A Social Tote

With quite a bit of help from the photos and notes on the pattern page, I managed to finish off the Social Tote just in time for the 2nd quarter FAL. 

Once again, the binding clips came in very handy for holding down the binding whilst handstitching it in place which was one of the trickier parts of making the tote.  

And as I was using denim for the sides, I didn't quilt the side panels as I thought they would be firm enough but it probably would have made the whole tote a bit sturdier if I had.

Penny did a great review recently of the pattern with a few hints and tips as this isn't the easiest of projects to sew. I am quite keen to make another one as I just happened to pick up some of the cute Tula pink raccoon fabric which Jess @scrappynhappy used in her Social Tote - it was perfect for fussy cutting the pockets and pincushion.

This Social tote was on my list of finishes for the Q2 FAL hosted by Katy @ The littlest Thistle.
Kirsten.

WIP Wednesday - A Flock of Geese...

This week I planning on finishing off the last of the bee blocks for the AusModbee - we are using the Migration tutorial by Charlotte @ Displacement Activity.

 So I have a whole flock of different sized geese blocks here ready to be sewn together.

Jess has been waiting a while for these flying geese so I am going to have them done by the end of the month to send to her!!

Also, I made the pincushion which is part of the Social Tote pattern by Carolyn Friedlander a little while ago, then put the rest of it on hold as I hoping to attend a class run by Lorena in Brisbane this weekend. However, as I have just recently been up to Brisbane I didn't have the opportunity to go away so soon again, but I am going to have a sew-along here at home and make it anyway. 

Linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
Kirsten.

Cargo Duffle bag

When I signed up for the Red Letter Day class last month, I made a start on sewing up my Cargo Duffle so that I could get it finished in time to take on the trip with me. 

I got most of it done and all I had remaining to do was to put in a lining - I could still actually use the bag without it but I think a lining makes it look more "finished" as it hides all of the inside seams.

A lining isn't included in the original free pattern by Anna at Noodlehead but I found a link to a really good tutorial over at Skirtastop. I also added in a zippered pocket and a slip pocket to the lining as they are handy for smaller items.

I received some of these wonderful Clover binding clips as a birthday present and used them to help attach the lining which made it so much easier to sew - I can see myself getting a lot of use from these, especially as I love making bags! 

So it is now totally finished and I really love how it has turned out. I used some fabrics from Juliana Horners range and my favourite black denim for the base and handles as it is so sturdy. 

This bag was really fun to make - there are lots of handy tips on Anna's blog as well as from Sophie on her blog at C'est La Vie as part of the Cargo Duffle sew along. I could actually fit in enough things for an overnight trip which surprised me too! 

This was the luggage lined up ready to pack in my car to take up to Brisbane: my Swoony Super tote, a Ruby braided bag, my new Cargo duffle, and my sewing machine fitted perfectly into the beautiful Aeroplane bag made by Kathy @ IamaCraftyKat for the last Sew Sew Modern swap #4. I did have to leave some room though as I managed to also squeeze in a trip to Ikea on my way up to Brisbane.
Linking to fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.


And this project was on my list of Q2 finishes for the FAL hosted by Katy at The Littlest Thistle.
Kirsten.

I like big blocks and I cannot lie...

Yesterday morning I finished the Red letter Day quilt top - with each block I made I would think that it was my favourite, then I would make another one and it became my new favourite so having them all together is just amazing!

These 22 inch blocks came together so quickly and easily! I started this on Thursday, worked all day Friday so got no sewing done, then really got stuck into it over the weekend so it was basically 3.5 days from start to finish.

This is a really quick and easy quilt to piece - I did do all of the pre cutting before going to the class as I wasn't sure how much room we would have to spread out on the tables at the workshop. Even the pre cutting is quite straightforward though being just squares and strips.

Camille showed us a very clever way of chain piecing the parts of the block together which links them all up nicely (as long as you don't turn any of them along the way!) and makes pressing seams so that they nest properly easier too.

I made the first 2 blocks at the class, then on Saturday cut and trimmed all of the remaining HST then chain pieced the strips sets and made the 9-patch blocks. By Sunday lunchtime I had put 2 more blocks together then managed to get the final 5 done in the afternoon - 7 blocks in 7 hours isn't too bad:)

And on Monday I sewed all of the blocks together to make the quilt top. Still need to decide on how to quilt this - I will probably do this one myself as it is fairly manageable at 67.5" so any ideas would be appreciated?

  Linking to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.
Kirsten.

Red Letter Australia workshop

On Thursday I attended a workshop with Camille Roskelley in Brisbane and it was an absolutely wonderful day! I got to meet so many lovely ladies, one of whom came from Perth for the day and amongst all of the chatter, we did manage to doing quite a bit of sewing. 

