Five Baht Elephant

my crafty home

Catch Up Post – Sewing Edition

I have a knitting update as well, but I won’t bombard you with the craftiness all at once.

I’ve been making a bunch of fun little things now that I’m on baby-quilt-making hiatus!

First Up: FRMQG Mini Quilt Swap

The theme of this one is Critters, Creatures and Mythical Beasts! Which sounded super fun when I signed up, but as I got closer to execution, just confused me. My partner indicated that she wanted a critter. And critters just creep me out. But bees? Bees are great. I like bees. They don’t scare me or creep me out. I didn’t like any of the paper-peiced bee patterns I came across, but I did like this cute little cross stitch pattern from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

Now, I haven’t cross stitched in years. Probably decades really. Most of my couch crafting time is spent knitting, however, I shifted focus to the bees for a week. And a week was all it took for me to finish this!

Look how cute:

xstitch

 

FRMQG Mini Swap

To make the mini quilt, I chose to frame the bees with cathedral windows. Like the flying geese quilt, making a cathedral window quilt has been on my to-do list for a few years. I love the look of this block put together. The construction is fiddly, time-consuming and layered. All that work is totally worth it though. The double layer of fabric means no batting or quilting or binding required! I love the gentle curves that frame the pops of color.

I opted to include a reversible box tote – same pattern as the project bag I made a few months ago. The mini quilt only measures about 12″ square, which is a bit smaller than the swap requirements. I made bias tape out of a super colorful floral print that I got in another swap. I sketched out some curves on the front exterior bag pieces and stitched the bias tape on the pieces before constructing the bag.

Next up are some selfish sewing projects. Appropriately titled project bags. Mostly for knitting. Can’t have too many project bags, right? I usually don’t have multiple knitting projects going at once, but I’m wanting to get away from that. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I want to knit something, but not necessarily the sweater I’ve currently got on the needles. Then other times, I’m all about the sweater.

project bags

I wanted a smaller drawstring bag for smaller knitting projects. I used some leftovers from the baby boy quilt I made last month.

And I really like these reversible box totes! My first one still holds my sweater project, but I wanted another one made out of Charley Harper fabric to hold a shawl project. I bought the canvas/heavy-weight version of this fabric panel and attached the interfacing to the lining fabric to add more structure to the bag. And this time I included pockets on both the inside and the outside.

Whew! That’s a lot of typing for one post. Here’s a link to the tutorials/patterns I used for these projects:

*Beekeeper Cross Stitch
*Cathedral Windows Tutorial, Handy cutting chart for differnt block sizes
*Reversible Box Tote – free pattern
*Lined Drawsting Bag Tutorial

Made: Another Baby Girl Quilt

Girl Quilt

Girl Quilt-2

Here it is friends! My last baby quilt for awhile. The baby shower was this weekend, and I can’t wait to meet this special little girl!

I love this one – truthfully, there are not many projects that I don’t love. Because if I’m not loving it, I don’t finish it. Why waste my time?

I have always liked the look of flying geese quilts – especially the ones where all the geese are going in one direction. And I knew I wanted this last baby quilt to incorporate that. I started by pulling a few prints and then cutting the squares, then subcutting the triangles – for both the ‘geese’ part and the ‘sky’ part of the rectangle.

Once I had a decent amount of flying geese finished, I auditioned a few layouts. Deciding on keeping like prints together in a row, I sewed them together. Some strips of coordinating solids completed the quilt top.

For the back, I choose a different print and made slightly larger flying geese, framing it with the same three solids.

I added a label too!

The quilting is simple stitch-in-the-ditch to just hold it all together. And the binding isn’t separate; it is part of the quilt back folded over. I had never done that before, and I actually really like how it looks.

I used the same fabrics as in the other baby girl quilt, but the two projects look so completely different. I love that about sewing – the same basic material can be turned into so many unique things!

Whew! My second quilt in 2015 – I’m laughing about it though, because I have a feeling that it will be MONTHS before I finish another quilt this year…..

