seamingly sewcialist in 2022 - lesmel

The Periwinkle coasters will be the first project of the year. I'm listening to The Lost Apothecary as I work on it.

What a great tag line!

I love your thread title!

>3 PawsforThought: me too! Very clever.

Glad to see you here. Love the thread title, also!

Finished the coasters just now:

I started on the cat face quilt...the sewing part, that is. The blocks have been cut for months. I've got the ear units finished. I can probably get the chin units finished tonight.

Looking forward to following your projects this year. Cute coasters - but I hate trying to put all those points together an avoid projects like that.

Got the chin units sewn this morning. I have a lot of trimming to do today!

>2 SassyLassy: >3 PawsforThought: >4 lauralkeet: >5 avaland: >8 dudes22: Welcome to the jungle! There will probably be lots of puns.

Love the cats!

Coasters are beautiful!

I'm curious to see the results of this cat quilt.

I love the cats fabric! Also very curious about how it will look later.

Ear units were trimmed on Jan 3 while I was in my book club virtually.

Nothing on Jan 4th; but tonight I listened to Binti and trimmed chin units and pieced a bunch (82) of HSTs. I have another stack (82) of HSTs to piece.





I have a lot of pressing ahead of me....but I have a brand new tailors clapper to use!!

> 11, >12 MickyFine:, >13 melannen: This is a preview of what the block will look like:



I still need to cut sashing, I think. This was last year's prototype:



I think the faces are more distinguishable with a thin strip of sashing instead of no sashing; but do I have the patience for cutting all that sashing??

Interesting - the question is - do you want to sew all that sashing. I often like the look of sashing but find it tedious to sew. I was thinking the other day that I wanted to ask you something about a quilting project I have, but I can't think of it now. I should learn to write things down.

>17 dudes22: I often find the sewing of sashing to be meditative.

I think sashing is mostly going to be a matter of how large I want the quilt. If it's a 6 x 7 block quilt, the blocks are 9.5" finished. That is currently 57" x 66.5". One inch sashing adds 5" to the width and 6" to the length. That would be 62" x 72.5". That is nearly twin size. I was planning a 3" border; but that may be too busy with all the cat faces.

I'm not sure I could get away with 1/2" sashing instead of 1". Alternatively, I could offset the faces. Hmm. I'm going to need to spend a little time at lunch seeing what an offset might look like. It would mean short horizontal sashing and long vertical sashing. Hmmm.

Listened to A Psalm for the Wild-Built and pressed all the chin units. I used the tailor's clapper and a 2lb hand weight:



I'll try to press the ear units at lunch tomorrow. Then I can spend the evening playing with layout on my kitchen floor. The more I think about an offset, the more I like the idea. I don't know that I would even need any sashing with an offset.

I will need to trim all 168 HSTs at some point. There's also figuring out the Morse Code in the binding. I was going to do it in the backing; but I'd forgotten the backing was a print and not a solid or something conducive to piecing a curse* in Morse Code.

*Yes, a curse b/c if anyone steals this quilt, they will suffer my wrath.

My dad and stepmom bought me fabric while they were in Scotland. Wool plaid. Which is beautiful; but I've never worked with wool. I even said I didn't think it was a good purchase because of my lack of experience but, I give you....



So, now I get to figure out some projects with my wool plaid. I'm waiting to hear back from the fabric seller for care instructions so I know what I can mix with these fabrics. I can tell you these are most likely going to be backings. If I were inclined to make a quilted coat, one of these plaids could be the lining. Has anyone seen the quilt coats on Instagram lately? It's the kind of thing that makes me wish I had better apparel skills.

Beautiful colours that they picked for you. Wool backings sound lovely and cozy.

>20 lesmel: - I don't do Instagram but I have seen some on Pintrest and I've saved a few. I have some Pendelton wool that I've been moving around for most of my adult life because I'm afraid to sew it. I'll have to look at it again. Maybe a coat lining is a good idea. One more project on the back burner. I'm particularly drawn to the purple one.

>20 lesmel: Oh, so pretty! I love tartans! The purple one looks like Scotland Forever, that’s a particular favourite (I wanted to get a scarf in that when I was in Edinburgh but it wasn’t available.)
Coat lining is a great idea that I might steal from you - my winter coat needs a new lining and it’d look amazing with a tartan one.

This is the layout I've decided on. The offset means I don't need sashing! Yay!



I've got half the blocks pieced. I'll finish the rest in the morning and get the layout figured out. Then I'll start sewing columns instead of rows. I'll need some rectangles of background; but that's easy enough. I'm tempted to finish the blocks tonight; but I don't know if my dog will let me. She's displeased that I am already 1.5 hours late to bed. 🤣🤣

That looks nice. Looking forward to seeing it finished,

Oh, I love those colors!