Kirsty from Bonjour Quilts took the photo above of myself, Camille and Cat with the first two blocks we made. Cat was the only person at the workshop who I had met before as she is also from the town where I now live.

Holly is Camilles friend who came out to Australia for the trip with her . Holly made a beautiful Red Letter Day quilt with 16 blocks in aqua and pinky red tones and also this cute RLD mini quilt.

This was the first block I made - a mix of Marmalade and Scrumptious dots. Camille showed us a very clever way of piecing the blocks together which made sewing them together so much quicker!!

 And the centre "reverse" block made in a Ruby floral.

I borrowed this group photo from the The Quilters and Embroiderers Store facebook page - there was quite a big group of ladies at the workshop and we all made at least one block. A couple of ladies made 4 blocks on the day!!!

These were the 40 blocks made by the 28 people on the day - they all looked amazing.

Thank you so much to Di for bringing Camille (and Holly) out to Australia, and also to Karen from the Quilters Store for organising such a great day.
Kirsten.

Camilles Trunk show

I spent a few days up in Brisbane this week for Camille Roskelley's trunk show held at The Quilters Store, and Red Letter Day quilt workshop. Many of you will already have seen some photos on IG etc (#redletteraustralia) but I thought I'd post a few more photos here.

 

I think Camille bought about 15 quilts out with her to Australia - this is her Red Letter day quilt which is the design that many of us attending the workshop were sewing the next day. 

The quilt above is one Camille made from all of her "leftover" or sample blocks which is a great idea.

 This is her Round and Round quilt - love the darker background.

And the Made with Moda quilt using letters and mini blocks - I really like the scrappy binding on this one too.

This is the Rise and Shine quilt along with its matching mini quilt.

Many of Camille designs now have a matching mini quilt pattern and they all looked so cute together!

 My favourite was definitely the Swoon quilt!

And this is an amazing Amy Butler Weekender bag using some of the mini quilt designs on the pockets made by a friend of Camille's.

It was wonderful to see her beautiful quilts up close and to hear her talk about the inspirations for the Moda Bonnie and Camille fabrics and how her Thimbleblossoms patterns are designed. I will be back tomorrow with more pics from the workshop!
Kirsten.

Swoony Super Tote

Last weekend I went to the Far North Coast Crafters group get-together for a wonderful day of crafting, chatting and some very tasty food. I took my scrapbooking supplies along in my newly finished Super tote bag. 

Although this is already quite a large bag, I ended making outer pockets on both sides so that I could fit even more in.

For the front pocket of the bag, I made a scrappy Swoon block which I downsized to about 12", and then did a simple strip of prints across the back pocket which I remembered seeing Courtney do in the last Sew Sew Modern swap.

This bag is made entirely of Bonnie and Camille fabrics, except for the lining which is a pretty aqua blue, and the red denim which I used for the gusset, straps and inside gathered pocket as it matched perfectly with the colours of the fabrics. 

The aqua scallop print from Ruby is one of my favourite prints so I used it for the zip bridge.

I stayed back with one of the group members whilst she waited for her daughter to pick her up and she convinced me to have a few photos taken as well.

Only a few more sleeps now until the much anticipated Camille Roskelley workshop at TQES and I also can't wait to catch up with some lovely quilty friends from Brisbane while I am there as well!!
Linking to Fabric Tuesday at Quiltstory. Kirsten.

WIP Wednesday #redletteraustralia

Today, I am planning to pre-cut my fabrics for the upcoming Red Letter Day workshop with Camille Roskelley. We didn't necessarily have to precut but I think it will be easier to do it all at home and then be ready to sew when we get there. Just trying to contain my excitement that it is only a few days away now so that I don't make a mistake or cut my fingers!

My RLD quilt is going to be made with a variety of Bonnie and Camille fabrics as their ranges all go together beautifully. I managed to get some lovely Ruby tiny floral at my LQS for the centre "red" block, and swapped some with my friend Cat who is also attending the class. In turn, she very kindly sent me some of the hard to find Bliss fabric which was just what I needed to round out the fabrics.

This is the layout which I have finally decided to go with - the colours are actually quite similar to what Camille has used in her Red Letter Day pattern so I feel quite confident that it will work out ok. Still need to cut the solid background - I have enough white and also an cream/ivory here to choose from.

One thing we were required to do before the class however was to have our sewing machine electrically tested and tagged!! This is a fairly common thing for electrical items in workplaces due to OH&S etc, but I was in a mild panic about how I was going to get my sewing machine checked in time as you often have to book in weeks ahead. Anyway, after a bit of googling I found a local man who was happy to come over on his way home that afternoon - the testing only took him a few minutes but I am very grateful to have gotten it done so easily so thank you so much John!
PS. Camille has a hashtag on Instagram ( #redletteraustralia) if you want to keep up with everyone's pics from the trunk show and the workshops next week.

Linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Kirsten.