April Bag Making

 I've been busy sewing this month, but just too busy to post.Tuesday night I made my friend Michelle a Sew Together bag. She's retiring soon and I wanted to make her one of these. This took just over 1.5 hours. I plan to teach a class on it this summer at The Sewing Center. The fabric is Everyday Handmade. 

My MIL's birthday was last week and I made her a phone purse to carry her phone around. It's called Call Me from byAnnie

I've had this wired tote frame for probably 4 years and finally got around to making the small wired tote. I used Homemade fabric. I pre-quilted it, so I had to bind the inside, but it worked out okay. 

I covered the front with a complimentary fabric. 

I've had this Easy Does it bag cut out for quite some time. I finally got around to making it the beginning of April. It's a pretty simple bag and a free pattern. I'm teaching a class on it this summer. 

Emmalina Bags has a free pattern for a boxy wired tote. I made the small size. It was pretty simple to make and I think it turned out pretty cute. 

My dad's wife asked me to make her some bags for gifts, so I made 5 bags. This is the front and the back. She received 4 and the other one will go to a family member.

Overall I would have liked to make more bags, but I ran out of time and energy. I'm trying to get graduation gifts and teacher appreciation quilts done. These are taking presedence. 

Binding Week

 This week was dedicated to binding quilts. I have lots of quilts quilted, but they were sitting waiting for binding, so my goal this week was to get 4 quilts bound.

I started binding the Twister table toppers I made for Julie. The little one is 17" and the big one is 25". They turned out great, but the binding on those inside corners was a nightmare. I should have stitched and flipped instead of quilting them. 

I used a Sweetwater fabric that has brands and barbed wire on it. 

Here they are stacked on top of each other. I hand-stitched the binding on these this week. 

I also made a wall hanging for my friend Pat for her birthday. She loves the Sakura fabric and while it's a month late, she completely understands. I hand sewed the binding on this one too. 

I added the binding by machine to the 3rd ABC quilt. I now have 2 baby quilts for when I need them for gifts. I was one piece short and had to look hard to find the extra binding fabric. 

I also did the binding on this Quilts of Valor quilt I made for a family member. It turned out super cute and I think he'll like it. 

I did loops and stars in RWB King Tut on this one. 

This weekend I put the binding on June, the quilt along from last year with GE Designs. I love this one, but I think it's going to be a teacher's gift. 

I used Glamping Gypsies fabric for this one. It's 73X93, so it's big! I quilted it the long ways as I had extra-wide red backing. 

Yesterday I got new struts put on my car. Look how shiny and pretty they are!

My brother has a new auto business and he put them on for me. It gave me a chance to visit with him and catch up without the whole family around. He does such good work. 

Last week I did my last gig of the school year with a career fair at Spearfish High School. I also did one at Stevens High School the same night. It was a lot of fun and my co-worker Susie went with me to the event. 

Saturday I helped 15 4-Hers make tote bags for our Pizza and Craft Day. It was a lot of work, but the kids had fun and they made some adorable bags. There were 4 sewing machines, a mom, dad, and a grandma who helped, and lots of different outdoor fabrics for tote bags. They were simple lined totes with webbing for handles. This is the 3rd year in a row that the kids have done a sewing project. 

Saturday County Shoot

Saturday was the county 4-H shootout for the kids. My brother and his family came up and brought members of their club as well, so it was a busy day. My brother found a ramp for my dad's house, so as a family, we all went to load it up and take it to dad's house. While the boys installed it, I did a quick quilting job. It was National Quilting Day on Saturday, so it seemed appropriate. 

I quilted up the small Twister for Julie. It's 17" and uses brands in it. 

I also quilted up the 25" one that she wanted as well. Now I just need to get them bound. 

I quilted this wall hanging for my friend Pat. It's going to be a late birthday present, but I hadn't gotten out to quilt and I wanted to quilt it on the frame. It's 29". 

I also quilted up this purple sampler. I used these blocks several years ago to teach a class, but there isn't enough contrast in the fabrics, so it's a bad sampler. It's now quilted and I'll bind it and someone will enjoy it. 

