My 2 Fridays project..................

This is the project I have been working on the last 2 Fridays.  I bought the pattern a few years ago and finally ordered the jute webbing it called for.  It was a LOT of work.  I will not go into the suitcase business!  The fabric is a heavier weight 56" wide fabric with trees and leaves in the print.

There is a zipper pocket on one end and a narrow side pocket between the straps on the side.  I added a pocket on the other end panel even though it wasn't on the pattern.  

I'm glad it is finished but I have another pattern for a little smaller bag that I am going to do next.  I have quite a few pieces of the heavier fabric to use so I think there are some tote bags in my future too.

tote bags finished.......

I finished sewing 10 tote bags for our church project.  They were requested by a preschool for children of migrant workers in our area.  Big storms are supposed to roll through so I hope I can get to our sewing session this afternoon.  

The Swamp Milkweed is blooming now.  I always forget what it is when it first comes up.  I need to transplant it to a new location because it is right by the sidewalk.

I planted zinnias again and the bed is pretty pathetic.  Almost a third of it is bare.  I have some seeds I saved from last year's blooms so maybe I'll stick some in there and see if they grow.  The tallest ones are almost ready to bloom.

Gifts......

I planned to make this pillowcase last week but somehow never found time to do it.  I gave my oldest great-grandson (2 1/2) a travel pillow for Christmas with a pillowcase to match the PJ pants I sent.  He is now into Dr. Seuss so I made him a new pillowcase.

I also had a yard of laminated fabric with lots of the characters on it.  I made him a little tote bag out of it.  He is going to miss being an only child when his new brother comes home.

A good sewing day.......

Yesterday was the twice monthly sewing day.  I took my machine and more of the Kaffe strip scraps and pieced 24 blocks.  Last night I started trimming them.

I thought they were so pretty for the tote bag and wondered if a bunch of them would be too busy as a quilt.

I worked on the lining of the tote bag (see yesterday's post) both in the morning and after I got home from the sew in.  I had forgotten how long it takes to make tote bags.  The pocket for the water bottle is a little short for the tall bottle but would be perfect for the little 8 oz. size.  I used my favorite Martha Negley fabric for the lining, tree rings.  There is some of the same red/orange color in it.

 This was a social week, 4 days in a row being with people.  I think I'll be a hermit today.

Tote bag results............

We had a lot of fun yesterday working on tote bags.  I decided to make the same one I made as a store sample in 2008.  This time I didn't make a crazy pieced block for the back.  I still have to finish the lining and sew it in and make a bottom firm piece that will keep the bottom from sagging.

Here is the back.  I'm planning on keeping this one.  I usually sell or give away all of the tote bags I make.  This one just feels like ME.

Another new project............

A friend and I both wanted to make some tote bags so she is coming over today.  We will be experimenting with ideas.  Last night I pieced these blocks with Kaffe scraps left from die cutting.  Click here to go to a post where I made a tote bag with one side made with this type square.  I'm not sure if that is what I'm doing this time so I pieced 12 squares so I can experiment.

Sewing, reading.............

Yesterday I totally finished 8 of the tote bags for the Presbytery mission project and cut handles for 5 more.  I'll work on them a little this morning and what doesn't get done then will be done at the church sew in this afternoon.

Then I sat down and looked through the latest Kaffe book.  There are several interesting quilts in it. I rarely use the same selection of fabrics that he used if I make one of them but I really enjoy seeing how he uses his fabrics.

It's that time of year again to bring in cuttings of the Coleus.  I'm going to plant them this year after they root.  I have too many varieties to fit on the windowsill all winter.

Outside work......

While I was out running errands yesterday morning the 'produce fairy' came by and left me some bounty on the front porch.

That meant I had to have a BLT for lunch.  It was yummy!

