Social tote completed

I joined the Sewing Room swap on flickr for the first time this month.  I thought it would be something a little different to the bees I generally do and I still get the fun and excitement of making something for someone and getting  squishy parcel in return.

I decided to make a Social Tote for my partner as I thought it might be something she would like.  It is a pattern by Anna from Noodlehead in collaboration with Carolyn Friedlander.  It's a cute little tote and perfect for carrying around a little hand project. This is also my February goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.

My first attempt was a disaster. One of the materials listed was wrong and I didn't know that there was an errata on Carolyn's website. It stated to use fusible woven interfacing and in brackets was Pellon 71F.   However, on the website she actually states that Pellon Shapeflex 101F is the correct material. They are completely different products.  I had used a lovely Suzuko Koseki print for the first one and once I got to the final assembly stage, I realised that things were not as they should be. The 71F is a very firm interfacing and totally not right for this tote.  So the Suzuko tote went in the trash and I started again.

It also is not a very easy to understand pattern. I am an experienced sewer, but found this pattern quite challenging. I had to read and re-read several times.  You could not afford to miss any part of the process.  The second attempt was much easier and I put it together very quickly.

For the lining I used a cute little Yuwa fabric that I got from Sew Me A Song a while ago.  My partner likes Japanese fabrics so I'm hoping she will like this.

The exterior of the bag is also a Yuwa fabric...one by Suzuko Koseki.  I really like this print and the colours in it.  I used an Anna Maria Horner print from Dowry for the handles and the pocket

And putting it all together...These Clover clips have to be one of the best notions I have ever bought. I use them for so many things. They were perfect for holding the lining to the exterior.

And the finished product...

 

The props in the tote are mine  :)

And on more exciting news I am going to New York in September. A couple of friends that I met at Sewing Summit last year asked me to go, so I am going for 10 days on my own then will meet my hubby in Hawaii for a week, before I fly home.  I am so excited!!! I am all booked, so roll on September.


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Tula Pink quilt completed

Oh my, I think this has to be my favourite quilt ever.  It's huge at 90 x 90 inches, but I just love it.  I took my top to Donna for quilting on her long arm. I knew she would work magic with it and I am so impressed with what she has done on it. I gave her free rein...my only request was no feathers but apart from that she could do what she wanted. She quilted alternate wavy lines on the squares, spirals on the sashing and a spiralling vine on the outside borders.

For the back I pieced a bunch of Tula Pink yardage I had and slipped in a Joel Dewberry print that blended really well with the beautiful Tula prints.

For the binding I used a stripy Suzuko Koseki stripy fabric that I got from Fifi's Fabricology

And the finished result...

X Factor Pillow Swap - Sanctuary

After seeing the awesome pillows from Round 7 of the X Factor Pillow Swap on Flickr, I decided to get in on the action.  I love the idea of this swap as you aren't assigned partners as in a traditional swap, but send a piccie of your pillow to the group admin who posts it anonymously to the group so everyone can see it, but no-one knows who made it.  After the close date, everyone votes for the pillows in order of their preference.  The pillow with the most votes gets their first choice of pillow, the pillow with the second most votes then gets their choice and so on.

The theme for Round 8 was log cabins and text. I had just gotten some shot cottons so used them as the base for my pillow.  I love their jewel tones so chose my 4 faves and built the log cabins around that. I used Architextures as the main text fabric, and a fussy cut Echino bird for the centre.

My husband named it Sanctuary, as he felt the bird was sheltering in the cabins. I straight line quilted it, echoing the triangles on the outside of the pillow and then through the middle of each log strip.

For the back I used a Denyse Schmidt print with a hidden zipper enclosure

The binding is a Sweetwater text print that I love

A Lovely Year of Finishes - February goal

Well, I'm off to a good start so far with one WIP out of the way. This month's goal is to make a social tote for my partner in the Sewing Room swap on Flickr.  I ordered my pattern from The Intrepid Thread and it arrived in a week.  Mail is so variable from the USA at the moment. I also placed an order for fabric from another online store 3 weeks ago and it is still sitting in a San Francisco sorting facility apparently, according to the tracking number. It sat for a week in Utah as well in another sorting facility, before going to SF.  Another order I placed with a different store arrived in 14 days, when their parcels usually arrive in a week. I am wondering if all that snow has something to do with it??

Anyway, I digress....my fabric for the tote arrived yesterday, so I am keen to get this one started.

I know my partner likes a wide range of designers and fabrics, but I think Suzuko Koseki is something she would really like so I am using a fabric from Suzuko's latest range for the outside and a Dear Stella dot for the inside. Those minty greens are a perfect match for one another.

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A Lovely Year of Finishes - January Goal done

My goal for January was to finish my Kitchen Window quilt which I started 2 years ago.  I finished it today...how's that for cutting it fine!!  I took to to the beach with me on holiday and was quilting it with a Rainbow Superior thread. I ran out of thread over there and of course no-one stocked it so I had to wait until I came home before I could get more thread. And Murphy's Law, they had none in stock. Finally, I got some the day before yesterday so have been quilting like a mad woman!

 I chose to do pebbles on the windows then used a wishbone for between the windows. I completed it off with a spiral on the outside. For the binding I used a Joel Dewberry Heirloom print.

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