Channeling My Inner Sarah Jessica Parker

After finishing the quilting of my wonky log cabin, I needed a smaller project as a break. I have a lot of travel coming up this summer (1 wedding down, 5 more to go!), plus a trip to Quilt Market this week (hooray!), so I decided to make a new cosmetic bag.
I am pretty much an au natural girl...which I could blame on lack of time to get all prettied up because of the two small children in my house. However, I didn't wear much makeup before then either, so I guess it's just the way I am. I have a small bag from Target for my makeup, but I don't really like it because it doesn't stand upright and it's too small. Since I have all these events this spring and summer, I decided it was time for a new bag. Add in some samples of laminated cotton that I've been wanting to try out, and the time was right.
For my first attempt, I used the blue and white floral laminate for the outer bag and the fun green dot (regular cotton) for the lining.

I boxed the corners to create a nice wide base for it to stand up on.

The end result: Simple and fun. Bigger than my old bag, and able to stand up. Perfect.

Right?

But I couldn't stop there. It was too easy. I wanted to try something a little more involved. So I chose two laminates and made a pieced outside.

And tried something fancy to give it a little more detail at the top, so it had a flat top as well. I'm still working the kinks out of that--it didn't turn out quite right--but I like this second attempt as well. And a quick note--I googled working with laminates to find some tips. Some I used, some I didn't. But hands down the best tip was to use a walking foot. I topstitched by the seams on the pieced bag, and the walking foot made a world of difference in smooth, even fabric feeding.
Here are both bags:

And here is a peek inside at the linings. Love those dots!

At some point I'll make a third one, using everything I learned from the purple bag to make it correctly the first time rather than using trial and error. But for now, I've got two fun options that will work with all my traveling this summer. Not bad for a night's work!

I'm linking up with Quilt Story today to show these off.

Count 'em! 120 Strippin' Dot Blocks

Public deadlines and peer pressure are a beautiful combination.

Last Monday I posted over at Amy's Creative Side that my "One Thing, One Week" challenge was to finish making all of these blocks by today. 

I may have put off a little housekeeping (perhaps we should get a dog to help keep the floor under my 9-month-old's chair clean) and given up a little sleep (it's overrated anyway!), I finished them. All 120*. 

Aren't they pretty? 

*Yes, I know my original post said 108, but apparently I can't multiply very well. 

Now I'm trying to decide exactly what to do with them. 

A quilt, laid out like this? 

Or with narrower white sashing that mimics the block strips, like this?

I even tried them without sashing, 

but I think it's too awkward where the white strips meet in random places.

What do you like best? I'm open to suggestions!

Fabric Friday, sneak peek, and sad rulers

shhh...I know it's actually Saturday, but I'm posting like it's still Friday. I spent most of Friday trying to finish quilting the wonky log cabin quilt. And it's done! Here's a sneak peek.

I did simple straight line quilting on it, which in some places could be called wonky straight line quilting. I definitely need to practice my technique to improve! But hey...that's what the next (and the next, and the next) quilt top is for! I'm thrilled to have this done because I'm going to show it off in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at amyscreativeside.com next week.

My plan is to share some fabric every Friday, whether it's something I'm getting ready to sew with or just some fabrics that I am coveting. I've got great plans for these prints, from Gudrun Erla's Reflections line for Red Rooster fabrics, plus that dark and rich gray solid.

And finally, the only thing more sad than this:

Is this:

Yep, I did the same thing to both of my 6" x 24" rulers. Argh! I cut fabric on the ground, so they've been cracked for a while, but a well-placed knee/foot took both of these to the next level in the last few weeks. I think I'm going to invest in a new ruler, a ruler holder, and maybe even a new cutting technique!

Have a great weekend!

Strippin' Dot Blocks

I've been very busy procrastinating the quilting of my wonky log cabins, so I've got another piecing project in the works, besides the fabric I showed a sneak peek of on Friday.

