Appliance Covers

I'm darn pleased to report that I've knocked off another Q1 Finish A Long project!

Last year, I showed you the first of two appliance covers I made for my friend Cathy.

And now the second one is done!

The fabric is Retro Kitchen by Michael Miller, with some coordinates thrown in. I used this tutorial, and since Cathy lives far away, I had to go by the measurements of her two appliances as outlined on Amazon.com. Please cross your fingers and toes that they fit properly!!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday (when Tuesday comes) - link in sidebar.

Improv Sewing Machine Cover

I've had a sewing machine cover in the works for a long time. As in nearly three years.

I started this project, intending to make it into my sewing machine cover, but it ended up wanting to be a mini quilt and who am I to argue?

Fast forward a year and a half, and I still hadn't done anything about my poor nekkid machine. Enter Krista's scrap destash. I bought a large ziplock stuffed to the gills with fabulous grey fabrics including linen, Kona, denim and chambray. Truly delightful.

I also bought a scrap pack of Wonderland because I have an inexplicable addiction to that fabric line even though it apparently causes me to lose all reading comprehension skills. Lovely Krista listed and accurately described the Wonderland scrap pack but somehow I read that it included some Echino scraps. As I was paying for my purchase on Etsy, I nerded out about the Echino scraps in the comments box, gushing about my luck in finding a scrap pack that included both.

Being the excellent Etsy shop owner that she is, Krista gently and kindly managed the idiot customer's (me) expectations and clarified that the scrap pack didn't, in fact, include Echino.

However, being the excellent person that she is, Krista included a few bits of Echino in the package, including a fantabulous selvage piece that formed the basis of the whole project. Thank you, Krista!!!

Are you still there? Not bored to death yet? Great! Photos ahoy!

This project is entirely improvisationally pieced, and I had a blast making it. So relaxing and low-pressure. The back was constructed the same way.

The whole thing was quilted with 50wt Aurifil in a variegated purple thread (colour 3840). The binding was courtesy of another Krista, who just happened to have it with her at the Loon Lake retreat. The shot cottons matched the Echino scraps perfectly - I couldn't imagine a more perfect finish for this quilt! It measures about 19" x 30" and I added some purple cotton twill for ties on either side.

I drape the cover over Bernie and it makes me happy every time I see it. I'm linking this project up with Sew Modern Monday, Manic Monday and Fabric Tuesday (buttons all on my sidebar).

Spoooooky Halloween Mini and Placemat

So here's the thing. I'm not Halloween's biggest fan (I say this with sincere apologies to my friends who ARE fans - Amy, Riel, you spring to mind), because I don't like how Halloween has become yet another over-commercialized crap-acquisition opportunity.

But I have to say that winning the VMQG Halloween Block Lottery last year went a ways toward warming my cold, black Halloween non-fan heart.

Look at the cute mini I was able to make with blocks made by my lovely VMQG peeps:

It's 24" x 24".

I'm particularly pleased with my quilted spiderwebs! I used a purple variegated thread (Aurifil 50 wt #3840).



And black for the rest.



This is the back, which shows all the quilting:



I was so pleased to be able to zip out during a break in the rain, and take photos under a beautifully clear fall sky.

There was one leftover block from my winnings that didn't fit into the mini, so I turned it into a seasonal placemat for G, who drew the Jack o' Lantern's face. More spiderwebs on this one:

Linking up to these linky parties - click the buttons to come and check 'em out!:

Sea Glass on Sand

Sea Glass on Sand is finished!



I had so much fun working on this little project, mainly because it was one of those "just because" things. I found those little triangles ("shards") and simply needed to make something with them. I stitched them onto the corners of 4½" squares of Kaufman Essex Linen in Natural and Kona Bone, then flipped them over and trimmed. Memories of Leanne's beautiful Atmosphere were floating in my head while I made it - thank you for the inspiration, Leanne!

I asked for advice on the binding here, and the overwhelming response was Aqua. Thank you for your help! I tried out bits of every colour and found that every option except the mottled print blended in with the quilt at some point around the perimeter - the Aqua against the Aqua triangles, the Bone against the Bone squares, etc.

In the end, though, as you can see, I went with a no-show facing/binding. I used this tutorial. The method is super easy and gives really good results, I think.

The quilting is meant to look like water waves, so I used my trusty Aurifil 40 wt in a lovely Aqua colour (#5006) and quilted those organic wavy lines using my walking foot. I did mark the diagonals first so that I could keep on a relatively straight path across the quilt.

The quilt measures about 32" square, and I plan to hang it over our bed. (Here in the earthquake zone, you don't ever hang anything heavy over your bed, but a wallhanging is just fine).

I'm really pleased with this finish, so pleased in fact that I plan to enter it in the QuiltCon quilt show - why not, right?

It feels like it's been a while since I've had a finish, so I'm linking up all over the interwebs: {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, Manic Monday at Sew Happy Geek, Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story and TGIFF/OctoberQuest hosted by Echinops and Aster.

