pumpkin coaster improv

This was another beautiful mess I made on the 'Sunday of stitching' at the beginning of August. Spooky season is nearly upon us, and has already firmly arrived in the realm of retail. I found some joy inducing towels depicting a horse wearing a witch's hat. I got a set for myself and a set to share with some friends who will appreciate them as much as me. For one of the gifts, I would like to pair the funny towel with some quirky pumpkin coasters. This is another project inspired and taught to me by Pin, Cut, Sew on YouTube, and it was so fun. 

As with any scrappy project, one must start with a mess. At least I must. From the chaos emerges sensical discrete combinations and lines to sew one at a time. Then in the end, from mess comes magnificence. I do enjoy the improvisational process once I am in it, but sometimes starting it can be hard to let go of expectation and control and ending it can be hard to look at the piles and know they need to be put away. These piles are still languishing. I tell myself I want more coasters, but that's not strictly true. I will likely make more because the piles are still there but that was not the intent at the end of this particular day of making. 

My first effort was made as described in the tutorial. It is a kind of wonky log cabin construction of strips around a central starting point. It was fun but time consuming and I don't have many spooky fabrics that lend themselves well to strips. I really like how this one turned out, but I didn't really feel the pull to keep going like that. Making more meant changing my tactic.

Instead what I did was combine larger pieces of fabric in a more improvisational patchwork type of layout. This worked well with the larger scale foxes and owls, and let me showcase a bunch of black kitties on one. The recipient has four black cats, so I am glad to have found that scrap to include. She also likes purple, so for the back of each pumpkin I used the same purple geometric print. This makes them reversible to all match or be scrappy as the mood strikes. 

I enjoyed the improv play in making these and I like how unique the finished product is. I like that I have one of my own to keep and a set to give, that they didn't really take up that much in the way of supplies, and that I actually would like to sit down soon and make some more. 

pyramid pincushion

I found myself sewing up a storm this weekend, especially Sunday. I've been enjoying watching Pin, Cut, Sew on YouTube for a while now and one of my favorite things she does is suggest small projects you can whip up with scraps. The tutorials are engaging to watch and inspire me to spend some energy making little things that are both fun and functional. This pin cushion is one of those things. I think it was an older tutorial, but another pin cushion tutorial she posted lately made it come to mind. Making the zippered bag earlier in the day and actually using pins made me feel like it could be useful to have a pin cushion. Like the kindle plops I made last winter, I just needed time to be convinced it was useful for me. 

  

These are all scrap fabrics, many of them from the Bohemian Ponies quilt that is currently gracing my bed in all its glory. That is an epic project totally worth commemorating in pin cushion form! The bottom is a piece of pink corduroy from my rehearsal tote which was kind of fun to incorporate, and the tab is from some really great twill tape I recently purchased for bag making. It kind of reminds me of Fruit Stripe gum. 

I had bought a large bag of poly pellets to use for my future knitted gnomes, and it came in handy here for weighing down the pin cushion so it doesn't poof away when poked with a pin. The suggestion was to use rice, but I had the pellets so went with those. It's a bit wonky and perhaps slightly overstuffed, but it works to hold pins and certainly fits nicely into the chaos of my sewing table. Very pleased with this and would love to make a list of sewing friends to share more with!
 

boxy banded pouch

I am having a lovely sewing centric weekend. With the wall hanging finish and a clean card table, I felt I inspired to keep up the fabric play and dive into my pattern stash. I've had this pattern for a boxy zipped pouch in my drawer for a long time and this was a fun experience learning a new zipped bag/pouch construction. 

It's an old school paper pattern, so it felt a little nostalgic opening up the tissue paper, trying not to tear it while looking for the pieces to cut out, pinning the pieces to the fabric, and using scissors - not a rotary cutter - to cut everything out. It was written for pre-quilted fabric, so I did have a bit of prep work to do making a sandwich with some batting and a couple of coordinating prints. I used two layers of batting here, which I think was a good idea given the need for structure, and just a simple cross hatch quilting pattern using gray/silver thread that was already on my machine. It looks more complicated than it actually ended up being, and I had it done in no time. It feels quite retro! 

I have had this pretty peach and red print in my stash for a long time and haven't really known the best use for it. There is a big, beautiful border along one side and then the peach background print takes up the rest of the yardage. It felt a little wasteful cutting out just part of the intricate border for this added band on the bag, but the tulips look so cute marching along the sides. Either my cutting or my seam allowances were slightly inaccurate because it's not quite "true" on the ends and sits a little bit wonky, but it's still a serviceable pouch and would be good for pencils, threads, maybe even a small single skein knitting project like a Sophie scarf or a pair of socks.

