A mental health morning

I decided this morning was going to include some "ME" time.  It was a mental health morning - or at least a couple of hours.  Playing hooky from work for the morning hopefully will help my afternoon productivity as I face some daunting deadlines and complicated projects.  

First I finished quilting my latest Kim Diehl project and attached the binding.  I'll show that off another day once the binding is turned and stitched down, and I've dusted off all of the quilting markings.  The second project was pulling out the second version of the previous Saturday Sampler because it's become a UFO.  And I definitely don't want another UFO. 

Four blocks were already done and sewn into a unit, but the other 20 blocks still needed the last 2 pieced side sections and a final fushia corner attached.  So I've finished 4 more blocks and added them to the first section.  This makes one complete section.  Two more identical sections to go - on another day, since I have some work deadlines to deal with and company coming on Friday for the weekend.  

Design Wall Monday - 60 degree runners

All of the Halloween 60 degree runners are done.  There are actually 2 identical ones with the orange around the outside, but I didn't include both in the photo.  The backs of all of these have spiderweb fabrics.  And the white sections of these glow in the dark.  I think the smaller hexie shaped ones are so cute, and they are made with the leftovers. 

Now that these have been quilted and bound I can go back to working on some UFO projects again.  And on that topic - I'm giving myself permission to weed out some UFOs that I just know I'll never finish. Now I need to find the time to actually sort through some of them. 

What is on other quilters' design wall today:  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

The Sew Together bag - counting up

With the 3 bags I finished this month I've now made a total of 12 of the Sew Together bag.  A dozen!! I think I've sold 3 so far, gifted 4 and have the other 5 at my house.  The 3 I just made will be gifted or sold. The Love 2 Sew bag (bottom left) is currently holding my hand stitching supplies. But we'll see - it might end up as a gift or getting sold eventually. 

The black one in the center is MINE.  This one I'm keeping.  I hand quilted and hand stitched all of the  3/4" hexies on it.  It's my favorite one so far.  

I made the first ones in 2016 and then taught the class twice at the Pin Cushion in 2017. That was very fun and some of the ladies have commented about how much they use their bags.  It is pretty practical and a useful size, about 9" wide.   

Hanging in my sewing room closet in a bag with zippers and fabric I've set aside to make more.  There are 4 sets of zippers in various colors.  And every time I see an interesting print I find myself thinking "how would this look as a bag?" and wondering what coordinating fabrics I would put with it.  Does that mean that I'm addicted to making these?

Bags, bags, bags

The "artsy craftsy" bag is finished now too.  This fabric is the same that I used in a zippered pouch for one of my granddaughters to hold her colored pencils.  Obviously it contains nearly every color, but I decided on red, black, and gold for the bag sides, inside, and bindings. I felt it needed to be bold.

The inside is definitely bold. The side panels are a black and white print. But the lining is all GOLDEN.  One pocket is lined with the same gold but the other 2 have the black and white print inside. And the red zippers just seemed like the right choice.

So these are all 3 of the recent bag finishes.  Fishy, patriotic, and artsy - now what color should my next one be?  I have a navy and white one ready to sew, but also have a floral print I set aside for a bag.  Or maybe I should go back to working on some unfinished quilt tops.  Goodness knows there are plenty of those to choose from! LOL

Patriotic Sew Together bag

One of the 2 bags is completely finished and the other is getting close. The patriotic fabrics worked really well in this patriotic version of the Sew Together bag.  The side panels and inside of the pockets are a small star print. I usually like to use a fairly plain fabric for the pocket linings because it makes it easier to see what's in the pocket. But with this bag and the next one I deviated from that plan just a bit.  I think having a little surprise inside the bag makes it more fun. 

Halloween came early

I have no idea what is wrong with this photo, but I decided to post it anyway. I have 1 of the 60 degree runners quilted and bound along with one of the hexie table toppers.  Two more runners and one more hexie are waiting to be quilted.  I actually got the runner finished over the weekend.

And I discovered that the dancing skeletons and mummies glow in the dark.  The pumpkins smiles and the ghosts do too.  Not very bright, but just enough to add a little fun element.   

Design Wall Monday

My Monday Design Wall has a lot of things going on.  What's on your Design Wall today? Check out a few more: https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

It's actually amazing how much I can accomplish when I focus - and when no one is home to distract me - and when I don't have a car to drive.  Both of the Sew Together bags are done except for the handwork to stitch down the bindings and zipper handles.  Those should be done this week.  

I worked on machine quilting this little Kim Diehl project, and only have about a third of it left to finish.  Instead of just straight line quilting I'm using some stencils to mark a little more elaborate design.  It won't be perfect, but I need to step outside of my comfort zone a bit more, right? 

And I got both of my batik blocks done for Saturday Sampler.  I always enjoy learning new ways to do things, but this block wasn't one of those cases.  Those triangle sections with the light background would have been MUCH easier (and more accurate) done as a HST with triangles added to the sides. The technique used in the pattern was more difficult and I'm not totally happy with the results.  I need to make my second 30s version block and I may use a more traditional method to make that section with the triangles and see if they come out more accurately.