The Social Tote Finish

One of the items on my hopeful list for 3rd Qtr. Finish Along was the Social Tote by Carolyn Friedlander.

This was not an easy project, mostly because I have a bad habit of not reading all the directions before starting a project.  I made a lot of mistakes on the inside and ripped it out more than once because I thought it looked wrong, but it was actually correct.  She recommends labeling each piece as you cut them.  I didn't, that was my first mistake.

The divided sections were the hardest. She has extra instructions and assembly photos on her website.  I found those really helpful.  It's a bit saggy (I can relate) inside, but once I started putting things in, it became less noticeable.

I liked the assembly of the outside of the tote.  It was quite easy.  I'd never used Soft and Stable before this project.  It was great to work with.  The fabric is In my Room by Jenean Morrison.

I had hoped to make a few of these for Christmas gifts, but at this point, unless some elves are available, it doesn't look good.  I'm glad I made it and have been using it for some of my EPPs.

I'm linking up with

Joyful stitching,
jane

Friday Fassett Finish

Well, it's Friday and have my Kaffe Fassett Stripes quilt finished.

Last summer (2013) I purchased fat-eighth bundle of Kaffe Fassett stripes specifically to make this type of quilt.  I started this in March and finished it mid August and finally had the time to write about it.
The stripes were cut into 4.5" squares, arranged in a 4-patch and sashed with a beautiful teal blue shot cotton.  The sashing finished at 1".   The quilt measures approx. 54"  x 73".

A few things about shot cottons for those unfamiliar...
Good - the colors are gorgeous and woven right into the fabric.  (My camera kept overexposing the colors. They are actually a bit deeper than shown.)
Bad - the edges shred like crazy and because they're a lighter weight than regular quilting cottons, they tend to stretch if you're not careful.

Despite the shredding and risk of stretching, I think it turned out beautiful. I quilted using a swirly stipple stitch (say that 3 times fast).

I was a little nervous putting it in the washer and dryer not being sure how much it would shrink or distort.  I'm happy to say that it turned out nice and soft with just the right amount of crinkle.  I also found that since the shot cottons are thinner, this quilt is a little more lightweight than others made with standard cotton.

I had a lot of trouble finding a backing for this and ultimately settled with this fabric that has little kimono clad figures and trees on it.  The selvage doesn't list the maker.  Maybe Alexander Henry?
I used the blue sashing fabric for the binding as well.

This quilt counts as one of my finishes for the 3rd Qtr FAL hosted by The Littlest Thistle.

Today I'm linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.


Joyful stitching,
jane

A Rootn'-Tootn' Finish

I thought it was about time to get busy on my hopeful finishes for the 3rd Qtr. FAL hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle.  My list can be found here.
I finished this cute little cowboy inspired quilt.  This is one of my easier hopefuls on the list.

The fabric is Sasparilla by Riley Blake.    I bought this fabric last summer when we learned that our first grandchild in the making was a boy.  I ended up making him three other quilts and this fabric just sat in my cabinet. 

The pattern is a simple tumbler block.  I have a template that is made to fit a charm square, so it couldn't be any easier.  I used 2 charm packs and added a strip of yardage to the top and bottom to make it a little bigger.  It measures 34"x43".   I topstitched a little more than a 1/4" along either side of each seam.

I used a couple of pieces of coordinating yardage on the back.

I love this print. 

I wanted the binding to stand out so I used a coordinating red star print.  The little cutie is all washed and dried and crinkled just the way I like it.

Joyful stitching,
jane

Linking up with Lily's Small Blog Meet.

FAL Qtr. 3 Hopefuls

Time to make my intended Qtr. 3 finishes public.  I'll be linking up with Katy at The Littlest Thistle.

#1 Making a reappearance is the Kaffe Fasset stripe quilt.  It's basted and ready to quilt. 

#2 The Social Tote.  I'm hoping that this one works out.  There are some sewists on my Christmas list that I think would love this.

#3  Lucky Stars.  There should be 12 stars finished.  This was  BOM from 2013.  I may or may not make something with all 12 blocks.

#4  HST baby quilt.  These are the leftover scraps and yardage from a quilt that I made my grandson.

#5 Tumbler baby quilt.  These 2 charm packs have been sitting around since last summer.  I finally cut them into tumblers.

