241 Tote - Work in Progress

I’ve been taking this 241 tote slowly. It actually took me awhile to get up the guts to start cutting because I don’t have much experience with bag construction and though the pattern is very clear, I was still just a little intimidated. And to make things worse, I really wanted to go the zippered-pocket route. After all, I live in the city and don’t want all my stuff hanging out in those open side pockets (through they are cute). I’ve never sewed a zipper on anything though and I was nervous! I ordered 10 zips from Zipit (at Anna’s recommendation) in 5 different colors to audition and landed on the lovely eggplant. Then there were no longer any excuses, I had to get started. I decided that I would use the interfacing since I’m doing all the work any ways and I might as well make it sturdy, right?

Everything was going along splendidly, except I didn’t really think through my marking tool. I used my brand new blue Crayola Washable Marker because I wanted to try their wash-ability on something small before I attack a whole quilt with them. So I made my bold blue marks, but slowly started being haunted by fears that they wouldn’t wash out, especially as I ironed the marks a few times and I know that can set some inks. So after I finished the center panel and got my pockets all in and, hooray, my zippers on without too much to-do, I took it to the sink and started rinsing.  Some of the ink came out, but not all of it. Then I started getting really nervous and threw it in the wash for a quick cold wash. Thankfully, the blue marker did come out beautifully, but my fabric was also bubbled away from the interfacing and sadly, my purple zippers had bled some pink dye onto my cute white elephants. Boohoo!

All that to say, I’ve learned three very important lessons already and have only finished the exterior! Important lessons learned: 1) use a marking tool which will come out either with a good steam, with a damp cloth, or use a hera marker; 2) only spot clean the tote (though most of the bubbles did smooth out when I ironed it); and 3.) pre-soak the zippers, especially if they are dark and are of the red family (silly red dye!) That’s my little bit of novice wisdom to pass on to you.

But despite the pink smudges and the wrinkly fabric, I'm still pretty in love with it. How could you resist those elephants? I'm excited about using my new tote, once it is officially a tote. If I get my rear in gear, I should have it done this weekend.

Thank goodness for first time mistakes that make second attempts all the more sweet.

Just for me!

Sometimes when I tell my mom I'm working on a quilt for a friend or to sell, she'll say, "You should keep some things for yourself. Are you ever going to make anything for you?"

Well, since my first quilt (which I wouldn't try to sell or give away), I've given away/sold/tried to sell every quilt that I've made. So, no, I guess I'm not keeping anything for myself.

But then...

Totes and photography by Angela of Fussy Cut

I came across these gorgeous tote bags on Angela's equally gorgeous blog, Fussy Cut. The 241 tote bag pattern is from the brilliant Anna over at Noodlehead. She has such an amazing gift for construction and function. Her creations are always perfection!

I admit, unlike most women in the world, I'm not really a bag girl. I have two purses, one I use every day and one that almost always sits in my closet. I am just too lazy to move everything over to a new purse every time I change my clothes. So I just stick with my black leather purse and it works great almost all the time. But Anna's 241 tote looks like so much fun that I started dreaming of fun fabric arrangements. I hopped right on Hawthorne Threads and got to work. I've desperately wanted to use the Tip Top Canvas Elephants for something, and this bag gave me that opportunity. I think I might even avoid the interfacing by using a heavy weight fabric for the lining.

I love how the youthful elephant print pairs so well with these sassy floral prints from Lourdes Sanchez.

I'm hoping to find some time very soon to get started on my new fall tote!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Last Saturday, my sister called asking if I want to put a quilt in an art show that raises money for her church's community center. I decided that I could probably put something together since my Picket Fence quilt is finally done, so I said yes. The art show is a week from Friday.

So I got cracking on this small modern cross wall hanging (I know, another one!)

This time I used a few scraps from the Pop Garden collection along with a variety of Kaufman's Kona Cottons. I feel the same way about this quilt top as I did about my other cross quilt at this stage, which is, I'm not in love with it. However, after I quilted and finished my previous quilt, I loved it (which is always good when you're gifting it to a father-in-law)! Quilting really does change the look of the quilt top. I'm hoping the same thing will happen with this one. I'm not quite sure what I don't love about this one, but I think that its the randomness of the blocks and the mix of colors. I'm much more used to very organized and coordinated quilts (I'm so glad designers make collections of prints!) I need more practice matching fabrics from different collections, but I may wait until my scrap collection is a bit bigger before I take up that challenge.

My background (and maybe border) fabric should arrive tomorrow so I'll get to quilting this weekend if all goes according to plan. I'm looking forward to quilting this one. Everything is so much easier when your quilt is only 20" squared!

Work in Progress Wednesday

I realize I've been bad about sharing my work-in-process quilting this summer. I've been taking it slow as summer seems to permit me to do with little guilt. But I would be lying if I said that I'm not sick of seeing this unfinished quilt sitting around my house. I'm certainly not sick of the quilt, no, I love it, but besides my first quilt during which I got a serious case of quiltophobia after finishing the quilt top, I'm used to cranking quilts out a little bit faster. So I've set myself a goal (is that allowed in the summer?) I'm going to have this quilt all finished by the end of the day this coming Sunday.

So as not to deceive, this quilt is not a bed-sized quilt, it just perfectly fits on top of a full-sized bed for picture taking :)

I finished my Jane Brocket-style hand-quilting this weekend and I love the simple lines with the pop of pink and the subdued green. It gives this gorgeous quilt another layer of texture and more handmade character.

