Potholder Pass 8 Nuclear Summer!

This is my second round of swapping with gals online through "Flicker".  It has been so much fun to see what everyone is creating.  This pass is divided into 3 categories, "Tea Towels", "Grocery Bags" and "Pot Holders".  I thought it would be fun to participate in all three, so I have three different ladies to sew for this round and three different ladies will be sewing for me as well.  I won't know what I'm receiving until it arrives and I love the surprise!  Here is the "Tea Towel" package that I just received from Jeannie in Florida, it's so beautiful and it was packed full of goodies as you can see!  

The bag below is my creation that will be going out to my "Grocery Bag" swap partner with all the associated matching goodies.  The bag pattern is by Keyka Lou.   I named it Nuclear Summer, it's so bright.  We went from snow to 100 degree weather here in a week and that was my inspiration.  John says the paper pieced pocket looks like a nuclear warning sign...all those that remember crawling under your desk for the nuclear air raid drill, raise your hands!

 

Close up of the paper piecing "warning sign".

A cute little sunglass case, to protect those lenses that keep that nuclear summer glare out of your eyes.  I modified this patter just a bit, instead of quilting it, I used the pattern and cut out two coordinating fabrics for the outside and inside, sandwiched them with a piece of heavyweight fast 2 fuse double sided fusible stiff interfacing and then stitched all around, trimmed, folded in half and stitched the side and bottom to complete the case.  Took minutes.  If you wanted to you could bind the edges for a little nicer finish.

A little tissue case and a key fob

And finally a little wallet to round it all out.

It really is so much fun, trading patterns with the other gals and watching them create amazing things, I'm so inspired!  I blogged about the "Tea Towel" portion of the pass already and I am now well started on the "Potholder" portion.  Thanks to Jeannie in Florida who made the cute tea towel set for me which included a darling reversible apron, I have already completed a companion apron to go with my potholders.  Pictures to follow soon...come back and visit!

Tea Wallets and Tutorial

I have had a blast this weekend making little Tea Wallets!  They are quick and easy and would lend themselves well to mass production if you are so inclined.

Step 1.  Cut 4 pieces of fabric 5" x 7" (if you want to put credit cards in them, you will want to go 5" x 8")  Cut 1 piece of interfacing the same size.  Cut 1 piece of fabric for your closure 1 1/2" x 6"  or use a piece of ribbon or elastic if you wish.  Once you make one, you can change it up as you need.

Step 2.  Take two pieces of the fabric and fold in half length wise and press,  now top stitch along the folded edge.

Step 3.  Place the interfacing behind one of the remaining pieces of 5" x 7" fabric and line up one of your "pocket" folded pieces  1 inch from the bottom and stitch in place along the bottom only of that "pocket".

Step 4.  Place the next pocket, again with the folded edge to the top, raw edges placed along the bottom of your wallet and again stitch in place along that raw edge on the bottom only.

Step 5.  Line a ruler up, half the width of your piece, in this case 3 1/2 " and make a mark on the pockets with either disappearing ink or chalk (something that can be erased or removed easily) this will be your stitching line for the pockets, you do not need to stitch all the way to the top.

Step 6.  Take your narrow strip and fold it in half length wise, press.  Now fold the raw edges into the center of the fold and press again so that you have created a finished strip.  Place them straddling the bottom pocket as shown below and stitch in place.  Have your fold the way you want the closure to look as it will not change direction or shape when the wallet is completed.

Step 7.  Place your remaining piece of fabric on top right sides together, pin your corners and if necessary, your edges, then stitch around all sides leaving a 2-3 inch space at the bottom for turning.

Step 7.  Trim the corners carefully and turn the wallet through the opening at the bottom.  I use the blunt end of a bamboo skewer to pop out the corners, you can use a knitting needle, just be careful not to puncture the fabric.  Press and top stitch close to the edge.

 Step 8.   Stitch a button to the front side for the closure...I have yet to decide what I want to use as a button for this one.

Here are some other wallets I made this weekend...

Baby Blues

A friend of ours is giving birth to a baby boy in about a month, so I whipped up a Baby Blue quilt and Diaper bag.  I'm waiting for my next trip to Roseville to get some flannel for the backing to finish the quilt, but the top is done and so is the diaper bag.  I modified a quilted bag pattern that I found at http://mypatchwork.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/charms-tote-bag-with-inside-pocket-tutorial/

I modified the pattern directions a bit and added some embellishment.  I'm not sure about the closure button, may change that out to a fabric covered one, it seems to clash with the mother of pearl buttons centered in the yoyos.

Baby Blue Diaper Bag

Sophie the Quilt Inspector, going in for a look.

Baby Quilts and Sun Dresses for the Twins

I have started a couple things today.  Two baby quilts and two reversible sun dresses.  The quilt is easy, you sew 10" squares of fabric together and then you cut them with an off set square and you get blocks that, when you place them next to each other, look like this:

This is a fun pattern.  I used the tool created by Country Schoolhouse designs.  You can order your own "Twister Tool" on their website at www.country-schoolhouse.com.  I got mine at the local quilt show recently, only wish I had purchased the "Lil Twister Tool" as well.  This design and tool has been recently blogged about on Moda's blog  

Here is what the tool looks like, kind of hard to see against a white background so I have also shown it placed on the fabric before cutting and a piece that has just been cut.

