"TOWN AND COUNTRY" BLOCK 6

Another section of the block of the month quilt I am working on.  I am keeping up with the parts that come in the mail each month.  I am not always pleased with the fabrics in the kits and make some changes.  I hope it all comes together well in the end.

This is a Jan Patek design.  Lots of houses on this quilt.
Karen

"COMFORT AND JOY" SECTION FOUR

Time for an update on "Comfort and Joy"  This is the fourth section and it goes in the upper right hand part of the quilt.

The crow and Santa's moustache and beard are made from wool.

You can see parts one through three here, here, and here.  And visit Anne to see the blocks the others in the group have made.

Have a great sewing day!
Karen

NEW BLOCKS FOR "A LITTLE PORCH TIME"

More parts done for "A Little Porch Time" (a pattern by Lynda Hall).  These are the parts Lori of "Humble Quilts" selected for us to do in July.

The second block has more to go onto it but it comes from the block below and up onto this one.  So a big blank space on the block for the time being.

I have a large block I am working on for another BOM I am doing.  I hope to finish it today so I am heading to my chair to work on it in just a few minutes..
Karen

"Simple Sack" Number Three

Another bag from the "Simple Sack" pattern.  This one has a fall look.  The bag is constructed the same as bag number two was. Quilted main body and a pocket added inside.   I changed the wool applique.  The applique part looks wrinkled in the picture but it is just the way the bag is hanging on the door handle.  I found a line drawing of oak leaves and acorns.  I combined that with the star medallion from the pattern.  The bag will be a gift for a friend.

No more bags for a while.  I am on to other projects.  Have a good sewing day.
Karen

SWEET PICKINS

The day the latest fall issue of  "Primitive Quilts and Projects" arrived in my mail box, I started piecing the background for "Sweet Pickins".  The pattern is by Peg Springstead of Quilted Crow.  I finished the top yesterday evening.  The piece is 28" x 28".  A nice wall size.

After it is quilted, I will add buttons as the pattern shows.  One in the center of each Churn Dash block and one where the leaves and stem meet on the pumpkin.

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  We don't live in the part of the USA that gets to experience the colors of fall but we used to live in Ohio and know well how beautiful the foliage can be.  There are several projects in this fall issue of the magazine that interest me.  Included is a log cabin quilt with a sunflower border, a smaller size pumpkin quilt, and pumpkin coasters.

I am working on a third Simple Sack similar to what I showed in my last post.  This one has a fall theme.  Fall is still a ways off but I am in the mood to make things for that season.  Hope you enjoyed the view today.

Karen

SIMPLE SACKS

I just finished the second of two "Simple Sacks".  I used a pattern by "little stitches".  I put in a link so you can go to the site if you are interested in the pattern.

Here is the first bag made by the pattern instructions.  It makes  a bag about 15 x 13 inches.  The bag itself is a Moda twill and I used a cotton for the lining. It has what I call a lunch bag bottom.  The applique is wool on cotton.  I am going to add a key ring holder to one of the handles on the bag.  One that you can slide it open and easily hang your car keys on it.

The second bag looks very much the same.  This time though, I added batting to the back of the twill and cross hatch quilted it.  And I added an inside pocket to the lining.

The bag seems to hold its shape better in the quilted version but is not a necessary step.  One of my quilting friends has made a few of the bags and uses hers as a purse.  She also increased the size for one and added a lap size quilt inside.  She gifted it to a friend who attends her children's sporting events.  Something that could be sat on for cushioning on a hard bench or the quilt wrapped up in if the weather is cool.  I thought that was a good idea.  I want to make a third bag with a different wool applique on it.  If you can't work with wool, regular cotton applique could be used.

My opinion of the pattern instructions is that they are okay but I had to read over some of them  a couple times to understand exactly what they meant.  If you have made a lot of bags, it would probably be fairly easy to understand the construction techniques.

I happened to be near an office supply store over the weekend and went in to check on an alternative style folder to use in my applique travel notebook that I showed you in the last post.  I found some sturdier folders in a clear plastic though they come in colors too.  They have a slider on one edge that is much like using the slider on a ZipLock storage bag.  They were $1.99 each.  I was only able to get 10 of the clear and I bought  two of the colored ones.  I am going to wait for them to get additional clear ones into stock.  The folders are somewhat accordian folded one one side so I can get more blocks into a folder and can get by with the amount I have now.  The only problem I have now is that these folders take up more space and I could have used a thicker notebook.    But then I would need to make a new cover.  I will go with what I have for the present.

