Cool Little Iron for Applique and more

Earlier this week, we were discussing irons for applique in my Crepe Paper Poppies class and I promised to take a picture and post information on the little iron I was telling them about in class.  I got this one several years ago, when I was working on a hand appliqued quilt and the tacking iron that everyone else thought was great, wasn't that way for me.  I do have a little Clover iron, but it is too tiny, and my regular iron is larger than the tacking iron, which was way too large for the tiny pieces I was working with, but this one was suggested for the quilt I was working on so I ordered it.  I love it, especially for little applique pieces!

This cute little iron is wonderful for applique of all types.  No holes to interfere with bonding, the angle of the head is adjustable, and the handle is so comfortable it's great to use!!!  Recently, I noticed it as one of the recommendations when I was on Amazon, and although I think the packaging has changed, it looks the same  and is called the Dritz Petite Press Portable Mini Iron.  So for those of you who are interested, you now have a link to find it.

Firefly Sewing Envelope is Finished!

My Firefly Sewing Envelope was begun in Sue Spargo's class during Quilter's Affair in Sisters, OR this past July.  It is the first time I've been able to get into one of her classes, and I had a wonderful time!  There are so many different textures to play with, and then you can take the embellishing as far as you want with embroidery, beads and ribbons.  It was one of those projects that was hard to pot down, although not possible for me to work on in the car.  I've been continuing to work on it, and have finally finished it!  She demonstrated many stitches and techniques in class and also taught us how to make the felted balls to decorate the zipper pulls, so I'm finally able to make whatever color I want, although it will be trial and error to make them in other sizes:-)

Anyway, this is my cover.  The bird off to the right is a covered button to keep it closed.

And here is the back:

It is a tri-fold design, so this is how the outside looks when laid flat.  The left section has pockets, upper ones have a flap to keep contents inside, while lower pocket is divided to hold tools / pencils, and the back cover is a large flat pocket that could hold a notepad, stencils or small cutting mat.

The inside of the sewing envelope has zipper pockets on each side which could be left as one large space, or divided.  I chose to divide each of mine in half to hold medium sized tools, threads, or other things.  The center of the interior has a needle book and a flower applique with a pincushion center.

All that's left is to fill it with my tools, so I can begin using it!

(I wonder if I could use the tri-fold idea to design something to take my sketching / painting with me - of course I wouldn't embellish it nearly so much.)

Gardening and Sewing

This year's garden is quite productive, especially when I think how much cooler and wetter our summer has been!  Of course, those heat loving fruit and veggies are a bit behind when it comes to growing and ripening, so I've got my fingers crossed that our tomatoes and pumpkins will have time to mature before it gets too chilly for them!  Looking at the veggies in the baskets, I really didn't think I had as much as I did, until I started bagging them.  There were about 2 gallons of beans, 1 gallon of white cucumbers, and probably at least 1/ 3 gallon of the green cucumbers.  Only a few carrots were pulled, because I'd rather pull them when I want them, and we've got plenty more continuing to grow!

When we were in Sisters, OR, my friend Ellen gave all her housemates a kit for a Peek-a-Boo bag.  I love the way mine came out and am happy my larger than normal sewing kit fits inside!  Thank you Ellen!!!

Apron UFO - more details

 Delighted Hands said...

Finished it great-nice work on the apron-what kind of fabric is it to have the shine like that? Is it oilcloth?

I guess I should have provided a bit more information about the apron - yes, it's called oilcloth.  I bought his fabric and a couple others at local quilt shops and it is much higher quality than I have seen in the past.  It is quite different than those sold for tablecloths - very soft and would also be wonderful for tote bags.  I'll be making another apron and a bag from the other pieces eventually.

Apron UFO - finished!

This apron must have been cut out at least a year ago, but has been sitting around waiting for the binding.  Now it's finished and I can use it when I'm doing messy things, instead of wearing my old clothes!

I used a pattern that I bought in a quilt shop ages ago, but widened the shoulder area for more coverage, because I'm planning to use it when dyeing, fabric painting, working with bleach and also grinding glass.

Sorry I've been away from my blog

Evidently, between the trip to Sisters and the trip to WSU, I managed to catch a awful cold, but am much better now and trying to get caught up.

I did manage to sew a few seams in one of my quilting projects, but my brain was a little fuzzy, and after ripping and re-sewing, I decided it would be best if I worked on small, projects and made this Little Wallet from a pattern and kit that I purchased while in Sisters. The quality isn't quite as nice as I would usually do, but hey, I've got a little wallet that I can use, instead of a project waiting to be made.




I also made some progress on the gusset heel sock. Good thing it's only stockinette, as I didn't have to keep track of a stitch pattern and made progress without ripping:-)

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:

Chenille Vest finished!

I hope I'm not the only one who can be really close to finishing a project, and then not finish it for one reason or another. This vest is from a kit I purchased (at least several years ago), and was finished other than the closure. My original intention was to make frog with the same fabric that was used for the binding, but then it went in the UFO pile because I didn't think I wanted the tube to be made with the bias I had cut, and the scraps are ??? So it sat. As I was going through my button / closure box, I came across this fancy hook and eye set, and decided it would look good, so I put it with the project, and still it waited - other projects were ahead of it. Finally, last night was it's turn, the hook and eye was sewn on, as well as a hidden button for the other point, and it is now ready to wear!