That looks really good. Like Amber, I'm a fan of the colours.

I got all the units pieced into blocks and laid out. I'm impressed. It only took one shuffle to get the colors sorted.



I'm not sure if I cut the right width for the offset pieces; but I think so. I'll know once I get two columns sewn.

>28 lesmel: ooh, that looks fabulous!

Looks wonderful!

Whew! It took about 4 hours longer than I had planned -- that included a one hour walk with the dog; but the top is pieced.



I have a ton of HSTs to press and trim to see if I can make a border or not.

That's great!

Wow, that looks wonderful!!

>20 lesmel: Gorgeous plaids! I haven't done much with wool, and what I did do was decades ago. It has a bit of a nap, and those plaids are going to make it fun to match seams.

>31 lesmel: I missed some of your earlier posts. Great work! I think the black (spacers between?) read as black cats themselves. It's an interesting effect.

>31 lesmel: - I was looking through one of my quilting books today looking for a pattern and saw a pattern that used this idea as tulip flowers.

I'm finally making myself work on the HSTs. I hate trimming HSTs.

>36 lesmel: - I'm with you. I see so many patterns I like that use HSTs and so I have to stop and think about how much I really want to do.

ETA: I know there are measurements that are supposed to make them exactly, but I like to make mine a little over-sized and cut them down so I know they're square.

>37 dudes22: I LOVE HST math. Well, ok. I love USING HST math. Making those HSTs eight at a time is so freaking fantastic. And they are perfect usually. No trimming except the dog ears.

I didn't have the luxury of making these a little larger -- which I also like now that I have bloc-loc rulers -- so I'm mostly praying they all come out to 3.25" unfinished. It's an odd size; but again, no luxury for choosing. I went with whatever the biggest sizing was from the trimmed triangles from the main block.

I should have enough HSTs to make a border. I'll sew a few together to get a feel for the layout and test it against the main quilt top. If it's too busy, I'll just sew all the HSTs into its own quilt top.

I have half the HSTs trimmed. I'll finish the rest in the morning. On Monday, I'll contact the local long arm quilter I'm going to use for the cat face quilt. I want to see if she can do paw print quilting or maybe cat outline quilting.

Also, I mentioned the Morse Code idea for this quilt to a friend and they suggested French Knots. That could be fun; but do I really want to embroider a Morse Code curse on a quilt? So much faster to just piece the Morse Code curse instead. lol

I'm pretty sure at this point, the Morse Code will be in the binding.

Trimming done! Took for-freaking-ever. I managed to nick myself twice on the rotary blade. I have enough HSTs to make a border. I'll sew some together tomorrow. It's time to be done with this top. I'm getting irritated with it. Really, I'm irritated with myself because I've left this on my table for so long. There are a lot of other projects I want to work on. And as I've mentioned previously, I don't do multiple projects at once if I can avoid it.

I need confirmation that I should just rip out this border and call the top done. I liked the border before I sewed it onto the top. Now I'm very waffley about the border and don't really like it.

Here's what it looked like when I was first testing the border idea:



Here's what it looks like now.



The scale is wrong. The blocks are 9ish inches. That border should be at least 3". Also, there's no stop border to give the eye a chance to break away from the main pattern.

Looks like the cats are getting their own quilt. LOL

I still need to piece the backing. I just realized I bought 44" wide not 108". I knew it at the time because I ordered 4 yards. Now I get to iron all morning. Any normal person would be like "ew, ironing." Me, I'll iron fabric all day long. It's so soothing. Clothes, no. Fabric, yes.

Border ripped. I'm ironing away. Four yards is a lot of fabric, y'all. I need a movie since I can't get my bookclub book on audio right now.

I think you did the right thing. My only suggestion was to flip half the row around so the HSTs faced each other. But it did still need a strip of dark around the whole thing first. I like to iron too.

If you have Disney+ or a good cable package, you should watch Torn. It's a documentary by Max Lowe about his father Alex Lowe, a mountaineer that died in an avalanche in 1999. For full blurb: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/torn/7C6rhBHfIlfP

I watched this while I was ironing and had to stop so I wouldn't boohoo on the fabric.

Mother of god. I am 1" short in the length for the 8" long arm clearance. *sighs* Do I just go with it or do I try to tack on a couple inches on either side of my background fabric?

I'm just going with the 7" overage. It'll have to be enough.

I started in on the kitty sized quilt. I'm calling it Cat Geese:



It's not true Flying Geese, of course. I have five more rows to sew. I've already laid it out so I can sew rows tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I can get the top finished tomorrow and maybe sandwiched. I'll need to figure out backing. This coming week I'll quilt it and bind it.

Then, I can move on to another project. I have three pages of projects. That's 16 projects in my list waiting to be started. Of that, at least three have patterns and fabric ready for pressing and cutting.

