December progress & Charity Pillowcases

More than halfway through December, time for a quick check-in on

• 31 days of blogging
• December's monthly goals

Hey, only 4 blog posts under my belt in 15 days, so I'm far away from the stated blog-post-a-day challenge.  But, I'm patting myself on the back for not giving up--11 days in a row passed by but I came back!  (Recall: a measly 6 blog posts for the previous 11 months.  I have a lot of bad habits to overcome here.)

Funny story on the December goals...I clearly recall listing FOUR sewing goals for December, and choosing one of these to be my main focus.  Someone was not listening to herself declaring these to be the only December goals.  Alas, dear reader, I have strayed.

There has been some progress on the Xmas stockings.

And then, I went and made a couple pillowcases.

To my credit, these were for my Guild's annual charity donation, and have already left my hands.  Also, they were made from stashed fabrics, so no new purchases.  Finally, the cuffs were both scraps leftover from 2016-17 Circles BOM--even better than stashbusting is finishing off scraps!

Alrighty then: a finish(!) + some progress + more sewing needing to take place.  Sounds about right for a mid-December progress report.

Mondo Bag: finish it February

Does this ever happen to you?

You declare a goal: "finish it February".  Well, declare might be a strong word, considering I never actually told anyone, or wrote it down.  Not exactly the best way to go about goal-setting, from what I hear.

But in my mind, February was my month to finish things.  So very many UFO's.  And I kept leaving my projects so close to being done.

Challenge fabric: what would you make?

Then there is new and shiny.  My arch nemesis.  Don't get me wrong, this was not quite an out-of-the-blue new project.  The fabric was purchased in November as a guild challenge.  And the challenge due date was in February.  But I did completely change my mind at January's retreat as to what exactly I was gonna make for the challenge (which would be due in February--did I mention that I am a bit of a procrastinator?)

Voila, February finish: the Mondo Bag

Completely ignoring the UFO's grumbling from their corners, I went for it with zeal and gusto on a new project.  But, to my credit, I did manage to finish said project.  Does this ever happen to you???


And now I'm sharing all the details with you. Pattern-review style, here is my take on making the Mondo Bag.

Name of pattern:  
Mondo Bag, by Quiltsmart

Other, similar patterns: 
Quiltsmart offers the Midi Bag and Bitty Bag, smaller versions of basically the same technique (8" square bottom, 12" tall sides; 5-1/2" square bottom, 9" tall sides, respectively)

Pattern description:
Mondo [mon'-doh], Adjective - large, big: "This bag is so mondo, I can pack for a whole weekend!"  Adverb - very, extremely: "This bag is mondo cool, and mondo easy to make!"  Mondo unique assembly!  Make yourself a Mondo travel bag, or a Mondo diaper bag!

Pattern sizing: 
finished bag measures about 10" square at the bottom, with 17" tall sides. 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern when you were done?
Yep

Were the instructions easy to follow?
A bit tricky, I'd say.  You need both the printed pattern and the printed fusible interfacing to make the bag (subsequent bags will need more interfacing).  The instructions for using the fusible interfacing (that is the basis for many of Quiltsmart's products) worked fine for me.  Additionally, there are a couple YouTube videos available (Quiltsmart's official Mondo video and online instructor Karen Dennison's version) that can help take you through the process more smoothly than the written instructions.  I have a lot of bag sewing experience, so I was able to work thru basic bag construction techniques that were a little skimpy, even in the videos. I plan to write up a separate post with some construction hints.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  
I liked the fusible product for setting and stitching your squares together--worked like a charm.  I like the origami-like assembly technique that makes this bag--it is unique from any other bag I have made.  And this bag is darn roomy!  (I'm a little worried I might dislocate my shoulder if I load it up the way I do with my other bags.  My reminder: fluffy, bulky objects only; no armloads of books!)  I disliked the pocket option and I disliked the straps (so I changed them! see below)

Fabric used:
Quilting cottons and batiks.  The focus fabric was a Hoffman California screenprint (maybe a 2016 release?).  All other fabrics were from my stash, including the purple batik lining (yay, stashbusting!)  Interfacing was Pellon Fusible Fleece, my go-to for lightweight stability in many bag and kitchen sewing projects.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Ooh, many!  In fact, one reason I waited so long to write this blog post was because I envisioned throwing lots of pattern hack/tutorial type hints up at the same time as showing off my finish.  But... I'm planning on blogging about my alterations, just not here.