I would say now that I have made it once as intended, I could think of a few ways to modify or add to it. Perhaps a pocket inside, definitely would like to add a strap to one end, and I think a fun zipper pull would be a nice touch. There are definitely more of these in my future to be made for family and friends. 

scrappy rainbow gallery wall hanging, finished

This piece has been hanging on my design wall for such a long time patiently waiting for binding inspiration to strike. 

It finally came in the form of the rejected borders on the mushroom pillow mom and I started. The strips were just the right size for a binding and, despite being linen and bound to be finicky to work with, were pretty perfect for the job. This felt like a nice project to start off the month and get me back to sewing a bit. 

I can't remember when I decided that hand sewing binding on to the backs was preferable to doing a zigzag on my machine, but it is a very strong preference now. I used to do it all the time, but it feels so cavalier to think of machine finishing a binding now! I also remFunny how we change over time. 

It's done, and looks so good. The teal binding pulls out the green-blues in the middle and emphasizes them more, which I quite enjoy. The irony is that I'm not sure where I'm going to hang this, so it's back up on my design wall but at least it is finished! 

I remember the first night of playing with squares, the frustration of dealing with that black coarse linen for the sashing, and the joy of deciding it didn't matter if it was perfectly lined up - it was a scrappy experiment and did not have to look a certain way. I like that I found a good home for this large scale Amy Butler print I've had since the beginning of my stash. And there are lots of memories in those little scrappy squares - of places, projects, and phases of life. A fun finish, to be sure. 

quick zips

Mom and I did some color play with my fabric stash to make a couple of zippered pouches. One is for my niece, the other for my sister in law. I had to kind of remind myself how the assembly went, but once that was figured out they went very quickly. Note for next time so I don't have to look it up: if not doing tabs on the zipper ends, flip the zipper towards the lining when sewing together so it tucks in well. 

The first one I added a little tab to the side for a little something extra. There was much debate on whether that was the correct side to put it on or if it goes on the side with the zipper pull when it is closed. I would use it on either side to hold and pull, so we decided it didn't really matter. 

For this second one I skipped the tab, though it would have been cute in that bright green lining print, and instead opted to experiment with making a tassel for the zipper pull. It turned out very cute and I would do again. More bags in the future, no doubt. These are easy to make, satisfying to finish so quickly, and a good time playing with color combinations. 

tiptoeing through the mushrooms

Mom brought a finished mushroom cross stitch. So, rather than hoop it or frame it, we decided to do a "collab" (is that what the kids call it these days??) and make a quilted pillow cover. 

It was fun to stash dive and pick out some appropriately woodsy fabrics to use. I love that these have all come from different places. The low volume print has been in my stash for a very long time and I find it satisfying how perfect it works here as the background. I also got to break out my little mushroom templates for some iron on appliqué! How cute is that? The HSTs in the patchwork are the leftovers from making the flying geese, so it was technically a "no waste" technique even though I just made them the traditional way, not four-at-a-time, to get the fabrics facing the way I wanted. 

  

We took a slight detour to a version that had a different border on it, but decided it was taking too much away from the actual piecing in the middle. It would have looked fine, but I much prefer the print background fabric as the border. Not sure yet how I will finish it, so it's still hanging up on the design wall, but this was a fun afternoon of stitching today. 

See, look, it turned out just like the sketch! 

spreading the mushroom love

My coworker had a birthday today. It's also my half birthday, a coincidence that I take to be the universe's humor since she and I are so different yet get along so well. She is a fellow knitter and we often trade stories, pattern ideas, and show and tell along with a lot of motivation and moral support. Since I've been on a kick lately with sewing project bags, I decided to make her one for her birthday. 

It's kind of an unusual combination using the bright teal linen with the more earthy mushroom print, but I think it worked out really well. I went back to the tutorial I used to make my somewhat improvised mushroomy bag and used the actual measurements this time instead of letting the fabric tell me what it wanted to be. This turned out to be a much nicer form factor. Lesson learned.

I used this cool yellow molecule looking batik on the inside, and a deep purple zipper. Quirky, but classy. She lives in SF which matches the vibes this bag is giving (does anyone else remember designing TimBuk2 bags at their store in Hayes Valley??). I used quilt batting again, didn't interface the interior fabric, and it stands up just fine. The thicker linen blends on the outside make it so that's ok I think. If I were to use regular quilting cotton I might consider interfacing on the outside or two layers of quilt batting. 

