et cetera

So there were several Christmas gifts that you may have caught glimpses of in my flickr stream or on Instagram, but that I was not able to blog about till now. Glancing through them quickly I notice that they are all remakes of patterns I've made before. As much as I like trying new patterns, when I find one I really like, I often have to make it again!

 

First is another Snowflake Pillow {here's my first}. I made the 9" version from During Quiet Times' pattern, adding borders to make a 12" pillow. I wasn't sure how the directional blue stash fabric would work, but I ended up really liking how it gave the effect of a swirling snow storm. And the white on white Lizzy House pearl bracelets are perfect for the snowflake.

The kindle cover tutorial by Ellison Lane Quilts is one I've used several times before, and it's been perfect each time. So of course I turned to it again this Christmas.

And another Noodlehead open wide zippered pouch made an appearance, as a carry-all for a bunch of sewing goodies for my 10-year-old godchild, Julia. Her wish came true in the form of a new sewing machine from Santa, so I'm excited to watch her passion grow.

And finally, I got a little carried away making two in one pouches using the pattern by s.o.t.a.k handmade.

I made 7 for Christmas, bringing my overall total to 10. I must say, so far this has been my favorite use of my Cotton + Steel fabrics.

 I kinda couldn't decide which photo of the last batch I'd share with you, so you get several!

And I gotta say, it warmed my heart plenty when 4-year-old grandgirl opened her present from me on Christmas morning - 3 Disney princesses + the small "just her size" pouch. After examining the princesses one by one, she pulled the pouch out of her giftbag and hollered, "oh grammy! This is even better!" Oh yeah.

  

Linking up with Porch Swing Quilts' Santa's Sweatshop and Finish It Up Friday.

Christmas Postscript {three}

Pretend briefly that it's Christmas morning and there's a flurry of gift-opening. Instead, a final flurry of project reveals . . .

I'd seen and heard about the Jane Market Bag and boy am I glad I went and found the pattern and tried it. It sewed up like a dream, and I'll definitely be making more. I really wanted to use a linen print from my stash, an Echino Fabric by Estuko Furuya, but realized that it was a border print. Not to dissuade myself, I made it work, putting the birds on the front panels and the dots on the back. Since the recipient is a writer I used  a comma print for the pockets and lining. My favorite feature of the bag is the sewn-down corner seams, though next time I plan on using some interfacing to stabilize the bag. Though sturdy enough, mine doesn't stand tall on its own, and I would really like it too. Meanwhile, I highly recommend this bag - check out the Jane Market Bag flickr group for lots of lovlies.

We gifted my mom with a Kindle, so of course it needed a quilted cover! I had used the Kindle Case Tutorial by Ellison Lane once before so I knew exactly what to do. A floral from Ruby Star Shining seemed perfect as the main fabric, especially once it was straight-line quilted. Luckily it fit mom's Kindle like a glove.

For grandgirl, I started off intending to make the log cabin slippers from Ayumi Mills on Interweave. {By the way, there's Interweave coupons right here.} But they were sized for adults and time was getting tight. So when I came across a toddler's pattern by ithinksew, I kind of merged the two. As a substitute for the grippy fabric that was called for as the soles of the slippers, I used Pellon Peltex wrong-side out. That worked fine, but the final project isn't as cushy as I'd like, so next time, I'll used some fusible fleece in both the uppers and soles. But the cute factor - totally right on.

I wanted to make some potholders for my coworker, and used Jeni Baker's hst potholder tutorial which worked perfectly with the mini charms I had on hand. With Essex as the 'solid' and a layer of both batting and Insul-bright, these stitched up quick and sturdy.

Lastly, I tried a couple new gift bag tutorials in my race to Christmas. Both happened to be by s.o.t.a.k handmade, and I was more than pleased with them both. There was a Drawstring Bag with an easy to install casing . . .

and an altered version of The Big Apple Shoulder Bag, with only one side tie. Here's a few of my fabric-wrapped packages (clockwise from upper-left): Lined Drawstring Bag, a Ruby Star Pillowcase Pouch, a fat-quarter-as gift-wrap, and the Big Apple bag.

Very festive, yes? Now forward to the new year . . .

W.i.P. Wednesday

It's been an enjoyable week working on the Triple-Zip Along, which is shaping up to be a really good time. That and working my way down my list, and still finding time for the unexpected.

Completed projects
Bee blocks - It's a relief to have these done and mailed off, but definitely fun while they lasted!

Kindle cover - You're right if you're thinking, "I didn't notice this on her list before!" But it has been on my mind. It totally deserved its own post, but since I can't stop looking at it for the record, I'll share it here again.

Ongoing projects
Modern Crosses quilt - This one, as big as she is, earned a ride on a long-arm . . . hope to see her again before long.

Quiet Book - Not quite done, but I've been working on it. Here's a peek at one page I finished this week.

Scrappy Trip Along - Like many others, this is really all I can think about. 12/30 blocks done, 8 more are strip-pieced, the remaining strips cut and sorted. And it just keeps getting better.

Hubby's Christmas stocking - no progress. No offense hubby! ;-)

Upcoming projects
* Binding for Mod Cross quilt
* Lucky Stars BOM - practice block + January block
* Woodland cross-stitch sampler - supplies arrived!
* plan for FAITH Circle's February quilt - it's in my head
* Emerald mini
* Mod Angles cushion
* flannel pillow for grandgirl
* table topper for mom
* scrappy Metrolink
* x and + blocks {#xplusalong}
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

The Case of the Kindle

After focusing on bee blocks the last several days, I changed gears completely this afternoon and made something that hadn't even made my list yet, but had been on my mind. And that would be a cover for my Kindle.

I really liked the look of the one made by Ellison Lane Quilts, so, I uh, downloaded the tutorial to my Kindle and worked from there - a first for me!

I had in mind a little raw-edge applique and referred to this post at Sew, Mama, Sew to get me started. I really like the organic look of this simple stitching.

The fabric all came from my stash. Unfortunately I don't know what the main {black} fabric is, as the fq didn't have a selvage. {Do you know?}

The lining, though it doesn't show much, is my favorite tiny circle print from Juggling Summer by Zen Chic in teal and coordinates with the Ruby Star Shining typewriter perfectly. The closure tab is a little scrap of charcoal Sketch.

The tutorial was easy to follow and helped me achieve just what I had in mind.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.