XL Maple Street Pouch

When hubby asked if I'd make him a small tool bag this week, it was the perfect chance to go and sew. I had in mind something like the Maple Street Pouch I'd made recently, but the largest size in Svetlana's @sotakhandmade pattern was 9" x 4" x 3", where I was looking for something more like 12" long. I looked around at some other options, but finally just went with my first instinct, deciding it would be easy enough for me to enlarge.

Hubby liked the overall shape of the large version, so I just drew out a template extending it a few inches. Copying the same template for the lining was a cinch, as was figuring out how long my zipper by the yard needed to be.

For this version, though, I used waxed canvas for the exterior, which meant no need for interfacing. The only other adjustment I needed to make was leaving an 8" gap in the lining bottom instead of just 4" as called for. The waxed canvas is so stiff that you really need some extra room to pull it through to the right side near the end. Not sure it was necessary, but I did use a size 100 needle on this bag, and when I stitched two layers of waxed canvas together, I bumped my stitch length to 3.0.

So the final size of hubby's tool pouch is 12" x 4" x 3", and gotta say, I think it'll serve him well.

Just for fun, I took a photo of this elongated pouch with the large one I'd made previously per the pattern, so you could see the difference. The longer one looks skinnier, but that's just because it's made of waxed canvas, thus is stiffer, and I creased it at the corners along the sides. Either way, they're both proving to be plenty useful.

Weave Got This! :: :: Blocks 6A + 6B

With this month's block assignment, we're over half-way through with this year's Seattle MQG BOM! And for the first time, my blocks used both the main and accent colors together.

There's actually a lighter orange that didn't get used this time, but still. It's fun to see more of a color variety in these blocks. Mirror-image blocks can get confusing, but this time they went together so quick and easy, there's not a seam-ripper in sight!

Fairfax II

It's true that I really enjoy trying and making new bag patterns every now and then. Usually I try something new, but I've enjoyed using my Fairfax Sling so much, that when it began to show wear, I decided I wanted to make another. It's just been the perfect size and shape for me, so why not?

The pattern is by Svetlana Skumanicova @sotakhandmade and it even came with a video, which is nice. As with the first Fairfax, I chose the exterior fabric from my latest Studio Mystery Box from Anna Graham @noodlehead531 - Orchard Run Flowers in Slate, which happens to be printed on Robert Kaufman’s Cotton Flax basecloth, and is like a lightweight canvas. For lining, I pulled a favorite Carolyn Friedlander @carolynfriedlander print from stash, City Grid in Ash; and for the interior pocket lining (which is pretty well hidden), Angled in Royal, both from her Collection CF. You can see the lining - and a peek of the pocket lining - in the photo below.

The lovely khaki webbing also came from my Studio Mystery Box, which was handy.

Like usual with bag-making, I follow the pattern carefully step by step over the course of several days. This pattern happens to use zipper by the yard, which I got from Sullivans Trim @sullivanstrim. I used a stripe khaki zipper on this bag, but also bought a few other striped colorways to try in future projects. 

In case you're new to zipper by the yard, Sullivans also has a great little video saved on Instagram, showing how to attach zipper pulls. Luckily, I got both on really easily for this bag - yay!

I remember noting when I made the previous Fairfax that the interior binding was a little too wide for me. I think it was cut at 2". So this time, I cut it at 1.75" and it worked just fine. So note to self. Anyway, I'm excited to put this new bag into use for the summer. It really is a perfect shape and size for me.

Floral Stitches Year III - The Unexpected Second

The day after I posted that I was only stitching the first floral stitches sampler of Year III, I received a note from Dropcloth saying I actually was paid up through June, IE. the second floral of the series. I was surprised, but of course, I stitch it up when it arrived.

I enjoyed stitching that sunshine very much, with those wonderfully warm colors. 

Though I double-outlined the flowers around the outer edge, I couldn't seem to come up with a way to fill them in that I liked. After trying several different stitches, I decided to let them be for now. Maybe I'll revisit them at a later date; maybe not. It happens sometimes, so meanwhile, I'm calling this one complete for now.

Controlled Crazy Quilt

I often pick up my copy of Bold Expressions: African American Quilts from the Collection of Corrine Riley: May 15-November 6, 2011 when I need inspiration for a new scrap quilt. So far, it's inspired Octo, Housetops, and Timer. Just as I finished the backing for my most recent scrap quilt, looking through the book inspired me to begin a new controlled crazy quilt. Unfortunately, the sample in the book had no maker listed.

A Google search came up with key characteristics of controlled crazy quilts, and it was surprising how well they 'fit' with the example I'd seen in Bold Expressions. First off - uniform block sizes, which is exactly how I'd started off. Rather than randomly sized blocks like I often do for scrap quilts, I made 9.5" blocks for my new scrap project.