I put a metal keyring in the little tab, and also a little bag of stitch markers I had made prior to last year's Bay Area Yarn Crawl. I included some lobster claw progress keepers just for variety. I love that those crystals look like labeled balls of yarn. 

a quick mushroomy bag

I have been watching a lot of knitting YouTube lately which means I have been seeing a lot of lovely project bags. I've enjoyed my Firefly Totes very much (both big and small), and I've made small drawstring bags too. What I've seen that I haven't tried yet has been kind of angular, boxy bottom, zippered top project bags that look like they're kind of a standard type. I don't have a pattern for it myself so I went looking. I ended up using a YouTube tutorial from Voolenvine that was very clear to follow and looked like it was about the type I was seeing. 

I ended up not using the measurements given in the tutorial just because the scrap of this awesome mushroom fabric was a bit bigger. I kind of wish I had cut it down because the depth of the bag would be better suited to something wider, but I learned. No squares! Use rectangles :) Instead of fusible fleece, I used scrap batting I had on hand and just quilted the outer panels with straight lines spaced maybe 3/4" apart (followed an easy to see line on my sewing machine, no other reason for the spacing other than it seemed about right). No regrets there. It is sturdy and I think the vertical quilting helps it stand up as well. A fusible fleece may have been more robust, but I'm using what I've got and I've got a LOT of batting scraps.

I made the tab out of scraps of a cute snail print, a bit wider than called for - I cut a 4x3 piece (instead of 3x3) and made it 1" wide since my D ring was bigger. I ended up skipping the handle mostly because I didn't have a lobster claw finding to hand. I think I can hook a carabiner or something similar to the ring should I want something longer. Maybe a tassel! The inside is a heavy toile that is also in the canvas family. I've had it forever and it's nice to have another place to peek at it. It pairs quite well, if quirkily, with the mushrooms. 

I enjoyed making this, and it's going to be nice to use for something, whether travel or craft projects. If I make it again I'll fix the ratios. In the end, it's pretty darn close to the ones I have been seeing so that's awesome to know. I've seen a few other zipper installation configurations and it will be fun to understand those, too, if I can find a tutorial. I've been having a good time coming up with prints and zipper color combinations, so let the adventures continue.

bag lady reprise

Late in the evening of my "bag lady Saturday" I found myself wondering what would happen if I downsized the pattern I was using for the zippered project bags to make smaller ones. Voila! They are super cute.  I used a fun stripe print for the inside, and combined a pretty purple flower print with some sassy alpacas.

I was inspired by the piles of scraps leftover from the baby quilt I made recently, and I sort of improvised my way through the sizes based on whatever the scraps told me. I suppose I could measure and try to replicate this again, but of course I didn't write anything down so this could be like those dinners you sometimes make only once because there's some random combination of leftovers in the fridge. 

I made two, one for me and one for a friend. I think I'll keep the one with the little tab and give her the one with the purple zipper. 

bag lady

Today was quite a day! I spent the lion’s share of the day in my sewing room bookending a big organizing/clean up with sewing these perky springy bags. 

The first finish was the veggie quilted tote bag. I saw a tutorial on YouTube a while ago for a quilted tote and this has been on my mind ever since. Last night it got downright distracting - all I could think about was how much I wanted to make it! So this morning after watering my herbs outside, I sat down to realize the vision. It does not disappoint. I’m looking forward to using it at the farmer’s market next week. Both fabrics were from a box mom sent me, they must have been in her stash. (Bottom row, second over for the adorable tiny vegetable lining fabric). I was too lazy to make the fabric straps as called for, but I did have some navy cotton webbing in my stash which looks great. I ended up ordering some more webbing online because this was such a good solution, and I’d like to make more. 

 

The other three bags are project bags for hand stitching (or whatever, I suppose). Mom introduced me to these the last time she was here for the holidays, and I rewatched the tutorial so I could make some more. This is from an Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch video, and they are kind of addicting once you get into it. I loved pulling together the different fabric combinations and using the zippers as extra pops of color. These are all somewhat “precious” fabrics to me - I have resolved to use the lovelies instead of letting them sit around in piles. That bright blue bird print is a Tula Pink impulse buy from Golden State Quilting and I LOVE it with the royal blue zipper. I’m going to be keeping the gray/green birds with the eye watering neon lining and the other two will be gifted to mom and Samara. 

It has been a while since I have felt this relaxed and spacious. I had other adulting things to do too, which usually gets in my head, but none of it was urgent and I was actually able to put them aside for the day. That is pretty much unheard of. So proud of that and happy to have gotten some color play in today. Just look at them! Spring has sprung! 

floral fun

Finishing up the baby quilt and clearing off the card table felt like it deserved a palette cleanser. I was watching a favorite YouTuber the other day and she whipped up one of these drawstring bags in like a half hour so she could put a new sock project in it. I have used this particular tutorial (from In Color Order) before, so it was kind of fun to reconnect with it. 

