Sewing Circle Tote Sew-a-Long update

Well, I have jumped the gun on the Sewing Circle Tote project as I want to get a head start on this before heading off on holidays.  As Cath says, there is a big investment in time in the cutting stage, but then there are some really quick bits, like the straps.  I have never used interfacing before but have found this to be pretty easy.   A number of the participants in the sew-a-long are experienced sewers, but I am not, so I thought I would jot down my thoughts on the process so far for those who might be in the same category as me and are a bit daunted at the idea of using elastic and zips:

- When you do a read through of the pattern, do not freak out if you don't understand some of the instructions.  They make more sense when you get to the relevant step.  Someone else who I consider to be a very experienced sewer also made that comment. 
- Directional prints.  Cutting the external fabric was not an issue, with the exception of the sides of the patchwork pockets, which you should cut according to the print direction.  However the lining is another story and I would cut as you go.  I have now abandoned the idea of all chevron lining and will use a combination of a solid and the print to make up for the fact that a couple of pieces are cut the wrong way and I also won't have to try and match the chevron stripes.  Once I realised the direction of the lining was going to be a problem, I stopped cutting and have worked out that I can use what I have and repurposed some of the pre cut pieces of the print and should be right to make most of the interior pockets with what I have.
- Have plenty of thread.  The quilting of the bottom of the bag and the quilt as you go approach to the patchwork pockets uses a lot of thread.
- Before you topstitch the patchwork pockets, make sure you have the pockets the right way up.  I had the bottom at the top, so not only had to unpick the bottom piece, but because of the directional print, had to unpick the topstitching and the seams of the sides.
- When quilting the base of the bag, initially I used the guide on my machine to measure the distance between the lines.  Take my word for it, it's much easier to mark the fabric and erase the lines later..

But apart from this, the project is proving to be a lot of fun and not difficult (having said that I am not up to the zips and elastic!).  It is also very addictive; I have been sneaking in 'just one more seam' while I should have been doing other things over the last few weeks.

Here's a shot of progress to date - straps, bag base and two patchwork pockets.  The rainbow stripe is the lining of the exterior pockets.  It is all a bit of technicolour explosion but I think it will work when the time comes to put it together!

To be continued...

My Creative Space

I've finally managed to finish the Sweet Baby James quilt and pass it to James' parents, but it took a few weeks from the last photos to the hand over.  I had decided to try attaching the binding both on the front and the back by machine and let's say it wasn't the best idea I have ever had.  I started off by over filling and breaking a bobbin with the invisible thread and after sewing one side, found that the red from the needle side shows through and you could see the very uneven stitching far more than I would like.  So out came the unpicker and the long task of pulling out the nylon thread, then re-attaching by hand.  But it was all worth it in the end.

All the fabric is from Spotlight.  I was very happy to pick up the Prints Charming Rocket print off the clearance table - just the thing for a small boy!

Then came the actually gifting, which made me a bit nervous - what do I say, where do I hand it over and so on.  Finally, I just made sure that his father was free and passed it over fairly quickly as I was worried I would cry and I did note a tear in my colleague's eye.   A week later I was rewarded with a visit from little James and his mum and got a cuddle to boot.  And that's why I love making gifts for others as it is so rewarding and people really do appreciate a handmade present.

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My Creative Space

I've been a bit slack on the blogging and making front lately; currently I am hand sewing the binding on James' quilt.  I thought I would finish it off in my first attempt at machine binding at last Saturday's Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild Sit and Sew Day, but let's just say I won't be repeating that anytime soon.

What is currently front of mind is the Sewing Circle Tote, sew-a-long that the ladies of the Guild are all getting excited about.  Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson has put out a pattern for a cute and practical bag that is just the thing for all your crafty bits and pieces.  You can see this great bag over here.

Lovely Cath is hosting this project and we have a schedule starting the week of 5 May, going for 8 weeks.  This is going to be interesting as I have a few things on in this period but I love a challenge.  As with most crafty projects, a lot of the fun is in selecting the fabrics.  As this bag calls for a fairly solid fabric, I've picked an Echino cotton/linen blend.  While the pattern shows the bag in  textured solid fabric with print contrasts, I've gone for a print and will use solids for the patchwork pockets.  So here's some of my selection:

The pink train fabric is for the bag exterior, the chevrons are for the lining and the straps were going to be made from the green and white ovals, but I've been having second thoughts about this.  So I asked Stos, who thought that a green and white spot. matching the green train carriage, would look better.  Well, this was practically an order to go fabric shopping and after a visit to a reliable haunt, managed to come up with the material on the lower left.  So I am pretty well sorted for supplies and might just head off to start cutting up in readiness for kickoff.