I spent 4 hours outside digging out at least 2 dozen volunteer Rose of Sharon which my son will plant at his house.  I also dug out goldenrod and day lilies and other assorted things.  There is a another pile of volunteer trees I cut for pick up the first of Oct.  I'm getting some more combination storm and screen windows in a couple weeks and I needed to clear the way for a step stool during installation.  I have one more area to clean up today.  Last night I started working on the last batch of tote bags for church sewing circle on Monday.  I got 8 sets of handles made and will work on the other part today.

16 tote bags...........

Today is church sewing circle so I am finishing up the last 16 tote bags for the migrant workers' children.  Most are ready to press down the top edge 1" and do 2 rows of stitching.

The neighbor north of me moved earlier this month so she left her tomato plants with me.  That is a 5 oz. paper cup in there so you can see the plum shaped tomatoes are small.  There were 2 of the larger ones.

Here is what is left of the second larger tomato.  It was really good!

Matching projects...........

I made a bunch of pieces and parts for the little tote bags before I left for church sewing circle yesterday.  We got 5 totally done and 17 to the stage of the last rows of stitching around the top.  We will finish those at the next meeting.  I will make the last 14 at home and take them to be filled on the 22nd.

Last night I chose some more strips for my 16 patch quilt.  I will probably make more blocks than I need this time and eliminate the ones that don't work well.  They will become seeds for the next quilt.

I finished 2 more dish cloths with a  new color called 'over the rainbow'.   All three projects have similar colors, and that wasn't planned. 

Little bags project.......

I proposed the idea of making little tote bags for our local migrant workers' Head Start Program children.  Last year we did travel size pillow pillowcases and bought the pillows to put in them.  I have a lot of fabric that I consider pants weight from my days of clothing sewing.  Some of it is over 40 years old, some newer.  It never sells at a garage sale so I wanted to come up with a project for it.  The maximum number of children they can have is 36 so that is how many we are making.  I made this model to show them.  I have the pocket too high on it and the boxing too deep so I'm correcting that now.  I cut out 22 of them and did partial sewing on 7 of them.  I have fabric for 12 more laid out on the cutting table.  I will take all of it this afternoon and see how much we get done.  We will be filling them with school supplies.

Here are some more garden shots.  The coneflowers are really pretty this year.  I guess they like all of the rain.

This is one of my smallest hostas blooming.  To the right of it is one of the giant violet plants. To the left of it is Spiderwort and behind it is a coneflower.  Nothing is organized in this garden.

The Cup of Gold primroses are at the end of their bloom time.  It is too hot and humid to go out and pull weeds right now and the mosquitoes are fierce.

Tote bag remodel......

I have had this tote bag for at least 20 years.  It is waterproof and was a giveaway with a company logo on both sides.  It has a zipper on top and is tall enough to carry my computer.  I printed my blog header photo on printer fabric, added strips top and bottom and wrestled with the bag to get it sewn on this side pocket.  I never could have done it without an open arm machine.  The fabric is a tight woven canvas with rubber backing.

On the side that will come in contact with the floor under the seat in front of me on the plane I sewed heavy duty clear plastic over another print of my header.  This looks a lot better than the advertising logo that was on the bag.  This bag will also be big enough to carry all of my samples and kits to my classes in NC.  I am happy to report that 27 of the 36 spots are filled in my classes.  There are still openings in the Monday and Thursday classes.

Fun day for all.........

I sold a kit for a Kaffe Fassett fabric Trip Around the World to one of the art quilters in November.  It is king size.  I think it turned out great.

This is the photo I posted back in November when I just finished cutting the kit.

After standing all day I was way too tired to get into a big project so I sewed one more round on the log cabin blocks.  I have several blocks leftover from the 2 quilts I made last year so I am making more to go with them.

I always give the art quilters first chance to purchase my journal covers and totes, and these are the ones leftover if anyone is interested in purchasing one.  The spiral notebooks are the 5" x 7" size.  I will list them on my Wandaful blog unless I sell them before I have time to do that.  email me with the link on my right sidebar if you want more information.

Miscellany again.........

