Design Wall Monday

I am new to design wall Monday. My friend, Jan, over at Quilting Revolution told me about it.  I was suppose to start posting it last week but fell a little behind the 8 ball.  If you'd liek to join in or check out what everyone else is up to then head on over to Patchwork Times.

Here is the complete bag.  It's huge.  I wanted it carry things to retreat.  I had seen it when I went on a Quilters retreat with my local quilting bee.  This woman had it.  She didn't have a pattern.  She told me that you just make it howver big you want and reduce the bottom row from each side by two.  I looked online to see if I could find something similar but didnt come up with anything.  I decided to wing it.  What the heck.  Live on the edge.

Picked out my fabric, cut squares and put it up on my make shift design wall.  My design wall is a tablecloth hung up with the wrong side facing out; tacked into place.  It may not be the most fashionable thing but it gets the job done.

I have been using this same fabric for my Farmers Quilt.

The squares are 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.

I used purple for my sandwich.  I wasn't thinking because I should have used just plain muslin.  I was going to put a lining in anyhow.  Make and learn.  Right?

Added handles and lining.  I also added a loop to hook over on the other side.  I also added ties on the side when I sewed my front and back together.  This helps to give the honking thing some shape.  Because let me tell you, this thing is HUGE, honking huge!

When you sew up all the bottom you form a gusset without having to cut off the triangles and such.

All in all I love the bag.  It's very feminine and cheerful.

The Farmers Wife: Week 9

Duck and Ducklings #28

Evening Star #31

Iron Craft Challenge: Hot, Hot, Hot!

Yep, its been hot here too.  Like many places across the USA, we have been in the midst of a heat wave.  Can I tell you frankly that I hate the heat.  Anything is too hot when it gets over 75F, at least for me.  I am perfectly content with the weather when it is 30F.  After living in Phoenix, Arizona, I gladly moved back to the North East for the colder temps.  Around here, I really can't say that too loud, 'cause besides me and my neighbor, we are the only ones that like the cold. So shhh.

Iron Craft challenge this week was Hot, hot, hot!  I have been wanting to make this pillow case dress for a while.  Iron Craft gave me the much needed push to make it.  I have to tell you that you can whip one of these off in like, an hour, tops and that includes finding the pillow case and ribbon.

I found a few links that may be helpful if you want to make one.  Here is a video on You Tube.
And here is a step by step written explanation from Dresses for Africa.  You can donate some if you like!

The Farmers Wife Quilt Along: Week #8

End of Day #30

I photographed my blocks in sun light, made them looked kind of washed out.  I decided that to have more flow to the quilt, that whatever blocks I was working on for the week, 2 or 3 of them would be the same color scheme.  I dont know maybe that will work, maybe not. 

I am having so much fun with this quilt.  It is so gratifying to see the blocks come together.  One of my favorite things about the quilting process is how a fabric that you may not be thrilled about, in combination with another fabric, can reveal itself to be something very beautiful to you.  I love that.  That is so magical to me.

Practical Orchard #69

Bouquet #8

Iron Craft Challenge: Buttons

I really wanted to do this yesterday with my daughter.  One daughter is at my Mothers for an overnight and the other is here with me.  I thought we could do a special craft together.  Her task was to clean the toy room.  She's done it before, I know she can do it. But she didn't.  She decided that what ever Mommy had in store for her was not worth the effort.  Now, my other daughter would have had that room cleaned lickety split for a chance to do a craft.  When my daughter sees what I made this morning while she slumbered, she is going to wish she had cleaned that room.  Natural consequence, well, at least I hope.

This was real quick to pull together.  At first I was going to use felt but then I remembered that my Mother made me a bunch of these crocheted flowers.  I was using them for many crafts but still have a bunch left. I decided to use them instead.  I laid some little scraps of fabric over the styrofoam ball.  (Those scraps came in handy again- see).  Then I straight pinned them in roughly.  No need to get all perfect with it because you are going to lay the flowers on top.  Then I just pinned the buttons onto the flowers with a colored headed pin.  Voila.  Stuck some ribbon on top for hanging with some decorative pins.  I rather like it.  I can see some Christmas balls like this in my near future.  A great craft with the kiddos as well.

I am calling them  Flower Power Balls

I love the Economy

Block, that is.  I love the Economy Block so much that I decided to make a scrappy quilt with it.  I digress from the Farmers Wife Quilt- but thats okay.  I was going to make the block bigger than 6 inch but I like the fact that I can use uo some of my scraps.  Not that I have a ton because I am new to quilting.  Twice now, however, I have found bags of scraps and quilt shops.  Works real well for me as I love scrappy quilts. 

Farmers Wife Quilt Along... week 7

 Cups and Saucers #25  I like this one.  Its fun and although it is many pieces, it works up pretty nicely.

My design wall (a flannel hanging on the wall) is getting full.  Its daunting to think about 120 blocks give or take but it creeps up there quickly.  I keep thinking about sashing and wonder what I will pick.

Buzzards Roost:  I like it but I am not thrilled.  Too much white.  I dunno, maybe it is because I have used so much color that it seems stark.

Churn and Dash #20 Love love love this one- the colors, how it turned out, how it whips up easily.  I could see a whole quilt of these.

Strawberry Basket #91  I like how this one turned out.  I was so excited to make it that I really jumped ahead.  I loved being able to use actually strawberry-ish fabric for it.  The little things in life make me happy.

Economy #29  A really fast, fun one.  Again it would be fun to pull together a whole scrap quilt of these, all different colors.  Since I have not yet done a repeater, I am totally wanting to do one.

Check out this quilt of Economy- I love it.
And this really cute fussy cut one- totally adorable.

Corn and Beans #21  A little too finicky for me.  I dont like all those little pieces.  Very fussy.  The great thing about it though is that it is helping me to learn.  You have to be SO EXACT with little pieces.

 Country Farm #23- this is a definite redo.  I messed up.

A fun one.  This one I do like set on white but really I would have liked any solid as the background.