These lovely zinnia flowers are from a Pacific Grove trip with my folks. They are so bright and happy! I also got the coordinating print on the same trip (accidental coordination, I'm pretty sure they are not related fabric lines) and I just love that greenish yellow combined with the electric pink. I used a very old print for the inside - it's curios in light grey and white. It's girly and bright and I just love it. And it was SO FAST. I plan on making more of these in different sizes for project bags. The Firefly Totes have been fun to make, but sometimes something simpler is most appealing. 

No zinnias outside yet, but my favorite daffodils are blooming! 

a crafty day off

Monday was a day off for me, and I spent quite a bit of it letting the creative juices flow. Before they really got going, though, I felt the need to address a couple of knitted objects that have been sitting around waiting for their final steps. On the left is my Shift cowl which needed blocking before seaming up and weaving in ends. On the right is the sweater I have been mad at since January and unsure how to address it. What I decided to do was block the entire thing to see if it improves the fit and to examine how much I need to address the neckline. I have my notes from the first one I made, so if I need to I can just try the same adjustments I made there. Here's hoping! 

Another BIG project I have wanted to tackle since last year is a new quilt. This is going to be a complex undertaking that I'm hoping I can chip away at month by month this year. I might not finish the top by the end of the year but I hope to at least make a dent. My first order or business was to get my fabrics out and remember what I have collected. Most of these are from Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, purchased years ago along with the pattern, and some are from the stash to augment the color families where I could. 

This is Elizabeth Hartman's Desert Animals Quilt, and the way she has written the pattern, knowing which fabric of mine corresponds to the letters of hers is going to be necessary to keep everything straight. To help my sanity, I snipped little pieces of each fabric and used a glue stick to stick them on a piece of cardboard in the same kind of grid that exists in the pattern booklet. I think this is going to be a huge favor to my future self. I'm looking forward to diving into that one sometime soon. 

The last thing I did was make another Firefly Tote. I cut the canvas pieces out when I cut out the pieces for Mom's tote, and I had all of the accent fabrics chosen and piled up. It had all been sitting on the side because I wanted to make the bigger one for myself first. I was in a clean-it-up mood, so I decided that the best thing to do would be to just make the bag instead of moving the pile again!  

 

It turned out looking great. Mom and Dad bought me these fabrics on our most recent trip to Pacific Grove. I remember Mom really wanted to get us some butterfly fabric to mark the trip. This Charley Harper print is beautiful. The lining fabric is a zinnia print from Anna Maria Parry that pairs so well with that neon geometric. I'm thrilled with how this one turned out. This took me late into the night and I went to sleep pretty satisfied with the progress, planning, and clean up I got done on a relaxing day off. 

firefly totes, finished

These are fun to make! I finished up a couple more Firefly Totes, one for mom and one for me. I probably have at least two more in my near future, a small one for me and a large one for mom so we'll each have a set. 

After finishing up my first one in November, I quickly cut out the pieces for this second one for mom. I didn't have enough more of the gray canvas I used, but I do have a bit of this classy brown tweedy weave on a roll, so I decided that was a good option for the outer fabric which is meant to be more sturdy. I love the green zipper with the pink polka dots - it's giving Wicked! We are both big fans. I also found an incredibly cute gnome charm for the zipper pull while out shopping for webbing for the handles. The colors were serendipity. 

  

I wish there were more options for the webbing, but I ended up coming home with a navy as a neutral because the brighter colors wouldn't quite color match. Alas, but the drawstring top done up in this bright hippy bird fabric and the shock of pink and orange inside makes up for it. I used the same thick cord for the drawstring as on my original effort. 

I was planning on making myself a project version next, but I have my eye on a sweater I want to start and I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't start it until I had this bag done for toting it around as I work on it. How's that for motivation? I also had this lightweight canvas I wanted to experiment with (spoiler alert, it worked out great using interfacing) and having made the second smaller version reminded me enough of how it went to feel confident working with a new size.  

It turned out super cute, and I definitely want to make mom a bigger one also because it's a really good size. The combination of the mushrooms with the little snails is just awesome. The colors are kind of off my usual island, but it looks very spiffy and I know I'm going to enjoy using it. I had a bit of an adventure in my stash trying to find a lining fabric. I auditioned lots of things from orange to green plaid, neither of which I had enough of, but I landed on this great Halloweeny fabric with unicorns and moons on it to add even more quirk to the whole thing. I also found a fun charm for this one, it's a little turtle with a shell made out of yarn balls and on the back it says 'slow your roll' - words to live by! 

I have already wound some of my yarn into cakes and they're tucked in this bag ready for me to start. I'm really looking forward to toting this around, I just love it. I am already planning the next ones! I have fabrics picked out and partially cut for my small one (more of that brown tweedy weave), but not sure yet what I'll use for the second large one. More fireflies to come soon!