The Blue Circle Quilt done...

I finished this before Christmas so it had it's moment and now I will show it off.

I have just finished the binding on last year's Christmas quilt.  (This is the back.)  I'm not sure where it should go.  But I like it.

I might have gotten a bit carried away with the quilting (insert shrug ) but what can I say....

And one more....

And one more thing...

Maybe I should quit and work on the wall hangings but I just can't seem to stop...

My first mug rugs.... Pretty, huh?

Now for the Placemats

Next is the placemats.  I thought they should be blue as I love blue and it is across the colour wheel from orange.

I had this great fabric.  This is the Posh Kitty Shop panel.  The only really girly one.  The other ones are more male and as I am mostly in a houseful of boys. I guess this one is mine....

Now for the tea drinker....

Coffee Cup Wall Hanging

You saw the dishes with the orange stripe.  I had to make another wall hanging using orange as the main colour.  This is going much more quickly than the applique one.

This pattern is from American Patchwork and Quilting (April 1996)  Yes I still have that issue.  I loved this pattern from the first time I saw it.  Finally it's coming to life.

Not all the blocks can be orange, right?

Beginning a Kitchen wall Hanging

The new dishes for the kitchen have arrived and they are very cheery.

I like the orange stripe a lot.  They of course require new wall hangings and placemats, right?

 - This is the base for some hand applique. The photo shows the wrong side of the applique block.

Can you see the outline of the applique?  I will keep you posted on the progress.

More Letter Organizer

I added my own twist to Ayumi Takahashi's You've Got Mail Wall Pocket by making a large pocket on the back.

My experience with these things is that I always put too much stuff in them and then they distort.  Once distorted they don't seem to come back to their original shape.  So I slid a piece of the super thick interfacing into the back pocket....

It adds a bit of thickness and even weight but I got the largest rare earth magnets from Lee Valley and stuck them in the back so I could make it stay on the fridge.

Voila,
Thank you Ayumi for a great pattern.

Ok, I probably didn't need one more photo on this post but what the hey?

Letter Organizer

So here I am using Ayumi's design again.  This is her You've Got Mail Wall Pocket from her Patchwork Please! Book.  You may already realize that I like her ideas as this is the third thing I have made from this book.

The paper pieced envelopes were really quick to do and with the paper very perfect. Who doesn't like perfect?

I followed her advice and left two of the bottom pockets available for larger pieces of paper...

I've been Knitting a Sweater

I usually buy the Knit Simple magazine when I have the urge for a new project.  Well, this spring I was instantly taken by the first pattern in the magazine.  The lace detail is a honeybee design that I liked instantly.  Here's how mine turned out.

And now for the back....extra cute....

I started it on May 16th and finished a few days ago.  Yeah!  Don't you love finishing things??

New Hat Love

We spend some of our time on the weekend driving in a cute little car with no roof. My hair of course suffers some.  Not just from the breeze but my head is sometimes cold... OK, it's fall here and the daytime highs haven't been above 10C for a week (or maybe more...)

Anyhooo, I undertook to make the Wanderer hat from Weekend Hats: 25 Knitted Caps, Berets, Cloches.  It is really pleasing how it turned out.

I thought it would be too small for my big head.  You see mine measures at 23inches in diameter.

So I undertook to make the hat a tiny bit larger by adding in six extra stitches (as the decrease on the crown was in six places)  My machinations worked and but the hat is more like a beret.  I love it tho.

The details are:
     Wanderer Cap
     1- 100 gm (192m ) ball Patons Classic Wool Worsted (4)
     colour: new denim

New Shopping Bag

So I have this problem with the shopping bags you buy for a $1 or so or maybe the ones that are given to me - they are just too big.  If I let the grocery store carry out people fill them they are often too heavy for me later.  Plus, I seem to have crushed stuff when I get home...so I looked at the grocery bag made of flimsy plastic

and thought they are designed this size and shape because they work....so....

I made a simple pattern by cutting the bag open....

After that I finished the edges, first with the serger and then by turning under a smidge and topstitching .

Voila, it's a wonderful thing.  In case you wonder the bottom was double stitched on the outside and then serged also on the outside as befits such a utilitarian item.