• Fabric placement (carefully considered design decisions here)
• Two internal pockets added
• Bag hardware for making the straps more attractive/stylish
• Stabilizing the bottom for a flatter appearance

Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
Yes and yes.  I have already been asked to teach this bag--both at the shop, and by my guild.  I really want to make one with 5" squares, so individual fabrics are shown off better.  I also have the Midi Bag pattern + interfacing pack on deck for a spring tote: same technique, different size.

Conclusion
I love this bag so much that I started using it before the topstitching was even done.(!)  The size is wonderful for toting those bulky nearly-finished quilting projects.  Would also make an awesome beach tote, as it's definitely of a size to cart along allll the towels.
If you have not made a bag before, this might not be the one to start with, however.


I finished a thing!
Thanks for following along.

Circles BOM: first look

My inspiration fabric

Oh, Boy: it's time to start advertising for a new Block of the Month!

Theme for this BOM, which starts the first-Saturday-after-labor-day, is CIRCLES.


I have about eight circle ideas so far--out of 12 months, that's not a bad start.  I really want to explore a lot of different techniques, and I have found so many ideas in the blogosphere.

I love learning new techniques!


Here are the samples I have made up to advertise the BOM, along with the inspiration/tutorial that got me started

 

Not a circle, you say?  But this is clearly the place to start: if one is afraid of curved seams there are circle-like things that can be done using only straight lines.  In fact, there will be many months in this BOM of no curved seams, to honor those fears; then we will push past them.

Instructions for this particular log-cabin came from Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.  Bonus points for the fact that she uses scraps, as this tutorial is part of her Scrap-A-Palooza series.  Her finished quilt using this block can be found here.

Mmm, I love this technique: reverse applique!  Again, no curved piecing: a little freezer paper and glue stick make this one work.  I previously tried this technique at a retreat, as part of Block Challenge, and knew it would become part of my Circles BOM.

The freezer-paper-assist technique was shared by Barbara at Cat Patches after she learned it in a class, and she is very clear with her tutorial.  I am so thankful to all the bloggers out there who write good directions!

Finally, a slew of Orange Peel blocks.  Many of the circle techniques I am investigating look best when repeated.  This block definitely falls into that category; I love to see a sea of orange peels stretching across a quilt top.

I saw this technique in person done by my friend Joey at a retreat and just thought it was so clever: make little football shapes by stitching the focal fabric to a fusible lightweight interfacing, then carefully turning the whole assembly outside-in so that all the raw edges are encased. 

You then fuse the sucker onto your background fabric and stitch a decorative edge.  This was my first use of the blanket stitch on my new-to-me fancy sewing machine.  I would previously have just used a narrow zigzag stitch, and it would have been fine.

Free template for this block, in multiple sizes, along with a clearly written tutorial for the turn & fuse method is from the SewCanShe blog.



Well, those are the blocks on display in the shop, tempting people to start signing up.  We start circling our wagons in September.  Let me know if you have a favorite circle block or technique that I might add to the mix!

Do you like my fabric choices?  After black-and-white BOM this past year, I agonized over choosing a colorway...

It's So Fluffy!!!

Haven't seen Despicable Me 2? I'm gonna die!

Well, maybe not unicorn-fluffy, but the project on my design wall sure is some-kinda-fluffy.

Working on a super-soft rag quilt.

I have this excess Minky--thought I was in loooove with it for a backing, but now I'm all "meh."  Which means, I have yards and yards of said Minky.

And look what I found: links on the Internet for making a rag quilt with some Minky (or Cuddle, or the like) and some flannel.  No batting needed, just two (or three) layers of the flannel.

And I'm off to the fluffy races!

