Basting, Sleeving, and Gifting

 Steps for basting my scrappy log cabin:

1.  Prepare backing from various leftover fabrics
2. Spread on the studio floor
3.  Call John to help arrange the batting and top
4.  Put the studio tables together lengthwise (love those locking casters)
5.  Gently fold the whole shebang together, transfer it to the tables,  and begin the pinning process

Once this quilt is basted, I need to put it aside and return to my knit project and put two sleeves on quilts that will be displayed at the International Quilt Festival in Rosemont in April.  My Elliptical Drunkard's Path and My Answer is Yes were both accepted - I'm pretty happy about this!  Since sleeving involves hand sewing, I think that's what I'll do at this Saturday's Chicago Modern Quilt Guild Sew-In in Lockport.

My sister-in-law Kim told me that my great nieces are requesting little purses, and she gave me the dimension and asked for Velcro closures.  But the Velcro was giving me fits - it was just too gummy.  So I went the magnetic snap route.  And kind of like with snaps, there's a bit of dyslexia that happens.  But, the three are done.  I hope the girls gives the ickiest one to Isla - she's only 4 and won't notice it's poorly made! 

Two Sloan Travel Bags, Completed

 

These Sloan Travel Bags (pattern by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness) are completed, and I am very pleased with them.  Our trip to New Zealand last spring was of the nature and hiking variety, not the shopping kind.  We did run across one fabric store outside of Auckland which seemed to special in Civil War reproduction fabrics.  And I pretty much reconciled myself to not finding any fabrics indicative of New Zealand.  However, on the South Island in the relatively small town of Oamaru which we went to for the penguin nests, I found a fabric shop directly across the street from our "Fawlty Tower"-esque hotel.  And here were a handful of New Zealand fabrics.  The black and white one represents the various weaving patterns the Maori used.  The red-black-cream fabric uses Maori symbols.  Can you see the black-and-white ferny fabric on the side of the red/black/cream bag?  Ferns are ubiquitous, and there are some kiwis hidden among the frond.  The outer pockets on both bags are a black-on-black print featuring fern fronds. That one highly-saturated red became the pockets in the lining of both bags. 

My favorite part of the bag-making process:  the outer bag and lining bag ready for the magic!

This bag has a wide zippered closure at the top. 

Two zippered pockets on the inside, two pockets on each end, and a fob for a key, a feature which I think is a necessity in a travel bag.

The two outer pockets with a magnetic snap

Meanwhile, this scrappy log cabin is in one big piece, and I have decided to do an inner yellow border and then an outer piano key border.  I've done this once before and remember loving the look.  And if it's one thing I have, it's more scraps.  There's a little reminder in the bottom corner of this picture that I need to get moving on this knit clothing project.  Maybe not this week, but certainly next!

6.5" logs awaiting assembly for the piano key outer border

Bags in Process

Did you see this fabulous Sloan Travel Bag I finished a few weeks ago?  I love how it turned out and decided to use these fabrics I bought in New Zealand last spring to make two more bags.  These fabrics are based on Maori designs, and I was thrilled to find them in Oamaru on the South Island .  This bag is 19" x 15" by 7" and perfect for travel.  But - and this is a pretty big but - it has a lot of parts.  I have spent two days cutting the outer, lining, and interfacings.  There are 7 pockets - 3 with zippers and two with snapping flaps.  The bag itself has a zipper closure.  But here's the other but:  the payoff is a big one.  These bags are designed well (thank you, Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness), absolutely practical,  and meant to last. 

My bolt of Soft and Stable ready for cutting

In some ways purse and bag making is like doing a jigsaw puzzle.  Which fabrics to use and how to use them are part of the fun.  First you have to make the pieces and then you have to figure out how to assemble them.  Good thing I have always liked puzzles! 

A couple of little zip pouches, just to use my machine on these days of cutting and interfacing.  Fellow retired English teacher Carol got the bag with commas.  She was pretty happy with it. 

