back to the drawing board

i've sewn four of these lined drawstring bags recently - the first one i made is housing my current cross stitch project. and this bag here, as well as the other two, have been used for 'wrapping' birthday and baby gifts. the pattern i used is by jeni baker and is quick, super easy to use, and gives a wide range of bag sizes to choose from.


drawstring bag supplies
exterior fabric: [framed in citron & triflora in silver/loulouthi collection by anna maria horner] free spirit fabric
lining fabric: [grunge vanilla/origins collection by basicgrey] moda
ribbon: [3/4-inch white grosgrain]

butterfly tag supplies
cardstock: [solar white] neenah
patterned paper: [marrakech 6x6 paper pad] basicgrey
steel die: [butterfly] a muse studio
accent: [pearls] a muse studio

finished up this pillow over the weekend so that i could give it away on valentine's day. then i went an ordered another pack of charm squares so that i can make one just like it for myself.

supplies
fabric: [loulouthi collection by anna maria horner] free spirit fabrics
cardstock: (solar white) neenah
stamps: [button boutique] papertrey ink, [homemade 6 bean soup/jillibean soup] unity stamp company
ink: [strawberry & steel blue] fresh ink
steel die: [button card] papertrey ink
other: [jute twine], [buttons]

a work in progress - one of the sewing projects i put together this week. a long overdue gift for a good friend. i again used a charm pack - this time the squares measured 6-inches making this finished pillow about 16-inches.

supplies
fabric: [loulouthi charm pack by anna maria horner] free spirit fabric

yes, another patchwork pillow - but i'm still perfecting my piecing skills and squares have been the easiest way for me to practice. this pillow went together very quickly because there was no cutting this time around - i used charm squares from a pack i bought right around the time i bought my sewing machine - so about 7 months ago.

supplies
pillow front: [sherbet pips charm pack by aneela hoey] moda
pillow back: [scooters on vanilla ice cream/sherbet pips collection by aneela hoey] moda
other: [14-inch pillow form]

merry christmas

supplies
pillow front: [santa's lttle helpers charm pack by erin michael] moda
pillow back: [white kona solid] robert kaufman
die: [square 3 1/2"] accuquilt

a simple patchwork pillow i was able to finish up just before thanksgiving. i think it's my favorite quilting project so far - although there aren't really that many to choose from yet. 


supplies
pillow front: [daisy bouquet brown] kei, [stone barbershop, mist town square, stop sign preppy plaid/hometown by sweetwater] moda
pillow back: [muslin]
die: [square 3 1/2"] accuquilt

quilting project #3 - a pillow for halloween. quilting project #2 is still in progress. it's a halloween table runner from the same fabrics as the pillow - i still need to quilt and bind it though. i'm sort of intimidated by how big it is - so after piecing the top of the table runner i decided to make something a bit smaller - the pillow. and with the pillow i was able to try out my new fabric die-cut machine and half square triangle die - i learned very early on in the cutting stage of quilting project #1 that i do not like cutting out bunches of squares by hand. and i used the following tutorials for my halloween pillow:

• in color order: vintage sheet hst pillow tutorial
  
• red pepper quilts: binding tutorial

supplies
front: [matilda/cosmo cricket] andover fabrics
back & binding: [black kona cotton solid] robert kaufman
die: [half square 3" finished] accuquilt

quilting project #1 is finally complete - a very mini quilt following jeni baker's warm cool design. the piecing went fairly smoothly. then came time to do some quilting which actually terrified me. once i figured out how to correctly install the walking foot on my machine it was quite easy. and finally the binding - it took me 4 weeks to decide on how i was going to sew that strip of fabric on.

i read a lot of great tutorials throughout this adventure, but these two were by far the most helpful:

