Remember when

I made this fabric:

well, I finally made it into an over-sized purse / bag that can hold quite a bit!

BB Bag finished, giveaways to come

My wonderful publisher, That Patchwork Place / Martingale & Co. has invited me to review and give away some books!!! I'll try to figure out a schedule that will work and give you all time to enter the drawings, so tell your friends the giveaways are coming!

My new friend Gretchen made a BB Bag while we were sharing a house in Sisters. A picture of her bag can be found in her Wednesday slide show here.

I loved the size and look of her bag, and managed to find the pattern in a local shop, but only managed to get it cut out while we were there. It's a small, easy to make bag, and I'm hoping it will enable me to carry essential items when I don't want to carry a big purse!

Front:

Back:

Outside:

Inside:

Project Progress

Hope you had a nice weekend, it was beautiful here, and look at all the daisies!


The little quilt top is complete and waiting to be layered and quilted. I didn't think about these UFOs when I cleaned out my stash a couple years ago, so I'll have to search what I have to see what I have for backing.



My original plan for yesterday was weeding, but since I was feeling a bit under the weather I decided to stay inside instead. In one of my boxes, there are some basket kits, and this tote was on top, so I pulled it out and decided to see how far I could get. I've made a little design change (it was supposed to be plain), because when the kit arrived and I saw the black, braided handles, I dropped several pieces of black reed into the package to give me design options. I ended up adding the two rows of black chain, and think it's just what it needed! Up until this basket, all the baskets I've made with wood bases have had the stakes glued in, but I didn't happen to have any, so tried doing without - and it worked!!! By the end of the day it just needed a rim, which I hope to get to soon, so that I can start using it, because it's a really nice sized tote.




Another thing I tried this weekend was woven bookmarks, using a kit from Weavezine. I only wish I had waited until I felt better to start on this, because it wasn't a pretty sight. The Tencel is slippery, but I've worked with it before, although this time I had tension issues, due to my lack of patience (and freezer paper - I think) when warping. The more I wove, the worse it got, and I think it is all because I didn't have freezer paper between the last couple rounds when I was winding the warp on the back beam. I've since cut this off the loom, and plan to re-thread to try the log cabin bookmarks.

On the scarf front, this is the longest scarf I've ever made, and it really should have been two. Of course that's what I get for not writing down my plans when I'm not going to continuously work on a project. When you don't see it for a couple weeks, it's hard to remember what to do, so I wove, wove, wove, until I was near the end of the warp, and only when I pulled it off the loom did I realize what I'd done. I'm thinking maybe I could cut and unravel the center to divide it???

Progress, and finished projects

A friend and I have had our baskets needing to have rims finished, so we decided to work together this week. Her quilt basket is finished, and my recycling basket is finally finished, thanks to Basketmaster Nancy and her Mini Muffin Basket pattern. You see, I didn't like the way the first rim came out (too wimpy for a large basket), so I ripped it back off. As my friend Cathy suggested, I began the rim again, but with #3 round reed (instead of #2 in the pattern directions), and it still seemed too soft for a large rim, so I unbraided it while it was still wet. I remembered that I had downloaded Nancy's Mini Muffin Basket pattern, and it had a similar rim, so I decided to use her directions. There were some differences, and it made all the difference! It now has a sturdy rim and I"m happy with my basket. Thank you Nancy!!!





It's the end of the school year, and I needed a teacher gift, so I decided that I'd make a bracelet for my son's teacher, since she seemed to really like the last one I had given her. The first one I made is the green bracelet, but I wasn't sure if it would be the right gift, and decided to make another, different bracelet and made the blue wire work and bead bracelet. I didn't have the exact size wire that the pattern I was working from called for, and had trouble with the thin wire (that I decided to use because I already had it) breaking as I was making the blue one, so although I'm happy with the way it looks, it will remain mine, and I just plan to fix it in the future, if necessary. Therefore, the teacher is receiving the green bracelet today - possibly as I write this blog entry:-)

While I had the bead and wire supplies out, my friend and I decided to make shawl pins. We ran out of time, but may get them finished when she comes over later today. Here's how mine looks now:

When I was on Whidbey Island yesterday, I found a cute border and ric-rac to use on my mesh tote. I'm not sure I'm going to use the magenta strap webbing now, so will dig through my stash and see if I can find something that will work better.

This warp has move much slower through the loom as the threads are much finer than the other projects I've made, and I need to stop every 6 repeats to change colors (I tried carrying the unused thread along the side, but didn't like the look). Yesterday when I checked to see how much warp was left, it looked like I was getting really close to the end, so I decided I would just go for it, and stay up until it was finished. Yes, I stayed up way past my bedtime, but look what I have to show for it, probably 4-5 yards of beautiful fabric. It's in the washer and I'll measure it when it's dry and pressed to see how much I have to make something with. [It was supposed to be kitchen towels, but I wove it as yardage so I could decide later.]

beyond my control - giveaway

Sometimes, for one reason or another, things just don't turn out as you expect. Take this bag for example, the pattern was free with yarn purchase, and of course I chose a different colorway than any of the samples. It was easy car knitting, which was what I needed, and the shape was coming along nicely. There was such a small amount of knitting to finish the bag, I finished knitting while watching TV the other night, sewed up the bottom (if I try it again, I will use Judy's magic cast-on and not have to do any sewing).