Another characteristic is apparently a restricted color palette, rather than using any fabric available. Though I was pretty randomly using scraps pulled from my scrap basket, I was making sure that each block included black, and hot pink/red/coral. I was also trying to include any random pieced bits or blocks I happened to pull out.

Fabric consistency is another frequent feature of controlled crazy quilt - often sticking to one type of fabric (like all cottons or all silks) rather than mixing velvets, denims, and linens together. My solid scrap basket consists primarily of 100% quilting cotton, though I'm finding the occasional Essex blend and cross weave that I'm including in my blocks as well.

A final characteristic is decorative embroidery stitches stitched over seams to add texture. I'm still debating if my quilt will include any of those embellishments, but it's still nice to remember that those are very common with traditional crazy quilts.

So 30 blocks in, I'm calling it a day, and have pieced the blocks together into a top. Considering the blocks were 9.5" each, the top measures 45.5" x 54.5". I rearranged a few blocks from where they had been on my design wall during block construction, but not many. Now off to see how far I get on a pieced backing from the scraps left hanging out on my cutting table. I'm not necessarily expecting to get the entire back, but we'll see!

Gift Handmade

Over the years, I've gone in and out of making and giving handmade gifts. A maker sometimes gets clues about whether a recipient appreciates a handmade item or not. Not always, of course, but sometimes. So I was pretty sure that one particular friend would appreciate the recent gifts I made for her.

For one, she had commented when I made a Small Booklet Pouch for myself using Aneela Hoey's pattern, that it would be handy to store crochet hooks in.

Of course, I made it as cute as I could....

My friend has been a bunny owner more than once, and because of that, the Rifle Paper Wildwood Woodland fabric seemed fun to use for a gift for her. I couldn't resist, and I hope she doesn't feel inundated by my bunny-focused gifts.

Because I also made her a Small Maple Street Pouch by Svetlana @sotakhandmade using the same fabrics. For the pouch, the bunny print was on the exterior, and the floral on the inside.

There are other instances, though, where someone close to me asks outright for me to make them something, such as my daughter, Rachel @snippetsofsweetness, asking if I'd make her some fun pillowcases for her birthday. My reply was an instant, "Yes!" I always use the tutorial by The Twiddletails Blog, this time making the queen size pillowcases. By now, I know that for anything larger than regular, you need to take care if you're ordering a directional fabric. I did, and ordered fabric special for this project, as I don't keep the lengths needed on hand, plus I really wanted all of the fabric to somewhat coordinate, and to be BLUE.

Lizzy House is one of Rachel's favorite fabric designers, and all this fabric was from Lizzy's Constellations line.

Cutting the fabric the right way can be a bit confusing, especially with directional fabrics; so this time, I made myself a little cheat card, and am posting it here in case I can't find it next time I need it. Ha!

Of course, I made a drawstring giftbag for Rachel's gift - it's tradition! This time I used the Easy Going (Single Fabric) Drawstring Bag pattern from Jeni Baker's @jenib320 Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern. I was glad I had enough of the Pearl Bracelet fabric, as it's one of Rachel's very favorites.

So I was really happy to be able to give these handmade gifts - as well as the scrappy potholders a couple of weeks ago. Now back to some serious scrap-sewing.

Banded

Meet Banded! As much as I love them, scrap quilts always feel like a bit of a workout. I personally don't keep my scraps in a very organized (read: neat and pressed) way, so when it's time to work with them, there's always a lot of pressing, trimming (all those strings!), and overall, digging through the scrap basket. But that aside, it feels great to use them!

For this particular quilt, I used up an entire yard of Kona Haze as background on the front. But other than that, every single bit - blocks, backing, and binding - was from the scrap basket.

Speaking of the back, I first made a panel of all the left over bits from the front. Then, without looking, I grabbed a handful of scraps from the scrap basket, pressed them, and sewed them together. And I did it again. There were a few stragglers from each set that made up a fourth panel. I did it once or twice more, then intentionally looked for any larger pieces to start combining the panels together. The photo below shows the shapes of the final pieced slabs that made up the quilt back.

And the finished back!

For quilting, I went with the fast and no-stress serpentine with an off-white thread. Honestly, I was ready to move on. It wasn't lost on me that I'd spent much more time making the quilt back than on quilting, but so be it.

I knew even before quilting that if I wanted to keep the integrity of the quilt front block design, I would not be trimming this quilt 'square.' I'm not sure what happened to make that so, but I was willing to live with it for this particular 'just for fun' quilt.