Scrappy Log Cabin in Process

I have scraps.  My scraps have scraps.  Seriously, I have several baskets of scraps.  And every so often I use them.  This project is one of them.  But don't confuse a scrap project with a crap project.  I have done some fabulous things with scraps.  Long-time friends Ed and Marge (John and I taught with Ed at Farragut, and then Ed and I were transferred to Englewood HS together) just bought a home in Wisconsin, and this quilt is for their new place.  Marge likes bright and cheery and is fairly traditional.  So, what a great opportunity to use some of my scraps and revisit what is perhaps my favorite quilt block of all time - the log cabin.  These blocks above have  3" center because I found a stack of blue blocks that were 3.5"   Using 2.5" for the width of each log, the finished block is 11.5" square.  There are 10 blue-yellow, 10 green-blue, and 10 yellow-green blocks.  As I was putting these blocks together, I began to realize that the greens and blues are darker than I intended.  So here's how I first put these blocks on the design wall:

I left two inches between the blocks and auditioned some yellow sashing in the upper left corner and a green floral sashing in the upper right corner.  Sashing would be more work but would also create a bigger quilt.  This arrangement creates a diagonal design - sort of.  Then I began to think about group the blocks to create on-point squares:

Can you see the blue and green clusters?  I can't because the yellow dominates.  So I decided to go with letter the yellows be the star.

At the first QuiltCon in 2014 I heard Heather Grant give a talk about the growth and development of modern quilting, and she observed that the affordable digital camera has been an absolute game changer.  And she's right.  What a luxury it is to be able to look at these design changes and be thoughtful about what I want to do next.

My decision - although I will take a day to let all this percolate - is to go with the first design and use yellow to sash and separate these blocks.  Although I did think about incorporating some purple:

Maybe it's time to get Marge involved in the decision-making...

The Die is Cast

For almost two years I have had three yards of a knit print - Dotted Boulevard, an Art Galley Jungle Avenue knit designed by Sara Lawson.  I even bought some patterns.  But truly I don't know how to work with knits.  When I muttered something about being unsure how to finish knit seams, several friends told me to google and look for tutorials.   A great idea but I haven't done it yet.  Meanwhile, Craftsy had several end-of-the-year sales that were too good to pass up.  And I bought the above - patterns with fabrics.  And seriously, each kit was under $25.  I do want to tackle these, but I haven't had great success with clothing in the past.  And I'm the one who just cut up two jackets and turned them into purses. 

Over the weekend Sara Lawson emailed and asked if I would be a guest blogger at Sew Sweetness in March, evaluating a class of my choice from Craftsy.  I looked at the classes, and - amazing coincidence - there are several involving sewing with knits.  The one that appeals to me the most is Essential Techniques for Sewing Knits.  So, the die is cast. 

My plan for February:

1. take/watch the class and apply what I've learned to the patterns/kits I bought
2. document/photograph the process
3. evaluate the class
4. write the blog entry in time for the March 7 posting

Ok!  We've got a plan!  

Turning Jackets into Totes

These are Arabesque purses, a free pattern from Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness.  It's one of my favorite purse patterns - see the  Index on the right bottom of this blog.  While I would normally use Soft and Stable as the purse base, these purses are actually quilted jackets that I made - look at the December 3, 2007 and the March 17, 2009 blog entries.  The first jacket has traveled with me many times - look at this wonderful picture of me with two Turkish friends in the capital city Ankara.  But these two jackets have just been taking up valuable closet space since I haven't worn either of them in two years. So obviously deconstruction was called for.  This makeover has been very liberating, something I need since I'm gearing up for a new focus in February - more of this soon...

The straps are from the jacket.  So is the Exterior Pocket and the Interior Pocket.

These purses will allow me to continue to enjoy these fabrics in the most utilitarian of ways.

These sleeves will make perfect little zip pouches. 

For Julie

One half of this 98" x 114" quilt

 

Julie is the middle of my stepchildren, the older of the two girls. She just turned 50, has made some serious life changes, and works very hard. She was out of town a few months ago, and I slept at her house so that hs junior Brandon wouldn't be alone. And I discovered the quilt I made her over 10 years ago was shredding. She was too busy to get involved with selecting fabrics for a new quilt, so I chose for her - a lovely gold, a rich Merlot, and a floral batik. The night I showed her these fabrics for her approval, she was wearing very similar colors.  I've been lukewarm about this quilt, but what changed it all was the quilting.  Terri and Frank of T and F Quilting in Lemont are my long-arm quilters, and I love them.  Terri chose the gold thread, and I asked for a wool batting and this lovely basket weave pantograph.  Frank's tension is always perfect, and the dimension the quilting added was just what this quilt needed.  A word about the back:  I thought of using browns from my stash for the backing, and Julie loved that idea and that this quilt will be reversible. 

