More Christmas gifts...

The red kitchen set for one of my kids. 

Triangle potholders, dishmat, potato bag, microwave cozies, hot mat, 9 patch potholders, and prairie point towels.

Stashbusting:

1 yard polka dot fabric

1 yard striped fabric

assorted small pieces of batting seamed together

Another old project...

I first started this project about 10 years ago. It got buried in a storage box, too.  It's a pattern, still available, from this company.

http://www.swdecoratives.com/proddetail.php?prod=111102

Everything was done except the decorative elements, quilting and binding.  

I used silver conchos on the belt, the necklace has real beads, and the basket's decorative braids have silver beads at the ends. 

I free-motion quilted the sky and the sand dunes, outlined quilted the cacti and woman. Did some crosshatch on the lowest cactus, too. The borders are stitched in the ditch. 

I didn't want to quilt the skirt or top - I washed the quilt so it'd wrinkle a bit, giving the skirt fabric authentic folds. 

Stashbusting:

All the fabrics used were scraps I had laying around, except the gray borders. 

The backing fabric was given to me by a neighbor many years ago. 

Used several bobbins of different colored threads for the quilting.

Old Project, finally finished...

Back when I first started getting serious about learning to quilt, I took a class to learn to make this specific quilt.  That was about 20 years ago. The quilt is from a Trudi Hughes quilt book.

Although I finished taking the class, I never finished the quilt because there were several flaws in my sewing, and it made the quilt wonky. It was also supposed to have an additional border to make it twin-size. The additional border was to be made up of 9 patches that matched the center of the hearts (so that's what that extra fabric was for!!).  

I had hand-quilted the entire middle when I discovered that it was supposed to have this extra border and that the back was all crooked. Being an inexperienced quilter at the time, I had no idea what to do, so I put it away to finish later.  

We then moved a couple times and the quilt ended up in storage.  The extra fabric for it ended up in different boxes. At one point, due to mice getting into our stored stuff, several boxes were thrown away due to the nasty mess they made. The extra fabric was part of that garbage. So now I had a dilemma...how to finish the quilt.  So I took the easy way out.  I put it back in a box and forgot it. 

Well, in my current quest to finish everything on my project list...this one came up. I decided to just finish it as is.  The entire center is hand-quilted around the hearts, the blocks and the first border. So, bind it, and stitch down the outer borders and call 'er done!  

As you can see by the sides, I ate up some of the blue flowered border by folding the wonky back over the front to make the border. 

It took me about half an hour to finish this quilt of Damocles that has been hanging over my head for 20 years!  LOL

Project-busting:

1 quilt - DONE!

Small gifts...

In the past few days, I've mostly been doing clothing repair:

3 pairs of pants hemmed

1 shirt collar remade for better fit

1 pair pants cut into shorts and holes repaired

1 pair of pants repaired hole

I took some old flour sack towels, cut them into 4ths, and made cloth "paper" towels for kitchen use to cut down on the waste of paper towels. 

Then I made 2 of these clothespin bags for gifts.  The hole is a bit larger than I thought, so I re-worked the pattern I created for future use. I bought the fabric specifically for the project, as well as the child's hangers. 

Stashbusting:

About a yard of binding tape

1/2 spool of thread

Around age 16, I got into making things with a needle, learning to do embroidery, crewel, bargello, burlap weaving, etc.  I couldn't afford to buy kits, so I made do with what I had.  I did a lot of embroidery on denim pants, jackets, and muslin squares that were later made into quilts.  At one point, I made myself a wall-hanging with the Serenity Prayer.  

My sister saw my wall-hanging and mentioned she'd love to have something like that.  So here it is - a replica of the one that hangs in my kitchen.  I drew it  freehand with a #2 pencil, and then embroidered with a straight stitch. It is lined, has binding and a sleeve on the back to hang it from a rod if she chooses.   

I also cut made one of her shirts into a short sleeve shirt, and repaired a quilt for her. 

StashBusting:

About 1/2 yard of muslin

Leftover blue binding from another project

Assorted leftover embroidery floss

I finally finished the Christmas quilt I started on June 5, 2014.  It is the Disappearing 9 patch block done with scraps of Christmas fabric leftover from other projects.

I bought fabric to finish the back, but still had to piece it after miscalculating the size.  :(

I stitched in the ditch around all the blocks and the bindings, and then stitched and X over each block.  The binding is folded over from the back.

Stashbusting:

2 yards of various Christmas scrap fabrics

2 yards of polyester batting (given to me)

2 spools of white thread

More Small Gifts...

I've been working on Christmas items - I can't mention what they are because they're gifts for someone who reads my blog.  However, I have made 8 "things" and intend to make 10 "things" for each person who will receive the "things." for Christmas.