Be sure to come back soon - I've got a giveaway for you in the next couple of days.

Pouches, Pouches Everywhere

So I got on a bit of a pouch-making roll these last few days. I wanted to hone my skills for the VMQG/PMQG pouch swap so I decided that this year's teacher gifts were going to involve pouches.

Ta daaaaah!


Ms Beverly the music teacher is going to get one of the polka-dot pouches, and the other two are going to G's two preschool teachers, Ms Chris and Ms Cindy. All pouches will be filled with either some notecards or a note pad/pen set.

As if that weren't enough pouches, G was invited to a birthday party this afternoon. The Birthday Girl and her family are moving at the end of the month so the parents wisely requested no gifts, or perhaps a pre-loved book at most. G decided a pouch would be appropriate.

Two sides of the same pouch - my photo scaling is a little off!

She selected the fabric and we did the monogram stitching together. She drew the flower appliqué as well. We put a tiny notebook inside, and a brand new pencil too. I think the Birthday Girl will enjoy it.

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Manic Monday linkies! See my sidebar for the buttons and join in with a recent finish, won't you?

Summer Sewing

Even though it doesn't feel much like summer (yet), I have done a little bit of Summer Sewing.

My little girl loves to wear dresses, and so I finally decided to try making one for her. I had a copy of Absolutely A-Line by Wendi Gratz waiting for me to get over my fear of zippers and facings find just the right fabric. This wonderful large-scale print from IKEA fit the bill.

See the blue Bandaid on her chin? Monkey Bars: 1, G: 0.

I tackled just one fear in making this dress - the zipper. Which looks pretty great considering it's my first time installing a zipper in a garment. I chickened out and opted for the pattern option that doesn't have a facing; rather, it uses bias binding to finish the arm holes (and hem). I love how the black and white ginghamy check works here (I used the same fabric to bind the Rainbow I Spy quilt). Buoyed by my zipper success, I will tackle the facing in due course.

The dress ended up a touch long. G's tall for her age (gets that from Dad) so I cut out the pattern using the length for the next size up. But she was In A Mood when it came time to hem the dress, so I just sort of held it up to her and guesstimated. Since the fabric is a home-dec weight, I figure she can grow over the summer and wear it well into the Fall and Winter. I hope.

I'm happily linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story, and entering this project into the Clothing category for Ellison Lane's Summer Sewing Contest when the linky time happens (June 10-17).

Rainbow I Spy

No one is happier than I am that this quilt is finally finished, except perhaps its recipient, my daughter.

This project was one of my longest-standing WIPs. I began it in a Quilt Along in November, 2010. I worked on it at various retreats, but kept getting bumped by other projects.

The original design was intended to work with a charm pack (which are 5" squares) but I got all fancy and chose some 6½" I Spy charms I'd amassed, so it was a bit more work what with the calculating of all new cutting measurements and whatnot. The plus side is that the quilt ended up being more or less twin sized, which works well for Miss G's bed.

You may or may not be able to see it, but the colour of the charms' frames is planned. I chose the 40 I Spy charms based on what colour each one "read". Then using the colour pairings as follows - white/black, red/violet, orange/blue, yellow/green - I alternated the colours of the frames to contrast then match the charm. So the blue charms have an inner frame of orange, and an outer frame of blue.

I'd originally planned to lay out the quilt with one outer frame colour per row, but I didn't like the layout once I saw it all together. So I switched it up, and laid the blocks out sequentially in ROYGBV order with the addition of black and white in the sequence so that it was BROYWGBV.

It's quilted very simply: in the ditch, and in diagonal lines. I didn't even bother marking the diagonal lines; just eyeballed it and they came out very nicely if I do say so myself. Thread is Aurifil 40wt in variegated colour 3817 ("Crayons"). Binding fabric is a neat sketchy black and white gingham from the Love Me Leave Me Not line by Ro Gregg for Northcott. I did a bias binding because I love how it looks with a gingham, and this quilt is going to get a lot of washing so I wanted something durable.

This is a 100% stash quilt (YAY! Slash the Stash for May!), and even the striped fabric you see on the back is a repurposed IKEA duvet cover that we never ended up putting to use.

Linking up for the first time what seems like a very long time to {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday and Fabric Tuesday (buttons on the left sidebar)! Woot!

Easy Going Modern - Take Two

We were away for a few days this past week, and I brought my second version of Easy Going Modern with me to finish up. Photographed on location in Parksville, BC!

The top was made with a Terrain Layer Cake, and the back is a thrifted IKEA duvet cover. Quilted in wavy lines using a few different threads, all Aurifil.

I found a fun purple striped fabric in my stash and it worked wonderfully for the binding.

I purposely didn't crop out my daughter in the upper left corner - that little "imp" was undertaking a 4-year-old's version of a protest since we dragged her from the playground for FIVE WHOLE MINUTES to snap a few photos of this quilt. Ah, kids. Hard to resist this face, though, eh?