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My Creative Space

There hasn't been a lot happening this week - it is so hot and humid here that it is a bit hard to get interested in anything much other than wondering when it will cool down.  However, I managed to get quite a bit done on James' quilt over the last week - basting completed and the first of the quilting was started at the MMQG Sit and Sew Day at GJ's last weekend and I did a bit more during the week. Per one of the suggested options in Modern Minimal, I am echoing the feature blocks in the quilting,
which looks really effective.  I'm extremely happy with the backing; this is a Prints Charming fabric that I picked up for $3 per metre(!) at Spotlight a couple of weeks ago.  But even though I really want to get it finished, manoeuvring a quilt around a sewing machine in this weather isn't a lot of fun so  I might just cut and join the binding fabric and put this on hold until the weather breaks later this week; even though I love the heat, we are overdue for some cooler conditions.

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My Creative Space

I have been thinking about a little boy who through, circumstances at birth, is probably not going to lead the life that his parents had hoped for.  Wondering what to do and say, but  in the end deciding that  a handmade gift will speak for itself as well as for me.

This work in progress is for James.  The design is Boxes from Modern Minimal by Alissa Haight-Carlton.

My Creative Space

I have a few projects on the go at the moment, but I thought that today I should catch up on my Bee blocks. I have been procrastinating about this one because it is an improvisational number and I was a bit worried about running out of fabric. However after picking up some more supplies last weekend, I poured a Margarita this afternoon and set to work. What I like about this block is the complete freedom to do whatever you like, with the only rule being to make the block a minimum size of 8.5 inches. So my contribution was to add a kennel with a Dalmatian inside and put a fanlight above the door. The end result is not particularly wonky except for me forgetting to make the 'lawn' extend between the two structures. I hope it will do!

My Creative Space

Update on the Sherbet quilt -  Mackenzie Rose has arrived and her quilt is finished.  After some umming and ahhhing, I decided to use purple to bind it and I am really happy with the result.  This quilt is well travelled - the binding was finished while we were on our jaunt to Canberra to see the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition.  I met Mackenzie yesterday; she is so cute and apparently the text book baby.  So far.  As it is so warm at the moment, I don't think the quilt will get much use for a few months but I'll be interested to know how practical the large white negative spaces are.....

My Creative Space

It's back to Bee Bold, Bee Brave, Bee Helpful this week and I have made this for Bronwyn,  a '+ and
X' block . I love the simple, yet effective style and working with aqua makes the job even more enjoyable. The only thing I was disappointed with is the points, which could have been more precisely matched, but Bron did say that the quilt police aren't on duty this month, so hopefully this will fit the bill.

Sunday Snippets

This week has been about taking advantage of a day off to cruise, cooking and catching up on some reading.  So much for all the sewing that I was going to squeeze in.

 A lovely morning view.

 Something worth investigating.

 Making pesto from homegrown basil.

 My favourite models.

 A glorious sunset from the deck.

The start of a cruisey day at my favourite watering hole (with a coffee, of course!).

I hope your week was as enjoyable as mine.

Tinnie Girl is taking a break from blogging so I'll be interested to see if anyone takes up the mantle of hosting this fun weekly theme.

My Creative Space

It's all about babies at the moment.  My good friend S has just become a great aunt to a little girl, Mackenzie Rose.   Having known that the baby was going to be a girl,  this was a great excuse for me to dig into Alissa Haight Carlton's book 'Modern Minimal' in order to make this cute quilt, which screamed baby girl to me with its pink dominated pastel palette.  I've stuck to the colour scheme in the book but as I didn't have any pale green, threw in some purple.  I'm really liking the look of this and will bind it in purple as well.  The ladybird feature print fabric tied all the colours together and for about 10 seconds, I thought about using this for binding as well but, after Stos confirmed my doubts about this, will stick with the solid.  Now for the trimming and binding.  I have two seasons of 'Boardwalk Empire' to watch while doing the hand stitching so it won't be too much of a chore.

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