• quilt design - in color order: warm cool quilt along
  
• binding - red pepper quilts: binding tutorial

supplies
front: [punctuation & recess layer cakes/american jane] moda
back: [recess layer cake/american jane] moda, [grey quilters linen] robert kaufman
binding: [basics book note border manilla/basicgrey] moda
size: 20"x20"

just a couple of projects i put together this week to give to my little sister. i used my slice to cut the flower from fabric and then tried out machine applique for the first time - i have no idea if i did it correctly - but it does look ok from a distance! and the mini album is just a bunch of random papers and envelopes with a few rubons and tags thrown in as well.



supplies
cardstock: [kraft, salt/swiss dot texture] bazzill basics
paper: american crafts, making memories
stickers: [black nutmeg chipboard thickers] american crafts, [airplane epoxy sticker] creative imaginations
steel die: [clouds] papertrey ink
tools: [cityscape border punch] martha stewart, [corner chomper] we r memory keepers


supplies
fabric: [santorini collection] moda
button: [neighborhood collection] crate paper
fibers: [green thread] mettler, [green embroidery floss] dmc
other: [canvas tote] michaels, [slice fusible web] making memories

i haven't sewn in a while - except on paper. so i pulled out the instructions for this quick gift bag that were part of the online sewing class i took last summer - home ec. i was a bit rusty - but able to pull off something that i think should be reusuable for a while.


supplies
fabric: moda [green polka dots/recess collection by american jane & poopy field pink/oz collection by sanae]
ribbon: crate paper [orange with flowers]
thread: mettler [brown]
tag: avery [shipping tag]
stamps: papertrey ink [stem/flower fusion #1 set & flower/flower fusion #2 set], unity stamp co [sentiment/to the moon & back kit]
ink: clearsnap [chestnut pigment ink & rouge chalk ink/colorbox], impress [basil/fresh ink]
steel die: papertrey ink [flower fusion #2]
sticker: sassafras [scallops/cherry flag banners]
accent: darice [clear rhinestone]
size: 9"x12" [gift bag], 2 1/2"x4" [tag]

here's my sewing project for the week - a pot holder. it is the very first project in the book zakka sewing which i found at this awesome shop in connecticut. now, off to get caught up on my google reader.

fabric: moda [arcadia by sanae], [muslin, linen]; ribbon: m&j trimming [natural/twill], [orange & olive/grosgrain]; thread: mettler [dark taupe grey #0698/polyester]; other: [cotton batting].

 

i don't have a pincushion, so the plan was to make a pincushion out of a bunch of fabric scraps. but after i had everything sewn together what i ended up with totally did not look like it wanted to be a pincushion. it looked like it wanted to be a little 6x6 pillow instead. a little 6x6 pillow with a bunch of papercrating embellishments stuck to it, that is. 

fabric: [scraps]; trim:  [yellow/studio calico kit]; paper accents: k & company [measuring tape, thread spool, red scallop/amy butler cardstock epherma]; felt accent: making memories [blue flower/vintage findings mini kit girl];  metal accents: making memories [stick pin/vintage findings mini kit girl], [sciossors charm/bead store somewhere in the garment district]; other accent: [button]; embroidery floss: dmc [brown].

my second project from my online sewing class - a drawstring top gift pouch. of course, the awesomest thing about this little bag - i made it about 6x8 - is that now when i can't remember how many stops it is to 42nd street i no longer need to pull out my iphone. i'll just check my bag. before i leave next year i plan on buying like a bazillion yards of this fabric. lucky for me, the store i shop at in the city - they are the ones who designed the fabric.

fabric: the city quilter [nyc subway black & nyc subway white/times square collection], ribbon: [black/grosgrain].

i know - not the most exciting of projects i've shared. but i am actually quite proud of my napkins. the first napkin i made is on the left - it's just a simple single-sided one. next i moved on up to double-sided. and finally ended my napkin making adventure with one that is double-sided and has a rick-rack edge - fancy, huh. so where have i been learning these sewing skills - at this online class here.

fabric: moda [sky outdoors, butterflies daffodil, eggs melon, sky garden & ovals nest/freebird by momo].