A little update…and a vacay!

My apologies for my absence, but seems like summer has caught up with me. I thought I would catch you up on the shenanigans in my sewing room and warn you of another absence. I often write when I finish something, and there has been lots going on but few finishes. Its all good, but I slowed up a bit after 3 QALs. I still need to quilt Diatom; but that is on the schedule for September. I have 12 ferry pillows to make, 6 already committed and another 6 possibly committed so that will be the bulk of my work when I return.

Two Benefit Quilts

I quilted up two benefit quilts for my guild -others made the quilts and backing. I do make some of my own, but I know they always have a backlog to be quilted. I like to do this and it was helpful to work through a few glitches in the update to my Prostitcher software.

The baby quilt measured 36″ x 42″ and I used Safari Clouds by Anne Bright Designs. Its a fast and fun pantograph for the baby quilts and seemed perfect for this one.

Our guild has labels and I am getting smarter about putting them into the quilt binding as I finish the quilt. I usually wash them, but that will wait for another day.

The second quilt was a bit larger, 47 x 62. I love the flannel fun on the front. It is a simple pattern but it makes for a pleasing design. The city scene on the back is just fabulous, too. I believe that was one of the first digital prints ever produced. I did score a little piece of it, so that will be fun.

I used a new pantograph from Prostitcher, called Faux Free Motion Border. I loved that it was a little bit of curve and points.

It looks great above the city skyline.

I love the way this quilt looks. The back is completely different but so much fun. I know this will be another well loved benefit quilt.

Beginning the Ultimate Travel Bag

I have quilted the main pieces for the Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0* and cut them out. There is still what they call sealing the seams, stitching around each piece; it has begun but won’t get finished before I leave. I bought some strapping, but not enough, there may be some in Medford so I will check tomorrow when I get there.

A Call Me Bag

This bag has been on my list forever (its free at ByAnnies). I knew I could do it if I put my mind to it. I had some leftover pieces from the Ultimate Travel bag (and plenty left if there is a mistake in my cutting), so I thought I would get this done.

It took less than two hours. The longest part was making the bias binding. I had some leftover binding I used for the front pieces. I do love this Cotton and Steel Blueberry fabric!

I am so pleased with this finish. I have many tasks I can finish up this afternoon as I clean and pack but already I am wearing it as my gym pants don’t have pockets! This is fabulous. I have seen so many people make them and now I know why. I do think I may make one with a double zip – so I can carrry money and cards more easily. I did make it to go over my shoulder, knowing that I can tie a knot and wear it around my neck if I am at a show/class where I have a name tag! I am psyched.

A little vacay

I’m off to NJ to see two of my brothers. One is in Asbury Park, NJ and one in Avalon NJ. Both have had these places for a few years but I haven’t been there. I went to the NJ for much of my life (first 40 years or so), but as our son got older and his schedule more difficult, we stopped going. We still saw the family, but usually at the end of August in Pennsylvania where the cousins and grandparents lived.

I’ll be checking in but out of touch until next week…so if you don’t hear from me…family, fun, sun, surf, laughter, good eats and walks will all be on the agenda. I haven’t decided if a hand sewing project is going with me….tbd!

Coming Up on the Blog

More Ferry Pillows
Yoga Quilt #1
Ultimate Travel Bag

Linky Parties

Monday Musings
To Do Tuesday

Fabric Stash

I used 1 yard for bindings….
Fabric in this month: 0 yards
Fabric out this month: 1 yard
Fabric in this year: 61.75 yards
Fabric out this year: 80.5 yards
NET Fabric: -18.75 yards

Disclaimer: *Links with asterisk indicate an affiliate link. Your price is not any different, but a small percentage of the sale will go to supporting my blog.