Daisy Days: sewing

Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts

4/13/16

Vacation

I love these women! Love doing life with them. We counted and this was our 17th vacation together. So much fun.

It was our first time vacationing on Whidbey Island. The house we rented was right smack dab on the beach. Gorgeous views.

The weather was amazing. A lot of time was spent on the deck soaking in the sunshine.

I didn't really get much sewing done this year. I was thinking I'd do tons without the puppy around but....girlfriend fun is just as distracting! :)

I had hoped to finish up the Norway quilt but I only managed to get a few blocks done. I still have two left to do.

We often do a group project. This year we all made a Simple Little Pouch from Bloomin' Workshop. Its a decent sized pouch - 12 inches long.

Thanking God every day for the love of good friends! Couldn't imagine life without them.

3/1/16

Pouch Swap

The Mini QT Swap group on Flickr that I'm in did a side swap of pouches. I love making pouches....so no brainer about signing up! :)

The first pouch I made for my partner didn't turn out like I wanted. I did some hand stitching on the outside pocket and didn't think about how boxing the corners would affect the placement. Half of it was pulled to the bottom. Decided to keep this one and make a new one.

I went a different route and it turned out great.

I also made a matching needle book as the little extra we were to send.

Both pouches are the Open Wide Zippered Pouch (medium size) by Noodlehead. Great pouches to make....wonderful tutorial.

I received a beautiful pouch that had so many things I love! My extra was a matching mini mini. Cuteness.

LOVE swapping with this group of ladies.

6/22/15

A bag and a pouch

I made a little zip bag as a sample for the shop where I work, Quilted Strait.

Its called The Runaround Bag by Lazy Girl Designs.

This was the easiest zip bag I've ever made. It has a lining but the seams are exposed rather than in-between the lining and outer fabric. This would be a good beginner bag to make. Or as gifts since they are super fast!

For the cat mini swap I just did, I made a Two in One Pouch by s.o.t.a.k handmade for my partner. This was also a pretty fast pouch. Lined with hidden seams....my favorite way! Construction was different than I've done before but completely easy to do. Her pattern was thorough with lots of pictures.

This is the pouch opened up.

And folded over.

The construction method allowed me to use 4 different scraps for the lining. So fun!

I will definitely be making more of these. :)

5/18/15

Aeroplane Bag

I've been ignoring my blog again! Instagram has kinda taken over as the place where I post pics of what I've been doing. :)

I bought the Aeroplane Bag pattern by Sew Sweetness over a year ago. Just got around to making it.

I made the large size bag. Its a carry on size. I did have challenges with this bag. Lots of stiffness and bulk to put under the needle. A few ugly spots by the zipper.

There are two zippered pockets inside.

I used it on my recent trip to Texas. I had a weeks worth of clothes & shoes in it. Worked great. Only thing I didn't like was that with no wheels I had to always carry it.

I will be sticking with my regular carry on for plane travel and use this bag for car trips.

My bff and I both made the bag. Here's a pic of both.

Pretty, huh? :)

1/7/15

Purple Owl

When my grand daughter was asked what she wanted for Christmas, one of the things she said was a purple owl. She is 4. :) My daughter put it on the list with a little added note that said "Mom, maybe you can make one?" What's a Nana to do but make one. I'm not a stuffed toy maker so searched the Internet for something really simple.

And this is the result.

I used the free pattern and tutorial from We All Sew by Ashley Johnston.

I made mine with quilting cottons and left off the center strip (made it easier). Miss Heidi was so happy and that makes this Nana happy!!!

1/5/15

Perfect Zip Bag

I embroidered the October girl from Sarah Jane Studios (Her Month by Month patterns) for my daughter and decided to make it into a zippered pouch for Christmas.

I like to do simpler outline embroidery.

I wanted the embroidery to be the main focus so I only added a little bit of patchwork.

And just a litte band of patchwork on the back. Gotta have patchwork!

I used Elizabeth Hartman's "Perfect Zip Bag" pattern as its my favorite go to pattern for zippered pouches. I've made several now and can get them done quickly.

So fun to make!

11/14/14

Lined Drawstring Bags

I've had the pattern for Jeni Baker's Lined Drawstring Bags for over a year but didn't make one until the Twas' The Night blog hop. It's what I chose to make for the hopper I sent a gift to. Now that my day is over I can show you it.

Then I made another one yesterday. A bit smaller and this one only took me an hour. Partly because I knew what I was doing and also because I didn't make the handles but used some ribbon instead.

I love these bags.

The pattern has 8 sizes to choose from and directions for creating your own custom size.

You can also see how Sara Lawson added an outside pocket to it here on her blog.

