Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet...

Give me something good to eat...



If you don't, I don't care...



I'll pull down your underwear!  



hehehe, are you familiar with this rhyme from childhood?




I taught it to my boys while I made them some new treat bags for Halloween this year.  I offered to buy them something to Trick-or-Treat with, but they wanted me to sew them something - they sure know their way to their Mama's heart :)

I found a video for my favorite Halloween song, hope you like it! :)



Happy Halloween everyone! :)

I'm linking up to You Flew Tuesday, Crazy Mom Quilts & Whoop Whoop Friday!

 

AMH patchwork tote

 

Remember that I told you I had one more thing that I entered into the Deerfield Fair?  Something that had not been on my blog yet?  Well, this little patchwork tote is it  :)

 



I used my AMH Innocent Crush fabrics for the exterior, so it matches my Triple Zip Pouch.  I made this to be a matching set on purpose, but only now that it is dark and I am sitting down to my computer am I realizing that I didn't get a picture of the two together.  {sigh}

You will just have to take my word for it that they make a cute couple :)



The pattern I used is one I have made several times, sometimes patchwork and sometimes with a solid exterior fabric.  You can check out my other totes here, here, and here.



The lining is AMH feathers from Field Study - I am so in love with this print :)



I made the tote mostly to see how long it would take.  That's a good reason, right?  :)

Right about now, curiosity is getting the better of you, isn't it?  You're dying to know.  I can tell.  ;)Okay, okay, I'll tell you - once the fabrics were cut, it took me six hours to completely finish the bag. 

My seam ripper saw some action during the making of this bag.  Silly me thought I didn't need to read the instructions because I've made this a time or two already.  It is doubtful that I learned anything from this experience.  {read instructions? and waste good sewing time?}

I'm linking up to You Flew Tuesday, Freemotion by the River and Fabric Tuesday!

ladybug picnic

I had a paper bag.  I kept all my quilting patterns in it.



It finally got too ripped up to use anymore.



So I sewed up a more durable replacement :)





Everything I used I had already in my stash, except the buttons.  They were so thick, I couldn't fit the bag, handle, and button all under the presser foot of my machine, so I had to sew them on by hand. 

Now all my patterns are neatly tucked away in their new picnic-y ladybug tote, perfect for summertime  :)  

{this project also represents more than a yard of long-time stash getting moved out and put to use - that makes me super happy!}
Linking up to Quilt Story, You Flew Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday, Freemotion by the River,
 

 

     

TGIFF Meadowsweet style

Hello Everybody!  If you are here for TGIFF, welcome! I'm glad you are here - make yourself at home and nose around a bit :)  And to my regular followers - you know I love you all bunches! Having you to hang out & talk quilts with makes me smile everyday :)

As promised, I have my Meadowsweet bag for my finish today

I used a kati cupcake pattern called My Favorite Bag. 

The details:

measures roughly 18"x15"x5"

uses a magnetic clasp {my first time using one}

six outer pockets, & six inner pockets

fabrics are all Meadowsweet

*I decided to use some fusible interfacing after all!* {or stabilizer. or whaterver that really stiff fusible white stuff I had hanging around my sewing room was.  I'd almost forgotten I had it. Then my son went running through the house wrapped up in it, and I thought I might as well put it in the bag. At least that way he can't wrap up in it and run around anymore. But I'm wise enough not to challenge him to try, just incase}

Now I have a confession to make.  I almost titled this post TGIFF Humble Pie style.  Because while this side of the bag looks great, that's not the whole story.  And I don't want to only show the good stuff and hide my mistakes and give you all the impression I'm so great at this sewing business when I'm not.  So I'm going to show you the other side, too.  Oh, the other side.  :(

Now, the grommets are added last after the rest of the bag is done.  Let me tell you, it is very nerve racking to cut a hole in the tote you just made!

Yikes! that is so hard to do, if you know what I mean :)  {I used the pins to keep the outer layer & lining from shifting while I cut}

7 of the grommets came out fine, but I think I cut the hole too big for one of them.

Ick.  I haven't tried to fix it yet.  Sometimes it is just best to walk away for a little while.  If you have a suggestion for fixing it, please leave a comment.

Here is a shot staring into the mouth of the beast {hehe}

These pockets are huge - I think this tote would make a great sewing bag with lots of room to keep tools & such.

