Miscellaneous Crafty Catch Up

In keeping with the end of year catching up, here are some crafty projects I was working on. I'm tired just looking at it all! I honestly don't know how I did it all in two months.

I was really pleased with my craft show set up. Don't look too closely at the prices. I already know they are too low. 

The princess totes went to Abby & Olivia in Denver. The 2 mug mats were commissioned. I like that they are similar, but different. The two pillowcases were for Mollie's new pillow.

 My niece asked for collars and leashes for her girls' doll pets. Lily's dog is wearing the new collar, but Anna wanted to put hers on her new unicorn. It's a good thing I made them adjustable!

I liked the NYB postcards so much, I put them in tow blog posts! I spent one night in front of the TV making origami stars for a small Christmas tree. I need to get my paper folding fix from time to time! The brownie trees were my go-to party contribution. The candy cane bow tie is for my super cool son.

 

Twelve key fobs made from my father's ties were gifted to all of his kids and grandchildren.  Some people cried. Mission accomplished.

In addition to all the crafting and quilting, I did take a few breaks to cheer on my kids. Pete participated in the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps birthday ceremony. He's on the 45 yard line on the left, 6th from the front. (Julia and I watched the ceremony live streaming on line.)

That's Julia, number 11, playing in a rugby tournament that her team won. We also went to her Christmas concert to hear her sweet solo. She has the most beautiful singing voice, but can throw a mean tackle!

 

 There was some beautiful color in the house: birthday roses, pretty poinsettia and anniversary roses. Someone knows my favorite color!

WIP Wednesday

 Oh, my goodness. I finished a boat load of stuff this past week. I blame the snow! 

This morning, I finished the binding on The Cool Side of the Rainbow.

Yesterday, I sewed the button on my Marine Mom tote.

 

Monday, I quilted and bound the Selvage Log Cabin.

 

I needed a break, so I crocheted this adorable blue elephant on Sunday night.

 On Saturday, I made myself a tray table ironing board.

I finished the Friendship Star on Thursday night. I've been enjoying hand stitching bindings at night while I watch TV.

 

I also finished a secret little project on Thursday. (Come back on Friday for the reveal.)

 

In progress: 

I made 48 string blocks to use as "thread" in an upcoming spools workshop.

I've made a few more Wild & Goosey blocks as leaders/enders. This one might become the primary piecing project soon.

I went to a workshop with Thomas Knauer last Wednesday which was awesome! I'm not ready to show that piece yet. It still needs some tweaking.

 I guess it's time to dig out some older WIPs. What will Tina finish next week?

Marine Mom Tote

I finally made myself a proud mom tote bag. I mashed up two patterns: The Market Tote by Jodi Nelson of Pleasant Home and Oak Park Bag by Stephanie Dunphy. I used Jodi's idea of the string blocks and Stephanie's corduroy love. The blue corduroy on the bottom is a wide wale, and the red is narrow.

 I made the string blocks while Pete was in boot camp over a year ago. I was planning to make a tote to bring to graduation. Instead, I bought the patch at his graduation from Parris Island. I found the perfect button yesterday at Lorraine Fabrics in Pawtucket, RI.

I inserted a zipper pocket in the lining because the Kindred Quilters taught me how. Now every bag needs zippered pockets! The handles were cut from a worn out pair of Pete's pants. Gotta love desert MARPAT!

 

I am a very proud Marine Mom!

More Random Stitching

 Does this happen to you when you clean your sewing room? I found a bunch of small projects that required some quick stitching and now they are done! Why do they sit in piles for so long?

The lovely folks at American Made Brand sent out tote bags after the 50 state blog tour. I saw that another participant had used her scraps to trim the top of the bag. When I found my tote and pile of scraps last night, I knew just what to do.

 I used the bits and pieces leftover from my license plate block to piece a strip. Again, I feel like I have more scraps now than before! How do scraps multiply?

Then I found some coaster kits leftover from a beginner quilting class last Spring. We used them to help teach 1/4" seam accuracy.

 Not long ago, I bought some bandanas from The EGA Shop. This morning before breakfast, I stitched two together into a throw pillow for Pete's bed.

I love this room! As I was editing this pic, I noticed that I put up the flag backwards. Oops.

Not bad for a few hours of random stitching!

