Thursday, February 6, 2025

Thermal Shopping Bag

I finally finished one of my long term To Dos: An insulated shopping bag! This was my third attempt and I finally got one finished with the zipper!

I'd been sifting through all the stuff that's been dumped in my large walk-in closet and I found a tall pile of rectangular denim scraps. I don't remember why I originally cut these, but they inspired me to start sewing them together to make fabric for this attempt at the tote bag. I also found a remnant of red canvas that I used for the lining and binding.

I went ahead and tried the Zippered Thermal Picnic Tote pattern again, but this time I didn't wing it and followed the directions as closely as possible. It definitely went better, but lining it with canvas certainly caused problems as it is a lot more bulky than the lighter fabric recommended.

Now that I've figured it out, I'm planning to make another one, but I'm going to revise the pattern. The pattern for the zipper doesn't work very well with canvas so I'm going to try an make an Enclosed End Recessed Zipper for the next bag.

Linking up with:

Brag About Your Beauties
Finished (or Not) Friday
TGI Finished Friday

Monday, January 27, 2025

Fall Foliage Spectacular Quilted

I am delighted to have finished the quilting! I'm quite happy with how this one has turned out. This pattern is from Judy Martin's Cookies 'n' Quilts book and I used fabrics that coordinate with my living room furnishings.

Since I couldn't find an edge-to-edge design I liked, I created this block design by combining two different triangle blocks. I think it worked pretty well. I had tried a number of different triangles with that leaf design, but this was the one Jeff liked best, and the quilt was for him.

Heart Block P2P Triangle 01

Chloe's Garden Triangle 2

The small sashing design I created by snipping the leaf out of the garden triangle and slightly editing it.

I used Quilter's Dream Green batting, made with recycled soda bottles, as I feel it's the least I can do for the environment. And I used Madeira Aeroquilt thread in a dark green.

Linking up with:

Design Wall Monday
Monday Sew & Tell
Monday Musings

Brag About Your Beauties
Finished (or Not) Friday

Friday, January 24, 2025

Fall Foliage Spectacular Flimsy!

I finished my Fall Foliage Spectacular flimsy! Yay! I'm really happy with how it turned out. Had I remembered to pre-wash the backing fabric, I could already be putting it on the long arm frame, but I didn't. LOL

I have figured out how I'm going to quilt it, so once I get this fabric washed and pieced, I should be able to get this one finished fairly quickly.

I'd still like to make one more quilt in this same color scheme so now I need to choose what pattern to use. There are so many good options.

Linking up with:

Brag About Your Beauties
Finished (or Not) Friday
Off the Wall Friday
TGIF Friday

Monday, January 20, 2025

Fall Foliage Nearly Finished

My weekend unexpectedly freed up so I was able to spend it working on my Fall Foliage quilt! I'm delighted with how it is turning out.

Since I made this primarily from fabrics that have been in my stash for years, all the pieces were a yard or less. I need about a yard for the two borders and the binding and I don't have enough of any of the fabrics. I'd like to use the darkest green fabric, and I'd settle for one of the darker rust colors, but I don't have enough of either. Sigh.

I did find a quilt shop online where I could buy more of the darkest green fabric, but I don't know if I want to wait for shipping and prewashing to finish this quilt. (And I, of course, would buy enough to get free shipping.)

I dug around in my stash and I found this batik that is close to the right color, but I'm picky enough to not be quite satisfied with it because I never used it in the quilt. I'm probably just being overly fastidious.

I was hoping to finish this today, but I think I'll sleep on it for a day and decide whether to buy more fabric, or just settle for this batik. What would you guys do? 

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Friday, January 17, 2025

Leaves!

I’ve made more progress on my Fall Foliage quilt this week than I initially anticipated, thanks largely to some late-night sessions in my sewing room after my husband had gone to bed. Although it means I’ve been staying up way too late, the results are worth it: 24 of the border leaves are now complete, with just 20 more to go!

I'm aiming to finish the remaining leaves this weekend. However, with a paid quilting gig scheduled for Sunday, it might take a bit longer than planned.

Seeing the end in sight is really motivating me to spend time in my sewing room. I'm thrilled with how the quilt is turning out.

For those who haven't followed along on my progress pics, this is how the leaves will be laid out on the center panel once I put it all together. This is the Fall Foliage Spectacular quilt from Judy Martin's Cookies 'n' Quilts book.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Tuesday ToDo #88

I think I'll try making lists again and see how I do with them. I've had mixed success achieving my goals. Oftentimes once I feel I have to do something, I don't want to. LOL

I would be really happy if I could finish all the foundation paper pieced stem squares for the Fall Foliage Spectacular quilt. I've started on them, but I'm still learning the technique and am fairly slow. I need 44 total for the borders squares, and I've managed to make 14 so far.
I would also like to start making the leaf blocks. Ideally, I would finish all 44, but I'm pretty sure I won't get that far. This is what they look like.
Anyway, I don't have a lot of time to sew this week because my father is visiting soon so I have to spend a lot of time straightening and cleaning house, but when I can, this is the project I want to work on.

Linking up with:
Tuesday ToDo

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Fall Foliage Progress

I've finally gotten started on living room quilt #2. This is the Fall Foliage Spectacular quilt from Judy Martin's Cookies 'n' Quilts book.

As I often do, I cut out the odd-shaped pieces with my Cricut Maker.

When you start with a new cutting mat and blade, it works beautifully!

I foundation paper-pieced the little stem pieces because it was the easiest way to make them perfectly accurate. (This is a departure from Judy's original pattern so I made a handy pdf with foundation pieces. You can download it here. Be sure to print out at 100% or they won't be the correct size.)

Now I just need to make 44 more leaves for the border! LOL

Linking up with:
Oh Scrap!
Design Wall Monday