2018 finished projects

 

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sewing: lunch bags

I just love this pattern, it is, for me, the perfect lunch bag. I think we got almost a year’s worth of use out of the last ones. And that’s five-day-week use, so I’m happy with how they held up.

I followed my “use your favorite fabric” philosophy. I used to save my favorites, but that was before the internet, back when actually finding something you liked was rare. You settled for what was available, and if you were lucky you liked it. Nowadays, I can shop and pick only my favorites. So why not use them?

This Robert Kaufman print I had anticipated using for something else, but in the end it looks great as a lunch bag. Here it is, front…

and back.

This was a Riley Blake print, I think. She always uses great artists.

My favorite part is the drawstring top. It poofs out a lot higher than it appears here, and you can fit quite a lot of lunch inside.

Lastly, this fun novelty print.

Every day, lunch will be fun. Love this whole design. It takes a little trouble, but is worth the effort. Much better when you assembly line it, and make a couple extra to give away.

🙂

 

fox face quilt square pattern

I have listed my fox quilt pattern on etsy again. I just sort of let it slide to the way-side, but it should be up running constantly, because it’s a good pattern and fits a niche in a way I haven’t seen anyone else do. Please follow the link above and pin to pinterest from there so people see it!

My shop “limephosphate” has been closed, so it’s got to be difficult for people to find me. I’ll have to fix the watermark on all these photos….

who knew

This one was shared with me by Ginger, and it deserves a cross-link.

MSPT: a Japanese knot bag

I’ve wanted to make one of these since the first time I saw one. And then several years passed, and finally there are loads of tutorials on youtube.

Boy, is this a simple bag.

First, I wanted to test my hexi skills, so gave those a go. All hand-sewing and a lot of ironing, but they are pretty satisfying. I got to showcase some favorite fabrics. When I was completing the sewing of the whole hexagon applique, I said to myself, “You better remember to place this so the apple is not upside down.”

Wouldn’t you guess I forgot when the time came?

I didn’t clip the round corners, either. It looks awkward in this flat version, but isn’t noticeable when in use.

I forgot to take a photo, but the lining fabric is that the same as that one with little red and pink flowers. It’s a line called “Forget-Me-Not” by Riley Blake. It has a pretty, folklore feel, and I really like it.

This will be my new project bag, so I can carry around my little sewing box and some embroidery thread and maybe get to work on more tiny necklaces during spare moments (like I have any! spare moments, that is).

I’m already picking out more fabric, because this would make a great lunch bag, too….

sewing: covered journal & mug rug

February is almost over and I am waaayy behind on my yearly sewing. This is it so far.

This covered journal is to be my “house diary.” Where I put the paint chips from the hardware store and make notes of where the paint was purchased, and when the walls were painted. Or makes notes about which plumber I called when, for what–so I don’t call that company with the name almost identical to the other company, but one charges three-times as much as the other. I don’t want to call the wrong one by mistake again!

I used my Tilda fabric. These are from the “Cottage Rose” and “Harvest” collections.

 

I used one of the sketch books with really big spiral binding, so when I add my photos and paint cards the pages won’t become too over-stuffed.

 

A pretty vintage button and a hair tie keeps the whole thing closed.

 

I think this is a great idea to keep all the changes made on the house easy to refer to–and then when you move, then next people can keep it and know when you did what. And if they need to buy just a little touch-up paint, they know exactly what to buy.

 

And then remember I was making a tulip wall hanging from my Tilda fabric? It’s still not finished. But I used my tester pattern as this mug rug. It was too pretty to just discard.

 

You can see from the way the whole pattern seems to start sliding off to the left, that I really need to buy a walking foot for my sewing machine. The tension from the feed dogs is greater than the foot up top, so the top fabric starts being pushed. It becomes worse with the more lines of quilting made. I read a blogger who said, “Don’t flip the fabric and stitch back in the opposite the direction, as this will create waves,” but that might work when you have a walking foot, but if you DON’T, then the above is what happens. So I started flipping the sewing direction on each row, which is why the top of the tulip is more successful than the bottom half.

 

If you like the Tilda fabric, you can buy it in the US at http://www.intrepidthread.com.

I’m excited for spring, so my mug rug can double as a doily. Can’t wait for all the flowers!

 

The below photos are of the curtains I made. They don’t photograph well because of the light, but here’s a couple snaps to show the fabric. It’s “Poetry” by Moda.

I gave the pieced area an extra layer of white fabric on the reverse side, to help make them less see-through.

So that’s my slow sewing for this year. I hope you are being more productive than me!

projects finished in 2017