I have another two patterns that need fabric; but not precuts. I probably have fabric for at least one of the patterns. The second pattern is begging for some oversized and/or graphic prints. Although, it might make an interesting t-shirt quilt.

I'm so impressed that you only work on one project at a time. I get sidetracked so easily to work on multiple projects. Which is why I have so many UFOs.

ETA: I took a quilt to be quilted recently and was short on my backing extra, but the person was nice enough to figure out how to make it work. Hope you do too.

Kitty-sized quilt top done!



I already ironed the backing. I need to split it and add the last set of fake flying geese. I'll probably piece the batting since I still have leftover bits.

Something to think about is HOW I'm going to split the backing fabric. Do I go straight down the middle? Do I do a 1/3 - 2/3 split? I like the modernish feel of a 1/3 - 2/3 split.

I spent the day listening to The Nickel Boys while sewing. Now I'm headed to a small Sunday dinner with friends. I'm exhausted by the emotional overhead of that book. Ooof.

I saw this tutorial on making a diagonal seam depending on how wide the quilt back was. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to save fabric.

https://fabricandflowers.co.uk/tutorial-piecing-a-diagonal-quilt-back/

>47 lesmel: That is lovely!

Did you get your border settled for the cat heads quilt? I would have suggested an inner border between the cats and the little triangles as the latter visually interferes some with the cat head pattern (and it would also look different on the sides). It's a fab border though, maybe a strip of solid black as an inner border, perhaps the width of the spacers you have between the cats?

>47 lesmel: that looks really nice!

>47 lesmel: Looks really great, and reminds me a bit of a wave (or waves, plural, more like).

>20 lesmel: I am totally jealous of your wool plaid stash!! This winter I have been dreaming of wool plaid pajamas because cotton flannel just isn't warm enough for my tastes.

>24 lesmel: I am loving this project!!

>31 lesmel: WOW!!!!!

I can't even remember what all has been happening lately. It's all a blur. Mostly, I have been ignoring the projects -- yes, two -- on my table.

First, the cat geese quilt is finished...and has been for weeks. 🤣





I still need to send the main quilt off. I've promised myself I will contact the quilter this weekend.

The bad news with the smaller quilt, I may have to rip the binding and redo it. I've spotted some wonkiness with the seam. I have to look tomorrow. I've been avoiding it; but I need to check it before I wash it.

And now, for the two projects on my table....

The pattern is from MSQC. I had the fabric. It's a 10" stacker called Just Lemons from Jane Shasky. She has some really beautiful artwork. I'd planned on the fabric being a double slice; but then realized I didn't have enough variation to make it work. Enter the new pattern!

In reading over the pattern -- which I have some complaints about -- I decided to go rogue and not use the pieced border. This lead me to realize I had enough fabric for two quilts instead of one. Thus two projects on my table. And let me just tell you how much I hate it. HATE IT. HATE HATE HATE. It's the same damn quilt and I want to poke myself with a spoon every time I look at my sewing table. Enough whining about it.

Here's how it started:





It's supposed to have a second border. My plan was to use the blue plaid that are the cornerstones (you can see the fabric in the first pic on the right side) for the outer border. Opinions?

Ok, so, some complaints....

This pattern is supposed to be for three 5" charm packs; but says you can use a 10" stacker instead. However, there are no instructions for that substitution. My initial Annoyances:

1. Do I sub cut the 10" precuts into 5"? No instructions.
2. Do I scale the pattern up? Also, no instructions.

This is how I ended up with two quilts. A charm pack is 42 squares. So is a stacker. If you sub cut a stacker into charm packs, you get four charm packs. And when you go rogue and skip the pieced border, suddenly, you only need TWO charm packs to make this quit.

Additionally, It turns out, I really do not like small patches. 1.5" snowball corners are a pain in my tuchus. I should have considered scaling the pattern up for 10" patches. It would have gone faster. I would have used 3" snowball corners. I probably would have ended up with two quilt tops, still.

This has been an interesting lesson for me. Namely, I like big patches which make big blocks. Also, I shouldn't feel bound to the pattern as it is written. Also, I should really think harder about some of the patterns I buy.

I really like those lemon fabrics. I hear you about small blocks. Those corners must have been annoying. There are some patterns that are easy to upsize and these would certainly be one. Oh - and I like the idea of the blue plaid for a border if you have enough.

My big complaint about patterns that ae written for pre-cuts is that they usually don't tell you that you'll need extra of something for border/binding.

>58 dudes22: This pattern actually gives all the fabric needs; no complaints there!

>56 lesmel: What lovely fabrics. I think the blue would make a great border, tying in the cornerstones.

It's not reading as a plaid on my screen, more like a check.