Edited: I never posted a pic of Debbie's completed placemats. I just wanted a record of them here. My niece is renting an apartment with a lavender dining room. When she came to visit in August, she picked out some fabric from my stash. This was a two day project only because I had to run out and buy fabric for the binding. Why did it sit for over a month?

Woven Bag

 I finished another long-term WIP this morning. This finish is dedicated to my fiends Karen of Sew Many Ways and Sharon (no blog).  Karen and I are suckers for a good demo at a quilt show. We saw the owner of Red Barn Sewing Center demonstrating this bag at MQX in Providence in 2011, and I had to have it! Fast forward three years... Sharon and I were on a shop hop bus trip that stopped at Red Barn. Sharon was intrigued by the woven baskets made with the same interfacing strips as this bag. She challenged me to finish my bag. So, here you go, friends!

 The pattern is called Breezy Weave Bags by Aunties Two Patterns. Fabrics strips are sewn into tubes and then stuffed with stiff interfacing strips. Shortly after the show, I had the strips woven, but was struggling with basting the edges. It sat in my sewing room for 3 years, waiting for me to put on my big girl panties!

I needed a yard of fabric for the pockets, gussets and straps. When I brought my woven piece into the LQS yesterday, they were shocked that I don't have a single full yard of batik in my stash.  I have small pieces, but no yardage. Anyway, this morning, I got to work. The trickiest part was applying the binding around the bottom corners of the gussets. I have some hand-stitching to do to fix the gaps.

It could use a magnetic snap closure, if I can find one in my stash. I know I have one somewhere!

One last pic to show my dining room table in its natural state, littered with at least three different projects. I'm glad the bag is finished, but I probably won't make another. I do like the size and shape, but it was just too tricky for me.

 

 

If I ever feel tempted to buy the strips of interfacing again, I might consider making Biscuit Baskets (also from Aunties Two). This one was a gift for a friend in 2010.

Oh, maybe I bought both patterns at the same time in 2010?

WIP Wednesday

 I hope this Wednesday finds you all well. There's not much white stuff on the ground this morning, but the sleet and freezing rain woke us up several times during the night.

Finished this week:

A tote for Mom's prayer books with a zippered pocket for rosary beads will be gifted for Easter.

A label was finally added to 9-Patch Swing, so the quilt is now ready to be donated to the Music Boosters' raffle.

New Projects:
My father-in-law has been moved into an assisted living facility and he needs a lap quilt. While we were at MQX, Bill and I went on the hunt for garnet and gray fabrics, Union College colors. This gray pack from Sew Fresh Fabrics is perfect, but he was being rather picky about the garnet (maroon/burgundy).

A squishy package arrived in the mail with my Modern Quilt Guild challenge fabrics. I haven't even thought about what to make with these. For now, I'm just happy to admire these fun and colorful prints.

Ongoing:
I'd like to get back to the Farmer's Engineer's Wife blocks soon.

On hold:
My WIP pile doesn't ever seem to get smaller! You can see the entire list here.

Enjoy visiting WIPs around the world!

Tote for Mom

I was itching to sew something yesterday, so I made a little tote bag for my mother. We have a standing date on Monday mornings to attend Eucharistic Adoration. Every week when I pick her up, she is juggling several small prayer books, and I wish she had a tote bag for them. Now she does!

I included a zipper pocket in the lining for her rosary beads. Thank you, Kindred Quilters, for teaching me this infinitely useful technique!

Blue is her favorite color, so I think she will like it. I'll include a chocolate bunny and give it to her for Easter.

Even the simplest projects leave behind big messes!

Main Fabric: Phillip Jacobs Waltzing Matilda

Cut fabric rectangles 12" x 24" for outer and lining

15" long straps (cut 3" wide)

WIP Wednesday

I have three finishes to report this week, only 2 with pictures. I hemmed Julia's gown for the ROTC ball. I'll show you a picture after she attends the ball with Fred.

Class 2 of the 46 pocket bag project was last Saturday. I love my new bag, but I'll never remember where I put anything!

I also finished this 9-patch class sample. I decided to donate it to the school band boosters' raffle. My kids gained so much from the music department, I'm happy to continue to support the program.

9-Patch Swing, 58 x 70"

The musical prints had been in my stash for a few years.

It was fun to use them all up! I just needed a bit of solid red to fill up the back.

The blue jazz combo print is my favorite. I need to print a label and then this quilt will be ready to go.

Linking up...