So binding's up next. I'm thinking of doing a scrappy pieced binding which will be my first of that kind, but I think it's the right choice for this quilt. I can't wait to share my finished quilt pictures with you!

Hand-quilting Jane Brocket Style

Not too long ago, Rita of Red Pepper Quilts, referred to Jane Brocket’s, The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking , in one of her posts and, as I was on a putting-things-on-hold-at-the-library kick, I added it to my queue.

When I received it last week, I quickly flipped through admiring the bold, color-rich, floral explosion of Jane’s quilts and then got down to reading. I love the way this book is set up with a story behind each quilt. Jane finds her inspiration in her garden, in beautiful dresses, in hammocks and beach huts, and then makes these wonderfully simple yet intensely colored quilts. If you want to quilt, but are afraid it’s too difficult or that you have to be too precise, read this book. Jane’s keep it simple, keep it fun approach to quilting is very refreshing if you spend most of your time drooling over intricately pieced, delicately stitched quilts. 

While I can admit, I hope with no offense to Jane, that I prefer fewer floral prints and more negative space in my quilts, I was quite inspired by her hand-quilting technique. She keeps it so simple by quilting with colorful thread in 2-3 mm stitches instead of fussing over the more accepted tiny pin-prick stitches of more traditional hand-quilting. She actually made me want to try it. And on top of that, she usually just does linear quilting, pretty much in the same way I’ve done my machine quilting in the past. So guess what, for better or worse, I’m going to try it on my Modern Meadow quilt. I was a bit nervous at first since I have in mind that I want to post this one on Etsy and I’m not sure whether hand-quilting will make it more or less desirable. I’d appreciate your input. But really, it can’t hurt too much to try, right? I need to be willing to push myself into new territories if I want to grow and learn. So I’m going with two different colors (the obvious pink and green) and am going to get right to work. Anyways, after a few rows of quilting, I love the way the stitching pops and it makes it look even more cute and summery than before. My stitches aren't perfect yet, but for a first attempt, I think it's turning out beautifully. I'm so excited to see it all finished!

Wednesday Progress Report

I’ve been working hard this week. I finished piecing my Day at the Zoo quilt top featuring Alexander Henry’s Teeny Tiny Zoo and several different Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solids (I’ll specify colors in a later post) in a variety of cool colors. Oh yes, and can I say that not only are Teeny Tiny Zoo and 2-D Zoo prints maternal-instinct-producing-ly cute, they are also a pleasure to work with. They were hardly wrinkled when I pulled them out of the dryer and they are so nice to press and sew. A real treat!

This quilt is my first attempt at piecing HSTs and while my points turned out decently well, I could certainly use more practice. After piecing the entire top (doesn’t that always happen?), and while I was working on a pinwheel for the back, I realized that it’s actually much easier to piece them if you press the seams in opposite directions so they sort of lock together as you stitch them. So there’s one more lesson learned! I’m thinking of having a “Tuesday Tips” series in which I would post something new that I’ve learned about quilting since I’m learning so much as I go. I’m afraid to commit to a schedule though. Tune in next Tuesday to see if Side Stitches can overcome her fear of commitment and reader expectation!

I also finished piecing the back, but I’m not sure I’m ready to share that yet. Let’s just say it involves pinwheels (well, just one) and pioneer points! Tonight’s mission is basting.

In other news, I’ve finished my second Modern Meadow Mug Rug which features not only Joel Dewberry’s luscious prints, but Robert Kaufman’s Kona Cotton in Ash. I see a lot of people using Ash as a neutral background and now having worked with it, I see why. While it’s a very subdued color it seems to go equally well with warm and cool tones.

The front

The back

This little mug rug also gave me some good practice for lots of upcoming zigzag quilting.  As I said, mug rugs are the perfect place to try out new skills. One more rug to go!

My Introduction to HSTs

Every quilter eventually has to face the versatile Half Square Triangle (HST) and, admittedly, I was looking forward to the encounter. As an avid reader of Red Pepper Quilts, I’ve fallen in love with HST quilt patterns of all sorts from the pinwheel to the zigzag because Rita has mastered the art. Let’s face it, these guys are a quilting necessity and I needed to add them to my tool box. So as I was designing a baby quilt for the little boy of an architect, I knew that zigzags were the way to go. Strong lines, bold colors, yet playful and fun. The HST had to be conquered.

I started out mostly using this simple tutorial showing the quick easy way to make HST. I have to say that I do think that this is the best way to make them and it seems that many people would agree with that. However, I was still unsure about what size to cut my squares and how to trim them up well. I wanted my finished squares to be 5.5” before piecing, so I started out cutting my squares to 6”, but after making a few found that when I went to trim, some of them were a bit lean. So I went up to 6.5” and found that though I had more scraps, and certainly bigger than the scraps featured in Rita’s scrap bowl, that the one inch extra is probably good for me for now. And hey, I’m new at this business! 

Anyways, after all of my HSTs were trimmed, I came across this brilliant tutorial by Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works. Amazingly enough, this is exactly what I did (though I don’t have a perfect square tool) even down to the ironing after I stitched down the middle. Though, I did that not so much to set my stitches, but because I found the they got a little stretched out as I stitched. Is that normal? I tried to be careful because of the biases, but still, they got a tiny bit wonky and found that the steam helped them tighten up again.

So after much cutting, sewing, ironing, and trimming (and much back pain due to crouching over my dining room table to line up my ruler right) I have a lovely stack of half square triangle blocks. Ta-da!

Now I’m just praying these babies will line up okay once I get to joining them. Any advice on how to press them so I won’t get such bulky points, or is that to be expected?