I'm gonna have to try that on my next one. :)

11/13/14

Twas The Night blog hop

Its time for another fun blog hop. This one is all about quick things to sew for Christmas. Who doesn't want lots of great ideas for quick sewing ideas for the holidays. Especially if you're a procrastinator like me! ;)

This hop had a fun little twist. We were to make a quick gift for another hopper and send it early so she could feature it on her blog post.

I received a GREAT bag and fun pattern from Dorian of Ridge Top Quilts.

I was so excited when I saw the bag cuz I knew immediately that it was the Sew Together Bag by Sew Demented. I have this pattern and have wanted to make it for some time. But I am intimidated by it. Why you say? Look:

That's right! 3 inside zippered pockets that are inside a bigger zippered bag. Wow. I can't believe Dorian made me one. Thank you SOOOOOOO much!!!

You will see what I made and sent on Mandy's blog, Just Keep Swimming.

Now on to the things I made for the hop.

The first thing I made was a Christmas apron. Its been on my to-list for a couple of years and the hop was the perfect deadline to get it done!

I had this fabulous fabric from Michael Miller. Makes me smile every time I see it.

I used the pattern booklet "More Retro Aprons" by Cindy Taylor Oates. I've made several aprons from this book. Not all sew up as quickly as this one. The ruffle takes the longest time. Its fully lined. I left off the pocket which is not something I need on an apron.

Next I made some Grocery Bags.

This is a great pattern by Michelle Patterns. There are three sizes on the pattern. I always make the large bag. Oh and they are reversible! This is a PDF pattern so you can satisfy your urge to sew at midnight. LOL!

The last thing I sewed up were some itty bitty Christmas trees to make a bunting.

I had seen these on Pinterest so gave them a try. The free tutorial can be found on this blog.

I couldn't get a decent pic with them strung as bunting but this one I took before is fun:

Thanks Madam Samm for a fun hop idea. Loved the twist! And thanks to Marlene for the work she did being our cheerleader/organizer.

Be sure to visit the other bloggers today. Loads of great ideas.

Thursday, Nov. 13

Daisy Days - You are here.

8/16/14

Binding by Machine

I have always put on binding by sewing it to the front by machine then hand sewing it down on the back. It turns out beautiful. But it is time consuming (not that I mind!). I tried to attach binding on both sides by machine with my 99 Modern Block quilt. I used a straight stitch but didn't like how it looked on the back at all. Partly because I'm not good at it but also because it just didn't catch everything. That resulted in re-doing sections. Can you say pain in the backside?

With my Penny Sampler quilt I decided to try Pat Sloan's method of machine sewing binding on a quilt. Only thing I did different was that I use a double fold binding. I like how it looks so much better!

This is the front:

And this is the back:

You can see it isn't perfectly aligned but because it was sewn down first on this back side it isn't wavy or wonky.....just has stitching slightly off. I can live with this.

Especially since it was so FAST compared to hand sewing.

I have another quilt ready to have the binding sewn on. I'm gonna try this method again but with a wide zig zag stitch and see which stitch I like best. Doing them by machine will mean I can actually finish more and reduce my ufo pile! :)

4/18/14

Silent but still sewing

I can't believe I haven't written a blog post since January. Good grief! I have been sewing but it sure doesn't look like it. When I went looking for pictures of what I've been doing I barely found any. My head just hasn't been in the documentation part of my sewing.

Here are some of the things I did take pics of:

I made this pincushion for a swap and a matching needle book as an extra. My partners mosaic of favorite things included squirrels and oranges (among other things). I used them as my inspiration.

I made myself another Mail Sack bag. This time I did some "quilt as you go" to make a panel rather than a single fabric. I also added a magnetic snap to help hold bag together.

And I got my Penny Sampler back from the long arm quilter. Shelly did a fantastic job, as usual. This swirl design is my favorite all over. I have the binding sewn on one side but still needs to be finished. I am so in love with this quilt. :)

That's it. I shall try to get back to taking pictures.

Happy sewing!

1/14/14

Wake Up to Kona

I've joined another blog hop and today is my day. When Madame Samm announced the theme of Kona Solids I knew I had to sign up. I've had a pattern and the fabrics for a quilt for over a year and this hop was the PUSH I needed to get it done! :)

This is the bundle of Kona's I had purchased. My favorite color palette to work with. Love. LOVE.

And this is the quilt top I made:

The pattern is called "Circular Reasoning" by Carolina Patchworks. I bought it here.

It is fused and raw edge appliqued. I used a blanket stitch. It went pretty fast.

The pattern makes a 75 inch square quilt but I wanted it smaller to give as a baby quilt. I reduced the pattern to 75% of its original and made it a 54 inch square.

