Friday finishes

I made market bags for family gifts this year.

The one from the left is from a tea towel I picked up in London,

and the other is made from flag fabric picked up right here in Winnipeg.

My nieces loved them. The one at the right visited London last year,

and was thrilled to locate familiar subway or tube stops on her bag.

My guild exchanged mug rugs for Christmas gifts,

and this is the one I got, as well as

a Sew Together bag just because from my friend C.

The outside, with a pattern if I want to make another one.

I made the mug rug with the 200 HST on the top left.

Some quilty friend gave me these tiny triangles,

and I was just crazy enough to sew them together.

Another couple of bags -- the bottom one from a thrifted piece of canvas,

and the top one made by simply adding handles onto a discarded cotton coin bag.

No more pennies in Canada,

so the mint got rid of their penny coin bags.

Read the back story on how I got this bag here.

Earlier this month, I spent a Saturday sew-in making this denim tote.

It uses circles cut from old jeans with squares cut from

vintage pillowcases.

I had many worn out pillowcases so I saved the embroidery for this project.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts

and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Friday Finishes

I've made some progress on long overdue projects.

First up is a baby quilt from solid flying geese 

originally intended for a double quilt for my son.

He got a double quilt recently from grandma

so I decided to sew these into two projects:

a baby quilt for a soon-to-be born neighbour

and a throw quilt for whatever.

I may be late for the baby, but I'm early for this wedding.

I combined a $7 package of denim rectangles

with some Jane Sassaman prints from the bargain bin

for a picnic and beach blanket.

That black patch pocket on the lower right is hiding a zippered pocket

perfect for stowing keys or a phone.

The wedding couple requested purple

and I like how that stripe frames the blanket,

Here's a shot of the two coordinating backing prints--

the stripes and yellow jackets on purple.

I'm not a fan of stinging insects,

but maybe these provide a little insurance against the real thing

during an upcoming picnic.

My friend Val suggested using an old pair of jeans

to make a tote bag for the blanket.

I threw in a set of four napkins from the wasp print

and the new owners loved it all.

Now they have pockets for water bottles and snacks

and a place to keep the blanket clean in the car trunk.

Here's some more repurposing:

I needed red for the back of a pillow for my niece

and I used the strip sets and fabrics left over

from the red and grey chevron quilt I pieced for a friend last year

and my friend Yvonne hand quilted.

This is the floating chevron quilt.

When I was making it, an older and thrifty quilting friend

was concerned I was wasting too much fabric

because there were leftover strips.

I assured her I would find a place for them

and now I did.

This is a better view of the hand quilting by Yvonne.

And this is the front of the pillow.

Kara's favourite colour is red

followed by black and white.

I figured I hit the mark on this one,

and I used up lots of black and white novelty prints

so there's an I Spy quality about it.

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Summer stitching projects

I've finished a few sewing projects this summer.

First up: This drawstring backpack and matching zippy pouch

for my cute little cousin Audrey, who turns 3 next week.

The zipper bag is only four inches by three inches

and the backpack is definitely toddler-sized.

I used coordinating corduroy prints from baby garments I made 20 years ago.

Yup, I've kept these fabrics for two decades.

I sewed a zipper to the top of the pink pocket and then sewed twill tape on that,

and attached that to the green fabric.

My pile of hexies is growing.

I started hand sewing them in the Rockies two months ago

now I have about 50 or so.

Here are the backs.

I've used a lot of Kaffe prints, some hand dyed fabrics

and that yellow/orange white Liberty print.

Here's more of that Liberty print in this table square.

I got a Liberty of London blouse from a friend, who also passed on fabric in the linen borders.

I put that all together with a doily from the thrift shop

to make a pad for a hot tea pot

which will be covered by this tea cozy.

Star Trek quote on one side

And Liberty print on the other.

If you look closely, you can see the original Liberty tag 

on the bottom left of the tea cozy.

I used the padding from a discarded ironing board cover

for the batting, using up scraps of bits and pieces inside and out.

Earlier this summer, Sherri Lynn Wood put out a challenge to make quilts

out of found materials, and I think this one works as part of her

#makedochallenge she's currently running on Instagram and on her blog.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers at

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

TGIFF

Crazy Mom Quilts.

Each one teach one, part 2

I'm more than half-way through teaching a five-week learn to sew class.

Here's what I've learned so far:

Learning to operate machinery as an adult is harder than you realize

when you've been sewing all your life.

And adult learners are good sports, 

even when the sewing machines jam up

and the teacher needs a little instruction herself.

I'm teaching in a space with about 10 different donated machines.

We've had problems with all of them,

whether they were expensive computerized Janomes

or basic plastic Singers.

Last week I brought my all metal Elna SP (above)

because I can thread that one in my sleep.

I've also brought in my Singer 301a

and next week I may just bring in a Featherweight or two.

But we've persevered, and after a quick lesson on rotary cutting last week,

everyone was able to cut out fabric for a tote bag last night.

We're using a variety of upholstery samples

and some IKEA twill yardage.

I'm teaching bag and pillow making methods

rather than specific patterns,

so everyone figured out the size of bag that would work best.

Yesterday was all about flat construction --

we put on the handles and finished edges before sewing the side seams,

and then squared off the corners.

My question to you is one the students are asking:

What's a good starter machine?

I've been promoting vintage,

but those of you who have newer Pfaffs and Janomes and Berninas,

tell me what's a good new machine to buy?

