Just a few inches short of the fabric needed for the interlocking stars??

This afternoon, I was just finishing up on the last two pieces of sashing for the interlocking stars and a little panic set in....Did I have enough dark blue fabric to complete the quilt top?  Most quilts that I make; I do not plan ahead as to if there will be enough fabric to complete the quilt.  I just dig in and get to work.  The kit that was given to me by Tammy consisted of (42) 10" squares and probably more than enough white fabric for the sashing and the back.  Since she was so kind to give me the kit to make the Quilt of Valor, I used my own dark blue fabric for the sashing stars.  Almost done and no more dark blue fabric left to cut.  After digging through numerous baskets, I discovered about one and half yards of my same blue fabric.  Hooray!!!   Time for a break.  Maybe I can find enough fabric for the borders....    

Design Wall Monday

Too many projects and not enough time.....
Last Tuesday at Sewing, I discovered (2) kits that had come in as donated items.  Both were from Creekside Quilts-Pattern #402 Country Girl and Pattern #403 Country Boy.  All the pieces were DieCut.  I'm guessing from 20-25 years ago, maybe longer since the fabrics had the classic look of pale blue and pale pink.  I decided to begin with the Country Boy.  His shirt and hat band were cut from a floral blue.  I just couldn't make the boy wear a floral shirt, so I found some plaid fabric for his shirts.  I didn't use the black fabric for his shoes since they appeared to be too small.  In reviewing the pattern further, I realized they were supposed to be placed under his legs.  I cut brown fabric to be placed on top of his legs.  I think the brown looks better. 

Country Boys

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(3) Quilts in process

Tammy from my weekly Sewing Group, kindly gave me a Quilt of Valor kit, which included 10" squares, sashing fabrics and Missouri Star Quilt Company's Block book, which included the instructions for making a "Friendship Star Sashing Quilt".  I started early this morning, sub-cutting the strips and making the blocks for the QOV.  So far, I have 22 blocks with sashing attached, which is a little over half the blocks.

The last few weeks, I've been working on my "On the Go Tote".  It is almost complete, just need to hand sew the binding down on (3) sides, prior to inserting foam board or other type material to give
the tote bag some stability.


Last Tuesday at Sewing, I agreed to machine quilt a small quilt for Project Linus.  It began with a cute panel, which I added borders on two sides to increase the size of the quilt.  It had been months since I had done any free motion quilting, so I was glad to give it a try again and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Tuesday is our "Group Sewing Day"

Since 2012, I have been meeting with a delightful group of ladies every Tuesday to sew.  We begin about 10:00, sew until lunch and after lunch, sew until 2:00 and then pack every up and off we go, until we meet again.  We always bring our own sewing machines and all the supplies.  It's quite a production but we sure do enjoy getting together every week.  Today, we learned how to make a little
Stand-up "Tooly" for many of our sewing tools.

For the past couple of weeks, I have also been working on creating an "On The Go Tote" for carrying cutting mats, rulers, and other quilting supplies.  So far, I have completed the outside of the tote and am now working on the inside of the tote, which will have many pockets.  Both projects have overly detailed instructions, which have been giving me "fits".

If and when, I get these projects complete, I plan to go back to what I am comfortable making, Quilts.

DWM-Oct. 2nd

I woke up to a brand new day and then discovered tragedy struck Las Vegas last night.  It is difficult to imagine how horrific it must have been for those who were there.  Praying for our country, our  President, our citizens, our families,  and especially for our children.

Design Wall Monday

Panels..
Last Tuesday, at our Sewing Group, someone donated 20 + panels.  We each chose a panel, so we could create a quilt for someone special.  I thought it would be fun to make a few 3-D cubes for the corners and then add some strips to increase the width of the quilt.  It's a little busy but then there will be lots of colors and items for kids to see.  My husband said I needed to add a couple of items to the bottom of the boxes.  I love the dimension of the boxes but they can be rather time consuming to make.  Tomorrow, is our sewing day and it's always fun to see what others have created. 

Panel in the center with 3-D cubes in corners

Buck and his dear doe having a lick at the salt block

Be sure to stop by Small Quilts and Doll Quilts    
to see what other quilters have created this past week.

Design Wall Monday

It's amazing-I am actually posting on Monday.  Our Quilt Guild chose to challenge those who wished, to make a large "On the Go Tote" for carrying our sewing supplies to and from Guild classes.  Hobart and Laurie had already made one, so agreed to teach a class for those who wanted to make their own.  We each purchased our own pattern from Whirligig Designs.com.  I must admit I was quite excited since I had been saving a piece of fabric for over 25 years.  It's a fine corduroy with wild animals.

Thinking I would save time, I chose to make all of the pockets at home.  I discovered that was a "Bad Idea", since I sew 11 pockets WRONG!!   At our first guild session, I worked on removing the stitches from the pockets for the inside of the tote and it didn't make it any easier that I used very small stitches.  Go ahead, smile and have a good laugh.  It took me 3 evenings to remove all those tiny stitches.  Now, I was determined to complete this project and have been working on it a few hours each day.

I am still working on the front side of the Tote Bag-now working on the straps.  I began with two very long strips of fabric with a long piece of batting stitched in between but discovered that would not be sturdy enough for the straps of the tote when filled with supplies.  So, I am now adding a stabilizer with another piece of fabric to what I had already made.  I'm hoping the tote bag will not be so heavy to carry that no supplies can be placed in the bag.  I discovered that my size 90 needle was not strong enough for the all layers of fabric, since I broke 2 needles this morning.  So, I found a size 110/18 Jeans/Denim needle that has been working well.  

Front side of Tote Bag

Back side of Tote Bag

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Check out what others have been designing this last week....by dropping by Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.blogspot.com.