Friendship Bag Finished

 Here it is - completed! I'll be parcelling it up this week to go to a secret destination in Europe.

The finished size is about 13" by 12" by 3" deep. I decided to try out some of my sewing machine's embroidery stitiches along the edges of the stripes and did free motion stitching on the centre panel. The centre panel was cut 4 1/2" wide and the strips were 2" by 10 1/2". The base was 6" by 16". I sewed the lining into the bag using Kim's method for her charmed gift bag. I haven't got enough of all the fabrics to make another exactly the same but I'm thinking of making a similar one for myself!

Friendship Bag Swap Progress

 

 I have to admit to being tired after yesterday's workshop so didn't feel like doing much today. I have made a start on my bag for the Friendship Bag Swap and I'm pleased with it so far. Now I have to decide how to quilt it and choose a lining - wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow!

Hand Dye Quilt

My dyeing class is fast approaching and I want to have a quilt made up with my hand-dyes to show the participants. So today I spent a happy couple of hours making nine patch blocks from half a dozen colours and solid white.

 

Then I held my breath and cut each block into quarters. Phew! that wasn't too bad. Now I just have to arrange them. Here are half of the blocks. I think it's going to take a bit of fiddling til I'm satisfied!

                                      

Lost and Found

One thing I hate about getting a bit older is the failure of my memory. I got an email from Buttonberry to tell me the next installment of the Tail Feathers BOM is on it's way. I realised I hadn't touched this project since before Jen the vet came to stay and I had to transform my sewing room back to a bedroom. I had that slightly panicky feeling -where on earth had I put it?

I did find it in one of my storage unit drawers but not before a rummage had brought to light this little quilt I had forgotten about. It measures about 30" square and was made from a moda charm square pack which came in a pretty little tin with a pattern. I loved the colours so much I went and bought loads of these fabrics to make a larger quilt. Where is that you might well ask - it's not lost, just sitting in the pile of UFOs!! In the meantime the little quilt is going back on display on the dining table where it belongs.

August Linus Quilt

I set myself a target of doing one Linus quilt per month and here is the latest. It's pieced but not yet quilted - that may have to wait a week or two. The design is from an old issue of Quick Quilts (Sept 07) and is really easy to put together - essential for a charity quilt I think! I changed the dimensions slightly. The large squares are cut 6 1/2" and the smaller 3 1/2" and made up the blocks with one large and two small squares. There are 6 by 6 blocks so the quilt measures 36" by 54" but I may add a small border. Anyway it was quite relaxing to do lots of chain piecing and I'm really pleased I could use up more of my stash!

When Jen the Vet came to stay at the weekend I had to clear my 'Studio' which doubles as a bedroom. Here is a rare glimse of it tidy after I got my sewing machine out again.

The machine folds away into the Horn cabinet which can be pushed to the side to allow the second bed to be wheeled out from under the bed you can see so in theory it's very quick to do. Of course this doesn't allow for clearing the fabric thread UFO's etc etc which normally adorn both the table and bed!! The storage cabinet was a christmas present from Mr Photographer and is fantastic - it holds 6 artbin storage boxes and just fits perfectly under the table. Click here for a supplier.

I also have an iron permanently set up which is a great timesaver. This one doubles as a steam iron for my tailoring projects. So a compact but functional space. Now if only I could get rid of the beds......

Red Square and Two Boxes

After a busy few days with family (and dogs) I had a bit of me time this morning and went fabric shopping. This time I was looking for fabric to make clothes and went to Bradford to 'The Suit Length Centre' which as the name suggests sells fine woollen fabric. It's suberb quality and still in demand the world over the proprietor told me. Anyway I succombed to a couple of rather nice trouser lengths to make up next week during my little retreat to Knuston Hall.

On my return I again sorted through photos and found some more to post. The one above is a quilt I made for my City and Guilds Certificate. The design is pretty simple and the inspiration came from a stunning exhibition of ceramics from St Petersburg which I saw in London. The exhibition was entitled 'Circling the Square'.


The box shown above was another City and Guilds piece inspired from a cruise along the Norwegian Fjords and has a mariner's compass inset in the lid. The book beside it is my presentation about the development of the piece with samples of fabrics and threads on tags in pockets on the pages.

Finally another box with a sunflower appliqued on the top. I've made this design a couple of times and because these are made with Timtex they are very quick and easy.

Grown Up Bag!

