Birthday Boxed Zipper Pouch

My sister-in-law was with us on a trip last summer to Pittsburgh where I dragged my husband to a quilt store and purchased loads of fabric. When I got back to the hotel I spread the goodies out to show my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, and E, my SIL, jumped on this fabric:

I believe it is Moi from the Sophie fabric line for Moda. She loved it- she even stroked it- and I knew I had to save it for something for her. 

Then I got the idea of doing a boxed zipper pouch for her out of the fabric and thought it would make a perfect birthday present. I did a practice one first since I have never made something with a zipper before, and then I jumped in to making hers!

The lining is an Art Gallery fabric and looks absolutely awesome with the Moi.

Now that I've gifted it to her I can show these pictures. I love using fabric that people love to make them gifts! I filled it up with some nail polish and Burt's Bees goodies and I think it is a perfect gift!

Lynn

Accidental Tula Pink Love

My friend C loooooves Tula Pink. I have always admired her, but my love is directed more strongly towards Lotta Jansdotter and Laurie Wisbrun. 

Then I pre-ordered Allison Harris' new book and needed to add another book to my cart to qualify for free shipping. I threw in Tula Pink's new book Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I am in love with this book! It has so many fresh blocks and the actual design of the book is genius- gorgeous and inspiring.

Here is my favourite block (though I love most of them):

I can't wait to use this book to craft some quilt with a modern Tula edge!

Also, as an update, I have been quilting my Plus One quilt. I chose a variegated teal thread and quilted "straight" lines on both sides of every seam. It took forever but the quilt looks pretty good. I did have one issue where the quilting seemed to create a tiny "fold" in the fabric, but I think it still looks fine so I am going to run with it. I'll post more pics later!

Lynn

A Lovely Day for Fabric Shopping

I got to enjoy a gorgeous spring Saturday with two quilty friends, C & A, as we did a little fabric shopping spree in some nearby towns. We went to Greenwood Quiltery (always a favourite stop) and Quilter's Nine Patch (A place I have only been to once before but have been delighted with their selection both times now). We also hit Triangle Sewing because I wanted something very specific.

Here are some pictures of the goodies I picked up:

Greenwood haul: A remnant to use as a backing (how cute is it?) and three fat quarters. Two of the washi tape fabric (in both colour ways) and another of the Camp Sur bears. I used my last one up on my Plus quilt and I was sad to see it go. I want to make something for myself with it!

These delightful 1/2 meter cuts I think are great starting points for a baby quilt.

A nice bit of yardage of this adorable bear fabric, destined to be a backing.

I picked up these two fat quarters and a 1/4m of this new Tula Pink fabric which I love.

This is the thread I picked up from Triangle Sewing. Four spools of Aurafil which I have been dying to try but never managed to find. Also I picked up two spools of white Mettler thread because it is so smooth with my machine.

Here are some shots from the shopping experience itself:

Adorable farm fabric at Greenwood. C says I am making too many baby quilts and it has ruined my taste.

This organic fabric with elephants and spots was hard to resist. I wanted some of everything.

This quilt was on display made with Comma by Zen Chic. I have a similar pattern in one of my quilting books (Quilting Modern maybe?) and this made me want to make one!

We found view finders at one tiny store. View finders! This store did not have a single bolt of modern fabric. C challenged me to pick just one if I was forced and it was an impossible task.

This Denyse Schmidt tumbler quilt in Shelburne Falls caught my eye at Quilter's Nine Patch. I don't really like any of this line individually, but this quilt is quite striking (plus I love tumblers).

I was loving this alligator at Quilter's Nine Patch.

These oranges and greens in car fabric (not sure of the line?) were super cute and not the typical colour use for a baby quilt, which I like.

This quilt was also on display and I think I have a pattern like this somewhere too. It is inspiring to see other quilts.

I also got to enjoy lunch with these ladies, and a fun chapstick and twine run (who hasn't?).

It was a super fun day!

Lynn

Boxed Zipper Pouch

I tackled my first ever zipper project, a boxed pouch. I have a specific plan for the zipper pouch, and so I can't show you the finished version until after the person I'm giving it to opens it, but I did decide I should make a practice one first. I grabbed some fabrics from the stash, a zipper I had picked up specifically because I knew I wanted a trial run, and go to town using this tutorial from Pretty Modern.

Here is a series of pictures documenting my progress:

The finished pouch!

It was immediately gifted to my daughter who filled it with her "treasures." It was actually really simple to make, and I like the results immensely. (Plus my first zipper!) I don't like that turning the bag right side out ends up with a wrinkled outer pouch, though, and I decided to use an extra layer of fusible on the "real" pouch to make it a bit stiffer. Look for the post after the recipient gets it!

Lynn

My Co-workers are Awesome

I purchased the pattern Zipper from Thimble Blossoms a little while ago and have all the materials necessary to make two of them- one for my father-in-law who turns 60 this year and one for my own father for his birthday.

After I printed out the pattern...

I noticed this:

There is a template that I need to cut out and use again and again and again with a jelly roll to get the shapes to make the "zipper." Now, my job is a bit hard to explain but I essentially have nine sets of co-workers, and at one of my work locations I work with a group of Technology teachers with whom I have a great relationship. I inquired about the possibility of cutting my template out of acrylic and...

Ta da! An acrylic template, cut from scrap in the shop, supervised by the teacher and done by the students. It is perfect! It will save me lots of swearing while trying to cut out all these shapes.

This leads me to my post title: My Co-workers are awesome!!