As you can see its not quilted yet. I can NOT figure out how to quilt it!!! I love how its quilted on the pattern with pebble quilting around all the letters and a secondary circle formed in the negative space. My free motion quilting skills are sorely lacking so first time pebble quilting is not gonna happen on this one. And I don't want to do any quilting over the letters.

Any suggestions?

This ended up being my favorite pic of all I took. :)

Thanks to all involved in such a wonderful hop - Madame Samm, Carol and all us hoppers!

Be sure to visit the others sharing today:

January 15

Thimblemouse & Spouse

Daisy Days - You are here!

My Addiction to Quilting

Mountain Mist Designs

Hill Valley Quilter

Malini’s Quilts

And thank you for stopping by.

1/9/14

Secret Santa Pouches

I never did share here a fun project we did at work for Christmas. We had a Secret Santa type pouch exchange. It was so much fun!

This is a great pic of our wonderful Pink Chalk Team! Kathy Mack, the fabulous owner of Pink Chalk, is on the right hand side in the green sweater.

Here are all the pouches that were made:

I made the one in the back with the embroidered girl on it.

The pouch pattern is "The Essential Wristlet" by Dog Under My Desk. It was pretty easy to make. Lots of pictures for those of us who love them! :)

I got the girl design from the book "Embroidery pour la Maison" by Sylvie Blondeau. Such a cute little book. I stitched her on Essex Linen White with regular DMC embroidery floss.

And I added some big stitch quilting in the circles with Perle Cotton. Love doing that.

A peek at the inside.

I sure do love my job!

12/28/13

Grocery Bags

I can't believe that Christmas day came and went and nary a picture was taken! Sigh.

I made this Grocery Bag for my daughter to take presents home. Took a quick picture before Christmas to post to Instagram with the intent to take more of the inside, etc. Got sidetracked making 3 more bags since I had finished with all my Christmas prep and wanted to keep busy.

Like I said no pictures!

This is a really easy bag to make. And fast. Uses a half yard for the exterior, half yard for the interior and scraps for the handles (or more of exterior or interior is you want them to match).

Oh and its a downloadable pattern so you can just start sewing! Love that.

12/18/13

Christmas Tree mug rugs

I made these super quick mug rugs for Christmas. Used this tutorial over at Stitching and Bacon. They are a good way to use up scraps!

9/12/13

Pin It Hop - Meet Mr. Gray Owl

Today is my day to share on the Pin It blog hop. I had the hardest time deciding what to make for the hop. My pincushion bookmark folder is loaded with the cutest projects. Should I make the crab...the blow fish....the purse....the kite....the cowboy boot....so many choices!!!! In the end I decided on a multi-purpose pincushion called "Owl You Need" sewing buddy that I saw here.

Meet Mr. Gray Owl:

Isn't he cute? Plenty of room for pins!

And here he is being my sewing buddy:

He has two pockets on his tummy that can hold sewing items. His wings are tacked down and other items can be slipped into that space.

I followed the tutorial except that I basted the feet to the front and tacked on the beak before sewing together with the back.

Made more sense than gluing them on the front after it was all sewn and stuffed.

Be sure to visit my fellow hoppers today to see the wonderful pinnies they have created.

September 13

Quilting In South Carolina

Negligent Style

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Sew Many Yarns

News From Bear Hollow

Daisy Days - You are here!

Thanks to Madam Samm for organizing another fun hop and to Kristen for being a great cheerleader!

6/17/13

Fabulous Little Random Things

Round two of the Fabulous Little Random Things Swap (FLiRTS) is over and now that my partner, Susan, has received her gifts (and loved them....phew!) I can show you what I made.

One of the items on my partners list was a fabric basket and round if possible.....and that's the one I chose to make. Purple is her favorite color.

So tada:

Pink Chalk carries this great pattern called the Special Occasion Gift Tote by Sew Fun. It was easy to follow and easy to make. I'll be making another some day.

It's a nice size and has these dividers all around the inside. I left half as dividers and the other half I made pockets.

In the swap we only need to make one item on the list (we list 5 things) but when I saw this zombie zippered pouch on Happy Sew Lucky blog I knew I had to make one! My partner also listed a zippered pouch for a first aid kit and she has wonderful sense of humor....so I knew she'd love him as an extra.

Aren't his insides hysterical? Oh how I wish I could have found some zombie band aids to put inside!

I also had chosen a fabric basket on my list of 5 things. The wonderful gal who had me made this incredible basket for my collection of Perle cotton threads. I was in love with it the minute I saw it in the Flickr pool.

Sil does amazing paper piecing. I am always so impressed with the blocks she makes! Can you see the cute spool quilting she did? Love it. Everything about this basket is perfect.

Can't wait for the next round of swapping! :)

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