Sew & Sew Vinyl Zippered Bag...

I received a free mini charm pack of Sew & Sew fabric by Chloe's Closet when I made an online fabric order.  After watching it sit on my sewing table for a few months, I finally decided to make something practical with it...a zippered, vinyl front bag.

And the back...Rebecca insisted I point out that she sewed the binding down...LOL...

I've made a few of these before and I'm thinking of modifying it to make it two-sided (and come from layer cake squares).  We'll see if I can get it done....

The rainbow quarter log cabin blocks I've been working on are coming along great.  I'm to the "block assembly" stage and I have a few options.  I used my "design floor" to test out some different patterns...

There are quite a few different ways to arrange the blocks (and this is with only 12 blocks)!  I'm leaning towards....well, you'll see!!  Happy Quilting!

A New Idea...

First of all, Happy Holidays to the five people who are following me ;-)  LOL...I seriously need to post more frequently--I think I'd leave myself after so much neglect!!

I made these rainbow mug rugs a few years ago (during my "I'm gonna be a mug rug mogul" phase)...and I use them every day.  But they just sort of blended into the background until a friend's six year old son picked it up yesterday and told me how cool it was... and yes, he is right, it it pretty cool.  I actually have two of them (he didn't see the second one because it was covered in my craft table mess)....

So after the kid left the house, I thought "This mug rug is too cool for me to put my coffee on...what am I thinking??"  Then I thought "Maybe I could make a quilt like this"... using layer cake squares!!  So I grabbed my graph paper and got to sketching...I think I got it!

Now I needed some layer cake squares--so off to the stash I went.  Here is what I pulled (took 3 hours due to the disaster that I jokingly call my "sewing room")... and an interestingly sad movie called "45 Years"...

And a sexy, up-close shot...

I'm gonna work on this a keep you updated.  If looks like it has possibilities, I'll write a little tutorial and show my sketches...

On a side note, I'm doing a serious fabric destash (mostly of fabric that is OOP and I think other people might want a shot at making something from this stuff).  I have some amazing fabric that I never got around to using and now I need to get rid of some stuff.  Check out my Etsy shop destash section...maybe there is something you might like/want/need.... But what I did find in my stash is some cool stuff...

Tons of my favorites by Bonnie and Camille, Kate Spain, Deb Strain, Pam Kitty, Denyse Schmidt, Joel Dewberry, Tula Pink, Amy Butler, etc... All just waiting for some attention.  In the future, you are gonna see a lot more scrap quilts coming from my stash and a lot less fabric being bought from the stores!!  I'm not going to go crazy and keep track of yardage or anything, but let's just say the mail lady is going to forget my name!

So that is my Merry Christmas/Happy Quilting post!  Enjoy your day...we are off to a 24-hour bar and grill called "Henry's" here in Las Vegas for a Christmas Southwest Salad, Ryan will get a cheeseburger, and Rebecca is a wild card (hopefully she gets some crunchy fries for me to steal).

See ya!  And look, Dad, no curse words!!!

Maybellene pattern reboot...

I decided to pull some vintage sheet 10" x 10" squares and 5" x 5" squares and make a reboot of my Maybellene quilt pattern.  I used Kona Ice Frappe for the background fabric...I've also decided to add some "alternate sizes" to my pattern.  I'll upload them here for anyone to download who already purchased the pattern.  And I'll add in these fabric requirements to any future pattern downloads.

This one is 6 blocks by 6 blocks and measures 51" x 51".  I'm not sure what I'll use for backing fabric...I have a ton of vintage sheets, but I like cotton as well....hmmm....

And an up-close shot.  I'm trying to get some bright pictures at the park and Rebecca isn't really appreciating holding the clothesline for me....lol...oh well!!

Anyhow, I guess I'm going to write the alternate size fabric requirements right now...while catching up on some DVR'd shows with Ryan.  Happy Quilting!

Finished Tops....

I've been meaning to get a couple of nice pics outside with these quilts...but time slips away and I fail to gather up some items for picture time.  Today, however, I scoped out a place at the park to hang a clothes line and Rebecca helped me get some decent pics...

First up, my EPP project made with April Rosenthal's Summerfest fabric and a few of my own scraps.  I started it last June, if I recall, and finished it up last month...

And an up-close sexy shot...

The other one I finished up was the "zero fucks" quilt top.  I seriously need to quilt these up over Winter Break....It is a mini-quilt measuring 24" x 30" and is made entirely from thrifted men's shirts.  Upcycled projects just make me happy!!

Anyhow, I'll post up pics again when I get these quilted and some pics of my other projects.  Turns out I have three other WIPs downstairs to finish.  One is a new EPP project, so that is awesome!!  Happy Quilting!

An old favorite...

On the heels of finishing my other EPP project (photos later), I pulled out my Kaffe EPP quilt the other day.  I still need to add in the last four rows of stars...but here it is on the floor last night.

Buddy had to get in on the photo shoot as well....He is so pathetic!!  But we love him <3

It seems like the last time this quilt top came out of the WIP box was January 2015--eeks, almost 2 years ago!!  I took this pic in the backyard waaay back then...

If only I could teach Buddy how to EPP ;-)  This thing would be finished in no time!!  You know, when I started this quilt I thought it would be a "once in a lifetime" quilt... I mean, who would hand sew a quilt together??  But it turns out that EPP is my favorite form of sewing now.  I still use the machine, but I much prefer the slow process of English Paper Piecing any day.  It's funny how things change, right?

 Happy Quilting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are enjoying the week off here at my house...the school district gave all of us (teachers and students) the whole week off this year!  This is the first time for this in the 40+ years I've worked/gone to school in Las Vegas.  I got a chance to take some pics of my red and khaki Gypsy quilt on the porch today...

I really like how this little quilt turned out.  It only measures 36" x 48" and I plan on listing it in my Etsy shop this weekend.  As I turned around to take another pic, Buddy joined in on the fun...

He is a cocky little chihuahua who doesn't know any boundaries where quilts are concerned.  We found him wandering on a major street here in LV about 7+ years ago.  Buddy is super spoiled and the best thing to happen to our family.  And the best part about him is that he never was a chewer...he never damaged anything in the house, or made messes or ruined anything.  He loves to snuggle under quilts and has several of his own.

On another note, I began yet another quilt project/pattern.  Here is the fabric pull for the first attempt...It is a layer cake pattern so I cut layer cake squares (one for each block) and picked the yellow accent color from my stash.  The purple solid might be for the setting triangles around the edges of the quilt.

I also added a bright aqua accent color at the last minute.  This is just a small test run of the pattern...13 blocks and the finished quilt should measure 42" x 42".

Anyhow, I need to go prep some food for Thanksgiving dinner.  Enjoy your holiday!!

Gypsy Quilt Pattern is DONE!

I don't know why it took me so long to finish writing this quilt pattern.  I made the first prototype back in February of 2016, another in June and the final one in September.  Work got in the way and I dropped the ball at getting it finished...but here it is!!  Gypsy is available in my Etsy shop...

It can be made using layer cake squares or charm squares (or scraps!) and multiple sizes are available in the quilt pattern.  The blocks come together quite easily--nothing too difficult.  The cover quilt was made using some of my coveted Soul Blossom fabric...below is an up-close shot of the quilting.  The panto is called Jessie's Swirls and I love the texture it gave the quilt.

I also made it in pastels from Riley Blake's Bloom and Bliss line of fabric....the panto is called Pirouette.

And I made a smaller version last February in reds and khaki...the panto is called Espalier.

I'll get a finished shot with the binding later this week....

Anyhow, I hope you love this pattern as much as I do!  Happy Quilting!