A Maker's Thought

It's been a while since I've share a post like this, but something happened last weekend that I don't want to forget. Plus, it serves as a very good reminder that our gift of making is something pretty special, and being able to share that beyond ourselves is worth the risk.

So remember those green potholders I shared a few weeks ago?

I made them to be able to write a tutorial on how I make scrappy potholders, and at the start, I didn't really have an idea of an eventual recipient. But for some reason, as I was making them, it came to me who I wanted to give them to. There's a server at a local restaurant that I visit fairly often. Usually it's mom and I or hubby and I, but whatever, she sees us coming and welcomes us in. We chat about our week and no matter the day, she makes us laugh, serves us well, and makes us glad we came.

So just before the last time hubby and I were headed there, I whipped up a gift bag and popped the potholders in. I can't say I didn't question whether taking the gift to her was a good idea. I mean, I've never taken a gift to a restaurant server before. But I just wanted to show our deep appreciation for the joy she adds to our visits.

After our order had been placed, I told her I'd made her something. She pulled up a chair to open the gift bag, peeked in, and wouldn't you know? She nearly cried. That there were potholders in the bag was meaningful to her. That they were handmade was meaningful to her. She thanked me over and over again. 

All this to say, if sharing one of your handmades crosses your mind, just do it. Risk feeling foolish. Risk an apathetic reaction. Because there's a good chance you'll experience what I did.... sincere appreciation from the recipient, and a personal gratefulness for your own giftedness as a maker.

Weave Got This! :: :: Blocks 4A + 4B and 5A + 5B

Anxious to receive this month's assignment for our guild BOM, I was happy to see I FINALLY got to use my green accent colors - Konas Peridot (darker) and Olive (lighter). The assignment consisted of making four pairs of quarter log cabin blocks.

There were actually 4 sets of mirrored blocks, and the problem with making the pair above and then taking a break, was when I came back, I repeated the exact same process again, rather than making them with a mirrored layout. Oops. Eventually, I got it right....

On the second set, I paid better attention and got it right the first time.

Of course, I'm curious how these will 'fit' with the other blocks I've made, and IF some future blocks will include all six of my palette colors. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to be done with this month's assignment and moving on to other projects.

Floral Stitches Year III - The One

Though I decided not to continue with the Dropcloth @dropcloth Floral Stitches Series into a third full year, I did receive the first one, so of course, I stitched it up!

Knowing this would be my last flower sampler for a while at least, I tried to really enjoy the stitching, adding extra layers of stitches wherever I fancied.

Gotta say, I enjoyed stitching this farewell flower very much.

Pascal Carrying Case Sew Along

I do love a sew-along. I've done two with Kristina of Center Street Quilts
@centerstreetquilts - the Hemingway Pouch and the Nightingale Zipper Case. So when I saw she was doing one with her new Pascal Carrying Case, I thought, why not? 

For fabric, I chose a Speckled Canvas Metallic by Rashida Coleman Hale in Sarah (green) for the main exterior; and a Fableism Camp Gingham in Sunshine for the lining. I wasn't 100% sure about choices for the interior pocket and bindings, but had a few options chosen so I could decide as I went. But I did find a nice taupe webbing in my stash, so I had enough to get started.

Day One's assignment was to sandwich and quilt the main body of the case, where foam stabilizer was one option for the middle layer. I knew from previous projects that that would be a good choice, and used Soft and Stable from byAnnie. I had planned to quilt a grid, but when I sat down to my machine, a serpentine stitch sounded fun. And it was!

For Day Two, we were to prep our bindings and strap. There was an option to cover the webbing - or not - and since I had some that coordinated so nicely, I'll be using mine au naturel.

It's not unusual for me to pull supplies for a project and then change my mind midstream. After Kristina sent her tips for Day 3, I realized she used zipper by the yard, so I switched to that; and decided I liked a different fabric completely for my case's pocket than I'd originally chosen. But I never regretted the combo I ended up choosing.

For Day 4, it was quick work to secure the webbing strap, including the hardware. I was really happy to find perfectly coordinating thread in my thread stash for both the exterior and the strap (which also matched with the lining!).

And tada! On Day 5, I just needed to add some binding, and my Pascal Carrying Case was ready to use. Though in all honesty, I think sewing on the binding took me longer than any other step. It wasn't hard, just a little finicky. But all turned out well in the end.

I really like the clean lines of this case.

And I'm super please with the details.... 

I also love that my Kindle fits with room to spare, and I think the charging cord will fit fine in the zipped pocket. Yay!

Vessel

Twice before, I've participated in the WELCA (Women of the ELCA) triennial gathering quilt challenge - in 2017 with Refiner's Fire; and in 2023 with Both Sides Now - so I was eager to participate again. This year's challenge was to create a quilt interpreting the I am Worthy gathering theme, incorporating the pink and yellow colors in the gathering's logo.

The finished perimeter of the quilt needed to be within the range of 100" to 320", though when the challenge was first announced month's ago, it was 60" to 100", so I was already planning for a relatively smaller quilt. Once I realized the change, I luckily didn't need to change my plans much, just making sure my finish 'fit.' Once completed, my Vessel, depicting a Kintsugi pot on a patchwork background measures 22.5" x 34" or a perimeter of 113".

