Thursday, August 9, 2018

I couldn’t remember how much I had left to do on my bag; it’s been a long time since I was with my Thursday group. As it turned out, even after an hour spent catching up, I was able to finish it this afternoon.

The selling factor on this bag, although I swore I would never make another bag, was that it was three bags in one. I’m not sure how often I’ll switch between the three models, but I think I will use of the bag quite often.

The bag is fully lined and Gail altered the pattern to add four very generous pockets on the inside. The turquoise zipper closes one of the pockets.

 

 

 

I’m never making another bag – and this time I mean it!

I usually take part in the Guild challenge; a challenge put out by the member who won the challenge from the previous year. Winners are chosen in a draw and I was always very careful not to put my name in the hat. At last year’s year-end party when the challenges were on display someone remembered mine and added my name. I wasn’t worried though because I seldom win a draw. I think my streak continued because when my name was pulled I certainly didn’t consider myself a winner.

Here is the challenge I put to our members:

My challenge to you is to use the enclosed fabric as the background for a standard-sized placemat (~12” x 18”). But not just any placemat – one that totally belongs to you.

Using your three initials (first, middle, and last names) one of those initials should represent the block pattern you will use on the front of your placemat; one of the initials should represent the main colour in your block,; finally, the last initial should represent the quilting motif you pick to quilt your finished masterpiece. The block you put on the front of the placemat can be a minimum of 6” to a maximum of 10”.

Your three initials can be used in any order to represent any of the required elements. For example, Annette Delores Baker could be a Drunkard’s Path block in Aqua and quilted with a Baptist Fan motif.

Since I came up with the Challenge I had to take part. The block on my placemat is called “Summer Solstice” (Sherrida),  I picked Emerald Green as my main colour (Eldine), and the quilting motif is “Morning Glory” (McKnight).

 Here is a closer view of the Morning Glory motif.

I took a class at our local quilt shop when Deb first opened – she’s just had her 4th Anniversary sale so you know this has been in the works for a long time. Actually it hasn’t been “in the works” because when I finished the class it went into a bin (not even half-done) and never saw the light of day again until this month.

It took a long time to stitch all those diagonal lines; they started out (in the class) at half an inch apart but by the end of the stitching they were meant to be the width of the walking foot but even that wasn’t particularly accurate.

It was scary when I made the first cuts between the lines but once I realized when I got in the channel I really couldn’t get out of it things moved along quickly. I knew that Deb had a special way of cutting so the chenille showed on both sides but all my quilting friends said “No, No, No!” So I did as they said but I’ve later learned how Deb expected it to be done (I guess I’ll have to make another one)!

The final fun was getting it bound and into the washing machine to let all those layers of flannel create the fuzz.

This one doesn’t yet have a home – it may be staying in mine!

Quite awhile ago Elizabeth asked if I would make her something with a specific fabric that she had found. Of course it was a fabric that was absolutely right for her – Live Laugh Love with jars of daisies!

I ordered the fabric online and, because I wasn’t sure what I’d be making, I ordered several yards. Once it arrived and I began planning the table runner I was going to make I realized I needed a coordinating fabric – daisies of course ordered from the same company.

I wanted the Live Laugh Love sentiment to show no matter which side of the table you were on so I split it down the middle, added the daisies in the middle and sewed it up with the writing going in opposite directions.

I had some fabric in my stash that seemed the perfect colour to match the jars of daisies but there wasn’t enough of it for backing so I decided it would be my binding. I had some other turquoise fabric that would work, but the binding colour wouldn’t be right when put right up against it. So I added a couple of daisy borders and voila!

I did some very simple straight-line quilting but, following my free-motion class, I did a few circles around the heads of the daisies.

There is lots more fabric left so this particular project has been called Live Laugh Love #1 – there will be more to follow.