So Did I Make It?

I committed to doing the #7daysofsewing challenge put forward by Crooked Seams. Did I make it? No, not quite. But I did go from not sewing at all for 12 days to sewing five times in one week. My husband was out of the country for work so I had less free time than usual, and Sunday was Father's Day so we were really busy with that. I still think five days is pretty impressive!

Here are my Instagram captures of the work I was doing:

I finished piecing all of the rows for this quilt (with a less than two week deadline now)

I machine-bound my grandmother's quilt.

I pressed all the rows for the teacher quilt.

I started actually sewing rows together for the teacher quilt. The pictures for this for the two days I did this don't look too different, so I am only sharing one.

I think I needed that little bit of extra incentive to sew, and I am glad I tried #7daysofsewing. Now I need to get my butt in gear to get this teacher quilt done for next Thursday!

Lynn

#7daysofsewing

My work life is incredibly busy right now, and while colleagues in similar roles seem to winding down I have a very hectic schedule from now until the end of June. In addition, my husband has been travelling (and will be travelling) multiple times this month out of the country for work so things are even more crazy at home. With this going on, my chances to sew have been few and far between.

Then I read a blog post by Crooked Seams. She was lamenting that she had gone nine days without sewing and made a commitment to sew something- even if for only 5 minutes- every day for seven days. She will be using Instagram to share her progress (she is @crookedseams) and the hashtag #7daysofsewing. Her message really resonated with me. Sewing calms me. It soothes me and lowers my stress. And because of my ridiculous sewing to do list not sewing seems to be increasing my stress level. Surely I can sew at least five minutes each day? I'm jumping on board!

Day One was yesterday, Sunday, and I managed to sew for about 30 minutes which allowed me to finish piecing all of the rows for my daughter's kindergarten teacher's year-end quilt. That was a relief. Today I am hoping to press those rows, and start on the machine binding for my grandmother's birthday quilt. Wish me luck!

Lynn

Dragging Myself to the Finish Line

My grandmother's birthday is June 5, and I knew I wanted to make her a quilt because she was very jealous of the one I made for my mom for Christmas. I chose a fat quarter bundle I received as part of my Fat Quarter Blogger's Bundle of the Month from Fat Quarter Shop because the fabrics were much more traditional than my usual taste and I thought they might suit my grandmother.

This quilt has been nothing but a headache. I think working with fabrics I don't really like means I enjoy the process less. I have been forcing myself through the completion of the quilt and now I'm finally at binding stage. I put the binding on by machine, went to start hand binding the back and *snap* a broken thread. I tried again. *snap*

This quilt is a nightmare!

I've decided to machine-stitch the stupid binding on just to get the darn thing done before I toss it out the window!

I sure hope my Grandma appreciates her quilt because this is by far my least favourite one to make to date!

Lynn

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