more quilts

Three more tops quilted and and I haven't made much of a dent in the pile.

Take along vanity tray

This is so cool.  Susan sent me a link for this and tho I don't do any traveling any more it's a handy little thing.  It's a take-along vanity tray to put all your stuff into so it doesn't get lost in a motel or hotel room.  Go see Angie's blog here:

http://ajpadilla.com/patterns/bom/christmas-all-year-round/travel-tray

kids quilts

One of these days I'm going to learn how to do this right.  I wanted words next to the pictures but the blasted dashboard isn't cooperating.  And, the pictures don't show up in the same order when I edit as they do when it's posted.

Our group has started up again after a summer vacation and our first quilts are for kids in the hospital.  Our pattern this time is the off-set bricks.  The strips in quilt top didn't lessen the pile of fabric next to the sewing machine and the 9-patch helped add to the pile.  All these are for the kids and I just need to quilt them.

Like my socks?

 

I dyed some fabric and shirts and fixed my plain white bamboo socks.  They sure are spiffy.

And now I have some very deep purple color catchers.  I must not have rinsed the purple stuff as well as the red because the color catchers usually turn red.  I've saved them so now I'll have to use them in something like a journal quilt or two.

purse organizers

 

I made a few of these purse organizers.  I can't decide if I prefer them with batting only, a stiffener, or both.  They work well no matter what's inside.

wedding quilt

It's done.
It measures 18 x 21-1/4.
I don't know where the 1/4 came from but I didn't measure anything, it just happened.














Here's what the back looks like.

















This goes to Melissa and Kaveh also.
It's a queen-size double wedding ring that was made for me in the early 70's by my grandmother. She was in her mid 80's at the time.











It is actually white which shows better here. It's hand-pieced and hand-quilted. I think it was probably a church group in Bethany that did the quilting.












The quilting shows a bit better here.

wedding quilt

I finished the quilting last night and now I'm wondering: binding or border? I'm thinking of using the red fabric that in the birds. Oh, the problems we make for ourselves.

Barb got the golf quilt Saturday and was very pleased. It's already hanging on her wall.

I dropped in to see my old boss, Jim, last Friday and talked him out of this little garbage can. It's perfect for my thread ends. I'm not sure why I save them except every once in a while someone on the Quiltart lists asks if anyone has any. I think it's cute and it's only 4-1/2 inches tall.

This is in memory of Robbie who was a golf pro and had a pro shop in San Diego. I made it for his sister, Barb.
On the back it has a poem by Ogden Nash.

The Porpoise
I kind of like the playful porpoise,
A healthy mind in a healthy corpus.
He and his cousin, the Playful dolphin,
Why they like swimmin like I like golphin.

I'd like to thank Lynda Thompson from the Quiltart list for the inspiration for this piece. She made one for her husband and it inspired me to do this for Robbie.

Now I need to get back to the wedding gift and get it done.

quilted wall hanging (coming along)

Now to fasten the little puppy down. The curls keep popping up and the branches keep moving. Plus, the ironing board isn't wide enough to hold the whole thing. I've got to go find Grandma's old bread board and hope it's wide enough. And, I have to figure out where to put the two love birds. Maybe I'll have to make them a bit smaller so they'll fit on the branch.

We're having fun now.

quilted wall hanging (coming along)

Things are looking up. I've finished the cutting. I guess I did myself a favor because I realized that I started with the small curls and when I got to the last piece I realized that the curls were much larger. They went faster and were a lot easier to handle.

Now to get the tree put back together and fused down to the background.

I deserve something easy.

quilted wall hanging (hopefully)

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. I have a very dear friend in Canada whose daughter is getting married August 29 and I'm not sure I can get this done in time. The wedding invitation, which is in three language (Spanish, Arabic and English), has this great picture of a tree with all the curlicues and it's h.e.double.hockey sticks cutting the blasted things. I can only cut for short periods because my hand goes to sleep. Another wonderful thing about growing old. I wanted to do the whole tree as one piece but the curls get tangled and I've had to chop the tree into pieces. I'm thinking about using some Angelina along the branches and I'll put the whole think under tulle. Maybe the cuts won't show.
This will be a wall hanging about 20 inches wide and 15 inches tall. At least, that's the plan.
Ana, if you read this, don't tell Melissa.

batiks

I finally finished the batik quilt tops. All I can say is that they sure are colorful.