About six years ago, I bought a fat quarter bundle of tonal dotted prints at Quilt Festival in Chicago. I've used about half of them in various projects, but still had about 10 to choose from, and I knew I wanted to use a bunch of them in one project. Then last week, while reading up on straight line quilting, an idea for a super simple quilt block popped into my head. Combine those two ideas, and voila! strippin' dot blocks* were born.
Here is a sampling of the blocks I have finished so far:

And here's how to make them:

I cut each fat quarter (I'm using 6) into twenty 4" x 4-1/4" pieces. I chose this size because the 4" square maximized the fat quarter fabric. More about the extra 1/4" later.

 I cut white solid into 1" x 5" pieces. 

To make a block, position a square so the 4-1/4" measurements are on the left and right sides. Position a ruler across the square as shown, on any angle you like. Cut the square into two pieces.

Lay a 1" x 5" white piece along one diagonal edge and stitch. Press open.

Position the diagonal edge of the other "half" of the square along the remaining white edge. Always double check that you have this second piece oriented correctly to make a "square" when it is stitched and pressed. Try to position this second piece so that it is relatively in line with the first piece, but eyeballing is fine. You'll be trimming anyway. Stitch and press open.

Using a square, trim the block on all four sides. I trimmed mine to measure 3-3/4" square. So here's where the explanation of the extra 1/4" in the original square comes in--because you're adding 1/2" of white fabric to the width of your block, you're making it wider. So by cutting a taller square to begin, you're finished, pieced shape is more square-like, giving you greater flexibility for trimming. But, if you choose to just go with 4" squares for simplicity's sake, or if like me, you screw up and cut some of yours in the wrong direction, it doesn't really matter. That's the beauty of trimming!

And here's a finished block:

These blocks have only two seams, so they sew up quickly! I have 108 total to make, and I have 20 done in about an hour's time. I even started chain piecing them, though if you do so, I recommend chain piecing just one of each color at a time. That way you won't have to worry about if you are matching up the same angled piece to finish your block!

Here is what I'm thinking as far as a rough layout goes, using white sashing and turning some of the blocks, but it'll be fun to play with it for real once I have all the blocks complete and can put it up on my design wall.

Bright and summery, isn't it?
:)

I'm also posting this today over at Quilt Story for their Fabric Tuesday.

*I also have it in my head that these look like nautical flags, but google didn't agree. The red one definitely looks like a scuba flag and that's about it, but I can't get the nautical flag thought out of my head!

Friday Favorite Fabrics

It's been a busy week (sadly, not so much sewing-wise, until yesterday), but I wanted to pop on here quickly  and share a sneak peek of some fabrics I've been playing with.

They're from Nest by Tula Pink for Moda. Aren't they delicious? I love the red, teal and brown combination. I've actually had them in my stash a while and just couldn't decide what to do with them. I finally cut into them last night. Can't wait to show you what I'm making with them, but for now, this will have to do. Have a great weekend!

Lurking in my studio...

...is a quiet, nagging monster.* It's been peeking over my shoulder all day, tormenting me, beckoning me. I can't decide whether to run and hide or suck it up and tackle it. Especially since the alternative is painting my bedroom. What is it, you ask?
This:

Yep. My wonky log cabin quilt top is finished. And pin basted, with not nearly enough pins. But I used all that I had--I haven't quilted my own projects since, oh, about 2000. I prefer to pay other people for the privilege of doing it for me. :)

But, I need this one finished fairly soon, and after reading these tips at Tall Grass Prairie Studio, I was convinced I could tackle some straight line quilting. And since it's Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story, I thought I could post about it, share it, and create some accountability to keep working on it!

So far I've broken my thread twice and sewed 12". I've also remembered why I usually shell out money for this service. Don't get me wrong--I love machine quilting, and I'd love to be better at it, and I know this is how to start. So I am. But painting the bedroom is looking better and better!

*There's also a family of squirrels living in the attic above my studio, but that's another story for another day.

Hello, New Friends!

I joined up with the Small Blog Meet over at Lily's Quilts today. It's a great way for small (and new) blogs like mine to make more friends in the blog world. My blog is still in its seedling stages, but I will continue adding projects, inspiration, and fun stories. Thanks for visiting and come back soon!