Work(s) In Progress

Hello! What a weekend! It started off fairly uneventful – gym, crafting, cooking and football playoff watching. I woke up on Sunday morning, walked upstairs into the kitchen and realized that the heat wasn’t on. We have heated floors in the kitchen (pleasant surprise 6+ months into living in this house!), and the floors were COLD.

Went to check, and yup, what I suspected. The boiler was inop*. A few calls around town (not too many since it was Sunday. At 8am.) and scheduled a service call for Monday morning.

*sigh* so. Off to my sister’s to hang out! We packed up some snacks; I packed up my sewing and knitting; Carol vacuumed the shit out of her couch/blankets/rugs while I took every allergy pill I have. And that worked, by the way, her cat didn’t really bother me. And we were there for 6+ hours… crafting and watching more football playoffs. Sucks about the Broncos, but Peyton really does not do well in the post-season.

Ok, enough about all that.

WIP-2

I put together the flying geese I stitched up on our New Year’s craft date with Heather. And then cut into the solids Chelsea from Pink Door Fabrics pulled for me to finish them off. I am determined to not overthink this quilt. It is colorful and bright, perfect for the baby girl it is going to. Which, by the way, is the last baby quilt I need to make for a few months.

WIP

And I have a sleeve! It is almost finished. This is for the Strokkur I mentioned in my previous post. I actually ripped this out because my knitting gauge was way way off. My stitches were really really big – too big to follow the pattern. I think I just was not used to knitting with this particular yarn. This second attempt is coming along much better!

Why the sleeve first? Well, one of my Ravelry friends commented that she makes the sleeve first to check gauge, and if she’s spot on, then she’s partway done with the sweater. So I thought I’d try it out.

What is gauge? You non-knitters might be asking yourselves – or more realistically, probably NOT but I’m gonna tell you anyway. Gauge is simply stitches per inch. Each pattern calls for a particular gauge specific for that pattern. Tension variations in knitter or yarn yields different gauge, which can lead to ill-fitting garments if my knitting gauge differs from the pattern gauge. Changing needle sizes usually fixes gauge.

But hey, my gauge is off from the pattern! Even with 2 different needle sizes. I did find this handy online calculator that shows how to modify the pattern to match your gauge. The good thing is that while my row gauge is short by a few compared to the pattern, my stitch gauge (left-right) is spot on. That is a bit trickier to modify than the row gauge. Row gauge is pretty easy to fix – so the website tells me!

I’m almost done with one sleeve, and I’m liking how this is knitting up so far.

Made: Baby Girl Quilt

Warning: Photo Heavy Post!!!

Baby Girl Quilt

I finished this one up awhile ago, but I wanted to wait until the little one received it before blogging about it.

What a special little girl this is, and I’m so so happy that she’s here.

This quilt came together quickly, as I had the blocks finished already. These blocks are part of Amy Gibson’s 2014 Sugar Block of the Month club. I love the fabric and the colors are perfect for a sweet little girl.

Baby Girl Quilt-4

I kept it simple with 1″ sashing between the blocks and for the border. For the back, I ordered some yardage of one of the fabrics from the collection. And the binding fabric came from my stash.

Baby Girl Quilt-3

Baby Girl Quilt-2

Baby Girl Quilt-6

I’m most proud of the quilting. I did all the quilting myself on my Juki AND I’ve finally figured out how to machine quilt with Aurifil thread (hint: thread on a cone makes a difference vs thread on a spool).

Baby Girl Quilt-5

I made the label using Adobe Illustrator and printed it on iron-on transfer paper on my inkjet printer. I’m not sure why I’ve never done that before.

The fabric is Kate Spain Daydream – warm colorways. The pattern is the 2014 Sugar Block Club blocks.

Made: Baby Boy Quilt (2 of 2)

boy quilt2

Yikes! This one was a rush. We hosted a shower for my dear friend Christy on Sunday. Guess what I was doing late Saturday night? Yup, you guess it. Quilting and binding this mofo.

