Another one bites the dust...

Yes this month is all but over,what the title really refers to though is goal finishes.

Appliquéing the birds on to this quilt top and then sewing the two pieces together was my goal for ALYOF this month.

This goal has been successfully completed.

I am thinking of doing some big stitch around the birds in the same colors used for the applique,for now I just sewed around each bird with the machine.

The best part is that not only did I meet my goal,I also exceeded it!  The quilting is also done (minus the big stitch I am thinking of adding).  The backing fabric is a aqua print with tiny little birds all over it,picked up at Joann's last year.

Next up is my Big City Bag for this month,the Go Go Bag. Also a successful finish!

The inside is the same fabric used for the flap.  This is a hand dyed fabric that my mom gave me several years ago.  So I do not know the designer or any info about it,other than she purchased it sometime in the 80's or 90's.

The back side has a zipper pocket,as well as one on the inside of the bag.  I just happened to have two zippers in the perfect colors to go with the bag!

One more photo just because I am loving how nicely this purse turned out.  There were a few spots that were troublesome but only because my machine does not like to sew through any bulk at all.  Other than that,this bag went together smoothly.

My third finish for the month,the four barn bags that I wanted to get done.

The bag of the Month Club,the Butterfly Sling Bag.  Still looks like this for two reasons one,my printer is on the fritz,only printing parts of the page.  The front page you can see in the photo is the only page that printed in its entirely.  The rest of the pages have a lot of partial photos and words.  Secondly,there is a lot of bulk to this purse,and as stated above my machine does not play nice whenever that situation arrises.  So for now it has been put on the back burner...

All in all,this has been a very productive month especially considering is was a short one and a week of it was spent on vacation.

Linking up with these parties:

ALYOF February finishes party

Big-City Bag Link Up

Let's Bee Social #9

Linky Tuesday

History

As a teen in HS history was one of my favorite classes.  Since this past week was spent away from home on vacation,I decided to share some photos of...

The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe New Mexico,built between 1873-1878 and houses the famous Spiral Stairway.

At the base of the Altar is a Bas-Relif of Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper.

The rose window in the choir loft. (made in France)

The Sacred Heart statue.

Stained glass panes in the front entrance/door.

The Confessional,surrounded by Stations of the Cross.

The Spiral Stairway,was built by an unknown carpenter in answer to prayers to St. Joseph by the sisters of Loretto.

View of the chapel interior from the front entrance.  (hope you enjoyed the virtual tour)

Love,or water Mellon Twister bag

This week has not been very productive in the sewing room,but I did finish a new bag for myself.

Last year my friend Jamie,over at busy bee quilts sent me a sweet little package of pink and green fabric!  It sat on my shelf all this time just waiting for me to decide what to make with it.  A couple days ago while hanging out in my sewing room,these fabrics were whispering to me...

Sometime last summer I had purchased a Mini Twister template and pattern,this was the perfect project to try it out on.  The center/mini twister section of the bag has every fabric Jamie sent me and also some Kona bright pink from my stash.

The back side of the bag is a pink mini gingham print from my scraps,the polka dot fabric also came from the scrap bin :)  For the prairie points,I used the parts cut off of the corners to give the bag its boxy shape.

For the straps,I used more scraps from making the rest of the bag.  I also used a zig zag stitch on the edges of the straps/handles.

The inside,is a allover tie dye heart print,picked up at Joann's a couple years ago.  On the back side there are four pockets made from another scrap of green fabric.  I am sooo tired of winter weather,and this bright bag is just what I needed!  I will be packing all my sewing projects for vacation next week in it!  Thank You Jamie :0)))

I have another bag in progress,but am not sure if there will be time to finish this one up before we leave.  The center piece for this bag was a gift from Daphne over at Ivy, Phillis and me!  If you have not been over for a visit you should,she posts great recipes.  Thank You Daphne :0))

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social #7
                          Fort Worth Fabric Studio Fabric Frenzy Friday#3

Third time charm

One of my goals for this month was to sew at least four of my barn blocks into bags.

Finished the forth one this afternoon!  The first one was not the shape I was looking for,it was a lot taller than wide.