>60 SassyLassy: Actually, it probably is closer to a picnic check; but Henry Glass Fabrics calls it plaid.

I might actually go and order some from one of the quilt places I order from that I know sells Henry Glass.

>61 lesmel: I like that one. I think my mom would have called it check-ed.

>56 lesmel: If not too late, I think the blue "plaid" would be fine, but I'd be tempted to find a fabric that has both those colors (if it wouldn't make you insane).

>57 lesmel: Tell us how you really feel...:-)

I think whatever you decide will be fine. You have a good sense of what works and what you like.

I've always found the terms plaid a check confusing because we only have one word for it in Swedish (rutig, from ruta - square). Does anyone have a good definition of what makes something plaid vs check?

>65 PawsforThought: There is a good guide here: https://sewguide.com/plaid-fabric/

The short version: all plaids are checks, but not all checks are plaids. Plaid fabrics have the standard check pattern (horizontal & vertical colors that make a square(ish) pattern; but incorporate stripes as well.

Also, this is fun: https://sewguide.com/checkered-pattern/

I'll be adding the blue/white fabric border to the two quilts. I have backing for both quilts. I'll be using the blue/white fabric for one and a green wave for another.

Anyone use a #88 attachment (Binder Attachment for Unfolded Bias Tape) for Bernina? Or a #95 foot (Binder foot)? I saw this on Instagram a few weeks ago and now I'm obsessed with trying it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR1YWB35EAQ -- you might want to mute the video. There's music but no voice over.

Y'all. I have been winding bobbins wrong on my machine the entire time I've owned my 440QE. What.the.hell. I haven't ever noticed (no tension problems, no breakage); but I've noticed winding my bobbin has become a fight since switching to Aurifil thread. I did a little searching on YouTube and, yeaaaaah, I have never wound my bobbin "correctly" once in all the years I've owned this machine. I bought this machine in 2007.

Also, I had no idea I could check hours on my machine. Hours on (active and standby), standby hours, total active hours (sewing, BSR, & embroidery), sewing hours, embroidery hours, and BSR hours (aka FMQ).

>68 lesmel: - I had a 440QE for a long time (just replaced with a 790) and I never knew you could check hours either.

I need opinions. I kinda sorta effed up the design of my niece's quilt. No fabric has been harmed in the effing.

She has a king bed. So, standard dimensions say 76 x 80 mattress top. I wanted the quilt top to lay with center and two borders exactly on top of the mattress plus a drop and no pillow tuck. Only, the design I made has the center and double border measuring 84 x 84.

I can modify the measurements without sacrificing the design...but I'm literally short 1/8 of a yard in the fabric she bought. I have enough to make up that 1/8 yard....but it's a totally different dye lot.

Question: Do I modify the design (and keep the 15" drop) and work that other fabric into the quilt? Do I buy an extra 1 yard and hope the dye lot is similar. We can't buy from the same bolt because it was end of bolt. I MAY luck out and the end of bolt included a few extra inches. I could work the extra fabric into the quilt into a couple 2" strips. I don't think the fabric is so glaringly off dye that 1-2 2" strips will stand out.

Question: Do I modify the design and the drop and therefore have enough fabric for the overall design? A change in the drop by 1" will leave me with 1/8 yrd overage instead of shortage.

I am inclined to modify the design and the drop. The change in drop bugs me not in the least; but the 84 x 84 center & borders makes me want to table flip my house AND burn down the world. Although, as my mother said, no one is going to know but me that the design is wrong from my original intention.

I say modify the design and the drop and have a little left over. You don't say if the fabric that you're short of is a solid or a print, but I think you would know and it would bother you.

Also, I think it depends on how close the two fabrics are to each other in the quilt. If you can work the design so they're not close to each other, then the dye lot difference won't show as much.

>71 dudes22: Yes. The fabric is solid grey. It's Jane Sassaman Handcrafted Cotton -- which means it already has natural variation in the fabric

Interestingly, in reworking the design, I get to showcase more of the print. Always a bonus!

On top of the design crisis, I thought my fancy Oliso iron was dying. The auto-lift mechanism was sounding weird -- like sticky gears. If the lift doesn't work, the iron is pretty much useless. Either A) the feet are stuck down and you can't iron or B) the feet are stuck up and you have an iron that goes off every 3 minutes.

Luckily, it is back to behaving. I left it off for a few days. Then I poked a little at the lift in the front of the iron and blew some canned air at the back lift. It's back to raising and lowering smoothly again. I'd love to get 22 years of service out of this iron (that's how long my previous iron lasted); but I'm not kidding myself. Most small appliances aren't designed to survive that long any longer. It's about 6 years old at this point. Another 6 years would be great.

I had to go check out this iron - I'd never heard of it. Very interesting. Might put it on my Christmas list.

