Author Archives: mlwilkie

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About mlwilkie

Software Developer, Mother, Wife with keen interest in art, design and crafts of all kinds.

First-time: Free motion quilting (FMQ)

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One of my favorite things, is when you buy fabric and in the package the fabric store include  those little treats. I have been sent 4 mini charm packs lately. I wanted to try and use them as I was inspired by Amanda Jean @ crazy mom quilts square pillow she had in this blog.

I put 3 of the mini charm packs into a bag and then randomly select them and sewed them in strips and the final result was this cushion top:

IMG_7187

The squares are not aligned perfectly but for the first time using them I think it still looks cute.

I quilted this with flowers. It was my first time doing free motion quilting (FMQ). I was thinking doing a dogwood pattern, which is kind of represented below but after the first one, I decided that I should just go with it and see where it takes me – perfection was not the goal 🙂

I do think its a pretty good job since I have never tried it before. I like that the flower petals are all different and it has the little centers. Here are a couple of photos:IMG_7189 IMG_7191

Material used:
1 mini charm pack – Ticklish, Me & my sisters designs fro Moda
1 mini Charm pack – Happy go lucky, Bonnie @ Camille for Moda
1 mini charm pack – Posy, Aneela Hoey for Moda.

What are your favorite FQM patterns – I would love to add some to my pinterest site as a reference :-)….so leave a comment and let me know. Hope you all have a good weekend, I am linking up with AmandaJean @Crazy Mom quilts for finish it up Friday.

April goals, mid month check-in

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To kill two birds with one stone….My work in progress this week is for more Madrona Road blocks…I need to do 9 before the 2nd week of May. I have one complete, the chess board block, these are the next two I am working on this week.

Chevron Block:

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X and + Block (but different with the x being short and rounded ends…see the tiles posted here):IMG_7177

 

Here is where I am for my April goal check-in:

  1. Focus on stock for my Etsy Store.
    • Chair Bags (x2 sets)
      1 set is completed – posted on Etsy and blogged here
    • Oven Mitts (x1 set)
    • Coffee Cup Sleeves (x2)
      Completed and posted….A few kind folks also posted them on interest. Blogged here and here
    • Pouches/ Cases (x2)
      Not started but I have purchased the fabric
    • Set of place mats (x1 Stretch goal)
  2. Make a Pin cushion (from Patchwork Please) and a travel sewing pouch
    Pin cushion complete and blogged here, also posted on the Zakka Along 2.0 Flickr site
  3. Make a travel baby quilt for charity  (~30x20in.)
    Not started
  4. Madrona Road Challenge – Mini Quilt
    This weeks focus (see above)

My General goals continue:

  1. Try to eat and exercise to plan
    Starting to do better
  2. Blog regularly using my new schedule
    On target

Linking up for WiP and April Goals, respectively:
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced  My

Market tote: Details

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In this post today, I wanted to take some time to fill in how I made the Market tote from the pattern in Patchwork, Please.

8491226708_180f965751 IMG_7116

Here are the other two post associated to the overall process:

1. Designing and thoughts
2. Finished Product

Purchased Materials + their usage:

  • Sand Essex Linen (one piece – bottom and side exterior)
  • Kona solid fabric (front exterior, and backing/edging of inside pocket)
  • Keepsake Calico Fabric from Joann (lining and inside pocket)
  • Oh Deer by Momo for Moda Fabrics (exterior back)
  • Quilted Osnaburg from Joann (handles)

All the materials here were cut and prepared…ready to start. This project does require quite a bit of fabric. I used approximately $40 to make the bag.

IMG_7141

All the above pieces were chosen to work with the “quilt as you go piecing” I did for the front exterior pocket (shown below). This pieced pocket was completely using scraps from my warm scrap bucket. What is even more impressive, much of this is made from samples I have received when buying fabric or been gifted to me (that is $0).

I had no plan when selecting the fabric from my scraps, I just wanted to keep within the same spectrum of color, with a touch of purple. I finished of the panel by adding binding, which was purchased and machine sewn on.
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I was a little confused by the instructions in the book but I got the general idea and it worked well. Now looking back, it may have simply been to the fact, this was my first bag I had made. I had a lot of fun making the bag….the actual construction (minus the quilt as you go project) took about two hours.

I loved the teal/aqua exterior front solid. It complemented the front pieced pocket and it keeps with my original design to keep it bright and celebrate Spring. Below are the pictures for the completed front and back exteriors of the back.

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Note that I only used 1 exterior pocket even though the book makes two. I decided to use an all over print t give enough visual interest…the Oh, deer! fabric was perfect and kept within the color selection I was using.IMG_7144

To get to this finished product, I made a couple of changes. The bottom you see is very structured and flat. I used a piece of template plastic which I inserted in under the seam folds, between the exterior and the interior lining before I sewed the bottom of the lining together.

The handles are extra padded (at least x2 the requirement in the book), this is due to the fact that I used pre-quilted Osnaburg I purchased from Joann’s. It was a little difficult to topstitch  the top part of the handles since it was thick, but my needle (90/14) worked well through the layers for the top-stitching (with a little appropriate handling).

I would recommend pinning the lining and the exterior to ensure the corners align. It will make it much easier. IMG_7150 IMG_7151

The book does include an elastic and button to close each exterior pocket. I just used a colored elastic hair tie and a antique button I had in my button stash. They can be seen here:
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I would definitely recommend making this tote. It was a fun project, in fact, I plan on making one for myself, since I used this one in our swap on Sunday.

Don’t forget to check out “Zakka Along 2.0::Patchwork, Please” that is starting June 3rd. You can join on flickr here.

Linking up this week with:

Better Off Thread