The fabrics I included in my piece were Kona Azalea for the pot, Metallic Cotton in Gold by Windham Fabrics for the gold 'cracks', and for the background, a combination of Kona Banana Pepper, Essex Sunshine, Cotton Couture Lemon, two unidentified textured wovens, and quilt a few unidentified yellow solids from my scrap basket. Once the quilt top was complete, I created an improv-pieced quilt back using all the leftover bits.

For quilting, I echo-quilted the pot using Aurifil 50wt 2530 [Blossom Pink], to quilt between the metallic veins. Then I match-stick quilted lines 3/16" apart over the background with Aurifil 40wt Variegated 3920 [Golden Glow] for quilting and 1135 [Pale Yellow] in the bobbin.

Bound with Cotton Couture Lemon, Vessel is now ready to submit. 20 quilts will be selected to be shared at the triennial in July. Entries will be judged by a panel of selected quilters (full reveal, I was asked to be on the panel of judges since I apparently was a winner in 2023, but I won't be at the gathering) for originality, adherence to selected themes, workmanship, creative use of materials and overall design execution. There will also be a people's choice award and a quilters choice award. Winners and qualifying entries will be auctioned at the gathering, with 50% of the proceeds will go to Women of the ELCA and 50% to Lutheran World Relief.

As part of the entry form, I was asked to Describe how the quilt interprets the gathering theme. Here is my artist's statement:

The inspiration for Vessel came through a Lenten sermon series, 

where a pot was demolished, and used as a symbol for our lives, 

broken, yet beautiful in their brokenness. 

The vessel, repaired in the Kintsugi style, reminds us that our worthiness 

or value does not require perfection but a willingness to be shattered

and recreated. The mender comes to us, descending into our fractures and imperfections,

creating a renewed strength and purpose that didn’t exist before.

Umbrella Prints | Slow Stitched Needle Book

So, two things kind of morphed into one with this little project. First, I had a stack of UmbrellaPrints that I got from my friend Cindy's @liveacolorfullife destash back in February. Then there was the hand-stitched needle book made by Mira @bluebellhillcrafts, that came with an invitation, Slow stitch a needle book with me. It kinda felt like they would go together nicely.

I used a double-thickness of Aurifil 12wt threads to do all of my stitching, loosely copying the designs and stitches Mira had used on hers.

Maybe I should have used some brighter colors so they'd show off better, but then again, I enjoyed with low-key palette.

The needle book cover was attached to the lining with a blanket stitch, and in the pair of photos below, you can see the prints that I pieced together for the book's interiors, leaving that one selvage showing as a hint to the origin of the fabrics.

I chose to add just two pieces of felt, creating 4 pages to store needles. I tried to follow Mira's instructions for securing them, with three rows of stitching down the center. Not perfect, but I think it'll work fine, and it does give the book a bit of a spine.

So that was fun! Closed, the needle book measures 4.25" x 5.5". Something a little different, and something that will come in handy, for sure.

2026 Studio Mystery Box

You may remember that early last year when Anna Graham @noodlehead531 offered Studio Mystery Boxes, I couldn't resist. And subsequently, I made quite a variety of projects from the fabrics and supplies I received. Here's what I can remember off hand....

A Journal Cover, tutorial by Rachel LaBour @stitchedincolor

A Small Booklet Pouch, pattern by Aneela Hoey @aneelahoey

A Fairfax Sling, pattern by Svetlana Skumanicova @sotakhandmade

An Essex Wallet, pattern also by Svetlana @sotakhandmade

And just a few short weeks ago, a Workshop Tote, pattern by Jeni Baker @jenib320

Obviously, I've made good use of what I got, so there was no second-guessing myself when I saw Anna post: Studio clean out time! You will receive a box of some (if not all) of the following types of items:

• zippers
• fabric
• fabric scraps (each box has an approx. 1 lb bag of pressed scraps)
• some have webbing
• cording
• patterns
• a few have leather scraps, zipper pulls
• hardware
• woven labels
• box measures 11.25 X 8.75 X 5" and is full!

The box I just received had all of the above except patterns, which I'm fine with, considering all I did get. 

Half yard each of Fableism Checkmate Checkers double cloth in Butterscotch and Ivory

23" x WOF of Speckled Canvas Metallic by Rashida Coleman Hale in black

21" x WOF of Speckled Canvas Metallic by Rashida in Sarah (green)

8(!) zippers in a variety of sizes and styles + one leather zipper pull 

Half yard of Anna's Orchard Run Flowers in Slate 

A mix of bag hardware and other supplies - a scrap of leather, 2 1/4 yards of 1.5" webbing, natural and blue drawstring cording, several rectangular rings, a half moon magnetic edge clasp (which I've never seen before!) from Emmaline Bags @emmalinebags, a side release buckle, waxed cord, and woven labels. 

AND my bag of pressed scraps (14.8 oz.) included cuts of Essex, Orchard Run, Carolyn Friedlander, Echino, and Fableism. IE. some good stuff! I figure between the scraps and the yardage, I received about 5 1/2 yards of fabric, all of which I really like.

So I'm more than happy with the mystery box, and look forward to working these items into my making!