Bag or box?

For the past two weeks I’ve been avoiding my Mariners Star quilt by doing other things.Most of which have been turning out less than… stellar. Like the last one, a drawstring pouch. So you aren’t seeing any pictures of them. This boxy pouch, though, that I finished last night – it went together pretty well.

I used a free pattern at So Chick that is apparently not working at the moment. Hopefully it will be again soon. I also used a second similar pattern at Pretty Modern as a backup for things that didn’t seem clear to me in the first pattern. I made some small mistakes – because I have to do everything MY way, but I won’t make them again next time. I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out – the zipper works! and I didn’t have to go back and fiddle with it. The “boxie” technique seemed a little complicated – and that’s where I had to refer to the second pattern – but it turned out boxie. The tabs at either end could have been better. I thought that I followed the instructions, but this is what I got, with fraying edges. I’ll know better next time. I like it!

I want to make myself a lunch bag, so this is the first step. I needed to figure out how to make a boxie design rather than just the usual “tote” design. But the lunch bag is going to have to wait until after Christmas. I think I have some presents that I better get going on. But first, I need to finish that Mariners Star quilt.

I’m not that far from the finish, but every time I make a big design mistake, I need to work out my frustration by making something else, and it takes me a couple of weeks to get back to it. I think we’re there, now.

Until next time,

Friday Furball – Horizontal Cha Cha

The hazards of having a Design FLOOR!

More felines over at Sarah Did It.

Spot the ham

I’ve been thinking of purchasing a tailor’s ham since watching my neighbour use one a couple of years ago. But they’re sort of pricey. Well, not really, but we all have our spending priorities – and the price of a ham could almost buy another meter of really great fabric! On the other hand, having a ham is really useful when you’re trying to iron seams that aren’t flat, like seams in clothing or seams in a bag. So when I saw this ham in the hospital’s thrift store the other day with a $2 price tag on it, it was a done deal!

And even though Ginger is sitting next to it in the picture, neither she nor Rusty have actually shown the least bit of interest in it. Might be the only thing in the house they aren’t loading up with hairballs.

Do you like starry quilt blocks? How would you like to be part of a NASA quilt? Something that caught my eye the other day – Astronaut Karen Nyberg has created a star-themed quilt block while in space, on board the International Space Station, and it will become part of a quilt created by quilters around the known universe! Create a 9.5 inch block with a star theme and mail it off to Houston, Texas by Aug. 1, 2014. That should be enough time for the worst of us slowpokes! Click here for more information about the block, and here for information about Karen Nyberg! I’ll show you my block when it’s finished.

Until next time,

Friday Furball – Rain, rain

No Indian Summer for us this year. The summer was hot, but short, and constant renovations in the backyard meant that I couldn’t take Rusty outside to enjoy sitting on the grass in the sunshine to watch the birds. It’s been steadily getting colder since September, and definitely more miserable outside. Temperatures for the past two months have been consistently three degrees colder, although overnight temperatures have been slightly warmer. Today it’s cold and raining… again.

The green house

Boy, October didn’t last very long, did it? And the weather wasn’t all that pleasant, either. I have my fingers crossed that this coming winter is just as short as the summer was.

At least the colder weather means more time at the sewing machine (even though the backyard is still a mess!) We finished up my greenhouse a week or so ago – as finished as it’s going to get until Spring. Mr. ZQ and I slapped on the last few panels in a major windstorm at almost freezing temperatures. The rest of the painting and building the shelves inside will wait until the Spring. See that mountain of dirt to the left? That’s my vegetable garden underneath it. The guys who did the brickwork over the summer left their wheelbarrow behind until they came back and finished up. I thought I could move that dirt around and level out the garden before winter, but there was just too much else to do.It’ll wait. If worst comes to worst, I’ll grow my tomatoes inside the greenhouse!

I’m always working on something, but I’ve actually finished these! Finish is always good. Last year I made these pocket covers to hold some picture notecards that I donated to a fundraiser. I made some more for this year’s fundraiser. The notecards are about the same, but I think the pocket covers are nicer. Next year, if I do it again, I may even add ribbons to tie the edges together! See, I’m planning ahead. Our towns are rather small to have a bunch of postcards made up so, since I’m always taking pictures, I make up these little notecards with my photos. People seem to enjoy them, especially when they can get them for free! And I incorporated a new logo into the covers, using my inkjet printer. I think it worked well. Not sure if I’d recommend putting these through a washing machine, though. It’s been colourfast before when I’ve tested it, but different fabrics, different washers… You never know.

Until next time,