COLORBLOCK - Firefly Tote

Hi friends! Today I'd like to share the Firefly Tote I made for the Tim Holtz COLORBLOCK release. You can catch this on Tim's Chanel. The Firefly Tote pattern is by Anna Graham and her company is Noodlehead. I love her patterns they're very refined and the details are nice. She has a videos on YouTube of most of her patterns. I choose a heavy denim for the base of the tote and paired it with the COLORBLOCK - Tiled by Tim Holtz for FreeSpirit Fabrics.

Firefly Tote 

pattern by Noodlehead

fabrics COLORBLOCK by Tim Holtz

photo by Tim Holtz

The top of the bag has a drawstring closure.

You can also push the drawstring portion inside the bag if you prefer. 

The front has a zipper pocket and a slip pocket above the zipper. 

Inside there is another pocket. The pocket is in Crimson Provisions and the lining is Denim Provisions fabric also from Tim Holtz. 

Leather handles that have been riveted on for extra strength.  

If you're looking for a little bit of fabric Simon Says has a couple bundles.

If you'd like some yardage Whim-So-Doodle has Yardage and they ship fast! 

Happy Sewing and thanks for dropping by!

Richele

If you'd like some yardage Whim-So-Doodle has Yardage and they ship fast! 

Happy Sewing and thanks for dropping by!

Richele

 

International Quilt Market 2014 - Houston

Hello...I'm just back from Quilt Market in Houston Texas. 

I have wanted to go to Quilt Market in Houston ever since I started quilting over 30 years ago. All the new fabric releases, new machines, new products and then there was the amazing quilts. So much inspiration! I had such a great time working in the booth, meeting new friends, being inspired by all the quilts and hanging out with my dear friends Tim, Mario and Paula. 

and

 So excited...my project made the front cover of International Quilt Festival Magazine. Yippee!! It's the Floral Hexagon Tote.

 The Tim Holtz Honeycomb Frameworks die was the inspiration to create the front of the tote. So don't think your paper crafting tools are just for paper, many of them will work on fabric projects as well. All the details on how to make the beautiful tote are in the magazine! To order the magazine click here. 

Once we arrived it was time to get things set up and un-pack the crates. Here are Tim and Paula getting ready to hang the beautiful quilt.

Off to Schoolhouse for Tim's presentation on the Eclectic Elements Fabric line.

Here's Tim adding a few finishing touches to the booth. 

The Hash Browns for Breakfast quilt hanging at the back of the booth was so popular there is now a pattern. Click here for the free pattern on the Coats website. 

You can also see more projects here. 

The booth was beautiful with the signature Tim Holtz vintage feel. 

The new catalogues with lots of inspirational projects. 

The bolts of Eclectic Elements fabric. A girl can never have too much fabric! 

Here are a few projects that I made with the new fabrics. Ruffle floral pillow, star pillows and a small sewing wallet. I can't wait to make a one for myself. 

On the last day we were able to take a peek at all the beautiful quilts on display.

 But this display of the Ruby Jubilee was the most breathtaking display I have ever seen. 

Simply amazing!! 

Check out Tim and Paula's blog for their recap of the show.

Thanks for stopping by!

Richele

A Ruffle Tote for Quilt Market

Hi friends! How was your weekend? I hope you made some time to be creative! My workshops at Stampers Corner in Elk Grove were so FUN! Thanks ladies, you all did such an awesome job. Love all your creativity!

Here is the "Ruffle Tote" featuring Eclectic Elements fabric. This project happens to have more hours then any of the other projects I made, not that it was more difficult, the project just started in a totally different direction. It was well worth all the hours because I love the way it turned out.

The tote has 2 big ruffle going up and down each side. 

Torn edges on the ruffles give it a raw deconstructed look.

Here's the main part of the bag, just randomly pieced. 

Love the "Subway" print for the top band of the tote. 

Repeating the pieced look for the handle helped tie it all together. 

This is where the tote started. It was definitely worth all the work.

Thanks for stopping in! 

Richele

InLinkz.com

Eclectic Elements Fabric Tote

About 6 weeks ago Paula and I meet at Scrapbook Island in San Jose, California. She was teaching some classes there and I went to help and she brought me the soft, beautiful, vintage fabrics for me to make Quilt Market samples…I couldn't wait to get home and start sewing. 

Now to get inspired and make some projects to showcase the fabrics. So...inspirations can come from many places and Pinterest is a great place to see lots of inspiration fast! So I opened a Pinterest account and started pining. Now I'm totally addicting! My Pinterest is "CaliArtGirl" "Richele Christensen" if you want to see what i've been pinning. This tote was inspired from a few places, Pinterest and a photo Paula Cheney sent me that Tim had liked. So I was off and sewing. 

Eclectic Elements Fabric Project 2…

A deconstructed tote using fabric from both collections and a little osnaburg fabric. I sewed random strips together and even some raw seems out. It was fun sewing with no real plan and measurements. 

The strap is a leather belt Paula picked up at Goodwill then I cut it in half lengthwise with a rotary cutter. I was amazed at how easy it was to cut. I went to Home Depot and found a snap clip then the local shoe cobbler sewed it onto the strap for a small fee. 

Totally in love with the fabric lining, it's one of the new ones. 

I added some hand stitching using embroidery floss. Also fraying edges of the fabric is a fun. 

Eclectic Elements fabric has great details to key up on like the number 2. 

Here is how the snap clip attaches to the tote. 

This is the inspiration for the tote from Pinterest. 

This is the piecing inspiration. 

Love how this tote came out I actually had a hard time sending it off! 

Thanks for all the nice comments, I love hearing from you!

Have a great week!

Richele

InLinkz.com