I made two like this and my DH promptly expropriated them for his lunch (all those round glass dishes) and his gym things.

Progress on my Wheel Around Blocks

I am really liking how this block is going together.  I am using the set of fat quarters I got from Sew Sisters a couple of months ago and they are wonderful.

Here's how it starts. ( I am using a scrapbooking case to store the blocks as they are 12 1/2 inches square )

And...

Then I sew the triangles on all four sides of of the corner squares...

After pressing the seams open I have the corners for two blocks...

And Voila!

I haven't decided if there will be sashing or not.  Then I saw on the cover of a Fons and Porter Magazine that Mary Fons had done this block on point...hmmm....

(If you scroll down the Magazine page to March/April 2013 you can see what I mean)

Lil Twister Tool

So we made a detour on our way home through South Dakota and visited Quilt-tiques in Rapid City.  Sure there were other sights there but this one sticks out in my mind. (Oh, yeah, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse,...)

I bought a kit with the Lil Twister Tool that makes these cool pinwheels.
It went together in a day and here is the small top

Cute and christmas-y
I liked it just this way but the pattern recommends the addition of some ribbon...

What do you think?  This is what they recommend.  But is it necessary??

Embroidery progress

This is a design I made of flowers in a circle...I'm on a bit of a circle thing right now...

I coloured in some of the petals and leaves as an experiment to see how the embroidery looks.  I feel that sometimes it just looks not substantial enough especially in a quilt.  I bought some fabric colour felt pens at Michaels and just started fooling around.  I'll show you when it is more complete.

New Fabric, Yum!

The new addition to my stash has been washed and folded.  I had a great summer, how about you?

I 'needed' some green for my hexagon quilt but I got a bit carried away...where did all that pink come from...?

My Sweater, my sweater

Wow, with all the summer time travel I finished all the pieces of my lacy knit sweater.  It's from the spring/summer 2013 issue of Knit Simple magazine.

It's currently drying outside.  Then I will begin sewing it all together.

A new store discovery

So here I am in the wilds of Manitoba and what should I find but Karens Quilt Shop in the nearby town of Pinawa.  Sweet!

I noticed immediately that she has. Very cool cutter for cuttung the fabric straight across.

Needless to say I had to have one.  I can hardly wait to start using it...

As you can see its taking up valuable real estate on my couch. See the red square towards the bottom half houses the rotary cutter. Just press down and slide.

Lately I've had trouble with pain in my forearms - I'm hoping it doesn't mean more trips to physio - but this might be the ticket.

Has anyone got one of these?

The Roosters find a home...

Well, until I change my mind anyhow.  Look at this.

Decorating with Paint (and Roosters!)

My darling son was over this morning and spray painted the roosters for me. They came to me from my darling daughter gently used.  And quite an awful orangy-yellow colour.  Ugg!  Then the magic (painting) happened.
 Ooooh!  Yeah!  Look at this...

Ok, not so clear on top of my latest Vanity Fair but it's drying...

Now wasn't that worth the wait.  And Better yet, there are two of them...

Patchwork Box Pouch Part 3 Finish

Just turned them right side out and what a lovely pair.  I can't wait to fill them with my toothbrush and other essentials.

Pretty

Thank you Ayumi

Patchwork Please!

posing with my project...

Patchwork Box Pouch Part 2

Still working on the Cosmetic Pouch as I am longing to get it done so I can use it on my next trip.  I am really loving the colours and Ayumi really knows how to get the directions clear.

 As I said before I put the lining on the back of the outside so I wouldn't have to line the finished bag.  Laziness I guess but it's working well.  I'm making two at the same time which also complicates.  So I'm looking at the seams on the inside and I'm not too happy so I carefully zigzagged and trimmed the edges.

Not so bad.  I like.  I took a couple of extra steps when I placed the zipper between the outside and lining and sewed with one go.  Then I quilted as I went...

Fun with Henna

Please try this at home.  What a great party.  I had to show this fun time we had at my Darling Niece's Wedding Shower.  Too much fun.

 Mother of the bride - with sparkles!

 Even geometrics!