making bags

Making a duffel bag has been a challenge.   I tried two different patterns.

Here is  my first one.

Here is the second one.

Getting ready for the new school year!

My daughter in law teaches at a local primary school. She asked me if I could make something that would allow her students to hold a book at their chairs.
She wants them to have access to their library books so they can read when they have any free time.
I came up with this. . . . . .

I am going to make 5 of each color.(blue, red, yellow and green) Nice
bright colors.
'Duck" fabric is perfect for this.

Here is the view from my sewing studio window.  My dear husband loves to take care of his flowers.  SO PRETTY.

How to make a zippered pouch!

This is how I make a zippered pouch.


- cut top fabric and lining fabric the same size
  (this one is about 10 1/2 by 7)

[I use light weight batting and quilt the top fabrics a little just to give the pouch a little shape]















- place zipper (right side down) to the right side of the top fabric and place the lining fabric right side down onto the zipper
be sure to line up the top of the front and lining to the top of the zipper and pin in place.

- sew zipper on using a zipper foot

- repeat on other side of the zipper

Once I sew zipper in I secure it by sewing a small seam on either side

- I add a small loop to the side of the pouch.  sew loop onto right side of pouch like this        ( use a scant 1/8th inch seam just to hold it in place)
....be careful not to attach it to the lining....

- unzip the zipper about 3/4 of the way then pin pouch and lining together and sew all the way around leaving an opening at the bottom of the lining so you can turn the pouch out once it is sewn together

- using a small square piece of cardboard ( this one is about 1 inch square), mark off all four corners on both sides of the top and lining

- pinch together corner and sew along the line

- clip off corners

-turn pouch right side out, sew the bottom of the lining closed and you are finished

It's quilted!

I quilted the latest quilt top.  I am determined to quilt them as I make them.  I usually have a stack of about 6-8 quilt tops before I get to quilting them and now I am doing my best to quilt them as quickly as I can once the top is made.

Here are a couple of close ups of the quilting I did on this one.  Instead of quilting in the "ditch" I sewed a seam about a half inch on each side of the ditch!

I like the look of this quilting........

Experimenting with a quilt pattern

I have made numerous quilts before now but I usually start with a pattern then tweak it to fit what I like.   A friend sent me a small picture of the corner of a quilt she liked and asked if I could figure out how to make it.  I studied the photo and came up with a simple crude pattern. Excuse the scribble look to this but this is the pattern I drew out.

Once I drew it out I figured out how many half square triangles I needed.  I used 4 inches to get a quilt that turned out to be about 50-60 inches square once it was made.   I had this fabric in my stash just waiting for the right project.  I bought some of every color of these roses. I also had just enough of the white on white roses to use as background fabric.

I used green in place of the orange in my pattern and this is what I came up with.

I hope to quilt it next week....I will post a finished quilt picture once I finish it.

Memory quilts complete

My friend and former neighbor lost her husband last year and I wanted to do something special for her.
She gave me a lot of his shirts and I made a memory quilt for her. It was something I had never done and it was a very emotional thing to cut up the shirts that I used to see him in everyday.  She wanted one for each of her children so I made those too!
I found some nice medium blue fabric to help with the designs I had in mind.

I hope she likes them! My DH held them up for me so I could take these pictures.

Quilted fractured quilt!

I finally finished quilting the fractured quilt top.
Here is a photo of the front....

I did loads of feathers all over the quilt.

Here is a picture of part of the back!

Fractured quilt attempted

I saw a couple of quilt tops that were called "fractured" quilt tops.
I was able to get someone to send me a description of how to do it.
First I used a small panel of a duck.

 before......

after......

Then I pulled out some larger  panels..21" x 37"

I used 4 panels.    

Paducah quilt show pictures

I had a great time at the quilt show last weekend in Paducah, Kentucky.  So many beautiful quilts.  and....the dogwood trees were in full bloom!  so amazing to see.

Here are some of the quilts I saw....

the dogwood trees were in bloom all over the city

I saw this great quilter and was able to speak with her for a moment.  She was so gracious and sweet.  I first got into quilting years ago when I watched her on PBS.

This is the group I traveled with to go to the show.  These Mississippi quilters are an awesome group.  This was taken at the Cracker Barrel the last day of our trip. I made some new sweet friends.

And this bloomed at home while I was away.  My DH sent me this picture!

Another I Spy quilt finished

I put this quilt top together in early 2013 and finally was able to quilt it.  I did it all on my regular machine.  I think I am getting better at controlling where the stitches land.
Here are a couple of pictures

the back

the quilt

a close up of part of the quilt

Another wall hanging of Mary

I made this one for a special friend.   She loved it!

Wall hanging of Mary, our Mother

All I have to do now is quilt this wall hanging.   I finished putting it together last night.

Quilt Show in Paducah, Ky

I am so excited about being able to go to the quilt show in Paducah this year. I have always wanted to go to this quilt show.   I hope I can meet some of the wonderful people I have met here in blog land.
If you plan to go, let me know and we can plan to meet while there.

What happened to March

the month of March has come and gone and I can not believe the months are slipping by so fast.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

My DH and I joined the YMCA.  It is only 3.4 miles from our new home.  We have enjoyed swimming laps in the great heated pool there and I have been able to take the aquatic exercise class for arthritis.  I feel it is helping with the pain in my knees and back.
I am working on a couple of memory quilts for a friend that lost her husband a little over a year ago.  I think it is the most difficult quilt activity I have ever done. As I was cutting up the shirts I had tears just thinking of her dear DH and how wonderful he was.  Such a great person!  I will post photos of the quilts once I complete them.

20 more little dresses

Here is another group of dresses being sent to Haiti with our mission group.
This group of dresses brings me to a total of 55.  I hope to make more throughout the year for future mission trips. My over all goal was to make 50 dresses and this group brought me to my goal and more!

Rag Doll

I found this cute doll tutorial over at "Love Laugh Quilt" and I have been wanting to make one.
Here is the link for the tutorial.
http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to.html

Here is a photo of my first attempt.   Not great but it was fun to give it a go!

I made it for a friend's new granddaughter.  I hope she likes it.

A shout out thanks to Beth for sharing her talent!

More little dresses

My cousin, Pat and I are making dresses to send to Haiti with a mission group from our diocese.

these are the ones Pat made..(7)...last time we sent dresses she made 20!

these are the ones I made....(20)...last time we sent dresses I made 15!

I love making these little dresses.  It is a great way to use your stash for a great cause.  I do not usually make clothing so this was a challenge for me but these are so easy and quick to make.

We are both working on making many more!