Have Needles, Will Travel

I wanted to make a small bag that closed, to hold a portable sewing project and supplies, that I could take along when I'd have a chance to sew away from home.

I used a small basic tote bag pattern I'd made some years ago (it's 10" tall--just right for a take-along project, or as a child's tote bag), then I added a drawstring cover like the one I made for this lunch bag (a link to the lunch bag tutorial is in the post). To adapt the size of the cover for this larger bag, I measured the width of the opening of the tote bag, then cut the width and height of the two cover pieces large enough to fit.

I sewed the cover into the top edge, between the exterior fabric and the lining. That was simpler than the technique for the lunch bag, and made the project bag as roomy as possible. When I hit the road, I can stuff the cover and ties into the bag, nice and tidy, and everything inside stays clean and all together.
(And thank you, JoAnn, for stocking so many lovely designer fabrics these days! This one is by Patty Young for Modkid. It's one of my favorites; I have it in pink-and-yellow, too. It makes me think of Art Deco peacock feathers.)

 I keep my traveling sewing supplies in this tea tin--a needle book, scissors, small tape measure, a thimble of my grandma's I never use, and a seam ripper which I unfortunately do use.

Those sleepy bears are so sweet. The little ones all tucked in under their bright patchwork quilt. I've treasured this tin a long time--it's around 30 years old now. *gasps to self*

 Let me show you the little needle books I made, a year or so ago. I followed this tutorial by nanaCompany. They are tiny patchwork front and back, a combination of machine and hand stitching, with white felt 'pages'. The one in feedsack fabrics lives in the tea tin; the one in the bright little prints stays home on a shelf.

 A happy weekend to you all, and Happy Halloween!

Lynn

Linked up with Finish It Up Friday , NTT and MontagsMacher.

Haunted Houses

But haunted only by friendly, slightly mischievous spirits, of course.

I first saw cute little houses like this in the book Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman. She makes such sweet, colorful, charming things (her blog is here).  I fiddled around with the design a bit--sizes, details--and made one just right for me. I love those little windows and rounded doors, button doorknobs and crooked chimneys.

I made some little houses last year for Christmas decorations, to keep and give away...but really, how could I resist making some for Halloween? And how could I not make a small neighborhood??

Applique'ing the windows and doors is so much fun, and so is picking out combinations of fabrics for each house---the wilder, the better. I like to make them with a high contrast of colors and fabrics, so they stand out and look more whimsical.

You never know what you might find in your neighbor's woodpile...

(Linked up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday)

Took You Long Enough

After a little more than a year (!?), my Zephyr quilt top is finished! That's okay that it took so long, I was in no hurry. These improv-style log cabin blocks are so much fun to sew, but can be a little time consuming. They may look totally random, but I give a bit of thought to what fabric I'll add next; I like to have a good balance of patterns and colors. So I'd make a few here and there in between other projects, when I just wanted to play.

I'd originally planned to make smaller scrap blocks, shown above, and surround each with yellow, green and blue solids...but at some point I decided to go full-on scrappy. Sometimes when you're adding 'walls' to your improv log cabins, you just don't want to stop ;)

This was my work area (a.k.a. kitchen table). I was surrounded by lots and lots of (mostly) freehand-cut strips and scraps. And see that little ironing board? Handiest thing I've ever made! It's a wooden tv tray, padded and covered to make a portable ironing board (click here for the tutorial). For any kind of block that needs to be pressed after every seam...I just turn around and there it is.

It's taken so long (I even had a sewing machine upgrade in the meantime), but all those strips and scraps have turned into this queen-size quilt top:

Each finished block measured 12 1/2" x 12 1/2", 56 blocks with a scrap border. It's busy, but the palette is limited, so that keeps it from being too crazy. I wish I had taken a full picture of it, but it's turned way too gray and rainy here, so I'll show you the whole thing when it's all quilted and bound.

Along the way, I had a few roadblocks:

She's like a sweet, loving Godzilla, laying waste to my work area.

The destruction. There's one of the poor blocks, jammed up against my sewing machine.

Or I find someone taking a bath on it. Clearly she was as excited about the top being finished as I was. Normally these kinds of antics are not tolerated, but they're smart enough to know 1. Get into position quickly and 2. Look as adorable as possible.
Sometimes I just sigh and get the camera.

I'm going to machine quilt it. It'll be only the second quilt I'll have machine quilted, and the first full-size quilt...wish me luck! Now let's hope it doesn't take another year :/

Have a happy weekend!

Linked up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday