Tag Archives: tote

April Finishes

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1. Hexagon Coffee cup sleeve made from left over mini charms
2. Hexagon Coffee cup sleeve made from left over Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey for Moda
3. Chair Bag for my Etsy store
4. Pencil-case project made by me from Patchwork, please book
5. Pin Cushion project made by me from Patchwork, please book
6. Market Tote project made by me from Patchwork, please book and used in our tote swap
7. Madrona Road Challenge blocks for a mini quilt
8. Wonky Universe Pillow for my son
9. First postage stamp Pillow and first FMQ project.

Above is my collage of my finished works for April. I am pretty pleased with what was accomplished. I got a little distracted with Pillows and projects from Patchwork Please but I had had so much fun which is what it is all about.  Great news this week, I also got an order for 5 chair bags….so I am off to work on those 🙂

Here were my goals and where they landed up. My extra projects pictured above were the bag (used for a guild swap), pencil-case and the two cushions that have been my focus this week.

  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)
      I finished one for a friend posted here 
    • Coffee Cup Sleeves (x2)
      Completed 3!! and posted in my store….A few kind folks also posted them on pinterest. Blogged here and here
    • Pouches/ Cases (x2)
      I did complete two pouches, just not the two I had planned. Both landed up being gifts. The pencil-case one from Patchwork Please was a lot of fun to make and featured above.
    • Set of place mats (x1 Stretch goal)
      Not surprisingly did not start
  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
    I have managed to get 2 1/2 blocks done. I will have to get a move on or rethink my approach since this Challenge ends May 12th. 

My General goals continue:

  1. Try to eat and exercise to plan
    I think as far as food goes – this month was much more on plan 
  2. Blog regularly using my new schedule
    On target

Linking up for April Goals with “A Lovely Year of finishes”.
My

 

Also linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts

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.

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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.

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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

Grocery tote swap at our guild meeting

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Today, was the swap for the grocery tote at my modern quilt guild meeting. I mentioned in my blog on Wednesday that I was going to use the market tote from Patchwork, please. I did, and I think it turned out great. I made some changes to my original plan – the main one being the linen color….I was thinking the black dyed essex linen instead I used sand essex linen.

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I  made some modifications to the design/pattern in the book. They were:

  • I only used one exterior pocket not two, I kept the front one.
  • The front exterior pocket was made from scraps and used quilt as you go. I used binding to finish the top edge.
  • I used pre-quilted material for the straps
  • Finally, I used a piece of plastic along the base to add some strength and additional shape.

As, I am participating in “I took the process pledge” (along with 872 others), I will talk through this bag in more detail later on in the week.

In the meantime, don’t forget the “Zakka Along 2.0::Patchwork, Please” that is starting June 3rd. You can join on flickr here.  If you haven’t bought the book I would highly recommend it….I love this book, so much so that June 3rd seems too far away. I can’t help myself just to keep making my way through the book.