There were a couple seams when I was sewing through 6 layers of fusible fleece and 6 layers of fabric at once, and let me tell you my little Janome stitched through it like a champ!  I was so proud, the thickness didn't bother my machine at all :)  Then when I was sewing just a couple layers of fabric, my needle fell off.  {?!?}  I was actually freaked out for a couple minutes, because I thought the damage was alot worse, but once I put the needle back in I didn't have anymore problems sewing.  Weird :)

Ok, your turn! Let's see those fabulous finishes Ladies & Gents!  Don't forget to check out the other great finishes & spread some comment love around :)  In your post, link back to the party or include the TGIFF button.  Happy Friday everyone! :)

this, that, & the other thing

So far this week, an overflowing bowl of trimmings is all I have to show for my puttering.

But did you see that selvedge?  I cut into my jealously hoarded Meadowsweet yardage!!! {finally}

Love cutting into my favorite fabrics, it makes me happy :)

These are going to be a tote bag.  I've had the pattern for a year at least.  The main reason I've put off making it for so long is because I'm totally confused by interfacings & stabilizers & all the mysterious white stuff that all looks the same on the bolt to me but apparently do different wonderful things inside bags & purses which I don't understand & I can never find the one the pattern in my hand is calling for & what the heck does it do anyway so how do I know if I can substitute any of these fine looking white things or if I'll ruin my beautiful fabric if I don't use the right stuff and did I mention what the heck is the difference between interfacing & stabilizer anyway and why do some patterns call for both?!? 

Whew. 

Am I over thinking this a bit? 

Yeah, I thought so, too. 

So I decided to just jump in & skip the mysterious white stuff.  What's the worst that can happen?  {don't answer that.  I prefer blissful ignorance.}  I know my Mom has all the answers to my interfacing/stabilizer dilemma.  One of these days I need to bring her to Joanns so she can explain the mysteries of those white bolts to me.

Anywho, even after my breakthrough interfacing decision I've been dragging my feet, hesitant to start sewing.  The thread issue was bothering me, and it took a couple days to come up with a solution I can live with.

You see, there will be some topstitching on each of the five different fabrics I will be using.  I don't have any coordinating colors, and I'd have to buy a different color for each fabric.  Very little of each would be used, with the remainder destined to sit around unused for who knows how long.

I have plenty of white thread, but I really felt it would show up too bright/starkly, since there isn't any white in the fabric.  It is more of a cream.  {does that make sense?}

I don't have cream or off-white thread.  I don't have the time to drive an hour both ways to Joanns for decent thread.  But I couldn't bring myself to use the white.  I really think it would ruin the bag.

Today I rummaged through my thread collection & found a tan thread.  On the spool, it doesn't look like a good candidate, but a single thread seemed to almost disappear when I laid it across the fabrics. 

Finally, a thread I can live with!   

Now I can start sewing :)

(are you beginning to see why it takes me so long to work through some of my projects? hehehe)

Well, I had 'this' 'that' & 'the other thing' I wanted to post about, but this is already a bit wordy and I've only worked my way through 'this', so I think 'that' & 'the other thing' will have to wait for another post :)

Do you have some favorite fabrics you have been hoarding?  What are they?

March Fresh Sewing Day & Small Blog Meet-Up

This winter has been surprisingly snow-free over here in New Hampshire, so we are celebrating March 1st with our biggest snow storm since October! I'm excited at the possibility of getting out on my snowshoes finally!

Want to see what I spent February sewing?

I put my Happy Mochi DP blocks together and added a 3" border of Kona Coal to stretch this quilt a little bit bigger.  I scrubbed my kitchen floor Cinderella style and laid out the whole sha-bang to baste it.  That's when I noticed the backing was too small.  Who would have thought flannel shirting would shrink in the wash? (pretty much everyone but me)  A frantic trip to Joann's later, I had the last bit of this flannel off the bolt, just enough to fix my backing.  Whew!

Every step of this quilt is taking far longer than I expect it to - it's only 66" square(ish) {seriously, does anyone out there ever actually end up with square quilts? On second thought, I don't want to know the answer to that :) }

 

The Curious Quilter is hosting a Postage Stamp Quilt 2012 event.  I made a February goal of sewing 50 pairs of squares toghether, which I did (yay!)  My Dad firmly believes quilts should be scrappy, so I'm making this one for him with 2.5" squares, and each fabric used no more than twice.  My goal is to make it bed sized, but if I need to modify that to finish sometime this century, I will  :)

I also made a tote bag for my Mom this month,

and a Pink Penguin fabric basket that my Mom was seriously hinting should be hers. 