I've been telling the students a sewing machine can be a lifetime investment,

since my mother is still sewing on her 1968 Elna Supermatic

and lots of us are loving our Featherweights and other all-metal vintage machines.

I'm linking up to The Needle and Thread Network 

and Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday.

Showing my true colours in some Friday finishes

Earlier this year my mother gave me a 20-strip roll-up

of the True Colors line by Anna Maria Horner,

which I augmented with a package of charm squares.

Last weekend I turned both sets of pre-cuts into usable objects

by dividing them by colourways.

(Yes, I put a U in colour -- I'm Canadian!).

I used the greens and blues in a little drawstring backpack.

This is a class sample for a Learn to Sew bags course I'm teaching in October,

but it's also a useful size for carrying a book, wallet, keys, and phone.

I made a doll blanket for my favourite two-year-old

from the yellow/pink/purple squares and strips,

and backed it with some bright flannel leftover from another project.

I quilted the two layers with a simple diagonal

and now it's ready for some serious dolly cuddling.

I used the leftover strips in some string piecing,

so now I've used up all the bits.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers

at Crazy Mom Quilts

and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

How to change a bag in two easy steps.

1. Admire a vintage coin bag from heavy unbleached cotton

 at an artist's studio in Banff, Alberta, Canada

2. Offer her one of these in return.

Now we're both happy!

I'm thrilled to take one of these home to Winnipeg,

home of the Royal Canadian Mint.

Lisa the artist from Toronto, Ontario, found dozens of these bags 

in a thrift shop in Saskatoon, Saskatoon.

I found my VW bus fabric in Saskatoon as well.

Coin-cidence?!

A quilter and sewer in the making

Recently I had the fun of sewing with a 10-year-old girl.

She wanted to make a bag for her bracelet-making supplies,

 and green is her favourite colour.

So we found some upholstery weight fabric, set up the Featherweight in its table

and started cutting and sewing.

I figured out the bag proportions, and M. did most of the sewing.

We did all of it on the FW except for the last seam, 

where I attached the lining to the bag on my Juki, which handled all those layers just fine.

M. spent less than three hours with me,

and by the time her parents came to pick her up,

the bag was done and we were halfway through Mary Poppins on DVD.

This is not quite Mary's carpet bag, but close.

We put in a big pocket from an old curtain

 for her plastic divided container with the rubber bands

and her two looms fit in the main compartment.

And the strap is long enough to go over her shoulder,

but not so long it drags on the ground,

even though it looks like it here.

I think it's superfragelisticexpialidocious!

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network.

On their way to the Caribbean

 

I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon

making five zippy bags for gifts.

Four of them are flying to Haiti as gifts.

 

The top two are strip-pieced and lightly quilted.

The two at either end on the bottom are free-motioned

in feathers and flowers.

 

That scrappy one in the middle is still looking for a home.

 

I was inspired enough to go through my pile of novelty fabrics

to make summer pillowcases for camping and maybe for gifts.

I'll post pictures of those soon.

Little finishes for Friday

I've been sewing little things here and there, like this tablet case for my son.

I used a typewriter print to contrast with the high tech gadget inside,

and Soft and Stable bag batting byannie.com

I cut into a thrifted London underground map tea towel for this little shoulder bag

and made some folded coasters/earbud holders

and finished a knitting journal from thrifted and vintage linen

as a gift for my sister.

Here's most of the above, hanging out together.

The little wallet purse has a Paula Prass flap with a subway body.

thanks for stopping by.

I'm linking up with Sarah's whoop whoop

and Amanda's Finish it up Friday.

Looking at life from both sides now

Side 1

Side 2

of scrappy cosmetic bags recently completed.

Ingredients: little bits of batting, 8 inch zippers from the thrift shop,

and whatever scraps were on my sewing table.

And take a look at the inside of the samosa style bag, bottom left.

Yup, those are shoes.

Four bags gifts, two already gifted.

Sew Day!

Yesterday I declared a sew day and invited four friends over to sew bags.

This is what happened by the end of the day -- various bags in progress, big and small.

I gave over my whole main floor to the process -- we had a cutting table,

four sewing machines, and bags and boxes and suitcases of vintage linens,

donated yardage, trims, books and more.

I couldn't find my camera underneath all that creative goodness,

but Joyce had her iPad with her and documented it here.

And while you're there, take a look around.

Joyce has singlehandedly raised nearly $30,000

to feed hungry people by selling her handmade, one-of-a-kind bags.

I started with one of Joyce's vintage star blocks,

totally wonky. It was handpieced and not square at all,

but with a little love and lots of vintage bits, it makes a great flap for a messenger bag.

Here's the inside, with a bit of barkcloth making a pocket.

The back of the top flap is silk, cut from my cousin's bridesmaid dress,

which she passed on to me to play with.

This is the bag turned inside out. The pockets were ready-made for me courtesy

of a wall organizer someone made, and I used a cut-off part of a zipper

to use as tape to attach a hook.

Here's the bag opened up, showcasing the quilted star on the front

and the pieced back, made from Thai silk upholstery samples.

Now I've vacuumed the rug, swept up the threads, and put away the sewing machines

to reclaim the living and dining room.

But I kept some fun bits from other people: vintage fabrics,

a fun text print, some pieces of yardage, and some more upholstery samples.

We've decided to do this again, soon.

Thanks for sharing your creative energy, fellow bag ladies.