The second one was not quite as tall,but still not the width I was looking for .

Third time was the charm!  These are bags three and four.  This is exactly the size and shape I was wanting to make these bags.  Even though the first two are not the size/shape I wanted,I still like them and am happy with how they all turned out.  Six more barn blocks to make up into bags.

Although I did not jump on the no fabric buying for the first six months of the year bandwagon,I have been trying to only sew from my stash.  So far so good :)  It will become more of a challenge as the time goes on,so we shall see how long it lasts.  I have given myself permission to purchase solids,since they are pretty lacking in my stash.  Which will help when I get to that point.

Winners & one Barn bag finished!

First the winners: commenter # 3 Terry ~ #4 Sally & # 9 Wendy ~ Congratulations ladies I have emailed each of you for your snail mail address!

The first barn tote/market bag finished.  Although it is a bit on the tall and narrow side I still like it!  This evening I will be working on the second one,and hopefully have figured out the correct dimensions for a more square tote.

A little closer look,for some reason I could not get a good photo of the inside.  The backside is the same solid red as the solid framing the barn.  The inside is pieced with a black print the red,black,and white, polka dots you can just see at the top of the bag.  I also added two pockets on the inside back made with the same fabric as the handles.

February Sewing Goals

I know,I know,that time already!  So here we go...
First up,my ALYOF Goal

This month I want to get the birds appliqued to the top and then get the two sections sewn together to complete the top.  The plan is to do this while on vacation,since this is a hand project and can be packed in my bag :)  Any suggestions from you on where to find a good selection of pearl cotton to do the applique?  My LQS only has a very limited selection,and the colors do not work for this quilt.

Other Goals this month:

Bag of the Month Club bag for February,the Butterfly Sling Bag.  This bag is actually supposed to be a upscale bag,since I am shopping my stash mine will be more fun than upscale.  I am going to call it the Puppy Love Sling bag!

Big City Bags SAL February,Go Go Bag.  The plan for this bag is to change the placement of the print and solid fabrics.  Since I only have half yard cuts of the prints,hopefully I will be able to figure out how to make it work.  The inside will probably need to be pieced...

The last major goal for this month is to start and finish making at least (4) of these barn blocks into market totes.   Already in progress,as I started on the first one last night.

Scrappy sewing week

Good morning,and happy first day of February!  This past week I have been working out of my scraps,yea!  Before getting to that though,recently we have had some new readers/followers around here which has put the total over the 200 mark.  Pretty excited about that :)))  so...

How about we Celebrate with an Appreciation giveaway?!  Three patterns,so three Winners!!!!  Of course my international peeps are included,wouldn't leave you gals out ;)  If you are not a regular commenter,make sure that you leave me an email address (if it is not linked to your blog)so you can be contacted.
            *Unlike my usual giveaways,this one Requires that you be a follower to Win *  Giveaway open until Tuesday the 4th,winner announced on Wednesday the 5th.

           ~ GiveAway Closed ~

Since it is a new month,I wanted to start off by showing my scrap cutting progress.  This bin was on the verge of overflowing at the beginning of last month!

This pouch is actually made with some of the same fabrics (on the outside)as my Swoon block.  The colors are not showing up correctly though.  I was thinking of sending this along with the larger pouch,but unless I can fix the zipper tabs that will not happen :(

After the zipper tabs fail on the above pouch,I decided more practice was in order.  (also,I plan on selling these at fairs later this year)  So,here are the ten sewn up this week,practice definitely makes better.

Thought you might like to see the main fabrics used for them too.  Yes Hot Wheels,as well as a camping themed one too!  This last summer several guys stopped by my booth to shop,and I decided that there should be some "guy"fabrics included in my products.  Besides,some girls like those things too ;)

All of the above pouches,were made from my smaller than a FQ bin,since I was on a roll...here are another 30 kits all cut and ready to be sewn up!  This idea came to me while making the first ten pouches.  I like it,and plan on doing this with a lot of my staple items.  Although it takes quite a while to do all the cutting,it will be nice to just grab a kit and sew it up.

Hope you have a great weekend,without too much snow or bad weather :)  See you tomorrow with my February goals.