Triangles

My Scrappy Garden top is close to being 3/4 of the way done. 

The section that you see with the arrows above .... well they have all been pinned onto my new tote. 





I just recently made this tote and love it for hauling around my EPP projects to work on.  Perfect for this summer at the cottage.  This tote is also my OPAM for June. 

I've been having some computer woes and that is one reason why there hasn't been a post for the last few weeks.  Friends have been complaining.  To load photos, I have to use my hubby's computer and then use my computer to do the text.  A pain for sure.

In the beginning, I was able to load photos using Internet Explorer and then I couldn't.  Firefox worked great until recently when my computer has been entirely blocked from using that browser.  My only hope is Google chrome.  Those with blogs .... what are you using?

Oh well, have a great day!

What's new?

Since I've been away for a week and a half, not too much has been happening in my studio. So, here are a few photos of some of my summer quilts and tops that are hanging up in my home. In the photo below, my basket top and hexagon top (on the quilt ladder) are still waiting in the wings to be hand quilted. Instead of having them sit in my battered old trunk, they are on display to act as a motivation ..... someday! :o) My red and white top is still a top and it got hung up for our July 1 holiday. Time to take it down and finish marking it up for machine quilting. As much as I would love to hand quilt this one too, reality has to be faced and a decision to machine quilt this one has been made. Considering how long it takes me to hand quilt, I just can't do all of them by hand.

While I was away, some hand work got done. My hexagon star top has been all assembled and is now just waiting for borders and a decision for applique. This was a huge accomplishment and I am absolutely thrilled with it.

Before I left, a new tote bag got started and it will get finished before my next trip this summer. The summer months don't see me at home much as I travel to visit with family and spend time at our family cottage.

Now that hot days are finally here, I will be spending more time at my sewing machine in our cool basement. So, perhaps next week you will see a bit more of my School House project.

Have a great day!

SSCS gift exchange

Now that Christmas is over, the time has come to reveal what I made for my partner, Liz, from down under.

I really enjoyed working on this tote bag and have plans to make one for me. That is just what I need …. ANOTHER bag to add to my collection! :o)

Now, I do have a confession to make. The floral fabric on the sides of the bag are from a sheet (a wedding gift that is over 31 yrs. old) that was worn down in the center. The outer sides were fine and the pattern is one that I just love. There was no way the leftovers were going in the garbage. So, they got recycled into this bag. I had a Loulee moment and quite enjoyed the outcome. :o)

Have a great day!

Bags Down Under

Here is my bag that Lynda sent to me. I was at lunch when my DH called me on my cell to tell me that a parcel from Australia had arrived. As I was lunching with others, I couldn’t just gulp down my food, say my goodbye’s and run home to open my parcel. Darn, darn, darn.

Anyway, the wait was well deserved. Lynda made me the perfect bag and will be used for keeping my hand piecing projects in. I love it ….. there are pockets galore with this bag …. perfect for storing all kinds of stuff in.Lynda, your embroidery is superb and I love the design you did on the front pocket.
And inside, there are still more pockets and some FQ’s that Lynda included in my parcel. I’ve been trying to figure out how she made this bag. Very different , very intriguing is all that I can say. Thank you, Lynda for my bag!

Now, on another note, the bag I made has found its’ home with Vickie. Scroll down to my Sept. 11 post to see how I have displayed her bag and then hop on over to Humpty Doo, Australia to see how Vickie displayed her bag. Great minds think alike!

Finally, a big ‘Thank you’ to lovely Linda, for hosting this bag/bucket swap. It was fun and we all have great bags/buckets to show off.

Have a great day!

Bag Away

Here is my bag for Linda’s Bag/Bucket exchange. It will be on its' way tomorrow to a far away land.

This bag was really hard to part with ….. now, I will just have to make one for myself.

Have a great day!

Bag Straps

I have been busy working on deadlines lately. Between the round robin, miniature Booty Swap and now the bucket/bag swap ….. whew, need to get a move on and get things done and out the door. As much as I would like to work on each and every one of these exchanges, I must concentrate working on the next deadline project.

These are the straps for the Bucket/Bag Swap and I am making a bag. Of course, you all know that there will be more to see later on. :o)

Have a great day!

