Summer of Sewing - bag edition part 1

 It all started with this.....

I made this bag for myself, simple denim and

decorator weight fabric and posted pictures on social media.

One of the typical designs I use with lots of pockets.

This bag is lined with canvas something new I tried.

Some friends and family asked if I would make some bags to sell.

I have done this in the past but not recently.

With not much better to do I decided to make a few.

With one parameter, use what I had on hand.

First a cousin wanted a bag, so I made these 3 for her to select from.

Each has unique features that I often use.

I ended up keeping this one it has a flat bottom with piping.

My cousin selected this one, the colors are so vibrant and beachy!

It's hard to see but this one has an boxed bottom

with the corners coming up the sides.

This feature also appears in the denim purse above.

I gave this one to a dear friend who has bought many

purses from me over the years.

This bag features a traditional boxed bottom with 

coordinating side panels. This striped fabric is vintage bark cloth.

Another friend asked for a bright cheery bag.

I had this outdoor decorator fabric on hand.

She loved it!

It was really hard to part with this bag.

This bag featured a flat bottom with piping.

A friend's daughter asked for a diaper bag.

I haven't made a diaper bag in about 10 years

but it all came back to me.

This is for a boy mom with a newborn and a toddler

but she didn't want a typical nursery print.

I chose denim for the adjustable straps and a
zippered closure.  So thankful for my hardworking Bernina machine,
at times I was sewing through 8 layers of denim and 
4 layers of interfacing.

Of course there are plenty of pockets inside and out.

I was really pleased with this one too.

It is lined with a pre-quilted cotton fabric.

I'll continue with the other bags I made in the next post.

Told you I was a "crazy bag lady" this summer....

Carolyn

p.s. I typically don't use patterns, these are my own designs.

Heart Conversations at My First Quilt Retreat

Recently completed this heart quilt, it reminds me of candy

converation hearts....thus the name Heart Conversations

Love how it coordinates with my surviving poinsettia.

The quilt finished at about 50" square, 

which is a nice display size.

I made the quilt at home to take to a quilting retreat

as a free motion quilting demonstration piece.

Again perfect size for a quick project.

The hearts are made of 2 - 3 inch squares, one

background and a 3 inch by 5.5 inch rectangle.

You could easily use 4 squares though.

The hearts are set on point with alternating

background squares, a very easy project.

I was able to use all scraps for the hearts and

had the background yardage in my stash.

As a side note, I used the back side of this background 

fabric. The gray pin dots were a little too much

contrast for me, so the back side had the perfect

shadow effect I was going for.

Here's a sampling of the feathers and simple back and forth

along the border. I love sewing FMQ feathers!

The quilting is not perfect but that's perfectly fine with me

 it has that handcrafted look.

The backing is a vintage bed sheet.

And I used a leftover heart for the label.

I worked on 2 other quilts at the retreat.
I finished this top, accept for the border.

Hoping to quilt it soon. I followed a Missouri Star

video titled Disappearing Hourglass Medallion. 

I only made 16 blocks, the video sample is much larger.

I also started these blocks, I have 4 more to stitch. 

These blue quilts are my take on snowflakes

but spring has arrived early (at least it appears that way)

in our area so they will be ready for display next year.

With the early spring I'm anxious to start working on

summer quilts and bags but plan to finish the snowflakes first.

I really don't need any more UFO's.

The retreat I attended was fantastic!

It was a small, private retreat....I was so blessed to be invited!

Thanks for visiting my little blog.

Carolyn

 

1930's Print Quilt

While in Ohio Amish country a few years ago,

I purchased a charm pack of 1930's print fabric.

I have always loved the vintage prints and finally bought a pack.

After playing with the squares I realized I needed more.

So I put it on my Christmas wish list.

My son-in-law bought 2 more packs on-line.

I found the yellow yardage at JoAnn and sewed the top 

together months ago.  It's been laying in my sewing room 

waiting for quilting design inspiration.

