Just one more purse...

Friend Nancy turned me on to this fabric - I made an Arabesque purse for her last week from this fabric. Another friend, someone who has suffered greatly this winter, is a perfect candidate for this happy purse. I'll give it to her tomorrow. Quilting on Soft and Stable is easy, and the quilting makes the purse that much sturdier.

Wintersection has come home.  I hung it in the living room and then promptly took it down.  I had fun making this piece, I'll find a wall in the studio or closet for it, but I don't love it anymore.  Which is ok. At yesterday's guild meeting I was talking with a couple of guildsters about education and made the point that kids must learn rules before they can break them.  A basic rule in quilting is that corners should be 90 degree angles.  I chose to break that rule.  And I don't think I will ever make that choice again...

Getting Ready for QuiltCon 2015

The Modern Quilt Guild is holding its second convention in Austin, Texas this week.  QuiltCon 2013 was the best quilting experience ever, and I am thrilled to be returning to Austin for QuiltCon 2015. Leaving town for a few days is always an opportunity to finish up projects and line up what I want to work on next.

The final eight placemats for my house are finished.  And so is one more Molly Market tote bag - I just can't keep my hands off of this comma fabric.

When I get home, the two projects at the top of the list are the two tasteful Backhawks quilts for the fathers of my Illinois great nieces. These will be red feathers against a black and grey checked background.  The other project involves royal blue bridesmaid dresses.  The bridesmaids want their dresses worked into a bed topper for their bride.

 At Quiltcon 2015 I'm taking a full-day class in Sashiko Quilting with Maura Ambrose, and I am most looking forward to the two half-day classes with Yoshiko Jinzenji.  Roommate Melissa went to grad school in Austin, and one day we are going to visit the LBJ library.  One morning I have a pancake date with guildster Mimi who is no longer in Chicago and blogger buddy/hero Chawne.  Several of my quilt besties are making the trek to Austin - so wonderful to share this whole experience with them. 

It's All About The ... COMMA!

I made a similar Molly Market Tote Bag last year - see it here - but I wound up giving it as a Christmas present to Meg, our nephew's wife who lives in London.   I didn't give it to her until I was sure I had enough of Comma by ZenChic to make another.  This bag really is perfect for daily shopping - lightweight, sturdy, stylish.

This second bag is the Hazel Hipster, designed to be a cross-body bag.   I can't tell you how much I struggle with the length of bag straps.  And what did I do?  Create a lovely bag with a strap that is too short to wear cross body.  (Yes, I measured - who knows what the issue is...).   So either I need to find a short person who loves this bag - anyone? - or rework the straps with d-rings and make it adjustable.  Good thing I have more comma fabric.  In fact - full disclosure:  I have bought this fabric three times now.

Interior has two pockets

Back is plain and quilted

A Bag, a Pillow, and a Major Clean-up

My six Arabesque bags were fun to do. I still have piles of fabrics on the floor which would be perfect for this pattern. Buddy Melissa gave me a charm pack of Doe, a new fabric line by Carolyn Friedlander. Apparently I wasn't "done" with bags and had to turn this charm pack of 5" squares into an Aeroplane Bag, a great pattern by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness. I love this pattern and love how this bag turned out! Look at the reverse of this bag equally cute!

The interior of this bag also uses a Carolyn Friedlander fabric and has two zippered pockets.  Truly, perfect for aeroplane trips!  Should I take this bag to QuiltCon?  or perhaps this one?  Or maybe even this one?  First World problems, eh?

The pillow made from a leftover block of this quilt has finally been completed.  The back was another great reason to work on my Sashiko quilting.  And what I am learning is that I must use wool batting - it so nicely highlights the stitching and is so easy to needle.  And now?  I have no excuses:  I must organize my studio and put away and be thoughtful about what I want to do next! 

Quilting Alchemy on a Snowy Day

The purse for loving friend Nancy is complete.  And while there are things I should do, what's calling me very very loudly is the charm pack of the complete collection of Carolyn Friedlander's Doe fabrics.  Melissa gave me this charm pack.  I saw on Pinterest an Aeroplane Bag that had a pieced body.  And 2 + 2 has come together into a very tidy 4!  Something like this.  We are getting our first really big snowfall today.  If I were still teaching, I'd be hoping for a snow day.  And you know what?  I am making today - and perhaps tomorrow too - honorary snow days.  There are ingredients for several Indian dishes - Keema Matar, Sag Paneer, Raita - just waiting.  Nice.