#6 Disappearing 9-patch.  The 9-patches are all sewn. This should be an easy one. (famous last words)

#7  The Local quilt.  I really, really, really want to finish this.  Unfortunately, this is the only block that is done.

I may be a bit delusional, but I think I can get most of these done.

Joyful stitching
jane

Finish Along Qtr 2

My 2nd quarter finish (yes, singular finish) was a bit lacking.   Just one completed project from the list.  My list of hopefuls is found here. 

I participated in the Layer Cake Sample Quilt Along hosted by Amanda at Material Girl.   Each block consists only of HSTs.   I used a Ruby layer cake along with Kona Snow.
It measures approx. 72" x 94", which is a bit larger than my normal finishes.

The rain finally stopped and I was able to take a few photos today.  The sun was a bit bright and washed out a bit of the photo, but I'm not complaining.

I had a difficult time finding something for the back.  This fabric collections contained multiple shades of red, blue, green, pink and gray.  Nothing seemed to match.   Initially, I figured I'd find some kind of floral  that would pull in some of the colors, but no luck.
Finally, after visiting 5 shops, I ended up with this stripe.

It was not at all what I was looking for, but in the end, I think it worked out really well. 

I did straight-line quilting in each block.  For the binding I used a Kona green (don't know the name of it).

As for the rest of the list, 
HST baby quilt - didn't even look at.
Summersville quilt - searched for a backing - no luck.
Economy Block quilt - cut a few more squares, but nothing more.
Kaffe Fassett stripe quilt -

It's basted and ready to quilt.  It will make a reappearance in Quarter 3.

Joyful stitching,
jane

Linking up to 

A Star is Born

Well, actually a quilt is finished.

I started this baby quilt a couple of months ago.  The individual blocks were all finished but I put it aside to work on something else.  I finally got sick of moving it around my sewing studio and decided to finish it this past weekend.

This has to be one of the easiest quilts I have ever made. I used some leftover fat quarters and yardage.  The block is based on a Moda Bake Shop recipe called Charming Stars.  I made a version of it a couple of years ago.  These blocks were cut a bit smaller to make use of my scraps. 
It took no time to sew the 12 blocks together.  Basting was a breeze (yoga classes help).   I opted for fairly minimal straight-line quilting.

The back is just pieced together from leftover fabric. 

I had a pretty purple dot that I used for the binding.  This quilt measures approx. 35"x46".  I always pre-wash  my quilts before gifting or selling. This one is nice and crinkled.  Yummy.

I'll definitely be making another one of these.  I made 5 extra blocks when making this one because initially I hadn't decided what colors to use, so I have it already started (yay, another WIP!).  I also have a bunch of 1930's repro baby prints that I think will work well with this design.

Joyful stitching,
jane

Linking up with Show and Tell Tuesday.

WIP and a Finish

I haven't managed to finish much but I sure have been able to start a lot of new projects.
First, my finish...

I made this quilt for a friend of my son (a groomsman at my son's wedding on Saturday) who just had his first baby, a beautiful little girl named Isabella Maria.  I wish I could have taken better pictures, but the quilt came out of the dryer about 15 minutes before we were leaving the house for the rehearsal dinner and it was raining.

 

The pattern is from the Moda Bakeshop and is called Baby Lattice.

I used a solid light blue for the binding and just finished it off with some straight line quilting.

The back is just some leftover squares and stash fabrics.  I did put a label on it (lower right).

I had actually started two baby quilts because I wasn't sure which design I wanted to make for Isabella.  This star quilt ended up being my second choice.

This is still a WIP.  I just need to sew the blocks together and figure out what's going on the back.  I've decided not to use sashing or borders.

It's an easy quilt.  I made a scrappy version of this a couple of years ago.

Another WIP is my Kaffe Fasset stripe quilt. I started this at retreat in March. 

I've sewn the individual blocks.

Working with this fabric is a bit of a challenge. It's thinner than regular quilting cotton so it tends to distort a bit.  However, the beautiful colors are worth it.  I have some dark turquoise blue shot cotton that will be used for the 1" sashing and the binding.   Not yet sure what's going on the back.

My last WIP for today is the Layer Cake Sampler hosted by Material Girl Quilts.

All the blocks are finished and I've put together the top row.  There will be 4 blocks across and 5 down. This will be a pretty big quilt since the blocks finish at 16".  I used a Ruby Layer Cake and Kona Snow.  The sashing will also be Snow.

Enough for today.
Joyful stitching,
jane

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