The kids after the county shoot. They both shot their personal bests in BB Guns. Mik even qualified for State Shoot. It was a great day for shooting and spending time with family. Grandpa and Grandma came to watch and then we all went out to eat. We ended the day with supper at their house after we helped my brother load chutes to take back to their ranch. 

Tote Bag Sample

 Last night I worked on a bag as a sample for the 4-H Club I am teaching to sew next Saturday. We've already done pillowcases and masks, so this year we're doing bags. 

I made a blanket for my daughter's friend. It's really tiny and is for her stuffed cow. This is a scrap of minkee, so a quick stitch, flip, and topstitch. I think it took about 10 minutes. 

Then I worked on the bag. The pattern is a Lazy Girl free pattern, With Love Tote, and uses a yard of fabric and I made the handles with webbing. It's a fairly good sized tote. 

Sewing the edge closed on the lining. 

The hole to turn it through. 

Corners cut out for a boxed corner. 

I drew it out so the kids could see. Then they will cut with scissors on the marked line. 

Ruler to show the corner size. 

I'm really frustrated that I couldn't find a one-page pattern on how to make a canvas tote with a 1/2 yard of outdoor or canvas material. I need to bite the bullet and make one, so I can teach the kids how to make it. We'll see how this one goes and then I may teach another class for the county 4-H kids. 

Swoon Sweet 16

I'm feeling the March Madness, so I've named this the Swoon Sweet 16 quilt. I made it using Glamping Gypsies fabric and it's the Swoon 16 pattern from Thimble Blossoms. I love how it turned out. I used red minkee on the backing and it's so pretty in person. It doesn't have a home yet, but I'm sure I'll find the right recipient. I have 16 quilts made from this fabric line. It's my absolute favorite fabric line ever. The quilt measures & 75" square, so an oversized throw or a bed topper. 

I used a "Bone" colored Glide thread on it. While it looked light gray, it really reads white on this white background. I'm pleased with how it blends in the red minkee background too. 

I've been working on this one since October 2018, which makes it one of my older UFO's. The blocks are a bit tedious in that I worked hard to get the patterns to "go" the same direction, which took some figuring. 
 

Squirrel... or Fox ohh my

 I feel like this week is squirrel week. I literally have been going crazy, doing about 10 different projects and starting, stopping, and doing a bit here and there. I jump from one project to another, to another, then back to the first. I have so many "things" going on that I really don't have anything specific I am working on at the moment. The main reason is I don't have any "right now" deadlines. Most I need by May, so I am slowly working on those quilts, but not showing them or if I do, I pretend they are for someone else. 

I've been working on these Twister table toppers for a lady to match her dining room table runners I made last year for her. These are 25" and 17" square. The fabric is a western theme and has branding and barbwire-themed fabrics. I have both tops done and just looking for the backing fabric I bought to put with them. 

I've been pretty regularly working on Rhododendron Trail Mystery quilt blocks. I've made 10 full blocks and the centers for 5 more, so I'm almost there making these blocks. Next, I need to cut out the sashing and cornerstones. I'm farther ahead on this one than many times, so I want to keep the momentum going and get the top finished. I use it as my "end of the night" project after I sew what I plan to work on, I sew on this until 10:30 or when I hit a good stopping point. Kind of a leader/ender at the end. 

I'm also making a quilt called Bookends and it uses Glamping Gypsies fabric. It's a leader/ender project or end of the night project as well. It's so easy and will go together quickly. 

I pulled out this purple sampler top and will make a table topper out of it to gift. It's already assembled and a bit of a hot mess, so it's time for it to find a new home. 

My friend Pat has a new grandbaby on the way and so I made this gauze baby blanket with Foxes on it for the new baby. 

I made a couple tag blankets to gift to the new baby as well. The one ribbon has the cutest Fox, Owl, and Hedgehog on it. I figured one for home, one for grandma's house. 

All of these were "one-nighters". I was able to sew them all in 1-2 hours in the evening, so small steps toward bigger projects. I'm also busy working on quilts for teachers, graduates, and a few other gifts, so I have to be more careful about showing them on Instagram or Facebook. Since so few read my blog, I feel pretty safe showing them here. Thanks for still reading Jennifer and Sara!