There were inquiries about what do I 'do' with the journal quilts.  For me it is the process of making them, the learning and surprises as I am making them, and my growth as an artist that is most important.  The product is pretty to look at though and I remembered I had this basket that was my mother's when I was a child.  I think it will hold about 40 or more of them and I think it would be nice on my coffee table.  It would be a conversation starter for some guests; others would look at it with that 'what are those?' look on their face, afraid to ask.  I'm a little bit of a rebel and challenger when it comes to guests in my house.  A lot of people don't why I have 9 wallhangings on my walls.  That's OK and I don't have to justify why I don't buy generic pictures to hang there instead.

I finished a third tote so the pile is growing.

This programmed machine embroidery is for another water bottle cozy.  I need to make a few more cozies while the construction is fresh on my mind.

By the way, if your name is 'anonymous' and you have a question for me, there is an email link on my right side bar.  I can't answer your questions otherwise.

Class prep work

I'm going to be teaching a class that includes this zippered bag so I thought I should run through the process so it will be fresh in my mind.  I just finished the one on the left and the other one is ready for quilting.

I flipped the bag over so you can see the patchwork that is on the other side.  If you want to see more of these that I have made, go to my Label list on the right sidebar and click on Tote bags.  Scroll down and you will see all of the entries with them.  My next one after these will be a crazy pieced one.

Packed and ready

I am teaching a basic "how to" on making a tote bag today with a brief color lesson at the beginning. I am packed and ready. This is my struggling Christmas cactus. I have had it for at least 10 years, a little piece started from my mother in law's plant. I set it outside all summer every year. In 2002 a cat chewed on it and almost destroyed it. In 2003 we had a hail storm that destroyed my roof and part of the plant. I have saved it from casualties since then but it really got its best growth this past summer. I don't have any blooms most years and maybe 5 blooms on a good year, in March or April.I have 6 buds on it now, 2 of them visible here and the one on the left is the largest. I moved it to full light at an east window about a month ago so maybe it likes that.

Of the 12 amaryllis bulbs from previous years, the one from last year has a bud. That isn't a very good success rate but I'll keep trying.

We had snow early this morning. I haven't shoveled yet but it looks like about 3". I hope this is all we are going to get.

Done!

I showed this top laying with the border fabric and backing fabric here. I got it quilted this week and put the binding on last night, all by machine. It measures 62" x 76" so it should be a good cuddle quilt on the couch.





I finished the 2 bags with the triangles leaning to the right

and leaning to the left.

It is going to get up to 50 degrees today before the drop to the 20's tomorrow morning. The snow has almost all melted and it is a brown and grey landscape. Luckily I have my sunshine lights in the 2 studios. Off to play.

Where do the days go

I feel like I'm losing days. I can't tell you what I did yesterday afternoon. I seemed to be busy all day but I didn't get much accomplished. I guess this is what it is always like just before Christmas. There are a lot of little things to do. I did get busy at night though and sewed the rest of the little triangle squares. Here are the rights and the lefts. Two bags. The one below looks like a game board as it is waiting to be quilted and assembled.

We're back in the deep freeze today and then 2 days of thawing over the weekend. And then snow and freezing rain again on Monday. It is definitely winter here.

I'm still working on more of the paper pieced triangles. Yes I decided to make 2 bags, one with lefts and the other with rights. Today I'm going to show you the 2 crazy pieced batik bags. The first 2 pictures are the one I made last week.

And the next 2 pictures are the one I completed yesterday.

I sold the first 4 that I made so now I need to make some more for gifts.

We got our first snow that was deep enough to have my driveway plowed. It started out as freezing rain and quickly went into snow. The end of it is so light and fluffy, as it got colder. We had a 20 degree temperature drop in 12 hours. Tonight I have to take my parents out to my mother's chiropractor visit (once a week, every week) and last year on a snowy day the snow was cleared from the parking lot and there was a pile right at the base of the handicap ramp. I hope I don't find that again. I think the snow removal person should walk with a cane and try to get through that.