 

This is leaving me with scraps of fabric that are odd sizes.  So I decided to try a little project I found on a blog that was written in Spanish.  I didn't translate the blog, but followed the photo tutorial...changing the centimeters to inches, too. 

 

Here is a little pocket tissue holder:

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

About 4 yards of various fabric remnants for the "things"

160 inches of various remnant trims

2 partial spools of thread

 

Making Kitchen Things...

I've been making kitchen things! Gifts for a friend...

 

 

 

Microwave bowl cozies, square patchwork potholders, Prairie point embellished towels, Hexegon potholders, Large hot pad, Dishmat, Potato bag

 

Stashbusting:

 

1 yard of assorted scrap fabrics

1 yard scrap batting

1 spool thread

 

 

Clothing Hanger Dust Cover with Accessories Pocket

When you live on a dirt road, dust gets everywhere, including in closets.  It often settles across the shoulders of hanging clothing.  Oftentimes, I can just brush it off. But when it settles on clothes I don't wear much, rather than brushing it off, I have to actually wash the clothing because the dust/dirt has settled into the fibers. 

 

I searched the net to find a pattern for dust covers, and in so doing, discovered another item called a "clothing safe." It is a clothes hanger covered in fabric in which there is a pocket to hide valuables.  You hang your clothes OVER the fabric, thus hiding your goodies. It didn't suit my purpose - I wanted to hang my clothes UNDER the fabric, to protect from dust.  

 

However, a lightbulb went off in my head.  (Stop laughing).  Why not combine the two, and make a dust cover AND a clothing safe, or even better, use the pocket for accessories? How many of us have belts, or a brooch, or a scarf, or special jewelry that only goes with one outfit?  And how many of us can lay our hands on all those accessories at a moment's notice?  And what about packing?  Wouldn't it be great to simply take an article of clothing along with it's accessories and pack it all at once? 

 

I figured someone had already made a dust cover with an accessories pouch, so I searched to the ends of the Internet (well, it seemed like it) for a pattern.  Nothing.  Nothing at all.  Apparently, if someone else has thought of it, they've not acted on the impulse. So I had to think on it for a few days and figure out a pattern all by myself (which can be a daunting task!). And by the way, one of the main reasons I hate sewing clothes is because I can never put a zipper in right! So, I had to consider putting a zipper on the pouch (because you don't want anything falling out), too.  I decided I was up to the task.  I wouldn't let a teensy bit of 18 inch cloth and teeth stop me! 

So after I spent a few days thinking on how to do it, I set to work.  Amazingly, I finished it within an hour!  Even the zipper part!

I will be making these as Christmas presents for a few people who travel extensively.  They can not only protect their clothing at home in the closet, but can pack their accessories with the garments they take!

 

So here it is - my dust cover with a zippered accessories pouch.

 

 

The dust cover, embellished with a little lace.

 

 

A scarf hanging out of the zippered pouch.

 

 

Dust cover doing it's job on one of my outfits, and another scarf, hanging out of the zippered pouch. 

 

StashBusting:

 

1/2 yard of leftover fabric

18 inches of leftover lace

 

 

 

Using Up Christmas Fabric...

I opened one of my wirebasket drawers and found quite a bit of Christmas fabric.  I have wanted to try the Disappearing Nine-Patch technique for a while, and decided this would be a good project.  Basically, you make a 9-patch square - any size (I used 6 inch patches) and then cut it right down the middle, both ways.  And then you simply turn 2 of the blocks inward and the chain effect happens. 

 

 

Christmas Disappearing Nine-Patch. Note that I also did random patches - I tried to keep the reds and greens mixed up.

 

 Not quilted yet as I've not found a satisfactory backing fabric.

 

Stashbusting:

 

2 yards of various fabrics.

Half a spool of thread

A Little Project...

Since the foyer wall cabinet was built and installed two years ago, I've needed to create a small cover for the bench seat between the bookcases.  Temporarily, I was simply folding a blanket and putting it on the seat, but it tended to slip and slide. 

 

So, I finally decided last night, when I threw the blanket in the wash, that I really needed to make something. I didn't want a cushion, just something I can toss in the wash when it got dirty.  I also wanted it to be fairly neutral colors.

 

I found these hand-dyed fabrics I bought some 20 years ago for a project I never did...and so, my bench seat cover was born. 

 

 

 

I cut a foundation piece, fliped and stitched the strips, added batting and a back, sewed all around, turned it right side out, and stitched all the way around the edges. I also stitched down the center seam.  I may quilt it later...we'll see. :)

 

 

This is the back - a piece of batik fabric I bought at a yardsale - 2 1/2 yards for $2.00!

 

 

 

Here's a photo of the complete unit, with bench seat in the middle.

 

Stashbusting:

 

Half a yard of various fabrics

Half a yard of scrap batting

Half a yard backing

TableRunners, Coasters and a Quilt

I've been working on the stash, still doing some Christmas fabric things, but also playing with some other fabrics I found, too.  So, I made a couple more tablerunners and some matching coasters. 