Here's the link I initially followed.  It is a tutorial site with lots of helpful video (but beware, it is super commercial feeling).
http://www.fleecefun.com/how-to-make-rag-quilt-beginners-guide.html

Design wall bed: the flannels

My goal here is to make a lap blanket 36" x 54", using Minky as the backing and flannel as the front.  Since both dimensions are divisible by 9, I'm cutting 10" squares and using 1/2" seams.  This means I need a 4x6 grid--24 squares.

And, after cutting 48 flannel squares (one set in place of batting) and 24 Minky ones, I know where to find the fluffy: my cutting mat, the floor of my sewing room, and the sweater I was wearing today...

Any hints on dealing with all the fluff? I'm a little worried about what will happen to my washer and dryer when I get to the ragging step.

On a Magic Carpet Ride

And we're off!

Off on a new project, leaving plans for finishing old projects cast aside along the way.  I am helpless to resist, I tell ya.

Anyone out there recognize this fabric from the 1970's?  It was a sheet.  In fact, the very sheet that was on my brother's bed when he was in junior high/high school.  (Don't ask why I have it.  Some questions are better left un-asked.)

This is what happens when you take a full-size sheet and rip it into 1" strips, knot them together securely, and roll them into a ball.  A rather heavy, dense ball.

And then, you take your size Q crochet hook, and begin a single crochet adventure, making the turns up as you go along, hoping that you end up with something more rectangular and less oval.  And you start to appreciate the colors, now that they are reassembling themselves randomly.

Don't know how far the sheet will take me, but I have a coordinating solid sheet as backup (outer edges of rugs look better with a darker border, I have found).  I will keep going until I either run out of fabric strips, or decide that it is "big enough".



Should I happen to finish this magic carpet ride anytime in the near future, I have a backup rag rug all planned out--using strips from t-shirts.

Got a lot of t-shirt pickings, and random perusal of blogs on the internet found a tutorial for a knit rug.

 
Oh yeah, not gonna let any grass grow in between my toes.  Or whatever...

Next pattern purchase: Pros & Cons

In an effort to take myself to task for impulsivity and forever chasing the new and shiny, I am writing down this list of Pros & Cons on the two patterns I am currently salivating over.

Pattern 1: a quilt pattern called Big Quilt Blocks

I saw it on Sewing With Nancy; a two-part video is available online, as well as a pattern.

Pattern 2: a small organizer, the Sew Together Bag

Quilt Zone's version

I'm seeing this bag everywhere on sewing and quilting blogs lately.  (Most recently in the T'was the Night blog hop hosted by Sew We Quilt.)  It has 3 inner zipper pockets, and a very clever way that the outer zipper forms handles.

Pros:

Neither pattern is going to break my bank--even bought together I would spend less than $25.

The bag pattern is something I can envision making several times; I see it even being a Christmas gift (this year!)

The quilt pattern makes an excellent setting for a t-shirt quilt; I have a recipient in mind for such a quilt.

Cons/Reality check:

How many new patterns have I purchased this year?

How many new books have I purchased this year?

How many UFO's and WIP's do I have laying around?

Do I have a solid intention of making either of these patterns anytime soon?

Since I am considering the bag pattern as a Christmas gift, which other potential handmade Xmas gifts will be abandoned in order to work on this bag?

What possible bad thing could happen if I don't buy these patterns now?  Will they not be available later?

Well, that last question really is the voice of reason: what's the worst that could happen if I don't click on over to buy these patterns? 

What should I do?  How useful are these Pro & Con lists for controlling my impulsive, novelty-seeking behavior?  (One of my recent ADD books recommended using them.)  Do such lists work for you?

Bright Beginning in October

I succumbed to starting a new project in October: the Bright Sky quilt by Blossom Heart Quilts.

Got so excited about finishing off one of the items on my 4th quarter goal list that I skipped down to the bottom of the goals, where it said "Start something I am *excited* about" (aka do something for ME).  And that insistent ME person wouldn't quiet down until I cut into yardage from the fabric hoard (or is that horde?  Helpful grammar hint: If you have a hoard of something, a horde of people might try to take it from you.)  This quilt is being made entirely from long-time stashed fabrics--some approaching the 20-year vintage.