>74 dudes22: I love the Oliso iron. I was reading that the lift is a weak point over time; but I'm willing to risk that. There are very few irons that will stay hot for 30 minutes.

The two tops are done!





I had a helper not helping during the last of the sewing...

>76 lesmel: They both look great! Good thing you had a helper - sewing could have ended catastrophically if there had been a sudden indoor gale.

>76 lesmel: I'm glad your helper was so good at holding down the fabric!

>76 lesmel: The most helpful!

Also the tops look so good.

Those are cute. And I do like that blue border.

Awww ... sweet helper. And the quilts look great too.

>76 lesmel: Lovely!

>77 PawsforThought: Those indoor tornadoes can be nasty!

The not helping helper continues to excel at her not job.





This is my new project. My niece's king-size quilt that I had to adjust the design to get the correct placement for the main portion of the quilt. I was planning on doing all the cutting this weekend; but I have impromptu visitors. I'll have to work on the cutting next week. Also, I'm typing this while sitting far enough away from my keyboard so my not helping helper can hold me in my office chair. I might float away, y'know.

>83 lesmel: She's just making sure they don't fly off the table. ;-)

I was wondering if you've ever inserted a diagonal piece of fabric into a quilt back? I found this online and was thinking of trying this:

https://www.quiltingdaily.com/modern-quilting-trick-easy-method-for-inserting-fa...

I'm wondering if I should/could use the markings on my ruler (either the 45 or the 60 degree line) to make sure it's straight since the back is so big.

ETA: Also should I cut the strip on the diagonal?

>85 dudes22: Oh! I like this. I've never done this; but there are a few ways you could go with this.

If you want some precision, yes, using a ruler to get it exactly even would be best. I would think you would need two rulers on either edge of the backing so you could get the exact 45 or 60 degree angle.

If you are okay with "wonky", you could just go with it. Pin the strip the the backing, sew it and not bother knowing if it's perfectly 45, 60, or whatever.

Another way I've seen something similar is to measure X inches on either edge from the top and bottom and pin the strip to those markings. For example, 8" down from the top left corner and 8" up from the bottom right corner. Or reversed for the opposite diagonal.

You wouldn't want to use diagonal/bias strips because you would have way too much stretch on the second seam, I would think.

Thanks - That's about what I was thinking. I was hoping you wouldn't find some big flaw in my thinking. I get what you're saying about the diagonal and I'm relieved. I was thinking because I was cutting it on the diagonal, I should try to fit a strip in like it was there originally. (If you know what I mean.)

>83 lesmel: I know the quilt is for someone else but those colors look fab in the room you photographed them in. They compliment the dark cabinetry and vice versa.

I made a little progress on the niece's quilt. All the strips are cut for the top!



And, ta da....I have about 8 inches of spare grey fabric.



I was sweating pretty hard while I was cutting the strips this morning. If I can be diligent and sew every evening and/or morning, I can probably get the top done in three days. As soon as the top is done, I have to figure out the back. It's a 108" wide fabric and I'm sort of dreading having to piece the thing. I think I've said it before, this will be the largest project I've sewn to date.

I'll send this quilt and my bestie's quilt to this quilter in MO. It'll cost a pretty penny to get the quilting done on both; but I'm never going to quilt them myself.

After getting niece's project off my table, I plan to make a denim tote from old jeans. My step-sister has a hand made tote and I loved it.

I love that tote! And it has so many interior pockets -- those are so handy.

love that tote! Looks very useful.

I have most of the strips pieced for niece's quilt. I could finish the rest of the initial piecing; but I'm tired and it's the print strips. I don't want to confuse myself and have to rip out stitches. I've already had to do some seam ripping when I realized the grey, though a solid, has a definite front and back.

>92 lesmel: - I hate when that happens.

That is a very nice tote bag - I have some (that I use for grocery shopping) that are made of old curtains.

Ugh. I knew I shouldn't have trusted my 1/8 yard overage. I also knew I should have done my own paper calculations and cutting layout. Now I have to hope the 3 yards of grey I just ordered match closely enough. I have to wait for the fabric to show up before I continue.

I guess I will put the quilt to the side and work on the tote project. UGH UGH UGH.

Well that's a pain!

I've spent endless hours watching YouTube videos on blue jean totes. Mostly because I love seeing the variety. I found one that I really love and wrote up the cutting instructions. I've cut paper patterns for the pieces mostly because I don't trust myself to get the cutting right when it comes to working with blue jeans.

I thought I was being brilliant when I cut one of the pattern pieces to double the size so I could skip a seam. Turns out with the blue jeans I have, the pockets are set just a little too wide for a single panel with two pockets. Looks like I will be trimming my pattern back to the original size and sewing that extra seam.

