Free Form Rail Fence Quilt

Has it really been a year and a half,or more since I posted?!!  Sorry to all you sweet followers!  Life has a way of happening and Bam,its a year or more later.

Lots of things have happened since the last post obviously,but what this post is about is...

                                                                         

The Freeform Rail fence quilt from the book Cultural Fusion.  Here it is ready for the binding to be added.  Just need to wind a couple bobbins first.

Binding attached to the backside of the quilt and pressing said binding in progress.  This quilt has been a journey.  It all started from a conversation with one of my best friends!  Jamie,over at busy bee quilts we were talking about quilts/projects we were currently working on.  She mentioned the book Cultural Fusion by Sujata Shah,so I of course checked it out online and ended up purchasing it.

Cotton and Steel fabrics are some of my favorites and were the obvious choice for this personal quilt.  Being the Sweet friend she is Jamie sent me some coordinating prints she found at her local Joann's!

My blocks are actually smaller than the pattern called for since a lot of my fabric cuts were fat eights not fat quarters.  The quilt blocks were made here and there in between other projects...

This past fall I joined a swap over on instagram and by chance was paired up with Jenn of JT Quilting .  What a fortunate chance it was as we have become good friends :)

When she learned I Love sunflowers she made me an Amazing mini sunflower quilt! (but that is another story for another post)  Of course this is my personal favorite block from the quilt!  It also shows off some of Jenn's beautiful quilting!  If you are looking for a Long Arm Quilter go check out her blog at the link above.  I Highly Recommend her,and will be a returning customer for all future quilts!

Another close up/block with gorgeous quilted swirls and a flower quilted in here and there as well!  This was such a fun quilt to sew up an,if I didn't have a million and one other projects waiting to be sewn up,I would make another one.

A better shot of the quilting perfection from a true free motion quilt artist.

A peek at the backside of the quilt,this backing/wide back fabric was purchased at my local Joann's fabrics.

The layout for the blocks normally has all the rails going in the same direction but I prefer to not have the same "cookie cutter" anything that everyone else has,so turned my blocks every which way :)!
After making all the blocks I got to thinking about the usual tug of war/blanket wars during the colder months...so decided to make the quilt top larger by adding a narrow border and then another scrappy border.  Now the quilt is large enough that both the hubby and I will stay warm and cozy all fall/winter long!
This quilt is now on our bed and we will be sleeping under it tonight for the first of Many many nights to come.  Thank you Jamie and Jenn for helping me create this beautiful quilt!

Bags,bags,bags & a tuffet too!

As the title of this post suggests bags have been on my sewing agenda lately!

The Airport Sling bag bag by emmaline bags from the book On The Go Bags.  This is a great bag,I loved the pattern,but let me just say…trying to ease leather is not going on my list of "fun"things to do!

The sun decided to come out from behind the clouds just as I snapped off this photo!  So sorry for the glare on the inside flap of the outer pocket.  You can see the results of my easing of the leather in this photo.  The zipper is pretty bumpy/un-even looking. Just part of the learning to sew with leather curve.

A peek inside of the bag,and here you can see the lining fabric much better!

A close up of my bag bling!  The metal label if from emmaline bags and the little glass person,I made in my sister's glass studio.

This  is the April Bag for The bag of the Month club,(you can find it over on Facebook) a bag pattern club where you receive a new pattern for the first six months of the year.  Each pattern is by a different designer.

The Gabby bag is an emmaline pattern,and while only available to club members through June 2016,will be released to the public sometime in July.  I have belonged to this group from the start,it is exciting to receive a new bag pattern each month for the first half of the year,every year!  It is also kind of like getting an exclusive pattern if only for a few months before the general public.

Inside a divided slip pocket as well as a zippered pocket to keep things secure.  With the exception of the quilting on the exterior main bag piece this was a quick sew.

The Stand up and Tote Notice tote bag,is the first pattern I have sewn from Lisa over at two pretty poppets it will not be the last for sure!  This was such a fun pattern to sew and it is a great one for mixing things up!

This is the back side of the tote but,could just as easily be the front,or if turned right side in,it could be the inside also.  Such a versatile bag pattern!

Last month my sis and I took a Turban Footstool class in Lake Oswego OR. at the Pine Needle Quilt shop.  The class was actually two Friday mornings,with a little homework in-between.

My finished Footstool in the foreground and my sister's in the background.  We had so much fun!

I will leave you with a spiraling look at the tufted button in the center of the footstool!  Until next time…

Sew Worth It

Much too Busy

Life these days just seems much too busy for keeping up with my blog!  My goal is to post once a week,so far that has not happened this year.  Hopefully that will change soon…

This sweet Sewtogether bag arrived recently!  It is from a swap I had joined over on IG last year.  My package from the mini quilt swap has gone MIA and sadly it is lost in the USPS mail system somewhere.

My first ever experience with an oval handle,took me one hour to instal the first handle.  The second one took a mere twenty minutes!  Of course,that was due to the fact that I found a tutorial online with a great tip!

Both handles on the second one took twenty minutes total.  Yes!  This tiny houndstooth print and the solid colored bag above are both leather from my trip to Oregon Leather.  The scrap bins have some really nice treasures hidden in them.

My bloom blocks 10,11,and 12 are now all completed,just need to sew up number 13 sometime this week to stay caught up.

Added six more freeform rail fence blocks to my growing stack for a new quilt for my own bed.

Made my first two blocks from the Sister Sampler Quilts book,Bonfire BOM.  One for me and one for a "sister".

A glass adventure with my sister!  We made up these paisleys,

Some butterflies

and finally some starfish!  This was so much fun playing with glass in my sisters studio!

Thanks for reading!  What have you been up to lately?

Sew Worth It

Another sew together bag with leather

I have been playing around with some more of the leather purchased from the scrap bins at Oregon Leather!

The inside of this one is a mix of some Tula Pink fabrics.  The leather this time is a shimmery grey!

I had a small amount of Tula Pink ribbon left over from embellishing a pair of capris last summer.  It worked perfectly for the front of the bag.  The handcrafted in the USA tag is from Emmaline bags shop,she has the best bag bling!

Here is a view of the side of the bag.  Let me just say that I Love how my Juki sewing machine sews through the leather without any problems!!!

A peek inside the finished bag,these are really great organizer bags,for anything from sewing projects to cosmetics.

Me and the bag I won at the sew expo,from the Riley Blake booth.

Sorry I forgot to upload my Bloom blocks!  Instead here is a photo of my spring window decoration.

Sew Worth It

The PinkLady Sewtogether bag & an unexpected visitor

This past week just flew by,but then that is always the way when one is on vacation.

Recently my sister and I both had the same days off!  We planned a girls day out in the city,first stop,the leather store!  This is a bit of one piece I purchased.  It laid rolled up on my sewing room floor for a few weeks until…

the plan formed.  Pressing leather is not a good idea,a boning tool comes in very handy,as do lots of Wonder Clips!

Since this was my first time sewing with leather,I used cotton for the inside of the bag,and will probably continue to do so in future bags as well.  Mostly because the prints add a lot of interest/color to the bag. It also helps to cut down on the thickness when sewing it together.

A big plus,which you can see from this side shot!

The finished bag,Love how this turned out!  A complete success!  and my unexpected visitor…

Little Miss Audrey Lynn!  My granddaughter came for four days!!!

Sew Worth It