Schlep bag/Japanese Twist

Well, I've fought this long enough. I tried to get the post in with the pictures but I guess that's for another day. This bag was made from a convergence top that just quite didn't make it, but it makes a nice bag. The fabric was drawn on with Sharpies and then sprayed with rubbing alcohol. I supplemented the strips with some lining so that when the points were turned down it was still the convergence fabric. I braided some ribbons with the cording for the draw string. Not bad but not batik.

Schlep bag/Japanese Twist

Schlep bag

I've been seeing some bags called Japanese Twist bags and the only difference I can see between them and the Schlep bag is the handles. So, that makes the schlep bag also a Japanese twist bag. How about that? Learning all the time.
And I like this quote especially: Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. Thanks Groucho.

I donated this quilt for a benefit for some friends' granddaughters' education fund. I was absolutely flabbergasted when my friend told me it brought $550. I'm so glad it brought that much and I'm flattered two people wanted it enough to bid it up that high. WOW!!!!

I hand pieced it about ten years ago because I had to hand piece at least one quilt to get hand piecing out of my system. It's either a small double bed quilt or a large twin size quilt.

I have no idea the name of the pattern. It just seemed like a good idea.

summer quilt

The many-colored quilt is a summer quilt. I birthed it and then decided it needed quilted. It's only two layers but good for a summer cover.
The red and white quilt is drunkard's path without the curves. I think it's kinda cool. And besides, I don't like sewing curves.

I made another yesterday. This one is with 4-1/2 finished blocks. I wonder just how small I can make one and still get it into the sewing machine. I do love the batiks.

My bad. I used diameter when I meant circumference. It's the distance around the bag, not across. Thanks folks for pointing that out.

I forgot the most important instruction of all. If you have any problems understanding my instructions, please contact me. I had too much fun making them and want you to enjoy it also.
I can be reached at quidnunc@consolidated.net
or leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you.

schlep bag

My version of the schlep bag.

First, decide what size you want your bag.
Blocks finished at 5" make a bag that’s 13" tall and 28" in diameter;
blocks finished at 5-1/2" make a bag 15" tall and 31-1/2" in diameter;
blocks finished at 6" make a bag 16-1/2" tall and 33" in diameter. If you want a larger bag, start with larger blocks.

Assemble 16 blocks in your favorite block pattern or just sew material together as I have. Sew those blocks together in strips of four.

Now cut four pieces of fabric the same size as the strip of four blocks: this is the lining.

I
f you’re going to use batting, measure the width and length of a set of 4 blocks and cut 4 pieces of batting 1/2" shorter and narrower than your 4 block piece. For example, if your blocks are 6-1\2" each, sewn together they are 6-1/2 x 24-1/2, so your batting would be 6 x 24.

Place the strip of blocks face up and place the lining face down, then on top of that place the batting.

Using a quarter inch seam, sew along three sides of the batting leaving one end of the strip open. Turn the strip inside out and fold in the raw edges. Pin them and stitch them shut. You can do this on the machine because in the finished bag they won’t show.

If you prefer, you may sew the ends when you quilt the strips. They really should be quilted because the batting isn’t all fastened down. I quilt mine in an ‘x’ on each block but if you’re good at free motion, have at it.

Now that your four strips are quilted and the threads are buried or taken care of somehow, you’re ready to start sewing the strips together.

Lay them out in a windmill shape. I lay mine out with the lining down. I want to see how the outside lines up when I stitch.

Sew two strips together by butting them up against each other and using a zig-zag stitch, then the other two. Lastly join those two pieces together.

Sew the strips together starting at the bottom of the bag. Take care to get the sides snug up against each other and make sure the zig-zag stitch bites into each strip.

The last seam is the most fun but you can do it.

For the handles you will need two pieces of batting 1-1/4 inches wide and 40 inches long. You also need four pieces of fabric 1-3/4" wide and width of fabric. Yes, that a bit extra. I use 2 from the outside and 2 from the lining fabric. Place the fabrics face to face and lay the batting on that. Pin it together then sew your quarter inch seam along the batting on three sides, leaving one end open. As you sew, stretch the batting into the path of the needle and stitch is down. This will make it easier for the next step which is to turn the straps right side out.

Decide whether you want the straps on the points or in the valleys. Pin the straps to the bag and decide where you want them and how long you want them. I like mine in the valleys and I like to be able to pick up the bag and sling it over my shoulder without it catching on anything.