Fishy Sew Together bag finished

Although the color is more "true" in the photo below, you can see that the Fishy Sew Together bag is finished.  I just love the sparkly rhinestone fish charm that I've hung on the side. 

I'm not really a fan of making bags because of the heavy layers to sew through - and zippers!!  But I do love making this little bag with its 3 inside zippered pockets, and the ability to open it up almost flat.  That makes it perfect for sewing supplies.  I have one that just gets used for counted cross stitch projects.  And I have one that I use for travel sewing.  

This one was a UFO project and on my PHD (projects half done) list, so I can check this one off. Yay!  And it will go into my "gift or sell" drawer.  I've actually sold a couple of these bags, but have gifted more.  This would be perfect for a quilter or knitter who also loves to fish.  

There are still 2 more completely kitted up in the closet, plus 3 more "possible" sets of fabric and zippers in the bag too.  I may do the patriotic one next.  But there are other projects calling my name.  I need to make the block for the guild President's quilt, and I need to catch up with Saturday Sampler.   

QOV star blocks

Nine star blocks are made with more in my plans. Last week I cut out the parts for 3 blocks, and then used them as "leaders and enders" as I worked on some other things.  These use the QOV Block Drive pattern for 2019 and it is such a forgiving block to make. Those white stars just float and the beautiful patriotic fabrics are highlighted. 

Fish bag progress

I have the most difficult part of the bag done, which is creating the pocket section and attaching that to the outer shell of the bag.  Once I get the binding stitched down on each side then I can add the top zipper and handles.  Maybe by next weekend I’ll have this UFO completely finished. 

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Practice block

This morning was the first session of the new Saturday Sampler program with participant Show n Tell, new products introduced, and then the block demo.  And we received our fabric and patterns for the first 2 blocks.  We could choose batiks or 1930s - and I actually chose to do the batiks.  I really love sewing on batiks.  And as always, the Show n Tell at the beginning of the Saturday Sampler session was so inspirational. I just love seeing the projects others are doing. So much creativity out there.  

However - my regular readers probably have already guessed that I plan to make 2 sets of blocks again.  And since I have a LOT of 30s fabrics, I'm going to pull from my own stash for that second set.  I came home from the class this morning and had time to cut and sew one "practice" block using my 30s stash.  Technically the small blue triangles should be the same yellow and the medium triangles.  But I'm using up scraps and cutting into fat quarters and yardage, so in this case I  used what I saw right away.  I will need one more 30s block, and then will start sewing my batik blocks.  

Backgrounds for both of these quilts will be scrappy - white with the 30s.  And I'm still trying to decide between grays or beiges for the batiks. 

A final note on the previous Saturday Sampler.  My version #1 is at the quilters right now and hopefully I'll have it back to bind in August.  And my version #2 is a work in progress.   

Quick finishes

A couple of quick finishes this week include this little Halloween hexie shaped table topper and an overdue pillowcase.  The hexie topper is made from some of the leftovers of a border print I recently used on a quilt.  I did some simple serpentine stitching around the orange center,along the green/purple meet point, and again near the black outer edge. There is a cute spider web fabric on the back that might glow in the dark. 

I also finished my daughter's bicycling pillow case. I had it all ready to sew for her birthday - last Monday - and then set it aside and couldn't find it. So her birthday gift is late.  I bought this fabric in Iowa during their state-wide shop hop and thought it would be perfect since she will be riding in the RAGBRAI later this month.  The cuff of the pillowcase lists Iowa towns and RAGBRAI is an Iowa distance bicycle "tour".  I'll drop it into the mail for her right away. 

Rainbow Sampler - finished

Finally - another UFO from my challenge list can be checked off as finished.  This one is a full sized quilt made with sampler blocks from the RSC18 challenge.  I've been following the Rainbow Scrap Challenge online for several years, sometimes doing the blocks shared by the host like in 2018 and sometimes just choosing my own blocks to do in the color of the month.

In 2018 I made the actual blocks shared by the host. These were traditional blocks that could have been found in our grandmother's quilts.  I chose to do mine in bright modern fabrics on a scrappy white background.  I really love the old traditional blocks.  This quilt may end up on the guest room bed for the rest of the summer. It's so bright and cheery with it's aqua binding and "splashy" backing. 

  

In 2019 I'm doing my own thing - making 12" cat blocks, Ohio Star blocks, and the 6" flower blocks.  And I'm happy to say, I'm actually keeping up each month so far. 

Design Wall Monday - another bag

There are several Sew Together bags kitted up in my sewing room closet, and ready to sew. This fish one was even started. The outside cover of the fish themed bag is quilted and all of the other parts are ready to go.  Fish seems like a strange choice for this bag, but I thought it would be fun and different. 

I have this bag on my UFO list and am very hopeful that I'll actually get it done this week. It would be nice to check off 2 UFOs this week - assuming I finish the binding I'm slowly working on too.

What is happening on the Design Wall's of other quilters this Monday?  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/