Friday, March 30, 2018

My New Hexagon

Wow. Three years I've been working on my New Hexagon quilt (pattern by Katja Marek). A lot of memories in this one, a lot of hospital rooms stitched in, and crafty Tuesdays. Finally it's finished!


The fabric is all Sun Prints by Alison Glass The entire quilt is English Paper Pieced, 52 different hexagon patterns. Quilting was done by my awesome friend Diann
It was fun to take it out on a little photo shoot today.



I'm so happy to have this one finished! And I absolutely love the way it turned out.







Wednesday, March 14, 2018

What to wear Wednesday..... funky Hudson pants

Again with the Hudson pants! I know I know. But when I find a pattern I love, I tend to beat it into the ground. And when I found this awesome fabric at the Girl Charlee booth at Quiltcon, it was screaming out to become yet another pair of Hudson's.
I used white ribbing to trim out the pockets...
These are seriously so comfortable and I just might wear them every single day. They look really cute with my Ebony Tee too...
I do think it's time for me to invest in some new garment patterns though. Any suggestions?

Monday, March 12, 2018

Japanese knock off tote bag

My friend Stephanie made an amazing Japanese knock off tote bag to use at Quiltcon.  I really loved it! She shared that it is a free tutorial from Sew Can She & I knew I would put it toward the top of my list of things to make after I got home. Because I clearly need more tote bags.

I decided to make my bag entirely of Cotton & Steel fabrics. Some I had in my stash, some I had just picked up at Quiltcon.
 I love that the bag is reversible! The patchwork "lining is really fun.

I also love the squirrel print. I got it in New York City last fall & had been saving it for just the right project.
I added one of my leather tags to the pocket binding.
This is a great tutorial! The only thing I changed was the handles. I made them longer and narrower than the ones suggested. Can't wait to put this to use!

Monday, March 5, 2018

all the tote bags

If you've been to Quiltcon before, you already know that you can come home with a huge stack of free tote bags! I had no idea.... live and learn! A few of the ones I ended up with are really great quality. Like the free bag we got with registration, designed by Violet Craft!

As much as I love it, I wish it had interior pockets. I had a brainstorm! Why not make some to insert. So I set to work.....
I made this pocket insert, with three slip pockets (perfect for my phone, etc) and a zipper pocket for cash. I stitched it directly to the top of my bag. Awesome!

I also got one of Cotton & Steel's amazing bags, so I decided to set to work making it even more amazing....

First I added C&S fabric to the straps making them a little fancier!
My buddy (and Quiltcon roomie) Diann had the great idea to add hand stitching.... I added three rows of running stitch around the top of the bag in colors that matched the printing on the front. Oh, and I used 1/4" tiger tape to make it all nice and even. If you don't know about tiger tape, you need to! It's magical. You can get it here.

Again with the pockets..... this time I used all C&S fabrics and I made the slip pockets a bit deeper...

I love the result! Thank you Cotton & Steel for the awesome bag!