I decided I'd toss it in the front loading washer along with some towels, because front loaders don't usually felt as well as top loaders (or so I've heard), and went about the other things I needed to do, thinking I'd check it at the end of the wash cycle.

Well, along comes one of my sons, who just tosses everything in the dryer. Of course I only found out when I went to check to see if the washer had finished running, and found it already dry, and looking like this:

Luckily it was still a bit damp, so I was able to do a bit of shaping before it finished drying, but it shrunk much more than I had intended. If I make another, I'll have to watch the washer, or hand felt it in the sink. :-)

So now what to do with it? I could just use it as a container in my studio, or maybe with some embellishment and a single shoulder strap it could work as a purse or small tote??? I think it just falls into the category of better luck next time.

I know, I'll raffle it off to someone who might want it! If you are interested in winning this bag, leave me a message before the end of the month, and a way to contact you if you happen to be the winner.

Hot off the loom

I'm in love with this fabric! It's made up of carpet warp and 1/2" fabric strips, and when I started weaving I worried that I had cut too many strips that might end up going to waste, but now I'm looking forward to weaving more of it in the future.


It's my first real weaving project in the weaving class I'm taking at Weaving Works in Seattle, and destined to be a bag, although I could easily make two bags from this yardage, or one huge bag and several small, I'll just have to decide when I get it down to the sewing / quilting studio. I had also been considering inkle band strap(s), but now I'm thinking it may take away instead of adding to it.

bag and quilt progress

I think this is my favorite little art quilt right now. I only hope I can quilt and finish it in a way that will enhance, and not take away from it.




I wasn't sure what I was going to do with some of the leaf and flower stamps that I carved last year, and many were just stamped on fabric to be fussy cut, or collaged. However, I did two little panels with these flower and leaf combinations, and am thinking that brighter quilting threads and embellishments will spice them up.

The other thing I did was to finish covering the clothesline cording, and sewing it into bags. These two are smaller than the one in my last post (probably half the size, because that one was HUGE). They're almost finished, with handles tucked inside that need to be sewn on by hand (I've found that I prefer to use buttonhole thread and hand stitch them on, because they have holes that are pre-punched). Still need to make a couple flaps, and find some embellishments, or cute buttons to decorate the flaps, but they're almost done, and will soon be filled with class supplies and projects!

UFOs, and time in the studio

The Stray Threads Quilt Guild is having a quilt show, and with the deadline coming up soon, I decided I had better look at some of my UFOs, and finish at least one to enter. I had started this project amost a year ago, when I was taking Pam Allen's online class, called "Think Like and Artist". When the class ended, this first picture is how the quilt looked, and although I liked the color and partial face in the upper right, it didn't seem to be working with the rest of the quilt.

As I was going through the layers on my design wall (it's small, and I tend to "store" things there so I don't loose them), I found this black bird and pinned it to the portrait. I think I like it, but should it be black? I think it's a bit too dark for the rest of the quilt, but am thinking on it for now, and will need to make a decision soon, so that I can start quilting.

Another thing taking up space in my studio are some clothesline and in-project bags. I had made one a while ago, that I had loaned to the local quilt shop, and decided to make another, so I'd have one to use. I should have called the shop and asked them to measure the starter strip in the bottom, but did I? Of course not, I remembered 12 or 13" from somewhere, and began from that, but before long I had sewn all the covered clothesline into it, but it had a huge base, and I didn't have another Bali Pops package with more strips, and no more clothesline, so it was set aside until I could purchase more - which I did, but by then I was working on another project, so it waited. Finally, more covered cord was prepared, and also two more bags started for a demonstration, but when I came home, the secret project took over and they were set aside again. Well, finally I'm back working in the studio, and trying to finish up some of the things that have piled up there, so here's the jumbo bag, with the cording all sewn on, and paired up with fabric that I think I'll use for handles and a flap closure (maybe some interior pockets too).

I thought a picture with my machine for a size comparision would help you get an idea just how large it really is....

I also pin basted a few smaller art quilts, but of course, my camera battery decided it would not cooperate, and ran out of power before I had finished taking the pictures, so more will follow.

The Bali Bag that went astray....

I've been saving a magazine that had a bag shaped like this, only smaller. However, when I was in Sisters, OR for the Quilter's Affair classes and Sisters Quilt Show, I saw the Bali Bags pattern at the Stitchinpost, as well as the Bali Pops packages of 2-1/2" strips, and purchased them.

It started out looking just like the pattern, and I had a nice, flat bottom created, but when I started up the sides it was a different story. I know it's because I didn't hold the bag exactly upright, but by the time I had realized what I had done, there was no way I was going to rip, and besides, I like this shape - as a matter of fact, it resembles the one from the magazine, and will be put into use as soon as it is finished. I decided to use all 40 fabric strips, reserving about three to make the closure flap, that was made just like the bag bottom (only smaller, and maybe a bit longer - I didn't measure, just went by eye). It will have a vintage button that was also purchased on the trip, and I'm thinking about using a pair of brown leather handles from my stash, although I wish they were shoulder bag length. Now as soon as I get to the store to purchase some strong upolstery thread, I'll be able to sew the button and handles on (I'm thinking velcro will be going under the flap, and will have to make a decision when I get to the store).