The backing is a thrifted, vintage sheet.

We've had a stressful transition in our family this year and

my energy was consumed with just living but last week

I found inspiration on Pinterest and the energy to sew.

It's not perfect, I was a little rusty with my free motion quilting,

but I love the quilt all the same.

Thanks for stopping by my little blog.

Carolyn

First Dresden Plate "Block"

Tried something new this week.....a Dresden Plate "block".

Is it actually a block when it turned out to be a circle?

It's not perfect, but I'm pleased with this quilted table mat.

I also made simple quilted placemats for everyday use.

They aren't fancy, but it's nice to have a something new

in our kitchen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carolyn

Disappearing 4 Patch Quilt

Recently finished this little quilt using the

Disappearing 4 Patch Pattern.

Used thrifted fabric as well as a dotted swiss from JoAnn.

Finished size is 38 inches square.

Just a fun little project, with no real purpose,

though it could be a baby gift.

The backing is a thrifted, vintage bed sheet.

Thanks for visiting,

Carolyn

Pillows A-plenty

 I went a little crazy with sewing/quilting pillows this year.

I started with a scrappy star for me.

I found this background fabric at a thrift store

and loved the vintage touch it added to my pillow.

Another favorite part is the back of the pillow.

I just love everything about this pillow,

except I have to put it away now.

Maybe I'll make a pillow for each season....

I created this mini-quilt from a practice block for

the next set of pillows I made.

These were gifts.

Snow globes galore.....

1...

2...

3...

4.

And a monogrammed star.

Lastly for the 8 kids in our life, 

7 great nieces and nephews and

our granddaughter.  I made these easy

flannel and fleece pillowcases.

The kids loved them!

I'll share more projects in the next post.

Carolyn

Placemats

Too busy to blog, but I have done some sewing recently.

Made this set of 10 placemats for a friend.

The fabrics came from a local thrift store (that only sells

craft items) and my stash.

If you happen to be near or visiting the Lancaster PA area,

look up Lancaster Creative Reuse, it's an awesome shop

of donated craft items for resale. 

A thrift store of crafts!

Find them on Facebook for hours, directions, etc.

My friend put the placemats to use immediately.

Thanks for stopping by my little blog.

Carolyn

Bright baby quilt finish

Bright baby quilt finished last week.

A nursing student in our church has a fellow classmate

that is from out of the country with no extended family in the US.  

He and his wife are having a baby girl and so the

students decided to shower them with gifts.

I made this little quilt as a gift for them.

The fabric came from my stash, and if I remember correctly

most of it was gifted to me when a friend was cleaning out her craft space.  

The polka-dot backing was the remaining portion

of a thrifted bed sheet used in another project.

A fun little gift that only cost me my time.

On to more projects!

Carolyn

Bags and winter wall hanging

With Thanksgiving behind us and looking toward Christmas 

(and the colder weather that comes with this time of year),

I thought it was about time to head to my sewing studio.

I made myself a new winter bag.

It's made from a thrift store wool skirt and

left over fabric from last winter's bag.

So a great bargain bag!

Earlier in the fall, I made this bag.

When I spied the colors and pattern of this fabric

I knew it just had to become a bag.

I bought this fabric just for this project,

so not much of a bargain, but since I bought the fabric at 

a big box store, not a budget buster either.

Next on the list are 5 small messenger bags for

our great nieces and granddaughter for Christmas.

I used double sided, pre-quilted fabric, so these

came together quickly.

And lastly, a sneak peak of the winter wall hanging I'm working on.

Still lots of detail work to be done, but I'm making progress.

I'm designing this one as I go, so that takes extra time with all the

measuring, and staring at fabrics on my design wall and 

don't forget the mistakes.....all part of the creative process!

All in all, I've spent some fun hours in my sewing studio lately.

In case I don't make it back here for awhile again....

Merry Christmas!

Carolyn