 

 

The left one is an old Hoffman Japanese fabric, chrysanthamums lined with a faint gold line.  The right one is grapes and grape leaves, also lined with a thin gold line. Stashbusting stats at the bottom of the post. 

 

I then decided to do something with some scrap fabric I found in the drawer. It is leftover fabric from the quilt I made my grand-niece, and because some was already cut in 3 inch strips, I decided to do a jelly roll race quilt. Here's a link to the You Tube video on how to do one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bEJLnaZQOU

 

I also had trouble doing the mitered corners, I got about half backwards, so I finally gave up and just sewed the strips together in straight lines! Then, I set the quilt aside to go get a drink and came back to this:

 

 

Emmy the cat cops a nap on the unfinished quilt. So I waited a while and finally, she left.  I went to the kitchen to get  a drink before I started quilting and I came back to this:

 

 

Dinah cops a nap on the unfinished quilt.  She stayed on it all evening, so I decided I'd work on the quilt the next morning. I ate breakfast, got a drink, came into the room to work on the quilt and there he was...

 

 

Christian, settling in for a nap on the quilt!!! Eventually, he moved on, so I was able to finish it. The finished quilt is 46 X 67 inches, a good size for a toddler.

 

The polyester batting I used slipped and I didn't discover it until AFTER I'd stitched-in-the-ditch quilted it! I ironed the offending part towards the very edge, and then put a binding over the wrinkles. It looks a tiny bit wonky on that edge, but a baby won't notice.

 

Stashbusting:

 

Tablerunners & Coasters: 1 yard or so of various fabrics

 

Quilt: 1 1/2 yards of various fabrics

1 1/2 yards of polyester batting

1 1/2 yards flannel backing

1/2 spool of thread

Random Scrappy Christmas Tree Skirt

To get back into quilting, I started setting a timer for 1 hour at various times during the day and working at my sewing machine.  It's been a good thing. The other thing I decided was that I had to open one of the drawers and work on whatever was in there until everything in the drawer was finished.  The first drawer I opened had Christmas fabric and scraps from other projects in it.  So today, I made a scrappy tree skirt. This is the pattern I used, with some changes.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thimbleberries-Star-Dance-Tree-Skirt/dp/B00DVW9WXK

 

 

 

If you notice in the booklet, the skirt had appliqued stars and binding. I didn't do either of these things. 

 

This is a foundation-pieced pattern. Cut the wedges from muslin or other junk fabric, and then piece the strips onto the foundation wedges. I "birthed" the skirt. After I got the strips on the foundation pieces, I sewed them together, leaving one opening the length of the wedges to be able to wrap it around a tree. I cut another piece of backing fabric the same size, pinned right sides together and raw edges even, started sewing halfway up the open edge wedge, around the center circle, and then all the way around the bottom of the skirt, clipped the corners and curves, turned right side out, ironed the seams and then finished the open edge.  I then quilted stitch-in-the-ditch on each wedge edge. Technically, the skirt can be reversible, because the back is one solid piece of red fabric with gold stars on it.  

 

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

3 1/2 yards of various fabrics

3 partially filled bobbins of various colors

1 half spool of white thread.

Two more tablerunners and sets of coasters.  I ran out of the blue binding fabric and will have to find some more, there are only 2 coasters in that set (I generally make 8 coasters per set). 

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

2 yards of fabric

 

I made this tablerunner and coaster set for my cousin. 

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

1 yard of fabric

I've been gone for a while...

We've been especially busy since the last time I posted in November.  We went to Germany for 2 weeks, came home and had Christmas with the family, and then we left home to spend a few months helping one of the kids pack up and move to a new place.  We helped declutter, packed, moved, and unpacked everything!  It was fun to be there, but now I'm back home and have my own hobbies and and a whole list of things to do!

 

Today I decided to spend an hour sewing each day to get rid of this stash!  So...I looked at what fabric I had, and then found Renae Allen's 10 minute tablerunner tutorial:  http://www.rgadesignquilts.blogspot.com/p/patterns-projects.html. There are two tutorials - one is a pdf you can download, the other is a video tutorial. 

 

I also made Penny Pennington's coasters out of the leftover fabrics.  http://www.equilters.com/library/projectshare/coasterspatt.html

 

 

You want to know how old some of this fabric is?  I bought the Christmas green background fabric and the middle tablerunner's poinsettia fabric when I worked at a fabric store...in 1997. Seventeen years ago!!! YIKES! I'm pretty sure I bought the pansy fabric in the same timeframe.

 

I think I will buy some white kitchen towels and will sew the leftover fabrics on them to match.  I'm hoping to sell these tablerunner sets at the next Swap & Shop down the road.

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

3 2/3 yards of fabric

Miscellaneous pieces of batting