Sunflower bag

This bag was super easy and quick, and finishes up a nice size to take to work with a lunch and a sweater in it. Do you go to the library? It could easily be a book bag. 

This one is lined, but I like that it uses interfacing instead of batting between the layers, so it's lightweight and can be folded up.

I adore the single handle, which fits comfortably over the shoulder, but is short enough not to drag on the ground if held at the side. For a child, it could be a crossbody bag.

And it has this cute little button detail on the bottom corners for some character. 

A new bag

I didn't know what I was going to do with the blocks, but they managed to turn into a new tote bag, and it's lovely. 

I made a bunch of totes years ago when I first got into quilting. The pattern was from my first quilting book, The Quilting Bible, and it helped me to learn to piece blocks and quilt them on a smaller scale than doing a whole quilt.

Since those days, I have become much more adept at taking an idea and running with it, to make it more my own style, and I don't have to follow a pattern exactly. So, for this tote, I took aspects of the pattern that I liked (it is made in one long piece, folded in half, and sewn up the sides), and changed it slightly (to accommodate the blocks I had already made, different handles, and also made it deeper from front to back).

I still have one more block put together, and a few more 2 1/2" squares, but I'm not sure what they want to be yet.

I could do that

I saw a picture of a scrappy block on Pinterest, without a pattern, and thought, I could do that. It doesn't look so hard...  So I did.

(Does the fabric look familiar? I was going through the stacks of little containers on my sewing table, trying to make room, and came across a shoe box with a bunch of 2 1/2" squares of hydrangea fabric, leftover from my mom's quilt.)

I easily pieced it together by using 2 blocks: a 4 patch of the print, and a 4 1/2" square of the solid with 2 1/2" squares sewn diagonally on its corners. 

After I figured it out, I went in search of what it might be called, and found an even easier way to piece it, here, if you were going to make it as a whole quilt. It says to make a 16 patch block and an X block, and alternate them. I don't think I have enough squares for a whole quilt, but I could make a few more of these and put them together as pillows, or maybe a baby blanket or couch quilt.

Now that's a bag

I saw it on Pinterest, and it was so adorable. The pattern looked easy. Let's give it a whirl, I said to myself. I bought some new fabric, and some fusible fleece (never heard of that before) and got to work... 

It whipped up in no time. I had it finished in two evenings. Was it easy? Yes. Would I make it again? Probably not, at least not without modifications. I don't like the front pockets, although they were appealing in the photo. I don't like how the fusible fleece makes it so stiff it can stand up by itself. And it's too big for me. I like a smaller bag. But this one is going to a good friend with 3 little ones, and I'm sure there will be room for all the swimming gear in this tote!

Knitted socks

It's not a quilt, or even quilt related, but I made these:

One of them I made many years ago. The second one was started and then they were put away, to be forgotten over time. I'm glad I put them away with the pattern, so when I came across them, I could just pick up and finish them... Which is what I did. 

Embroidery

I've never embroidered before, but have plenty of experience with hand sewing, and when I was young I did cross stitch and plastic canvas crafts. It can't be much different, can it?

Nope, not much different, thanks to Pinterest and the lovely world of the internet, which can teach anyone anything they would like to know.

So I think now this I Spy quilt top may finally be ready for putting together with a batting and backing.

How about a pillow?

It made a lovely pillow for my couch.

Type A personality strikes again. I decided I didn't like the order I put the strips in; the pretty leaf pattern got lost with the bright red right beside it. So, with the pieces that I had already cut out, I put together this pillow and it is now on my couch. A nice pop of brightness next to the olive green.

I also came across a chevron quilt on Pinterest (it uses strips and not half square triangles) that has sparked my fancy. I think these fabrics would work wonderfully. 

And this is the progress on my flower garden project, all hand sewn. I work on it while watching TV or when I'm in the car, if I thought to bring it with me.

Strips... and snips

The final piece of border is on the I Spy.

I am juggling with ideas of how to embellish it... Maybe embroidering more words ("with my little eye")? or maybe buttons? some bling perhaps (beads, sequins)? a combination of all? It will require more thought.

In the meantime, I was rummaging in my closet and came across this tote.

What a find! This is a stash that goes back at least 7 years. It's full of fabric that I bought for specific quilts. In each bag or box is a book or magazine paperclipped to a particular page, and sufficient fabric to make that quilt. All that is, except this one bag:

A ziplock bag full of 2 inch strips, but no pattern... And so many strips! I have no idea what my plan was for this, but it seemed like a challenge to figure it out, so, I got to work!

 

 

Maybe a trip around the world?

Maybe a basket weave style?

Hmmm...