Meanwhile....

So behind the scenes, I'm quilting my improv log cabin scrap quilt; but also, I've snuck in a couple of smaller projects. You may have already seen one if you subscribe to my newsletter, The Scrap Basket. It's a zipper pouch I made by repurposing one of my actual mini quilts. Homemade Emily Jane gave me the idea in her post, How to Make a Mini Quilt Zipper Pouch, and now that I've done it, I think it's brilliant.

The quilt I started with measured just 14" x 15", a small, scrappy little one. I actually didn't quite use all of it for the pouch, as I had to consider the zippers I had on hand. And yes, it did hurt just the tiniest bit to cut the bindings off a finished project.

But really, it was perfect for it's new life as a pouch! Where Emily actually starts by making a mini quilt as a part of the pouch-making process, I used a finished quilt; but still needed to add a lining like usual, so the quilt-back gets hidden, which is a small price to pay.

So the pouch finished at 7" x 7 3/4", and a leather lacing zipper pull was a logical addition. It'll soon be off to a new home. Fun, right?

Then, after finishing my most recent Dropcloth Sampler, I needed some hand-sewing to work on in the evenings. Between that, and the bleak status of my stash fabric usage, I decided to stitch up some Running Stitch Napkins, a tutorial from Purl Soho. 

A fortuitous find were the remains of a fat-quarter stack of Anna Graham/Noodlehead's Forage fabric collection. The group is all printed on Essex cotton-linen blend, which obviously makes for a pretty substantial napkin. The only solid I had enough of that worked even reasonably well for the back of the napkins was a Northcott Colorworks in Pearl, a very very light gray, which I'd been 'saving' for quite some time. But as I spend several hours stitching the napkin edges with perle cotton, I decided the Pearl was perfect to bring the grouping together, especially as I stitched each napkin with its own coordinating thread.

My napkins measure 15" square finished, which is as large as I could go with the fabric at hand. I did pre-wash all the fabric before I started cutting, and I think they'll get even softer with subsequent washings. Oh! And one little detail I wanted to be sure and mention was that, per the tutorial, all knots are on the right-side of the feature fabrics! Though I've seen others do this, I never had, so it felt a little naughty, but very fun, just the same!

Anyway, I really enjoyed making these too and using several yards of stash fabric in the process. Now back to quilting!

Littles

Sewing up something small really is a breath of fresh air when you're surrounded by larger projects, and it's been a joy to make a few quick little makes over the last couple of weeks.

Another pop open pouch was fun - the third one I've made so far, including the one I made for myself and enjoy using as a makeup bag. The details on this little bag really shine, and I have no doubt I'll make even more.

I had high hopes for making more heart projects before Valentine's Day, but alas, I just managed one. It was a striped heart, The You & Me quilt block by Ellis & Higgs, which I started when my grandgirl was over. I had her choose all the fabric, which in itself was fun, and I was proud of her thoughtful choices. A few days layer, she was excited to see that I'd finished it, but that might have been where her excitement ended, but whatever, I had fun making it.

Finally, another Wee Braw Bag, pattern by Sweet Cinnamon Roses, this time for our teenage goddaughter. It was fun choosing fabrics for her, and I settled on a long-stashed piece of Far Far Away III by Heather Ross paired with some Alison Glass' Kaleidoscope in Pomegranate. I wasn't totally sure if the contrast was too much, but she seemed to like it, and I know my Instagram friends sure did.

I'm mulling over what's next. Considering I just finished a long-term project AND quilting a big quilt, I think I deserve a little diversion.

The Little Stuff

It seems I've been making as many little projects as anything lately, and I must say, it's suited me just fine. There's been a pincushion, a couple of mini quilts, and more. Like a gift bag for my FAITH Circle swap item (said pincushion). Svetlana/s.o.t.a.khandmade's drawstring bag always pleases, and it was such fun stitching it up with a couple of fat-quarters of Cotton + Steel. Though the twill tape ties seemed to be everyone's favorite part.

I also needed a handmade gift for my coworker's birthday, and after some mulling, I decided on a Big Patchwork Tote by Ayumi Mills/Pink Penguin from Krista Hennebury's book,  Make It, Take It. I'd made one for daughter dear a while back, and was pretty sure my coworker had nothing like it, considering most of her handmade items had come from me over the years. Besides, this bag is a really enjoyable make, which was what I was definitely in the mood for. And I'd guessed right - she loved it. yay.

And most recently, I tried a new-to-me pattern for a Quilt-as-you-go Thread Catcher by Tessa/The Sewing Chick. This was a fun one too! Cutting the patchwork was a little fiddly, but the construction technique was terrific, and it measures 5" tall when done. Pretty darn cute, if you ask me!

 

So I really should get to some quilting, but it's great to have a few finishes, isn't it?

The Little Things

There's several small projects I've made this month that I haven't gotten around to sharing so here goes!

I couldn't resist giving the 1 hour basket a go after seeing oodles of them on Instagram. It was fun to make and considering I didn't really take note of the finished size before starting, it turned out larger than I expected (10"x6"x7"). The tutorial was easy to follow, and I liked the construction technique. Next time I may add some interfacing or batting to the handles just to beef them up a bit. oh, and for the record, it took me 30 minutes to pick out fabrics, 90 minutes to actually sew the basket. All in all, a pretty quick make.

