Stay Tuned

Some exciting things are just around the corner. I hope you'll tune in on Friday, June 1 as the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild helps kick off a pretty fantastic challenge going on this summer! Here are a couple sneak peeks of the project I'm working on for the challenge, which I'll post about on June 8.

Full details will be announced this Friday, so stay tuned!

SLMQG Pouch Swap

The Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild (SLMQG) hosted a pouch swap between members at our May meeting. I used Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bag pattern to make a test pouch first (the Amy Butler Lotus pouch below) and the pouch I took for the swap.

I used Ty Pennington's Impressions in Chartreuse with denim from an old skirt for the interlining to give it structure.

I used a gray zipper that I ordered from zipit on Etsy.

I added a zipper pull as directed in the pattern but I think it's too much for the smaller sized pouch that I made. Maybe if I used a smaller split-ring and D-ring, it would look more balanced.

At our guild meeting, we had the chance to either pick a pouch, all of which were wrapped in brown paper bags, or we could steal a pouch that had already been opened. I had to steal this pouch Leigh made out of Melody Miller's Viewfinder fabric! Isn't it cute?!

Each pouch held a $5 gift inside. I was lucky enough to get four fat quarters and two candy bars (Snickers and Twix - two of my favorites!). I definitely scored with this one. Thanks, Leigh!

Finished Twin Quilts Round Two

Some of our good friends are expecting twin boys next month. These will be their first children and we couldn't be happier for them! I bought a bunch of this Wheels line thinking I would make a quilt for my son since he loves cars and trucks. But, the fabrics just sat there in my drawer, waiting. So I pulled them out, cut them into 5 1/2" squares, and set to work making two baby quilts.

The first, I laid out as a plus quilt.

I even pieced the back,

The other is a simple patchwork quilt.

With a more skiwampus pieced back. Oops.

I used prints from Riley Blake's Wheels line and added some extra fabrics, including Kona sage, Barbara Jones' Hip Holidays (the blue diagonal stripe), and Heather Bailey's Bijou Mod Beads.

I quilted the plus quilt with straight lines 1/4" on either side of each seam. For the patchwork quilt, I quilted three wavy lines per 5" square.

With my first set of twin quits, I opted to use similar designs with different fabrics. This time, I chose to use the same fabrics, but with different design layouts. I must say that I like this version better.

Each quilt measures approximately 35"x40".

A new summer bag

Sorry I've been MIA for he last little while. I've been swamped with work, and while I've been sewing when I can at home, I haven't taken the time to blog about anything I've been working on. I finally took photos yesterday afternoon, which was lucky because it's been raining all day today. Hopefully, I'll get a few posts up about my projects over the next week or so. Today, I'd like to show you my brand spankin' new bag that I made myself on Mother's Day. (A nice way to pamper myself, don't you think?)

I bought the 241 Tote pattern by Anna at Noodlehead a week or so ago as I was trying to decide on a new purse/bag. I've been eyeing her pattern for a while, but wasn't in need of a new purse until a couple weeks ago when the lining of my purse ripped pretty badly. I ordered a half yard of the blue typewriter print from Melody Miller's Ruby Star Shining line a couple weeks ago, and after seeing Jeni's 241 tote on Instagram, I thought I'd make a similar version with the blue colorway (she used the pink one).

I paired it with some Metro Living Circles and some Hometown News. This style of bag lends itself well to a longer strap, so I used webbing and some hardware to make an adjustable strap. When I want to be hands-free, I can throw it over my head. But, it's nice to also have the option of just slinging it onto my shoulder too. It was a fun challenge to figure out how to make the strap come together. I definitely felt like I was working on some tricky engineering problem.

I didn't take any photos of the inside because I already had all my stuff in it and didn't want to take everything out for the photo-op. I added an extra pocket on the inside with a couple of seams for pens, hand sanitizer, and my work key card. The outside side pockets are perfect for my keys, sunglasses, and cell phone.

This is such a great pattern and I'm really happy with the result.

Pre-Weekend Catchup

Happy Friday, everyone! I got Instagram on my phone a couple weeks ago and I've been totally loving it! I'm so glad they finally made it available on Android. (I'm pitterputterstitch if you want to follow me.)

This week I've spent some time working on a project I can't show for a few weeks, but I've really enjoyed working with COLOR this week.

I laid out all the blocks I have so far for my Gradated Mod Mosaic quilt and I think it is looking a.maz.ing! Can't wait to get the rest in the mail and finish my four blocks!

I also decided to make a quilt out of melon patch blocks. It's a bit slow-going right now as I only have four of the 64 segments pieced, but I think it'll look great in Anna-Maria Horner's Innocent Crush.

I've been so obsessed with color lately. I commented to the mister last night that I wonder if I'll get sick of all this rainbowy goodness and have to make a few projects out of neutrals or something. I sure hope not. I just can't get enough of color!