A Bag will Travel

Now that Judith has received her tote bag that I made for her, it’s time to show it to you. This bag is very similar to the one that was sent to Peg; but it is slightly different. This is the last of the orphan block that started these tote bags.

Judith and I were doing a personal swap and this was my gift to her. She is going on vacation soon for 3 weeks and this bag arrived in time for her to put it to good use.

Have a great day!

Pattern Source: Paper pieced trees from EQ5 software program.

An orphan, now a bag!

What became an orphan block, has resulted in a tote bag. This block was first intended to become a jacket but ended up in my orphan bin instead. Also in the bin, was a pack of rail fence blocks and I just cut them up into 1-1/2” strips. Only the portion of the trees (see the blocked out area) was used for the bag and the remainder will be made into something else one day …. perhaps another tote bag.

This bag made its’ way to Peg in Australia for our SSCS.

So, take another look in your orphan bin and see if any blocks can be made into a tote bag.

Have a great day!

Another bag

Well, there I go again …. another bag.












These are my two bucket bags that I’ve made so far. The one on the left, the squares were cut at 3-1/4” and the one on the right, the squares were cut at 4”. There is sure a big difference in sizes. With my new bag, the batting used was sturdier and I find that it sure makes the bag stand up better and I am more pleased with the look of it.

So, I’m just bagging along and having a blast making these.

Thanks Andrea, www.welshquilter.blogspot.com/
(June posts) for giving us the great tutorial.

Have a great day!

Bag, encore

Oh my, how I have been enjoying seeing all the wonderful bags out there in blogland!

Now to add to the mix, here is a bag that I made for my niece to hold her gym clothes. Originally, she wanted to buy some stencils and paint but when she saw these fabrics, well, this is the result.

Have a great day

Bags encore

Here is my latest bag. The striped material is a piece of upholstery fabric. I used blue gingham fabric for the lining. Golly, it will be a hard choice which bag I will choose the next time I travel in a few weeks from now.

Have a great day!

Nautical Tote Bag

Well, here is my new tote bag and I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. I love how each side has a different look.

You know, I’m just a bag lady at heart and there are more bags just begging to be made! :o)

Have a great day

Looking for Miss Inspiration

Since there is so much going around on the web these days about orphan blocks, I thought it might be a good idea to glance into my bin to see what might be there. To my surprise, there is actually more than what I thought.

The Mariner’s Compass and lighthouse blocks (bottom of photo) will become a tote bag.

The rest, well, I can’t find any inspiration with them for now. I’ll hang them up on my design wall and see what I can do with them (I am determined).
Visit http://orphantrainsfromfinn.blogspot.com/ to see what is going on with orphan blocks and you will have loads of inspiration after one visit.

Speaking of inspiration, thank you Froggie for your compliment. I have such fun with my quilting and when I started this blog, my wish was to inspire folks to have fun with their quilting too. My feeling is that if you have fun, then inspiration comes along very quickly.

Have a great day!

Bucket Tote Bag

After being at home for a few days (and after all the wedding fuss), I was in dire need of a quilt fix and what better way than making a tote bag. Have you seen all the bags on the web lately? Aren’t they just awesome!

A while back, I saw this bag at http://www.welshquilter.blogspot.com/ (June posts) and just knew that it was a someday project. Well, that day arrived and here is my version.

The bag was made slightly bigger than the pattern, which suits me fine as it is great for traveling. The handle pattern is new to me and I just love the look and feel of them. With the bit left over from the handles (which were made longer), I made a tab to close the bag and secured the tag with Velcro.

This is a bag that I will certainly make again. Many thanks, Andrea for the great tutorial!

Four Seasons Swap
I have my partner’s name for the swap but it has to remain a secret until my friend receives her quilt. But, I can show you what her quilt will look like as it progresses along. More to come on that!
Have a great day!

My Tote Bag

I had a bunch of charm squares that were just sitting in a basket ready for something. Since I’ve been traveling back and forth to my Mom’s a LOT lately, I decided that I needed to travel in style. :o) What better way than to have a quilted tote. Pinwheels, next to nine-patches are some of my favourite blocks.
Have a great day!