She doesn't know it yet, but it will be hers eventually.  But that is part of a surprise I'm working on...

So that is what I've been sewing this February, how about you?

P.S. - when I finally finish my DP I promise to take it outside for some proper pictures, instead of the rotten indoors-at-night-pictures I keep making you all suffer through.

a finish & some progress

I made this tote bag for my Mom.  I didn't measure it, but it finishes somewhere around 16" H x 22" W x 4" D. 

Almost all of this fabric has been in my stash for years now, and it feels great to put it to use, especially since I think my Mom is going to love that cat print.

Ages ago, I saw a beautiful blue & white quilt and decided I just had to make one, too.  I bought 7 FQs and a yard of the cat print, and they have been sitting in my stash ever since.  Mostly because I wanted to make a large quilt, and needed more blue & white fabric.

I didn't have a large enough piece of fabric to make the lining, so I cut pieces of four FQs for the lining - I really love how it came out :)  The pocket is 12" square.

{I'm feeling so clever, turning the bag inside out to get pics of the lining :) }

here is the other inside pocket:

The only fabric I bought is the print for the handles and the bag bottom.
I'd really like to use up as much of my stash as possible, it doesn't make any sense to let fabric sit unused in my closet, and this bag moved 1 yard & 7 FQs out.  I think that is a good start :)

{I love how this print is supposed to imitate old china}
Even though I'm showing up to the party late, I'm going to link up at Lily's Quilts Small Blog meet-up.  Have a great Thursday!

*edited to add:  the pattern I used is called Quilt Camp Tote by Penny Sturges.  I did make a couple changes.  If you want to make this bag and want to know about my changes, e-mail me and we can chat.  I've made other versions of this bag - you can see them here, here, and here.

i'm going to do a little more linking, too. { because linking is fun :)}  check these out:

Crazy Mom Quilts    Amylouwho Sew & Tell    TGIFF

hello

I finally got around to some sewing - careful, don't fall out of your chair with surprise or anything :)

I must warn you, the pictures are terrible.  I took them on a dark & rainy day, and since this bit of fabric goodness was a gift, I really couldn't wait for the sun to shine.  I do hope you can forgive me.

I've made this tote bag a couple times now, and I adore this pattern.  The bag itself is quite large, and the pockets are huge.  Everything that went into this tote were materials I had on hand.  I even pieced together batting scraps to get the sizes I needed.  I always feel so clever when I do that :)

Looking at this bag in real life makes me want to squint :)  I've had this fabric for about eight years, and it came from my aunt's stash before that.  The lining is a solid pink that matches the pink flowers.

I went through six colors of thread - not intentionally, they kept running out, you know.  {so very satisfying to use up a bunch of spools}

The bag's outsides & lining are quilted in a meandering pattern.  After a couple hours of that {and an undisclosed amount of swearing} I decided to get a little more adventurous on the pockets.  Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures until the bag was finished, but here goes!

Well, I suppose you can see what I did here :)

Can you see the stitches on this one?  It was inspired by some lovely FMQ by Hoosier Tony.  Toni's stitches reminded me of a dandelion flower {one of my favorite flowers}, and I just had to give it a go :)

That's about it for the bag.  I filled it with some oatmeal cookies and sent it off to its new home.
It looks as if we will be snowed in tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some significant progress on my DP QAL to share with you.  I hope you all are finding the time for more sewing than me :)

I'm going to bring this post on over to Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday.  Hope to see you there!

tote your fuit & veggies

A few days ago I gave you a little peak at what I was making with some fruit & veggie fabrics.  {go here to check it out if you would like to} Well, this is what I was making:

I made this tote with scraps from a quilt I haven't finished yet.  Has anyone else out there finished a project from the scraps of another project that isn't finished yet? 

Would you like to see the quilting close up?

What's that? You want to see the lining? Sure:

Everything I used for this tote was scrap, including the batting.  I love using up my scraps  :)
Once I was all done, you know, when it it too late to fix a mistake, I noticed this:

I tried so hard to avoid two pieces of the same fabric landing side by side. I took pics of my layout and checked them with every seam I sewed.  I'm a bit disgusted with myself, I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to keep just 36 rectangles in the right spot, right?

Oh well, I hope the bag's new owner doesn't mind.

PS - This is the project with the deadline of bright & early tomorrow morning. I made it with a few hours to spare, yay!