I winged it on this next project, a fabric-covered mini clipboard for grandgirl, who loves to make lists. There are several tutorials on Pinterest, but they all used mod-podge, which I didn't have and didn't have time to go purchase. So basically I made a tight-fitting sleeve after tracing the clipboard on the wrong side of my fabric. Then the top edges were trimmed and tucked in, secured with heavy-duty double-sided tape. Not too professional but I think it'll hold up for quite a while.

Then there were a couple of baby gifts for my friend Marci who is due very soon. First, a couple of quilted bibs from the tutorial by sew she sews. Personally I like the velcro closure - it's easy to sew on, plus easy to use on baby.

Then I made the Travel Diaper Clutch using the tutorial by SewCraftyJess. This little clutch uses a unique Pellon product that I had used just once before, when due to my own error, I applied it to the wrong side of my fabric. I paid better attention this time, and the Vinyl-Fuse worked like a charm, making the clutch water repellent. It's been a while since I was caring for an infant, but if I remember correctly, this will be a convenient little item to have.

Making these baby items prompted me to make a new Pinterest board, Sewing for Baby. I pinned these and other baby projects I've made so I have some ideas for next time.

So there's the last of the littles from the month - a lot of PINK!

Littles

Even though I'm working on a couple of larger projects, I snuck in a few small ones this week and enjoyed that little breather.

First were two pouches. The Dumpling Pouch by Michelle Patterns was a new one to me, and isn't it cute?! I did "the easier one" (yes, there are two on the pattern sheet) and I'm glad I did. Just because it's small, the turning was a little finicky. I do think I'll try a thinner batt the next time, but the technique itself was so clever, and don't be afraid of that curved zip, as it's easy peasy. The pattern suggests hand basting, though I was brave and just pinned with my littlest pins - worked like a charm.

Next was a zakka pouch from Zakka Style - a pattern I made back with The Zakka Style Sew Along. Here's the original, more like the pouch in the book, done in hexies and tweed . . .

And here's the latest, done in bright modern fabric, without the linen corners. I like it both ways, and even though you can't see the bright purple zip I put in this new one, the slight curve along the bottom is more prominent - a feature I really like. Either way, it's a great little pattern by Hey Porkchop! and it was fun to revisit.

The next little project were some Cotton+Steel luggage tags, using the tutorial by Flamingo Toes. The first one I made is on the right below, and see how it has a 'pocket' on the flip side of the vinyl? That's designed for business cards - a clever idea for sure, but since I used the vinyl I had on hand, certainly thicker than the recommended 12 gauge, the little thing was very difficult to turn. So on the next few, I left off that pocket. Options are good, don't you think?

So the two salmon ones are for me, and the two navy are for hubby - similar but different.

By the way, when I showed hubby the first holder, he was concerned about our address info coming out of the vinyl pocket. So at his suggestion, I added a teeny-tiny (1/4" by 3/4") velco fastener to the pockets of the remaining tags. You can see the stitching on the one in the photo below.

So back to the bigger projects waiting, yes indeed!

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

The Latest Littles

Over the last week, I've sewn a variety of small projects. First up were 2 noodlehead pouches - another Open Wide Zippered Pouch in Mochi Dots and Essex {again}, plus a Lil Cutie Pouch. The open wide pouch was the large size, and the lil cutie quite a bit smaller finishing about 4"x6". I used the same Essex for the little pouch, which I accented with a little quilting, and then both pouches were lined with the same fabric as the zip end and key ring loop.

Next up were a set of potholders for my coworker's birthday. I dug into a charm pack of Color Me Happy by V and Co. and made a pair of Granny Square Quilt Blocks made popular by blue elephant stitches. 

More charms were pieced together for the backings.

I used my machine's serpentine stitch to quilt both, in slightly different patterns. Binding is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter. Oh, and I got a question about what I fill my potholders with and it's always the same - 1 layer of Insul-Bright + 1 layer of cotton batt. This makes a sturdy potholder, and I've never had any trouble with them not being protective enough.

Another co-worker asked if I could make him a phone pouch with a lanyard. I used a tutorial I've used several times - Kindle Cover by Ellison Lane - and basically just cut it down to size. In the tutorial, Jennifer suggests measuring your own device and adding 1 1/2" to length and width. I did that here and it worked out perfectly. For the lanyard, I just took a strip 1 1/2"x40", pressed it in half lengthwise, then pressed both long edges into the fold. Then I top-stitched the length close to each long edge and it was done. I downsized the closure tab to 2"x3", and added the lanyard ends in the last seam right along with the tab. Reportedly it's working just fine for him, and I got an "A" for making it "manly" enough.

Lastly was a case for hubby's sunglasses, per his request. {And yes, he chose the fabric for this project and the one above.} I used the Curved Sunglass Case by modern handcraft and it was perfect. I did cut mine down to 4"x8" and still had enough room at the end to add a 1" velcro square to make a closure. I also quilted my case, which I really like, though I think I'd do it much denser next time to make a stiffer case.

So those were all fun diversions. I think after the excitement of my recent mini quilt finishes, I've been a bit hesitant to dive into something too big. Plus a quick finish or 4 is always invigorating.