Lynn

Plus One

Friends J & R are expecting their first (and probably only) child this coming July. They are having a little boy, but I had already chosen the fabric (Camp Sur) before they knew because this fabric is so appropriate for mom (an avid camper).



This is the combination of fabrics I selected. It is mostly Camp Sur with some Lotta Jansdotter.



I used a pattern from Jeni of In Color Order and I used post-its to label the rows and columns. When you start laying this out in can get confusing quickly!

This was the layout I first went with, then I changed some of those turquoises because they were a little too similar.

My husband thinks I used too many of the turquoise colour so some of the pluses blend together. He said he couldn't even tell they were pluses, but I got a second opinion who said they definitely look like pluses. I do agree that next time I would use more varied colourways to accentuate the plus shape.

This is a bad photo of the quilt top, pieced and sewn together. I have it basted and ready to go for quilting, hopefully right after I finish quilting my grandmother's birthday quilt.

What do you think? Can you tell there are pluses?

Lynn

Thank You Quilt

My daughter will be finishing her first year at school- Junior Kindergarden- this June. I thought that a nice thank you gift for her teacher would be a quilt, and I knew just the fabric to use. I had two charm packs of Kate Spain's Good Fortune and a charm pack of Kona White, plus the teacher's name is Kate. Perfect, right? I let my daughter pick the backing when some Kate Spain Good Fortune yardage went on sale (shockingly she chose a purple).

I cut all the charms in half and then sewed them back together with one white and one pattern. Around the outside of the quilt will be whole charm squares.

I chain pieced the blocks which meant that it went pretty fast, fortunately.



Chain piecing speeds things up and there is so little wasted thread.

Now I have to actually assemble the quilt top. I am anticipating issues and I am not even sure why. Wish me luck!

Lynn



Glimma and Indian Summer

I have a serious fabric addiction. I order much too much fabric and spend much too much money on fabric. I have few other vices, however, so I indulge (more than occasionally) and just try to draw the line somewhere. (Also, I bully other people to buy fabric. I'm talking to you, C).

I have had a Lotta Jansdotter addiction since I first started sewing- even before starting my first quilt, which was six months after I got a sewing machine. It is no surprise to me that I had to have her entire Glimma line when it came out. I tried to resist. Just not very hard. And when Pink Castle Fabrics had their 20% off all bundles promo code, I jumped on that order!

 

Glimma FQ bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics



Aren't they glorious? The only complaint I have is I don't really like the dusty rose colour  is this collection.

These are my favourite two prints. I might need yardage of these.

I also have been incredibly drawn to Art Gallery Fabric's Indian Summer collection. I figured what better timing than with a 20% off code? I ordered a fat quarter bundle and OMG:


Indian Summer FQ Bundle

Indian Summer- Those colours! Those prints!



How can you not LOVE this print? Those jaunty little foxes trotting around in the mushroom forest? Come ON!

And this print is perhaps my favourite. It is such a beautiful colour combination, just the right scale and so darn gorgeous.



The whole fat stack. Indulgent. And amazing.

Also, there is something about Art Gallery Fabrics. They don't always speak to me- I've only bought a few prints from them before this line- but the fabric itself is just so decadent. It feels thick and a bit shiny and just so...quality. You should try some.

Lynn

Future Quilts for Possum

I have the privilege of having been friends with someone for my entire life. My mother and my friend C's mother were best friends before either of us were born, and she was born six months before I was. We have been friends ever since, sometimes going long stretches without talking to each other or seeing each other but always easily and naturally picking up on our friendship when we are together. We were in each other's weddings, hers happening seven years after mine. C's wedding was last September, and, not surprisingly, she and her husband are already expecting their first baby!

I am thrilled that C is having a little girl. The day they had the ultrasound confirming the sex I ordered some fabric. We have been calling the baby Possum Blossom (since they are keeping names a secret and because why not have a silly rhyming name until she gets here in August?). The other weekend, however, both C and her husband, P, spent the weekend at my house while their house was busy with an real estate open house. C decided to raid my fabric stash and we put together two additional bundles of fabric for possible future quilts for Possum. I already warned them these ones may have to wait until 2014!

Possum's Eggplant & Mustard Quilt:



The background fabric was the starting point (C loves the eggplant) and the rest were also all pulled for my stash. This is a very classy baby quilt!

Here is Eggplant and Mustard in a stack. Pretty, right?

Possum's Pretty Paisley Quilt:

That is a Heather Baily print as the jumping-off point, and the other FQs were pulled to complement the numerous colours in the inspiration fabric.



Here is Pretty Paisley in a stack.

The Dad-to-be liked both stacks, but preferred the Pretty Paisley pull. Mom-to-be really likes the eggplant. Possum herself moved around the most when mom stood in front of Pretty Paisley. So I guess she was the tie-breaker! In reality, both stacks are tied up and saved for Possum. I will happily make this little girls dozens of quilts! Of course, Possum is extra lucky in that her Grandmother is a skilled quilter (who does everything- even piecing- by hand!) and her Great Aunt is also a very talented quilter. The fun, though, is that I am the modern quilter amongst them, so though all quilts will be made with love, my fabric choices are more to mom and dad's taste.

C has not seen the fabrics I have already picked for Possum's quilt for her baby shower. Here they are, from the Little Red Riding Hood line:

Those greys are so precious!

I have since also added a print from Lotta Jansdotter's Glimma line. I love how these turquoises and greys look together with the little pops of red!

Lynn