Back to my sewing room for more creative time.
Karen

TRAVEL PROJECT

I have been oh so busy prepping a new applique project.  I wanted a hand stitching project that would be very portable and easy to work on.  I selected this quilt pattern in the book "Simple Pleasures".

I have enough parts prepped for two quilts.  The star blocks will be machine sewn.

Next, I wanted a way to store the different applique block parts.  I decided to make a notebook with see through top load file holders.  I should have purchased a notebook that would hold more as once I added the background pieces to each vinyl pocket, the notebook is pretty stuffed.  But once each block is done, the notebook will not look so stuffed.

I wanted the notebook to look nice so I made a cover for it and added one of the applique flowers for the quilt pattern to the front of it.

The inside of the front has a pocket perfect for storage of the pattern book.

I already have a tote that I made quite some time ago (I have shared a picture on my blog in the past).

There is an outside pocket on each side of the tote bag and pockets inside.  Plus an attached pincushion.

There will be room for the pillow  to slide in that I use on my lap for resting my applique on.  And I will be able to carry along thread, scissors, needle, etc.

The only problem with the folders is that the pieces can easily slide out of the openings.  I am thinking of adding a strip of tape to the top of each to close it until I am ready to take the parts out.  I looked online at Office Depot for zipper storage files and they would add up to over $100 for 20 of them which is the number of blocks for each quilt.  Too much money.  Any ideas?  I don't think I will have any problem with losing parts as long as I put the notebook in the tote bag with the top of the notebook pointing upwards.  But I can see that parts might come out when I have the notebook spread out and moving it around.

I purchased the new "Pumpkin Threads" book by Need'l Love.  Such good fall projects.  You can see the projects from the book on Need'l Love's website here.  Just click on the Threads book section and you can select the book and see a slide show of the projects.

I love the wool pumpkin coasters.  The fall quilt on the bed is wonderful!

I am heading back to the sewing room to enjoy my day.
Karen

HAND STITCHING ON SUNDAY

I am about to get back to my hand applique block I started yesterday evening.  I took a quick look at some blogs and discovered there are posts for showing what hand work you might be doing on a Sunday and decided I would link in too.  You can visit Kathy's blog for the links.
I am working on a basket block from  "A Little Porch Time".  Not much left to do on it.  Finish the flowers and add three leaves.  It is for one of the stitch-alongs I am participating in.

I took a nap a bit ago.  I was dreaming that the house was full of noisy company and I couldn't wake up, that our dog jumped on the bed with me (we have no dog), and that there was a humming bird buzzing my head.  That is just a bit of the dream and all of it was crazy.

Karen

CROWS IN A ROW

Do you see a problem?  I didn't until I downloaded pictures onto the computer.  Then it jumped out at me.  Some of those pesky half square triangles turned themselves around when I wasn't looking.  I obviously was not paying attention when I made the top border section.  I obviously was not paying attention even when I was measuring it for backing or taking the picture.

Out came the seam ripper and I re-sewed the border.  I did not take a picture of the second version.  It was wrong too.  The middle of the row triangles that should face each other were not in the center of the border. Out came the seam ripper.  I only had to take out enough stitches to turn one triangle around this time.  Now it looks like this.

Much better.  The piece is 12 inches by 24 inches.  The pattern is from the Whimsicals book called "Bits and Pieces".  The pattern is "Crows In A Row".  I try to remember to put the designer and project name in each post.  I often get an e-mail asking where a pattern can be found.  This is made from stash.  The applique is wool.  The rest is cotton.  A fast project.

Time for breakfast.  Have a great day.
Karen

BLOCK OF THE MONTH AND PRIMITIVE PETER

A finish to share.  I completed the top the beginning of May and now the quilting and binding is done on "Primitive Peter".  Wool on cotton applique.  The pattern used is by Buttermilk Basin.  A fun and easy project.  Too late for Easter this year but all set for next.  I like the pink & green stripe border.

I have had my June block of the month done for a couple days but had not pressed and trimmed it.  This is the fifth month for "Town and Country" and the block is the garden block.  The vegetables in the third row, I don't have the slightest idea what they are supposed to be.  Eggplant?  I don't know how eggplant looks when it is in the garden.

Have a great 4th of July.  Ours will be low key.
Karen