So in the end, once bound with leftover binding strips straight from the scrap basket, the quilt measured 47" x 55" x 47" x 58". At least it will make a cozy lap quilt!

April + May Fabric Usage

Due to fabric purchases in April intended for gifts given in May, I chose to combine fabric usage posts for the two months. It is A LOT, I know. But it's what really happened and I'll just own up to it here. I've done my best to sew through most of it AND I balanced it all out by making no fabric purchases or intake during May.

So here's that came in during April....

Christmas kitty fabric from my buddy Louise @imfeelincrafty. She knows we have a white(ish) fluffy cat in our family and thought this would be perfect for some Christmas gift bags. I totally agree!

Then I needed very specific fabric for the WELCA challenge quilt, Vessel. Shopping online, I did buy a few things I didn't end up using, but only the second from the bottom one below didn't get used at all. And the gold, pink, and yellows were perfect for what I needed. Happy news, I just heard that Vessel was a finalist in the challenge, so I'll be sending it off this week.

Then I couldn't resist the Wildwood prints below for a gift for a friend of mine. Those bunnies especially were just perfect, and the floral coordinated nicely. The Ecru Cloud linen in the center is for fabric stamping, which I haven't gotten to yet, but it's on my list to try this summer.

And wouldn't you know, my daughter Rachel @snippetsofsweetness asked for a handmade for her birthday - some fun pillowcases! That's something I really enjoy making so yay! For fabric, I picked from one of her favorite designers - Lizzy House. Rachel loves blue, so I chose some coordinating Constellation prints. Glancing at the stack, I think there's just one print I didn't end up using. It was kind of challenging picking prints to use together, but I managed. I made her two sets, and had enough left of the Pearl Bracelets on top to make a gift bag. Perfect.

Finally, like last year, I indulged in one of Anna Graham's Studio Mystery Boxes, and what a treat. 

I already have plans for one of the larger fabric pieces, and look forward to seeing how I can use the others too. SO, a lot of fabric came in, but almost double that amount got used up between the two months. Not complaining about that one bit.

April Fabric Usage

Used up: 20.215 yards [6.87 projects + 13.345 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 21.50 yards
Net: 1.285 yards

May Fabric Usage

Used up: 17.51 yards [13.56 projects + 3.95 recycled]
Brought in: 0.0 yards
Net: -17.51 yards

June is off to a quite scrappy start, which I am enjoying very much. Can't say what's coming next, and I'm ok with that. Though I love a TO DO list, I also enjoy the freedom of just figuring it out as I go.

Scrap Report Two + More on Making a Pieced Quilt Back

Like I mentioned when I checked in with Scrap Report One back in April, I kind of felt like a failure at this year's 100 Day Project, but I am excited to say that I feel like I've made up for it a bit in the last few weeks. I believe that the 100 Day Project officially ended on May 30, so here's my final report on how I've used scraps in the second half.

The potholders I made for my Making Scrappy Potholders tutorial were intentionally made from scraps - both front and back, though I did have to pull from stash to make a binding I liked.

Though much of the fabric used in Vessel was newly-purchased, I did pull yellow scraps from the scrap basket to include in both the background on the front, and on the back. 

And where I really outdid myself and finished my 100 Days of Scraps with a bang has been with the scrappy quilt project I'm currently working on. It's not quite done, but the front and back definitely qualify to be included in this scrap report.

Though I used one yard of Kona Haze from stash for the background, the rest of the front (above) is totally from scrap. I felt like a single background fabric would give some unity to the multi-colored design. Where on the back (below), anything went, and every single bit came from the scrap basket. First I made a panel of all the left over bits from the front. Then, without looking, I grabbed a handful of scraps from the scrap basket, pressed them, and sewed them together. And I did it again. There were a few stragglers from each set that made up a fourth panel. 

Honestly, that was so fun that I did it again, then went looking for larger pieces to start combining the panels together. 

Working on a design wall is perfect for constructing a quilt back this way. Note that my quilt top is still up there, so I figured out dimensions for the back as I went. Basically, I added larger scraps to my scrappy slabs one by one, pinned them up, then moved on to the next. In general, I added wider fabrics to the outside edges, knowing that after quilting, some trimming would happen. But for interest-sake, I did let some smaller scraps reach out to the edge.

I thought it might be fun - helpful even? - to see the shapes of the final pieced slabs that made up the quilt back, with the lines shown above. And yes, I did add one more vertical trip down in the right-hand bottom corner, so that's evened up a bit. This backing intentionally is much scrappier than the one I made in my Making a Pieced Quilt Back tutorial, but the process is pretty similar. But with this one, I reached my goal of pulling every little bit of fabric from the scrap basket. It remains to be seen if I can get binding from the scrap basket as well, but fingers are crossed!