Also, the tote I'm basing my tote on doesn't have three pockets and a laptop pocket; but I can work that in. I'm also considering some appliqué sunflowers on the tote.

Behold, THE TOTE!

Side 1


Side 2


Inside -- there are jean front pockets in the opposite inside corners


Laptop pocket -- I probably should have used batting on the laptop pocket; but I didn't think about that until the whole thing was together.


It's far bigger than I'd planned. It's like a carry-all and not a shoulder tote; but that's ok. I'm already working on a smaller tote.

Things I would do differently:

• All pieces (inside and out) would be interfaced separately prior to sewing.
  
• Add stiff stabilizer for the outside panels to keep the shape OR a second layer of interfacing added to the outside panels.
  
• Batting and/or stabilizer for the laptop pocket.
  
• Shorter key fob strap -- I was guessing at how long that thing needed to be...and guessed wrong.
  
• Place the inside pockets higher on the inside panels.

Here's a shot of the panels before sewing and before I frogged the laptop pocket and trimmed it down to make the inside pockets more accesible.


Notice there is nary a sunflower? LOL I was kinda fed up with the tote by the time I was done.

>98 lesmel: - I've been following a blog called "agilejack" and she does a lot of quilted bags if you wanted to look at her technique for interfacing, etc. She's also done a couple of tutorials on how she makes her bags. Very similar yours but not denim.

>98 lesmel: Amazing! I really like how it turned out and am impressed you created it yourself, not using someone's pattern.

>98 lesmel: Oh, nice! Very clever of you to use the front pockets as inside pockets.

I'm impressed. I wish I had the sewing skills to create some project bags for my cross stitch. The good bags all have zippers, and my sewing skills don't extend to zippers.

>99 dudes22: I just sped scanned a lot of her posts. I looooooove the feed bag tote bag she made! https://agilejack1.com/2021/11/03/a-bit-of-a-feedbag-tote-bag-tutorial/

>100 lauralkeet: I was sort of using someone's pattern. Not a published pattern; but from YouTube. The smaller tote I'm sort of freestyling and it's going badly. LOL

>101 PawsforThought: Thanks!

>102 thornton37814: Oh, I hate sewing zippers. They always confuse me. I'm learning a lot from YouTube and feel the urge to practice. Have you seen the Japanese Knot bags? Those don't need zippers.

Agreeing with zippers being a right pain.

I can attest to Japanese knot bags being great - I made a couple not long ago and I love them!

>98 lesmel: Love this bag and all the work you've put into it. I have a good friend who made bags for several years. She became very proficient. At the time she was living across country from me and shared her photos of each step. This brought back those memories!

The trick with zipper inserts (other than in clothing) is getting the order of the insertion correct. No short cuts--LOL As long as you can keep everything flat for as long as possible, the insertion is a matter of following steps. It's worth the effort to get the benefit of the zip in the finished bag.

I think agilejack also has a tutorial on how she puts zippers into her bags - both on pockets and on top.

ETA: Obviously, I've been thinking of making a bag, but not yet.

It's funny. I was in a bag making phase for a very long time. It's an easy way to make small quilted projects. I think I gave almost all the women in my family bags over a 2-3 year period. I could whip out multiple simple, lined totes in a couple hours if I used webbing handles. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped and never went back to bag making.

>103 lesmel: I really prefer the flat bags like the $39 ones here: https://www.sewmuch2luv.com/ (The bags measure approximate 13 x 10.5 inches.

I love the bag! I especially like how you've positioned the front jeans pockets so that they're little inside pockets in the bag!

*sighs* Dye lot disaster for niece's quilt.


The strip is the fabric my niece bought. The large piece is what I bought most recently (which happens to match the fat quarter I purchased over a year ago).

I'm now waiting for a full bolt of fabric from a local shop. It will be probably two months before I can get back to her quilt.

WOW! That's quite a difference.

>111 dudes22: I keep wondering if I really got Jane Sassaman Charcoal. How do I even ask the seller that without insulting them?

>112 lesmel: - Maybe send them that pick and ask why the color is so far off from what you have? Then say, "Could it be that it's the ....".

Second denim tote done. Still not thrilled with my tote making skills. They are very rusty.





I may try a totally different style tote tomorrow...wait today since it's now after midnight here.

I love the polka dot along the top edge. (And the light)

>115 dudes22: I lurv my Ott light! It used to have a tablet thingie; but I broke the clamp and Ott said they don't just replace the clamp. I could only buy the whole tablet unit. I need to ask my stepdad if we can fix the clamp or replace it. https://products.ottlite.com/p-463-dual-shade-led-floor-lamp-with-usb-charging-s... I did not buy it for $240. Also, the light has a 40K +/- hour life. Hope it's really longer than that. 40K hours is about 4.5 years. June will be 4 years since I've owned the lamp!

