Project Bags

Don't know what it is, but I love sewing these project bags.   When fabric catches my eye, I feel the need to make a bag out of it :) I'm calling this one Hudson Red because that's the name of the multicolor fabric.  Reminiscent of Hudson Bay's colours.  The red bottom is Kona Rich Red.  I'll be making more of these in other colors.

Hudson Red

  If I need a bigger project bag, I make adjustments to the pattern.  Sometimes I'll make a drawstring bag, instead of the zipper.  But, I generally prefer zippered ones.

Spring Drawstring

Zigzag

I quilt the exterior of most bags.

Woolly Red

Scrappy Correspondence

Sometimes I make a scrappy exterior with leftover fabric from my stash.



 All in all, a fun and useful sewing activity.

Peter Socks

Another great pattern, the Peter Sock,  by Kay Jones of Bakery Bears.  The second pattern of her Miss Potter Sock Club has a cute stitch that gives the sock such a nice texture.  

As a toe up sock knitter, it's a pleasant change to knit cuff down.  The heel is different from the usual type I knit as well.

I chose a self-striping yarn from Regia Design Line by Arne & Carlos .  I was determined to have the pair of socks as close to the same as possible.  After trying to find  the best place to start the yarn for the second sock,  I think I achieved it.  They are pretty close to matching lines when placed side by side. 

Love the colours in this pair of Peter socks. 

Christmas Stockings 2018

These cute Christmas stockings made with modern seasonal fabric are perfect for the holiday season. I purchased the fabric from Mad About Patchwork.  It was there I saw a sample of the stocking.  A workshop by Katy was planned for that afternoon.   It looked so cute that I had to make them.

 

There are lots of tutorials on-line or perhaps a workshop at your favorite LQS can get you started with these.  They don't take long to sew together and make nice gifts and ideal decorations.  

I may try some scrappy Christmas fabric stockings.

Applique Christmas Stockings

I decided to make some Christmas stockings and cut some quilted fabric using a stocking template.  

Once I  decided on the content, I picked through my stash for the right colors and prints.  

Then came the task of tracing and cutting out individual pieces from fabric backed with Stitch Witchery. A very time consuming and finicky job.













 I ironed each piece to the stockings making sure to keep to the correct sequence of application.  Finally,  I machine satin stitched around the pieces.  The stockings were sewn together and topped with a border and hanging ribbon.



Only made one of each stocking so these are certainly unique Christmas stockings.

Flying Geese Quilt

Fall here in Almonte has flocks of geese flying south for the winter.  Seldom a day goes by without seeing the birds flying in V-shape formation and honking loudly as they continue their journey.  This inspired me to make a quilt based on flying geese.  I saw the Grey Goose Quilt made by Beech Tree Lane .  I loved the symmetry of the flying geese and the shades of grey and negative space.

I wanted to make a much larger size - almost 94" square and use more print fabrics.  Instead of a white background, I chose Grunge in Paper White by Moda.   Mad About Patchwork staff suggested that as an alternative to the white.  It has a bit of grey in it and worked perfectly.

 

I constructed the flying geese using the 4 at a time, no waste method.  It really did cut down on the waste and I was left with only bits from each block.  

There are lots of tutorials on the internet for the No Waste Method.  Here's one I found quite helpful.
Wing Clipper Tool  I made the blocks without using the tool.

Once all the blocks were made - over 200 of them -  I used my 'design board' to play with placement. 

When I was happy with the placement, I sewed the blocks together in columns.  Then joined the columns, alternating the geese going up in one and down in the next column.

I quilted my quilt using the  longarm machine at Happy Wife Quilting.  Jen's new machine is fantastic.  I chose the Samuri pattern after much hemming and hawing. 

  

The backing of the quilt is Wideback Spackle Newspaper Clipping from Windham.  It's a busy fabric to contrast the simplistic geese pattern.

Finally for the binding, I chose a red with black print.  I was originally going to use a black with very small polka dots, but the red makes for a nice contrast.  Happy with the final result.