And actually, I love this little quilt. It’s about 35″ square and I mostly used my stash of blues and grays to finish it. I did buy a few fat quarters of Art Gallery’s Chromatics in Triangularity but everything else came from my plastic bins of goodness.

boy quilt2-2

I was aiming for a wonky log cabin of sorts, but then I ended up with these. I threw the blocks up on the design wall and then added the larger pieces of solids to make up the quilt top. I saved two blocks for the back and pieced them in with the lighter gray. I quilted straight lines going one direction for most of the quilt, then turned it 90 degrees and went the other way. It is bound with some leftover Cotton and Steel basic from my Weekender Bag and a teal solid. I finally used Susie’s Magic Binding that Marti keeps talking about. It really is magic. I can see why Marti keeps encouraging us FRMQG-ers to use it! Thanks, Friend!

The photos I have of the quilt aren’t that great. Since I finished it so late on Saturday night, I wasn’t able/engergized enough to take proper photos. And since we were working so hard to prep for the shower on Sunday morning, I forgot to grab more photos.

These are the ones I have. The quilt really turned out great. And Christ was so excited. She said, “Oh! I get a Norine quilt!” which was sweet. I’m excited for that kid to get here!

Made: Baby Boy Quilt (1 of 2)

It seems like ALL of my friends are pregnant. I know that not ALL of my friends are expecting, but sheesh. It sure does seem like all of them are.

As I count, there are 3 little ones still cooking, and 2 little humans that are already out and about.

I have one quilt enroute, and another one already gifted. I’ll blog about those later this week. And I only have one more quilt to finish!

boy quilt1

Here’s the top of one that I finished in November – for some reason, I do not have a photo of the complete quilt! What is wrong with me?? These are blocks that I’ve had complete for awhile, yet of course, I waited until the week before her shower to finish it! It was pretty simple to put together, and I kept that simplicity in a whole cloth back and straight line quilting. I attached the binding with my machine, partly to finish it quicker than hand binding but mostly for durability. This is a baby quilt after all. I expect a bunch of washes!

The baby shower was lovely, and when the mama-to-be started to open my gift, she said, “Did you make this?” knowing that I make stuff. I said, “yes” and then we both kind of teared up. The other guests were kind and lovely with their compliments of the quilt and of my work.

I forget that even though I might think it is simple, folks that do not quilt or sew do not. So, even though I kind of ‘poo-poo-d’ my effort – “oh, its just simple blocks and straight seams” the other ladies were impressed. And according to the mama, the quilt matches the nursery.

Anyway, the fabric is Bluebird Park by Kate & Birdie Paper Co (fabric I ended up not using in my 2014 Sugar Block of the Month) and the pattern is a loose adaptation of Stitched in Color’s Color Brick Quilt. Kona Celery frames the bricks.

Made: Knitting Project Bag

I’ve been knitting so much lately that my hand/wrist has been bothering me. I’m sure that my recent obsession with my gym’s fitness classes haven’t helped. My grip strength needs some work, and my forearms are just super sore all the time it seems.

ANYWAY, the other night I felt like I needed a break. I probably should have spent that time making Christmas gifts. But I’m not that nice. In fact, I’ve been a pretty selfish crafter these days. Instead of knitting, I made a project bag. FOR ME!

project bag-2

At first, I intended to make a smaller bag, for smaller knitting projects – looking at you, Japanese knot bag. But then I found this free pattern posted by Shannon, coincidentally the same talented designer that published Antrorse, the work in progress red sweater stuffed in the bag right here.

Super simple. The bag has 8 pieces, including pocket AND interfacing. The tricky parts for me included attaching the interfacing to the lining fabric. Tricky because it is NOT fusible interfacing, and I did NOT want to sew it in. So I used some Heat-n-Bond. The other tricky part was attaching the lining and outer bag together at the curved top seam. The instructions called for pressing a 1/4″ hem and then butting those together and top stitching. I skipped the pressing part and just folded the pieced together as I stitched.

The other modification I made to the published pattern was to omit the exterior pocket. I don’t intend to reverse the bag, so I kept the pocket on the lining.

The fabrics all came from my stash; a Bella solid and an Ikea print. See the two deer? I did that on purpose.