>108 thornton37814: I found a video tutorial for making a WIP bag with a clear vinyl front. I've also found a few WIP bag tutorials where the bags are similar to the ones you like. Lori Holt in particular has zippers and fabric panels for creating WIP bags.

Started a new tote. It's significantly different in style than anything I have ever made. I am already considering the handles. I could go with the sewn in option or I can free-style & try something with grommets. I'll know better when I get started on the sewing rather than the cutting.

Tulip bag is nearly done. I just have to decide on handles.





Opinions about the handles?

2 handles at the peaks




1 handle at the valleys




It could be two handles in the valleys if I attach them differently. So, funny story. My bestie and I jokingly say we share a brain. Here's just more proof: I posted to Instagram asking how to attach the handles and she replies "In the valleys, then you can fold the peaks down as cover." WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING. I did not even mention it to her. She didn't even know what the bag looked like until I posted.

I love the fabrics you used. Very nice!

I don't have a strong opinion on handle placement. Both look nice. Does the bag "carry" differently depending on where the handles are?

Your bag adventures have me thinking that I should make some shopping bags. Mine are starting to look bad. And I'm looking for projects to use up my stash. I need to get some interfacing though before I can do that though.

>120 lauralkeet: Handle placement definitely has distinct carry in this bag. I've decided on valleys with two handles. I hate turning fabric tubes, so I'm ignoring them at the moment. 😂

Anyone used a hot hemmer? I keep thinking about buying one so I can make very clean 1/4" folds in my projects.

Very nice bag!

The tulip bag is done! I even used it yesterday.



The straps are long but that's because I want to be able to wear this on my shoulder or hang it off my arm. I'm contemplating a Japanese knot bag next; but I need to get back to quilt work.

Yesterday, I went to the quilt shop (Threaded Lines) where I ordered the full bolt of Jane Sassaman charcoal. I am now convinced that whatever the Etsy shop sent me is NOT Jane Sassaman. This is the third round of buying this fabric where the color, while a little different, is not wildly different like >110 lesmel:. First round was the left overs from my double star quilt, second round was the 3 yards from >110 lesmel:. The shop owner and another lady that makes quilt coats (she was dropping off a batch to sell) both agree that the fabric I received from Etsy cannot possibly be Jane Sassaman Handcrafted Cotton.

While at the shop, I picked up some Tula Pink and Alli K fabrics.



Bottom to top:
Jane Sassaman - Handcrafted Cotton - Charcoal
Tula Pink - Dragon's Breath - Stargazer
Alli K - Hey Ya'll - Forever Texas, Cacti, Wildflowers - Graphite

Jennifer was super sweet. I'd go back to her shop in a heartbeat and/or order from her online without hesitation. She also let me know there was another quilt shop less than a mile away in the main part of Montgomery. Y'all. Montgomery is a TINY town. A little more than 2000 people. It's (with only the tiniest bit of evidence) "The Birthplace of the Texas Flag."

I toodled on over to the other quilt shop -- Montgomery Quilt Company. Kimberly was also super sweet. She has a shop cat named Sock Monkey! The cat was going crazy over the love bugs outside the window. Lots of chittering and trying to smack the bags.

I picked up more fabric...as if that was even in doubt. lol



Bottom to top:
Marcus Fabrics - Rethink Pinks - Lattice Navy
Riley Blake Designs - I'd Rather Be Glamping - Plaid Navy
Marcus Fabrics - Rethink Pinks - Flowers
Riley Blake Designs - I'd Rather Be Glamping - Plaid Hot Pink



Fat quarter collection of Mellow Yellow.

I thought about stopping for lunch; but I knew my cousin was also possibly going to meet me for lunch. It's probably really good I didn't stop in Montgomery because my car overheated 10 miles from home, on the tollway, in this stupid heat. The toll authority people towed me off the toll road to a gas station. My cousins came to get me. It took 3+ hrs for the tow truck to come get my car. My car shop thinks it's the alternator. I already need the rack and pinion replaced. This may be the last big repair I make on the car before I sell it. I'm not ready for a new car; but when has that ever stopped The Universe from making decisions for me?

Some nice choices of fabric. I'm always wondering when I order fabric from Etsy if I'll get something that isn't what I thought I was ordering. I'm surprised there wasn't info on the selvage to tell you what it was. (or did you only order a little? - I can't remember what you said at the time) I know I have some pieces of fabric that don't tell what they are, but they're not from a major manufacturer.

>127 dudes22: Jane Sassaman solids don't have a printed selvedge. Neither do Tula Pink solids. I can only speak for those two since that's what I've most recently seen. Tula Pink is from Riley Blake. Jane Sassaman is from Free Spirit. Jennifer at Threaded Lines said it wouldn't be that difficult to have a fabric mix-up if the person labeling or cutting the bolts didn't really know the collections well.