This is just roughly laid out on the table and ready for me to stitch the squares together!  You can see the demonstration square from above inserted into the quilt 2nd row from the bottom, 2nd square over from the left.  There are instructions that come with the tool and like I said, I am really enjoying this,

 looks complex, but it's simple

Now...Border or No Border, that is the question...

  The pattern I am using for the sun dresses is a vintage McCall's pattern that I've had, #8250 circa 1996.  

Still adorable!

Here are the little dresses all cut out and ready to sew...

Come visit later and perhaps I'll have the little dresses done!

Here they are all done, just the buttons left!

All Packed up and ready to ship off, each twin has their own little sundress and quilt.

The finished quilts before sending

Pink flannel with tiny white dots for the reverse side of the quilt, soft and sweet with a minty border.

The other twin's package, these were so much fun!

Starting a new blue baby quilt for a little boy who will be born in late June, early July, he's not our grandson, but his parents are dear.

Sophie the quilt inspector, she has pronounced the top ready for quilting!

Pot Holder Pass

I've joined a group on Flicker that is exchanging pot holders, this time they are including reusable grocery bags.  I've had a lot of fun with this project and I'm looking forward to the next one.  The other stipulation this time around was, the potholder cannot be square.  The bag was really fun to make, quick and easy, I'll be making several more for myself.  It fits right into the grocery bagging station at the store where you get the plastic bags.  The pattern I used is here:  Keyka Lou Grocery Bag

This chicken was fun to make, you can get the pattern here:  http://tipnut.com/chicken-pot-holder-vintage-pattern/

Red and Green Stack and Wack Quilt

This is in progress and I'm not sure how I want to proceed next.  Each of the center squares is different.  I like the design and may take it out further for a throw.  I like the secondary design that comes from the addition of the modified snowball block.  I had some old paisley fabric that I have had laying around for years and so I decided to cut it up and try a new technique.  By reversing some pieces of the fabric you can obtain a mirrored image which give you new possibilities.

The original paisley fabric

Some of the block combinations

Color Theory

Natures Palette is a great place to select colors

Here is another natural color example

I loved my box of crayons as a kid and this appeals to me.
All the different options!

Little reminders for me.

This is a wonderful link full of information on color and is a useful tool to anyone who loves to quilt.  I am putting it in my blog as a link for myself to utilize.   Link:  Color Wheel Basics

Catching Up and Turning Twenty

I have taken a break from the "Little House" quilt over the holidays and due to illness, but will be resuming the project this weekend, along with others.  This is my most recent quilt.  One of the little girls at church is being baptised in a couple weeks, so I worked on completing this simple "Turning Twenty" quilt.  The top flew together and was in my draw waiting for a special someone.  It's an easy pattern, very suitable for a beginner quilter.  I have a Handi Quilter rail system which will allow me to machine quilt easily.  Takes a bit to set up and about an hour to load a quilt properly.  Advantage:  Only cost $500. when I bought it about 10 years ago.  Drawback:  Only enough space to quilt what will fit under your machine, which in my case is about 6 inches...which, shortens to less as you take up the quilt.  But I am not complaining, it gets the job done and I am leaving it up

for the time being so I can get inspired to finish some more quilts before I take it down.  It is living in the living room right now.

This is a photo of the quilt hanging from our front porch, I did not have the binding on it at this time, but the light was right to get a little photo.  I have embroidered her name on one of the patches, which I think she will enjoy.

This photo is taken at night with the quilt fresh from the dryer after a quick wash and dry.  You can see the binding and the detail of the quilting.  This is one of those patterns that, as you are making it up, you think...hmmm, not sure I really enjoy this one, not much of a challenge, but when you get it quilted, it shines like the comfortable little quilt that it is.

This is a photo of the back of the quilt which I pieced.  More of that story below.  During this quilting experience I ran out of thread.  I know, hard to believe.  Well, I rummaged about and found a thread that I thought might blend.  After one row, as I was taking up the quilt...to my dismay I saw that the tension was way off with the new thread and I had not checked it before merrily stitching along...my bad.  So, off to the store to get a sharp new seam ripper to pick out all that thread and while we're at it, let's just get the right thread.  Done and done.

Picking thread is not my favorite task, but it can be rather zen like.
Here is the finished quilt with the binding on.  The binding was another episode.  Where was my head?  I'm stitching along and after getting a quarter way around the quilt, I notice that I am stitching the folded edge to the raw edges.  In my 35+ years of quilting,  I have NEVER done that.
Oh my, where is that seam ripper again, have a seat girl, you're not done yet.  The weekend of quilting was a comedy of errors!

The rest of the story...Looking for backing fabric, I had this large, perfectly sized piece, one problem, there was a miss dye in the middle of the fabric run that looked like someone had spilled a bottle of bleach right down the middle.  So I cut it out and replaced it with a piece of floral fabric and used the remaining bits to make the binding.  I think it turned out well, considering all the little challenges that came along with it.  Below are some links for the Turning Twenty quilt if you want to make one for yourself or a friend.  Again, beginner easy, and QUICK!  Also a link for the Handi Quilter frame if you want one for yourself.
Handi Quilter II with 48in.-125in. Frame

Turning Twenty Around The Block (Turning Twenty)Turning Twenty - Just Got Better (Turning Twenty Book #1 New Edition)Turning Twenty...AgainTurning Twenty Feelin Groovy (Turning Twenty Book 4)Turning Twenty Pick-a-B: Four New Patterns: Still Fast, Easy & Fun! (Turning Twenty, 7)