Quilt Top Complete!

I have made several quilts in the past, but this is the first one that I have attempted without the use of a specific pattern.  I like following patterns and having things turn out exactly how they are "supposed" to, so improving a quilt is very much out of my comfort zone.

I started with the New York Beauty quilt-a-long at Sew Sweetness, but I only made the blocks that I liked the look of.  I ended up with 15 blocks.  Then I decided to try some scrappy improv chevrons.  I followed these directions at Six White Horses, but I cut all of my wedges at the same angle, because I wanted them to go well with the precise points on the New York Beauty blocks, and attached them all together in a long strip. I cut the strip lengthwise and made two chevron stripes on either side of my New York Beauty blocks.  I saved the scraps from my chevrons and sewed them all together, then chopped them up again and mixed in some solid gray to create a fun scrappy border.

Not having a plan was really difficult for me, but really fun at the same time.  My daughter loves the result and has claimed this quilt for her bed.  Now I need to quilt it!  I think I may try to do it myself, since it's a twin size.

Recent Projects

I am SO behind on my sew-a-longs! Between gifts and custom orders, I have fallen behind on personal projects again.

 But I've made several fun things lately! I found this cute tutorial a few weeks ago for a kid's sling-style bag. It was meant as a fat quarter project, but I made a couple of alterations to the tutorial directions. Well, really, I made several! The tutorial wasn't all that clear, especially for those who may not be familiar with sewing bags. I used canvas for the bag body since the inside is not lined. I also made the accent fabric on the outside a larger width to show off more of my chosen print. I used cotton webbing for the strap, and on this version I even sewed some cute red trim down the center. I made two of these prior to this one that have the outside zip pocket. The tutorial is not clear on how to make this part look nice, and the original pocket size given is about the size of a Matchbox car. I am happy with the end size of my zip pockets, but in order to make the zipper part look nice you really need prior zip pocket experience!

As soon as I finished up that bag as a birthday gift for our cute next-door neighbor, I got a call about making some of my boxy vinyl-lined cosmetics bags. Twenty six, to be exact! Since the timeframe was too short for me to get more supplies, I ended up making 12. They went to our local Nordic ski club instructors as thank-you gifts for their season of teaching. It's so fun to make things for local people, and even more so when they are the ones who taught my family to ski this winter! The organizer thought these bags would be perfect to hold ski goggles and wax, since they are lined with vinyl. Great idea!

 I am also caught up with Mother's Day gifts, but they remain a secret until next weekend. I have internet-savvy moms and grandmas...wouldn't want to ruin any surprises! This weeks's plan is to finish up my very first international order (to be sent to Australia!) and then begin again on my New York Beauty blocks. I'm sure I'll add some other things in there as well. I have joked about it before, but I really do have sewing ADD! I can't work on one thing for very long without getting bored, so I always have several small projects going at once.

This week's sew-alongs

I am all settled into my new sewing area, which I LOVE.  I can't believe how handy the little drawers and compartments in the desk have turned out to be.  My machine also sews much nicer on the very solid desk surface.  After sorting through my mountains of fabric and notions and organizing it all into its new home, I managed to squeeze in both sew-along projects this week between sewing up custom orders.

Here's my New York Beauty block.  That's right, just one block.  I have a second in progress but need to start it over because I don't like my fabric combo for the center piece.

This week's Zakka Style project is a pin cushion.  I actually need a new one, so it came at a perfect time.  The whole thing took about 20 minutes, and it's simple yet cute and functional.  I didn't do last week's project because I just didn't have the time.  Plus it was a zip pouch, and those who know me know that I have about fifty of them already.

Up next I'm going to try these really cute sling-style backpacks for my kids.  We have lots of adventures coming up this summer (visit my other blog for more on that) and they need something functional and durable to carry their stuff around in.

New Projects

I have spent my sewing time this week working on a couple of new projects for myself.  First up is the New York Beauty Quilt-a-long.  It's actually on week 6, but between not having the time to start it and not being able to make up my mind about which fabrics to use, I'm a little behind.  I'm doing these blocks with the intent of making a new quilt for my bed, since I still have the same quilt on it that I made 9 years ago (my first made-by-me quilt, actually).  The fabric choice was tough, partly because I had stashed some fabric awhile back that I intended to use for this project but didn't really love.  I have to have just the right fabric for something that is going to be on my bed, so, with my hubby's help (shhh, he's really great at choosing fabrics but doesn't want anyone to know) I decided on my favorite Washi fabric with a Kona coal background.

I did the first week's blocks to get into the groove, since they were the easiest.  I am playing around with color values to make the points stand out.

Light points on darker background

Dark points on lighter background

My intent is to turn these blocks into a meandering design and then fill in with larger pieces of the background fabric to give it a more modern look.

Then I jumped ahead to this week's block, which was more tricky.  I think if I made these again I might use the solid in some of the pieced sections to make them less busy.

I also realized that I might not want to make four of each of the ten block styles or I will end up with way more blocks than I need.  Or maybe they would make great pillow covers...

I also tried out a cute new reusable grocery bag pattern this week from Keyka Lou.  It comes in three sizes.  It might not be a great make-and-sell item because they take $5-10 worth of quality fabric apiece, but I am going to use some of my stash to make myself a set.  The design is very similar to a plastic grocery bag and folds up very small.  It's fully lined, reversible, and has reinforced seams.  Perfect for the farmer's market!

This is the small size...it would also make a nice lunch bag.

Next week it's back to restocking my shop with new iPad and e-reader cases.
Oh, and how could I forget?! If you are ever in Homer, AK, stop by Homer's Jeans where some of my creations are now being sold!