>126 lesmel: Both fabric collections are beautifully coordinated, but that Mellow Yellow fat quarter really speaks to me!

Re the different colours on the "same" fabrics: A quilt store owner of a lovely quilt store once told me when the sample bolts are made up, they are often a different quality and/or shading from the bolts that will become the retail bolts that will later be produced by the manufacturer. The sample bolts often wind up at discount or online sellers, so that may explain part of the difference, and part of the difficulty in matching.

>128 lesmel: - I don't usually work with solids, although I did buy some half yards recently to use for borders around novelty prints. I'll have to go look at what I bought.

>130 SassyLassy: - Well, that's interesting.

That Mellow Yellow collection is especially lovely.

>129 rosalita:, >132 thornton37814: That Mellow Yellow pack was an impulse purchase. I was walking to the register and spotted it on a shelf. Like y'all, I was really drawn to the colors.

I finished the quilt top for my niece! It measures 95" x 104" approximately.



It took four tries in ridiculous midday heat/humidity for me to get the photo before measuring and folding.

Personally, I would have stopped at the double border. I like the look of a quilt that just lies on the top of a bed.



I need to talk to her about quilting now. Roughly, the batting and quilting will cost just a bit more than the fabric. The really GREAT news is that the backing fabric doesn't need piecing. I can trim the selvedge and some of the extra yardage and I'm done! Now to find a section of floor in my house that measures 112" uninterrupted. Maybe my front hallway. I have to see if it's wide enough.

Wow! That is stunning. Beautiful work!

>89 lesmel: I love that denim bag!!

>125 lesmel: I like those fabrics. Not sure I would ever use them in something but I like the prints.

>126 lesmel: Those yellows with the black are, of course, eye-catching. The last time I was in a proper quilt shop I may have seen some of those. You are making me want to go to a fabric shop .... even though I'm not planning on any quilting until the garden can be left on it's own :-)

>134 lesmel: Lovely! Hope your niece appreciates your hard work! (the "toes on the ladder" gives the photo an artistic touch :-)

>134 lesmel: - I like that this is simple but yet striking. I need to find a space today to take pictures of a couple of quilts I just finished so I can post.

>134 lesmel: Nice quilt!

Oh, wow, I love the quilt! It's gorgeous!

Adding my admiration for the quilt!

The quilt is one step closer to done! I sent it off to the long-arm quilter. It came back REALLY fast and looks great.

>141 lesmel: One of the floss tube cross stitchers uses the long-arm quilting machine at her quilting shop for her quilts. One of her videos shows the process. It was interesting.

>142 thornton37814: I could watch long arm quilting videos all day long. They are weirdly soothing. The person that quilted the project in >141 lesmel: has reels on Instagram showing some of the work he does. Some of the behind the scenes things, too.

>141 lesmel: - That's such a happy quilt.

I just love that quilt.

>141 lesmel: Wow, that's a visual kicker! Goes great with the bedroom set, too!

Oh, wow! The colors are so striking.

*sighs* I have put off commenting about this; but since I picked up her ashes today...

I had to euthanize my cat on the 12th of July. I was on vacation and sick with a cold. 2022 can just go jump in a volcano at this point. I was able to be with her when the vet injected her and the only thing I regret is that she had to be at the vet to die. She hated the vet clinic; but they were the only ones that could handle her medication and medical needs. As it is, her blood sugar crashed and had rapid cycling focal seizures prior to having to euthanize her. The vet thinks an insulinoma -- which are almost always fatal in cats and rare.

I haven't done much of anything sewing-wise in weeks because I have a stack of finished tops that I need to have quilted. My goal for the rest of this year is to send in the tops (winning the mega millions would help greatly) and get it done. I do need to bind the quilt in >141 lesmel: so my niece can use her quilt!

Now with my cat's death I'm even less inclined to do anything. Also, I have my mother's cat and dog (long story there) which leads to even less interest in doing anything.

I may be at the end of my sewing for the year. It feels like I am. Blergh.

Awww, I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. That's so difficult, and so sad. I completely understand not feeling like sewing right now. Give yourself the space and time to grieve, and your sewing mojo will return when you're ready. Sending a virtual hug ...

I'm so sorry for the loss of your cat. Take care of yourself. *hugs*

It's so hard to lose a pet. You should take the time you need and we'll be here when you're ready to come back.

Aww, I'm sorry to hear you have lost your cat....

Thanks to everyone for the sentiments. I don't know what I'm going to do about indoor gales now that she isn't around to protect my projects. Or who will stare me down when they want lap perching.



I'm going to continue in a new topic. Not that I have done much with sewing.

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your kitty. It’s so hard when we have to make that decision.