Canvas Tote Bag No. 1

On a trip to Mexico, I purchased two wall hangings made from bark. I needed to buy two canvases to mount them on. In an effort to save money, I decided just to purchase canvas by the yard and have my husband build stretchers for them. Somehow, when shopping for the fabric, I left my math skills at home and came home with an overabundance of canvas. What to do? At the same time, I decided to make tote bags for my daughters, Laura and Kristin, who are avid quilters. They have been my inspiration to take the giant leap into quilting. Eureka! Canvas was the way I would go. For the first one, I made a log cabin block. I copied the hummingbird from the fabric and used fabric paint to continue the motif on the pocket.

 

 

Canvas Bag No. 2

I discovered this great retro quilter's fabric "Housework Whenever!" by Sharon Yenter for In the Beginning fabric. It couldn't be more perfect for an avid quilter. This time, I also made a pin cushion to accompany the bag. When I made my first canvas bag, the inside seams drove me into a frenzy. Canvas ravels very quickly, and the seams were very unruly. First, I tried zigzagging the edges. They still looked untamed so I ended up encasing them in bias tape...a solution, but very time consuming. On this bag, I did a French Seam: a seam stitched first on the right side and then turned in and stitched on the wrong side so that the raw edges are enclosed in the seam. This worked like a charm and saved me many minutes of gnashing my teeth!

 

 

 

Pocket Panel

 

Pincushion

Savannah's Pillows

I was amazed at how many kitten print fabrics are available, but we just couldn't work every one into the quilt! I especially liked the kitties in their nightwear, but the colors did not quite jive with the other colors. I made these two throw pillows instead to go with Savannah's new quilt. I backed both of them with furry fleece as I had seen here.

 

 

My Third Quilt Top!

My daughter Judi selected the fabric and cut out all the pieces for this quilt for my granddaughter Savannah. As she works a full-time job, I volunteered to sew the top together. The design is from Karla Alexander's book, "New Cuts for New Quilts," and is called "The Spin." I didn't count those triangles before I started...little did I know, but it came out beautifully!

 

 

 

 

2010 Mosaic

2010 Mosaic
Originally uploaded by Grandma Ginny's Attic

My Second Quilt

This was an adaptation of a quilt pattern I downloaded from e-PatternsCentral.com. The e-pattern was originally published in The Best Baby Animal Quilts Ever. The original quilt had 12 animal blocks. I cut it down to six and added the heart triangle blocks.  The technique was new to me and is called "stitch & flip."  I "stitched in the ditch" and also outlined the animals.  The backing was a Minky fabric. This was for my greatgranddaughter Sophia in California.

My First Quilt

This was my first attempt at a real quilt. I decided to first try a Stroller Quilt, approximately 34"x34." I purchased a "Bunny Hop" Kit featuring Bunny's Day Out by Lisa McCue, which I found at Creative Sewing in San Antonio. For the backing, I substituted Minky fabric. I "stitched in the ditch," but also outlined the bunnies and did a free-hand daisy on the back of the flower blocks. This was for my granddaughter Myla in California.

 

Texas Wildflower Table Accessories

My husband's brother and his wife live in Oregon. They come to Texas often to visit and love the Hill Country and Texas wildflowers.  I made a Texas Wildflower Table Topper, hot pads, and coasters for them. The table topper is from the "Twister" pattern by Ursula Riegel. It can be purchased here. The coasters were designed from a tutorial I found on Martha Stewart's website. This was excerpted from "Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson. And, of course, I made this set for myself also.

 

Hot Pads

Coasters

Tutorial for Curling Iron Cozy

I have had a couple of requests for a pattern and directions for the cozy. This was my first attempt at creating a tutorial, and it has been quite a learning experience. Click on the link for a downloadable PDF file and enjoy!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/47787268

Christmas Gifts 2010

Happily, I managed to begin sewing for Christmas before Halloween. This certainly eased the stress. Next year, I hope to start in June!

This was one of my first projects. Having made a construction vehicle wall hanging from a pre-printed panel for one grandson, I wanted to do a fire truck wall hanging for his little brother. When I could not find a fire truck panel, I designed my own. From one fabric, I cut out the fire trucks, which were approximately 8" x 5" and bordered them with "To the Rescue" fabric by Jill Webster for CLOTHWORKS.

Much to my "techie" delight, I received a "Droid" for Christmas. I felt like I had to carry it around very gently and worried about throwing it in my purse unprotected. Using Cheryl's tutorial Sew A Camera/Ipod/Cell Phone Pouch on her blog "a pretty cool life," I made a pouch for myself and this one for a friend.

I decided that potholders would be a good place to practice free motion quilting. However, the stress of practicing on a Christmas deadline was too much. I basically left my machine at its regular setting and moved the potholder around. I can only describe the design as "random." I now have even greater respect for those who do an entire quilt using free motion. The center panel is part of the "Orchard Bloom" collection by Timeless Treasure Fabrics. 

One of my daughters lived in NY for ten years and has fond memories of the city. I ordered this Retro NY fabric from The City Quilter in NY to make her an apron.

A number of years ago, my husband gave me a Curling Iron case from Travelsmith. My daughter had commented on it several times. I used my original one as a pattern and made these for my daughters and granddaughters. They are lined with Thinsulate, and the outside pocket holds the cord. I included the following card with them:

"Curling Iron's too hot and it's time to pack?
Not to worry...here's a handy sack.
No need to wait for it to cool down.
Just tuck it in and head out of town!"

I googled travel theme fabric and came up with "Italian Stamps" and "Paris Landmarks," which I ordered from J&O Fabrics in NJ (www.Jandofabrics.com).  

When my husband and I, along with other family members, went to London this past summer to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, I knew that one "for sure" destination would be Liberty of London. It was hard to make a choice from so many beautiful selections. Here's a scarf made from two of the fabrics I purchased.  Cutting carefully, I was able to make three scarves approximately 65 inches by 6 1/2 inches from two meters of fabric. They are seamed in the middle.