What an improvement from the Lululemon shopping bag, which was just a smidge too small.

project bag

I like this type of open top bag for large knitting projects. There’s not zipper or clasp for the yarn to tangle up on, and the open top means keeping the yarn ball in the bag while knitting.

project bag-4

And it’s pretty.

project bag-3

My next sewing project really will be Christmas gifts. I mean it!

Made: Weekender Bag

weekender bag

I love this bag. LOVE IT. And i use it everyday as my work bag, so it gets TONS of use.

I’m a bit behind in documenting my crafty – this bag has been finished since September! Yikes. Well, here we go!

Amy Butler’s Weekender Bag has been on my sewing list for a few years now. I had bought the pattern ages ago, but couldn’t muster up the courage/desire/willpower to actually make it.  It wasn’t until my friend Heather mentioned a sewalong of sorts at a Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild sew in. We needed moral support.

I loved the look of this bag, made by Jennie at Porch Swing Quilts. I used 2 charm packs of Kate Spain’s Good Fortune for the patchwork panels, a Cotton + Steel basic for the handles and piping and a solid turquoise for the zipper panel. Modifications I made to the pattern was to lengthen the handles by about 5″ and I added an interior zip pocket on one side.

I worked on it pretty steadily over a few weeks, finishing up the day before I hopped on a plane back East. Work in Baltimore, then hanging out with friends in DC for the weekend. And the bag came with! It’s large enough for my work laptop and a whole bunch of other stuff. I used it as my carry-on AND my be-bop around the National Mall bag.

weekender bag-2

OH, and here’s a story. I was in the National Galleries, looking at a Van Gogh, when a woman came up to me and asked if I had made my bag. She said it looked great, and that she was only asking because she has the same fabric back at home!

 

Made: iPad Sleeve (with hexagons!)

Hexagon iPad Sleeve

This might have been the quickest project I’ve made. Ever.

Oh, and I’m kind of excited about the hexagons. (Hey, don’t make fun of me, I am celebrating the small things!) I’ve been hand stitching these things for, like, ever.

I mostly followed a tutorial I found on Sew Mama Sew. I used batting instead of the heavy interfacing that the pattern calls for, so my case is probably a lot softer then theirs. I also omitted the D-ring handle.

I machine appliqued the hexagon panel right on top of the linen, then echo quilted around it. I really like it!

The pocket holds my charging brick and cord with no problem. It is big enough to comfortably fit the bluetooth keyboard/protective cover thingie I keep with my iPad most of the time.

iPad Sleeve Pocket

It stays closed with the help of a little Velcro.

iPad Sleeve Closed

Completing this little project was so satisfying. I didn’t obsess over the fabric, and I wanted to keep it simple. I like the combo of linen + prints. I have so many other projects in varying stages of in-completeness. I just did not feel like working on any of them. I wanted something quick and useful – and it’s pretty.

Yay!

 

Made: Sew Together Bag

sew together bag interior sew together bag

I have been hearing about the Sew Together Bag by Sew Demented for awhile now. A few of my guild members made them together at one of our retreats. My friend Heather showed me hers at a guild sew-in. And after seeing them in person, and looking at just how much stuff they can keep in this bag, I wanted to make one too.

I used fabrics entirely from my stash and scrap bin – I even had enough interfacing and the right size zippers to put it all together. I like being able to shop my supplies. I don’t have enough of a fabric stash to make full sized quilt, but I do have enough for other sewing projects.

The bag comes together so smartly! I really liked sewing this bag. Listening to my guild friends, I used the The Quilt Barn’s Sew Together Bag Sew Along for reference as I was putting this bag together. The pattern doesn’t have many photos, but the blog series does.

For the exterior, I used a ‘quilt-as-you-go’ method it turned out great. I used Craft Fuse for the interfacing – it’s what I had and I like the stiffness it adds to the pockets and side panels. I thought it was a pretty easy bag to sew, but I’m not afraid to sew zippers. I’ve heard some quilters comment that they are intimidated by this bag because of the zippers. If you are one of those quilters, I just want to encourage you to try and learn new skills. Zippers are not as bad as we make them out to be!

And it is so useful, not just for sewing supplies, but I can see using this as a travel toiletry bag or cosmetic bag or school supply bag.

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