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, Manic Monday, and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Crane Star Pillow

My lovely fellow VMQG member Laurraine designs and sells the most delightful patterns via her business Patchwork Pottery. When she recently asked if I'd be willing to test her Crane Star Pillow pattern, I leaped at the chance!

Here's her prototype:

image from Patchwork Pottery

And here's my version:

Front

Back

In my opinion, a feature of a great pattern is its ability to be translated into different colourways/fabrics and still look great. This is one such pattern.

Here's the front a little closer up:

Back:

Don't you just love it? The pattern should be for sale soon - why not go subscribe to Laurraine's blog to find out exactly when?

A few more details:

Pillow cover size: 18½" square (I stuffed it with a 20" pillow form so it was nice and plump)
Fabrics: Kona Coal is the grey solid, and the cranes are assorted fabrics from my stash - Green: Sheri Berry designs; Yellow: Minny Muu by Lecien; Orange dots: Crazy for Dots and Stripes by RJR fabrics; Orange floral: my leftover bit has no selvage but it's relatively new and the name is on the tip of my tongue (chime in if you know and I'll update this post) I remembered! It's American Jane by Moda; Purple: random 30s repro without a selvage; Pink: Amy Butler Ginger Bliss; Aqua: Garden Pindot by Michael Miller.
Other: I used Pellon brand fusible fleece rather than batting+backing and it worked like a dream. Highly recommended for pillows.

Linking this finish up to Sew {Modern} Mondays, Manic Monday, and Quilt Story (all buttons on my sidebar over on the right). And other linkies as they pop up - you know how I am about that! 

Easy Going Modern Pillow #2

In order to properly photograph the steps for making Easy Going Modern, I ended up making a mini version of the quilt top. Not one to let work go to waste, I quickly figured out that it would make a great pillow cover to match the quilt. It's about 11" x 14" - I had to add a little extra stuffing to plump it out since the pillow form (which said on the package that it was 14" square) really didn't fill it out very well at all.

The quilt and both pillows (this is the other one) will soon be with their new owners; I can't wait to surprise them with this gift as a thank you for their wonderful friendship.

Linking up to Canoe Ridge Creations {Sew} Modern Monday and Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday linky parties!

Other Sewing

Before I remade the Nook pouch, I took time to make a birthday gift for my wonderful friend Lisa, who celebrates her birthday today (hi, Lisa!). If you want to be surprised, don't scroll down, Lisa!

............so...how 'bout that Superbowl, eh? (I didn't watch any - just making conversation).





............so, anyone here from out of town?





Okay, I think we're ready to go. Here's the iPad case I made for Lisa's newest toy:



I used this tutorial over at Fresh Lemons Quilts and it came together really nicely. If I were to make it again, I'd probably measure and place the velcro first instead of last. Trying to wrangle that case under the needle to stitch down the velcro was a pain in the patootie!

The exterior fabric is Ruby Star Rising (Viewmasters) from Melody Miller, and the interior is an Anna Maria Horner print from her earlier Chocolate Lollipop line - the colours went so nicely together!



Last look, with the zipper pocket open a bit:



Linking up with Sew {Modern} Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations, Manic Monday at SewHappyGeek and Fabric Tuesday with Quilt Story.

Answer: 54

Question: how many corners did I have to deal with when binding these six placemats? (Edited - should be 48 because 6x8 (2 mitres per corner for putting binding on then stitching down) =48. I am SMRT, I am!).

They are for my Mom. I'd hoped to get them done before Christmas but you know what they say about good intentions! Luckily, she is my Mom and has to love me no matter what.

The main placemat fabrics are by Lonni Rossi, and they've been curing in my stash for at least 5 years. The fabric I used for binding and a couple of the backs is also from the stash - Heavy Metal by Ro Gregg for Northcott (a Canadian fabric company). My Mom loves sparkles and gold and whatnot so I thought she'd appreciate these fabrics. They're also dark colours for hiding stains - an important feature in placemats, in my opinion.

Get set for a lot of photos - I would've made a mosaic but they create square images, and that would not have worked with these rectangular placemats!

All the fronts:













A couple backs:





And a few quilting closeups:




(Front/Back/Quilting photos for each placemat are in my Flickr stream.)

Fun fact: each placemat is quilted differently, as much for FMQ practice as to make the quilting match the design.

Another fun fact: every single one of these designs was created with units that look like this:



They're strip-pieced using two 2½" strips sewn together, then cut into 4½" units. There are tons of ways to arrange the units - a great idea for any leftover jelly roll strips you might have floating around!

I'll be linking up to {sew} modern monday and manic mondays, and probably Fabric Tuesday and others as the week goes on. All those links are over on my right hand sidebar if you want to link up too (you totally should!).

EDITED (Jan 30, 2012): These are 100% stash-sourced (including the batting - I am hard core, you guys!), so I'm linking up to January's Slash the Stash with Kati.