 My hope is that this quilt conveys to Julie how much she is loved and how proud her dad and I are of her. 

The Process Pledge

Kitting Trail Totes with zippers and hardware

Do you know Rossie Hutchinson?  She's from the Ann Arbor area and one of the first who made me aware of modern quilting with her quilt Double Plus Good.  In 2010 Rossie initiated the Process Pledge, urging bloggers to write about the process and not just the finished product.  I try to do that.  And this post is a process post.  The Sloan Bag I just wrote about yesterday had 5 main pattern pieces, each of which needed a lining, an interfacing for the lining, an exterior piece, and Soft and Stable interfacing.  There were 7 pockets, each of which had several pieces.  And then the hardware - 4 D rings, 3 zippers, and the purse feet.  I should have taken a picture of all these various pieces and parts when I was ready to assemble.  Here's what's in process this week.

This quilted jacket has just been sitting in my closet.  Today I cut it apart and am going to turn in into an Arabesque bag, a free pattern from Sara Lawson.  

This is the start of 30 log cabin blocks for friends who just bought a place in Wisconsin.  She likes bright and cheery, and I am working out of my stash and scraps.  The backing might even be from my stash!

 The Chicago Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a Medallion Quilt-A-Long, and I'm using this project as an opportunity to work with my growing stash of scraps in my favorite colorway.  Already I'm excited about this.

In order to make any more Sloan bags or Arabesque or even little zippered bags, I need more zippers.  All I have are some pastels and brights, and I need mostly blacks and reds.  So I ordered from my favorite zipper source, Zipit.

Sloan Travel Bag

This is the Sloan Travel Bag by Sara Lawson, and I like this one very much.  Diligent blog readers know that I am crazy about Sara's Aeroplane bag and have made several.   It's been my go-to bag for overnights and weekends.  However, I think the Sloan might be my new favorite.  It's larger than the Aeroplane, and I think it's more practical and larger, especially for plane travel.

There are 7 pockets, enough to keep even the sharpest person confused about where things are - one exterior zipped center, two exterior sides with magnets, two interior sides and two generous zipper interior pockets.

Purse feet in hopes of extending the life of the bag.

 

The use of Soft and Stable as a base for all exterior pieces along with a lot of Shape Flex interfacing gives this bag a polish and durability.   In fact, this Aeroplane bag to the left has been to Viet Nam twice and washed several times.  I traded this bag to Jenny for nail services.  Recently one of her grandsons caught one of the straps and ripped it.  I was able to fix it, and Jenny will continue for sure to use it.  I love this bag because of the fabric and because she has gotten such great use out of it.  I hope this Sloan bag wears as well!

Two-Week Old To-Do List: a picture-heavy post

One of the many perks of finishing a big quilt, like "My Answer is Yes," is the freedom to work on lots and lots of smaller projects.  This list was made on January 7th in preparation for a sewing weekend.  In high school I had a job in which I was paid by the amount I did - I made minimum wage while my friend Cathy made three times what I did because she was so fast.  Good thing my quilting is not based on speed!

Two more Sew Powerful purses

These nine went in the mail for the 2/1/2016 deadline.  This project is picking up steam, and I think there will be more of these to come!  If you're looking for charity sewing or a good place to donate money, investigate the link above.

I love this Molly Market tote, and I love this combination of fabrics.  I keep giving them away, but only after ensuring that I have the fabrics to make another. 

This was a Scoop Tote by Green Bee was a kitted pattern at Craftsy on sale for $20ish and included 2.5 yards of fabric.  This 'crossword' fabric is a Cotton & Steel quilter's canvas, and I saw it at Quilters Quest for $22/yard.  SCORE!

A zip pouch still waiting to be made...

I'm putting the finishing touches on this Sloan Travel Bag by Sara Lawson.  I like this pattern very much and went to sleep last night thinking of which fabrics I want to use for the next Sloan bag.  More on this once it's finished...

In conclusion, a pretty picture of "My Answer is Yes" in situ.