Tuesday, June 4, 2013

June 4: social tote

It's been awhile.  I haven't been doing too much sewing in the last month.  Life has been crazy, but I was also in Portland, OR for a week for Quilt Market.  While I was there, I got all of my friend Carolyn's new patterns, including her new Social Tote and the applique pattern Alturas.  I also taught her how to do my big stitch quilting - we had so much fun!  We didn't get a lot done that night, here's my progress (which included time spent quilting on the plane).



It's hard to photograph because all of the fabrics are shot cottons.  It's really much prettier in person!  This will be a wall hanging for our hallway.

When I got home, I decided I wanted to make the Social Tote, which is perfect for all of my hand sewing.  I will say, this pattern is not for the faint of heart!  I decided to do more fabrics than the pattern called for, which definitely made it more difficult, but there are also a few things that I'd do differently next time.  I'm really glad that I did use a bunch of different fabrics.  I feel like it showcases some of my favorites that I've been hoarding, including that outside print with the skulls, which is actually a canvas-weight print from Kokka.  I didn't use the pincushion pattern she had, because I already have a gazillion pincushions that are the right size.  The one that's in there now is one of my own designs done with tucks. 




I'm beginning (like, just beginning) a quilt for our friend Kelsey.  This quilt is a graduation gift, birthday gift, and a thank you for being our maid of honor.  I couldn't wait to try out the Alturas pattern, and since I'm doing a sampler-style quilt for Kelsey anyway, I decided she needed at least one Alturas block in her quilt.  You can see it below in the bottom of the Social Tote.  The outer edges are almost done, I just have to do the middle parts.


We're leaving town again tomorrow...  I'm trying to get everything together, including some sewing projects.  I'm taking my Circle Game blocks - I have two cut out and ready to piece and one that just needs two seams to be finished.  I'm also thinking about taking some more fabric to do Alturas blocks.  If you look at the pictures of my tote, you can see that I have a template all ready to go!  I'll have more to share when we get back, including all the pictures I've been taking in the last three weeks!  We'll also be getting legally married while we're there, and hoping that by the time we get home, our marriage will be legal here, too.