Hello there!

I used the no-waste flying geese method to make the center star points.  This method not only saves fabric (especially compared to the folded-corner method I often use), but ensured that my directional background fabric would automatically sort itself out.  The background stripes line up pretty good!

Center Star: approx 36"

Sweetie has commented that my fabrics are a bit loud.  Oh, Sweetie... fasten your seatbelt, cuz it's about to get really loud up in here.

The Outer Star is a Hawaiian print, bordered by your basic leopard (just to give it more presence).  Yep: LOUD.

So... I'm off on the new flight of fancy.  The link-up for the Bright Sky Quilt Along runs until Sunday.  Any possibility I could finish this top by then?  I highly doubt it, but stranger things have happened.

Bright Sky Quilt Along

Grr... I bought (another) pattern.

Just when I thought I had talked myself out of leaping into sewing a new garment, and steeled myself against rashly cutting into fabric before I got around to finishing something, I went out and bought another new pattern.

This time for a quilt: Bright Sky, by Blossom Heart Quilts.

Pro's

• The quilt pattern is sold on Craftsy by an Indie designer, so I am supporting an artist and her small business.
• The pattern uses large-scale prints, of which I have several already in my stash (see photo for a sample).
• The pattern uses large cuts of fabric, so will (theoretically) be quick to make.
• There is a quilt-along going on right now, so if I choose to start, I can join in with others online (this has actually been good motivation for me in the past).

A few of my lingering as-yet-unloved fabrics

Con's

• I have not finished last year's "leap-right-in-this-minute" sew along that I joined.
• I also have not finished the last project that I bought the book for after seeing it online and succumbing to the "must have it now" demons whispering in my ears.
• I don't have a recipient or intended use for this quilt.
• The primary large-scale print that I want to use up (see top left corner of the fabric collage) has a cream background, and I am not currently enamored of the cream.
• Stash-busting: do my large-scale prints play well together?  Even a few of them?
• Christmas is coming, so I should be focusing on finishing some things in that direction.

Regardless of the Pro's and Con's, I bought the pattern.  It's very different from what I usually make (my norm: tiny piecing, often from scraps vs. large cuts).  It will sit in time-out until I complete something and take some deep breaths.

Meanwhile, you can check out the Quilt Along for this pattern and its associated excitement.  I'll just be finishing up some WIPs over here in the corner...

Dreaming of Sewing (again)

Found myself off into daydream-land, inspired by reading sewing blogs for several hours when I should have been doing other things.  Started out looking at Stacy Sews blog, then clicked links until I was very far from home.

Selfie: armscye fitting

Along the way, I was inspired by posts referring to Selfish Sewing Week.  Look at those fashionable silhouettes!  Drool.  I mean, I do still intend to get around to sewing some garments. 

Soon. 

Really, I mean it.


I have all the fabric I could ever need to get going on that.  I just need...

More patterns!

Well, ok, so maybe I don't need more patterns, but there is this one pattern I couldn't pass by:
Lane Raglan by Hey June Handmade.  I have just the fabric--already in my stash!

Not the best picture of my stashed fabric, but I really love this harlequin diamond pattern in grays on a stretchy not-quite-velour fabric.  And just to prove that the Lane Raglan pattern would look good in this fabric, Melissa Esplin posted awesome pictures of her version on her blog.  How cool is that?

Yeah, my fabric would look great, too.  Come to think of it, I also have a french terry stripe in my stash; that too would make a fabulous raglan shirt.  Ooh, and I have an amazing sweater knit that has been stashed since sometime in the 80's... 

I have a lot of knits somehow.  Oh-- maybe because I stopped sewing knit things but didn't stop collecting knit fabrics in my stash.  Funny how that equation works out.  (Well, it's more of an inequality really.)



Oy, I'm doing it again:  ready to dig in and tackle another new project, when I already have several WIPs sitting around, right-under-foot-where-I-can't-ignore-them, waiting patiently for me to get back around to working on them.