Five Pretty Purses, all in a row...

 Five bags are completed.  And one more is in process.  I never played with dolls when I was little.  Guess I'm making up for it now by playing with purses...

My favorite - and one I am hoping to keep.  However, everything has a price!

An Arabesque Sort of Week

I have been in the mood to work on a purse, an Arabesque by Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness.  The one Arabesque that I have loved and (gently) used I would up selling to someone for a Christmas gift.  It was a twin of the grey tiled bag above.  My neighbor Miguel is visiting family in Uruguay next month and asked for a bag for his mother.  Then, he realized his sister would probably take that bag from his mom so he decided to get one for his sister.  But he has another sister, too.  So he wants three of these bags.  This week was the prepping - cutting the linings, assembling the interior pockets, adding an exterior pocket to this wonderful pattern (which is a free download), quilting the body onto Soft and Stable, a foam interfacing, making the straps.  Two are complete, and the other three are almost there.  A most satisfying week of sewing.  Now Miguel can choose which three bags he wants.  Although if he does choose the black/grey tile, I am charging more for that one!

Eloise Emma has arrived!

 

My niece had her second child, little Eloise Emma, Friday.  Eloise was born in Brooklyn and will join her brother Henry, mother Jen and father Tim.   ***cue The Circle of Life  from Lion King***  Eloise was the name of my Grandmother White, nee Eloise Sheehan.  People die, babies are born, and we remember those who came before us.  

My niece requested a low-volume pink and grey baby quilt.  The magazine Quilty published a baby quilt, full of lines of pennants.  I adapted this idea for Eloise's quilt.  I know my niece loves balloons, and I think this quilt looks complete with the addition of the balloons.  See the picture at the end of this post for the quilt top without balloons.  The quilt's back is a bit higher-volume than the front and a great contrast. 

 Eloise's quilt is in the washer right now and will go in the mail Monday!  What a satisfying project.

Victorian Shadowbox: Ready for the next 25 years!

When students are learning English as a Second Language, they are classified as ELL's - emerging language learners. This quilt I made when I was an EQM - an emerging quilt maker.  My primitve basting method means there are nice big folds in the backing.  My straight-line quilting isn't so straight.  The binding was pretty horrible - I didn't even know how to miter corners! And let's not even talk about the quilting in the quilt.  I did this on a domestic machine with a small harp, and this quilt is 84" x 104".

With the old binding cut off and the new binding security attached, this quilt has a primitive beautify and softness and is good to go for another 25 years.  Quilters give quilts away.  So it's great to be able to have my hands on something I made and see how it's lasted.  This quilt will be very happy in its St. Joe, Michigan, home with my sister. 

Victorian Shadowbox for the Aged P's

When I was a novice quilter, back in the late 80's, I depended on television to learn.  Eleanor Burns's TV show was excellent for this, and to this day I recommend Quilt In A Day books and patterns to beginners.  She did a Roman Stripe quilt, and I decided to make it.  I am not sure what drove the color choices, but my mom really liked this when it was almost finished.  Except she and my father had just bought a long bed.  So I had to figure how to add borders to a finished quilt.  The other television show I watched was Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson. On one of her shows she demonstrated seminole piecing, which appears in both the upper and lower borders. 

My sister-in-law Kim returned this quilt to me after my mom died.  My sister Paula chimed in and said she would like it - she has a pinkish guest bedroom and is trying to minimize the pink.  But I couldn't let her take the quilt just yet.  I made this quilt in 1991, waaaaay before I knew how to do a lot of things properly.  Most of the quilt is in good shape (except for the early primitive straight-line channel quilting).  But not the borders.  They are badly frayed because I didn't understand the importance of double-fold binding. 

So I will cut off the old binding and replace it and then give the quilt to Paula.  In Dickens' Great Expectations there is a minor character John Wemmick who has an aged and dotty father whom he called Aged P.  Mr. Wemmick tells Pip, "Nod away at him, Mr. Pip, he likes that."  Sometimes I would refer to my parents as the Aged P's - and not behind their backs either.  My mom refused to wash this quilt for fear it would lose its beauty.  So sometimes I would sneak in, get the quilt, wash and dry it, and get it back before she noticed.  The title for this quilt is apt, and I am pleased that Paula wants it and will use it.