Here's a 'grown-up' version of the Charmed Gift Bags I've been making from Kim's pattern on Moda Bake Shop ( see earlier post 'Distracted'). I just doubled most of the dimensions and added internal pockets. I also used fusible vilene on the lining to make it a bit more sturdy and made a base to slip inside from 2 layers of Timtex enclosed in fabric.

I'm going to meet my Mum tomorrow in Northallerton so I'm taking it as a present for her - I hope she likes it!

Zippy Bag Tutorial

Here's the promised tutorial for a zipped bag. This one is a flat-ish rectangle which tucks neatly inside a ring binder or folder. I use one like this to store my small quilting rulers. For a boxier bag see the hint at the end of the tutorial.

Requirements

Main fabric, bag lining and wadding approximately 10inch square of each
Contrast: for zipper trim 2 pieces 2 1/2by 9 1/2", for tabs 1 1/2" by 5"
Zipper, nylon at least 12"

1. Layer the mainfabric, wadding and lining, quilt then trim to 9 1/2" square.
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2. Take the zipper trim pieces and press in half lengthways. On one long edge press under 1/4".
Pin the unfolded edge of each trim to either end of the back of the quilt sandwich and sew 1/4" seam.

Press the trim to the front and pin the folded edge just over the stitching line. Stitch close to the edge through all layers and again 1/4" inside first line of stitching to snugly enclose the quilt edge.
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3. Now you can stitch the zip. First pin one side of the zip to one edge of the quilt with the top of the zip close to one end of the zipper trim. Using a zipper foot stitch close to the edge of the trim. Stitch again 1/4" away to secure the zipper tape.


Next pin the top and bottom of the zip to the other edge of the quilt, matching the position of the trim to the side already sewn. Then open the zipper as far as it will go. This is why you start with a zip longer than the length of your quilt edge -you should now find it easier to pin and sew the second side of the zip in place.
When you have finished close the zipper half way.

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4. Now for the tabs. Take the remaining strip of contrast fabric, fold in half lengthways and sew a scant 1/4" seam. Finger press the seam open the turn the tube right sides out and press so the seam is in the middle of the tube. Cut in half to make 2 pieces 2 1/2" long. Fold each piece in half and pin to each end of the zip with the fold towards the centre of the zip. Stitch in place taking care to stitch slowly over the zipper teeth. Stitch over these seems several times to make sure they are secure.
Now you must check that the zip slider is in the centre of the bag and not at the end of the zipper. OK now you can cut off the excess zipper.

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5. Nearly there! Turn your bag inside out and pin the ends at either side of the zip. Now you have to make a little pleat at each end of the side seams. Here's a photo - sorry about the quality!Hold the corner of the bag about one inch in from the side. Push the corner in the make a little pleat about 1/2" deep. Repeat for each corner.

Sew the side seams (I go over these twice) then zig zag the edges turn the bag right sides out and push out the corners.
Voila! A neat bag for pencils, gadgets, whatever you like! If you want to be able to fasten this bag inside a ring binder you could add a couple more tabs to one end of the bag about 3 3/4" apart.

Hint: it's the little fold which gives the bag it's shape. Making these folds deeper (so they meet in the centre near the zip) makes the bag higher and more boxy, like this:

Try experimenting with different sizes too.

I hope you enjoy this project. Let me know how you get on with making this by leaving a comment or email me - see my profile for a link.

Hazel

Distracted!

Today's task was meant to be finishing off some C&G stuff. I went on the internet just to check my emails. Some time later (I lost track) I had followed several links and found a tutorial for little fabric gift bags on Moda Bake Shop. Looking through the instructions gave me a eureka moment as I have never before seen this method of creating the bag base on both the bag and the lining together. They are called 'Charmed Gift Bags' and are designed by Kim whose blog bittybitsandpieces.blogspot.com has several more lovely projects.

The red bag was made following Kim's instructions and was very easy and quick to make. I love the pleated edging but decided to adapt the pattern a little for a boy. The blue one was made using the same method except the trim around the top is narrower with the pleat omitted. I stitched this down with a decorative stitch pattern.

So I had fun and will be making many more of these I think. Thanks Kim!

Zippy Bags

While I was sorting through my stash I came across this bag almost finished. All I had to do was sew the side seams and it was done.

I've made several of these in various sizes and shapes since I came across the instructions in 'A Passion fo Patchwork' by Lise Bergene. It's a lovely book with dozens of quick and easy projects including many small bags which are perfect for gifts.


Here are a few more I've made and use all the time:


The blue one is perfect for pencils and the little heart one holds pins, needles thread and small scissors ready for hand sewing on the go.

