  Now we can focus on our celebrations with family and friends. 

I have a whole day to myself and have one more present in mind to make - for one of tonight's dinner guests.  But before tackling this, look at what my Monday Sewing Fairy and her son Jack made!  Love this holiday hot pad and that Jack did some of the quilting.

Holly is my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild Fairy.  I love her.  Not just because she made me a totally beautiful hot cup collar for my birthday and not just because she made me a fabulous mug rug. As I'm still discovering my styles and colors,Holly  has nailed my preferences with her fabrics and design.  AND - this is almost the best part - look at the two fat quarters she enclosed with her little holiday gift.  I have some amazing people in my life.

From Jack and Eileen

From Holly

Quilting Peer Pressure

A normal sized tote with two side pockets

Study enough for several books

 I really am quite fond of this pattern (but good luck finding it. (I found it at the Jinny Beyer website but haven't been able to locate it there since - stay tuned for an update).    The directions call for using a lightweight fusible interfacing.  So of course I use what I can get at Joann's with a coupon.

Meanwhile, I've been making some of Sara Lawson's bags, and she's fond of ShapeFlex.  So I bought some of that.  It's three times the price of the generic lightweight fusible interfacing.  But I like it.  And when you're spending 6 hours on a project, it deserves the right fabrics. 

So I began this WOW bag with ShapeFlex, and this bag is almost too stiff.  I'm going back to the cheap stuff for this application.

My point?  I must learn to follow my instincts and make decisions based on the project and not necessarily what products others are using. 

Zipper and side strap are the first hint that this isn't your ordinary tote

Side pockets and handles sort of melt into the background when the bag is a duffel

Insulated Carrier - and more Runarounds - and...

This 9 x 13 Casserole Carrier is insulated and even has a pocket on the top - for perhaps a serving utensil.  The pattern is from Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness.  While I'm glad I made this and will use it, I think I will go back to my previous casserole carrier pattern.  A couple of my sewing buddies tried this pattern with me, and we all felt it was pretty complicated. 

The 9 x 13 pan with a lid was really hard to get into the case - hard to imagine doing with this a hot pan.

I think I will use this for slighter small pans, like this cast iron lasagna pan.  The carrier is deep so it easily accommodates a tall pan. 

A former Kennedy student is coming over today to get two Runarounds - they seem to be the gift of choice this holiday.  So I am still cranking them out. 

Red and black are my best sellers

Finally,  the power of sentiment in the work that quilters do cannot be underestimated, as evidenced by the following.  I was asked to restore a 23-year old Barney Comforter, which I did without question. 

Taking shape, sort of...

I think I have finished machine quilting this wall hanging. It was a great experiment in using some of the fabrics I've been accumulating for this grand project for my bedroom.I wondered how a modern log cabin using this basic design might work. There's a guild meeting today, and it's a sew-in. So I created two more similar but simpler blocks, and I want to try some hand-quilting.

And I've been working on more RunAround bags.  Today at the guild meeting we are supposed to bring a bag of scraps.  But I am not playing along for two reasons.  One is that I use my scraps and have so many.  Two is that I can't bear to bring any thing more into the studio.  Instead I have used my scraps to make bags for Sarah S who works so hard as VP of the guild, for the Debbies who introduced me to Marcia Derse, for Jen Lo who is my reading twin, for Sarah E the hardest working guild treasurer; and for Beth, who has just returned to the work force.  

I'm learning which fabrics I like in this application

Some little runarounds for some of my guild buddies - the pocket side

The Zipper Side