"Vacation" quilting

The thing I love most about hand sewing is that you can easily take it on the go. My roller derby team went to Eugene, OR last weekend for a tournament. The plane rides plus the time difference causing me to wake up hours earlier than my teammates provided me lots of time to work on my Millie quilt.

First, I finished up rosette #2:

Then, I worked on and eventually finished up rosette #3:

There was a fabric/quilt shop about 10 minutes from the tournament venue. So we took a little walk on Saturday to scope it out. I brought back some souvenirs!

Finally, when I got home I had a chance to do some machine sewing. I've been putting it off because I didn't have all the fabric I needed, correct interfacing, or an idea of how to make the garden tote I was commissioned to make. It turned out well, but I need to continue to focus on finishing things nicely rather than hurrying through the last few steps because I'm so excited to be done.

Rosette #4 is going to be purple and green. I have a little bit completed and am working on it over lunch every day. I love portable sewing!

More handquilting

My machine is safely back at home and I have a project list a mile long, but I cannot stop hand sewing on this "Millie" quilt! It's satisfying to put together something and see it grow, feels good to follow a pattern but also have freedom to see where that pattern takes me, and choosing the fabrics slowly is fun/frustrating! It's also nice to sit downstairs with my husband, even though we are watching different devices and not really talking to each other.

Finished Rosette #1! 

I can't decide between option 1 and option 2. It's amazing how different they look, just by flipping the hexagon.

This is not the way I chose, but the next round is going swimmingly.

It is coming along!

Fabric love

I have fallen in love... with a fabric. I've had my eye on it for months, but when I found it in the sale section of my local quilt shop I only bought a half yard. Idiot. I will be going back for more because I've already used the bulk of that half yard. It has even (possibly) inspired me to (maybe) make clothing.

Moda Urban Chik:

Isn't it so cute!?! It reminds me of my old bedsheets or curtains or something like that.

I've also been trying to keep up with the Splendid Sampler, 100 quilt blocks in 2016. Some of the most recent ones have required embroidery, which is the last thing I want to do when I've been handstitching a bunch of stuff for the New Hexagon quilt along. 

All my blocks are turning out slightly different sizes, which is very frustrating. Apparently I need more starch and more careful sewing. Blagh.

Crafting as fundraising

The Minnesota RollerGirls All Stars are having a trivia night fundraiser with a silent auction this weekend. As a member of the Minnesota RollerGirls and beneficiary of the All Stars budget in my role as the travel manager, I wanted to contribute to the auction. Quilts don't tend to get a lot of money at auctions because they are so easily purchased at big box stores for much cheaper than it's worth to make them. But, small items like pouches and especially baby crap get much bigger bucks, despite them being easier and cheaper to make. So, that's what I made!

Three pouches in different sizes.

Assorted baby crap: two burp cloths, crinkle toy, and diaper pouch

I'm also working on the first rosette in the New Hexagon Millefiori quilt. I've made a little progress:

And then the machine broke... :(

Mid project (a clear travel pouch,) my machine just stopped functioning. Every time I tried to sew something it made a terrible noise and the bottom of my fabric ended up like this:

Sometimes when the machine malfunctions there is lint in in the bottom gumming things up. I opened her up and cleaned out some nasty fuzzballs. It looked like a lint trap of a dryer in there! I clean it pretty regularly, but haven't gone that far into the belly of the beast before. Then I took apart the top to see if there was any thread caught in there. Boy, was there!

All that was wrapped around an arm inside the top of the machine! Yikes. 

After trying everything I knew to do and that was recommended on the internet, I finally brought it in to the repair shop. Turns out, I chipped the bobbin casing (probably a result of a needle break) and there wasn't a simple fix. Had to send it in for repair, which will take 3 weeks and $120! Luckily, I have a back-up  machine that my step-mom gave me when I graduated. It's not as fancy and is much louder, but totally functional and I can continue to sew!

However, I decided to start another long-term English Paper Piecing project called the New Hexagon Millefiore. http://www.katjasquiltshoppe.com/the-new-hexagon-millefiore-quilt-along.htm. I just started, but things are progressing nicely with Rosette 1. 

Procrastination over.

Last weekend was spent working on a BUNCH of sewing projects that I had been procrastinating until after our Canada trip.

When I procrastinate, I make zippered pouches. They are fast (except these weren't because I was paper piecing or sewing very small things together or doing quilt-as-you-go) and I love making useful things. It was my intention to sell or give these away, but I love them too much.

I finally finished the quilt for my nephew Cannon. The thread came in my last fabric order so I really couldn't do it before the trip anyway. This is an in-progress shot - I haven't taken any full photos yet. I loved working on a baby quilt! It came together very fast and I was able to free-motion quilt "as desired" all over the top without getting too mad at it. The fabric is outer space themed and the construction is all straight lines and rectangles so I wanted the free-motion quilting to be a little more rounded/free flowing to counter that. Loops and rounded stars seemed the most whimsical and appropriate for the quilt.

Making baby things has been very fun. The fabrics are soft and so cute! Most things come together very quickly and it's very satisfying to have quick finishes while I'm also working on long-term projects. I made some burp cloths, a crinkle toy, a bib, and a diaper pouch for my friend Adam. Their nursery is bright pink, navy blue, gray, and "humpy" whales. The whale fabric I found is minky and SO SOFT. I want to wear it.

So many things done!

Curling gifts

David and I are headed to the Brier curling tournament in Ottawa, Ontario on Friday. Some curling friend of his is hosting us in her home for free. I sew things for people as a general activity, and frequently sew things as thank you or other gifts. When I asked what I could make (quickly because we leave in three days) for her, no one had any suggestions. They all said "she just really likes to drink!" A drink coozie seemed like the perfect gift!

I found a pattern on Pinterest - http://www.aprettycoollife.com/2013/08/diy-mason-jar-cozy.html - and a curling stone paper piecing pattern there too:

 I found scraps in the right colors and got to work to test the pattern out.

The coozie pattern calls for 12.5x3.5" pieces to sew together. After I had sewn them, I tried to wrap it around my can, but it was too long. I added two longer velcro pieces (so this thing could fit a 40oz beer if we wanted!) rather than starting over. On the second one, I made it 4.5" wide to better fit the can. 

I'm not the hugest fan of this pattern, but I don't think there was a better quick way to make it happen. 

I did alter this pattern to make a smaller block, and if I have time I will turn it into a small zippered pouch to bring along as a gift as well: http://quiltsocial.com/quick-holiday-gift-tutorial-curling-rocks-quilted-runner/ 

Another purchase at Spoonflower may be necessary to buy some curling fabric! If people at the Brier go crazy for these patterns I may have found a new outlet for my crafts!