I use the larger flat bag to store all my small quilt rulers. I adapted Lise's pattern to make this one and it's also an ideal size to go inside a ring binder. I'll try to upload a tutorial on making this one over the weekend so come back soon!

Synchronicity for Project Linus

Hurrah a UFO finished! This quilt for Project Linus had been sitting in my sewing room waiting to be quilted for ages.

The design is 'Synchronicity' by Brenda Gael Smith which was published in 'Down Under Quilts' in 2006. Brenda's Blog, Serendipity Patchwork, is one I visit regularly as her bright colourful quilts are so lovely. This pattern uses simple strip piecing with very efficient use of fabric. It was perfect for using up some of my stash of batiks and other bright fabrics. I went a bit crazy when I was cutting and piecing the fabrics for this quilt and have enough blocks still to make another quilt of this size!
Click here to see more of Brenda's published quilt patterns.

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I enlisted the help of Mr Photographer today for my quilt pictures and the results are so much better than my attempts. I'll now have to get out all my quilts and get him to photographs them properly so I can add more photos to this page.

A Tag and Skewed Blocks

I didn't do as much sewing as I intended today but I did make this luggage tag. I got the idea from my quilty friend Jean at our Tuesday Quilters meeting. She was stitching one she had made in her favourite colour (cerise pink) and it looked fab-u-lous!
I didn't have a pattern but it wasn't hard to figure out as it's just 3 quick flying geese blocks layered with wadding and backing, sewn round the edge and turned through.
Jean told me that she and our friend Sue had made 50 of these to take for everyone on their quilting tour of New England last year - what a great idea. They are very clever and generous friends!
Sue commented recently on my Fibonacci quilt and suggested using the sequence to skew quilt blocks. I had a (long!) play today with doing just that in EQ6. Here are a couple of quilts I designed using my skewed blocks.




I really like these. I think they look very Art Deco and really want to make them up so they are now on my to do list!

Fibonacci

I've always enjoyed patterns and maths which I think is why I was drawn to quilting but wasn't going to bother with a Fibonacci sample for C&G. I thought there was too much emphasis on the Fibonacci sequence but now I've finished this little sample I'm really quite please with it!



This morning I went to Harrogate to buy cotton sheeting for dyeing from the Remnant House. I called into a newsagent around the corner and found a quilt magazine which I haven't seen before - Irish Quilting. I was very impressed so bought a copy. It's a thick glossy magazine, very different from the British magazines, with some lovely quilts and very clear instructions. It costs £5.20 and published every 2 months so I think I'll be looking out for it in future.

Tessellation

I've finished another small quilt today based on a tessellating design from Lynne Edwards' book 'Stashbuster Quilts'. It was fun to do some classic piecing and because it's only 12" square it was quick to make. I plan to do more small quilts of this size or perhaps A4 to try different techniques from my large collection of patchwork and quilting books.

When I downloaded the photo I found photos on the memory card from a cruise holiday we took a few years ago. We spent a day in Lisbon where we went on a tram tour through the narrow streets of the old town. Many of the buildings are covered in amazing tiles and some also have wonderful wrought iron balconies which would be fantastic adapted to quilting designs. Here are a few of the pictures:

Peony

Yesterday I went to a workshop with Claire Tinsley of Hannah's Room at Tuesday Quilters. We spent the day bonding a flower picture and adding detail with inks before stitching. It was amazing how spending a little time 'colouring in' with the felt tip pens transformed the fabric. I was so enthused I carried on stitching when I got home and finished the wall hanging today. I'd love to do more like this. Now I just have to draw my own flowers.....

I spent Saturday and Sunday at college mainly working on the Miniature Quilt I have to make for the City and Guilds Diploma. The maximum size is 12 inches squareand I'm making 36 blocks measuring 1.75 inches by foundation paper piecing. It's fiddly but I love the accuracy of foundation piecing. I also took in my presentation on 4 quilt artists which includes samples of their work: Ricky Tims, Laura Wasilowski and Beth Wheeler.




'Harmonic Convergence ' quilt using Ricky Tims hand dyed fabric. I was lucky enough to attend a lecture with Ricky at the Festival of Quilts last year - inspirational!

'My House' in the style of Laura Wasilowski. I love Laura's quirky quilts which are made by fusing fabrics and embelliching with hand and machine stitches.






'Cosmos' in the style of Beth Wheeler, was made from a photo I took in Iceland last year. I manipulated it in Photoshop then printed it onto cotton fabric.