Motivation and Inspiration

I belong to a quilt guild here in California. It is nice to meet with others who share my love of quilting. The quilt top pictured here was donated to our guild for the purpose of finishing it, and then to be given to a needy person. It is one of several quilt tops made by the same person. I suspect the woman who made them was deceased before they could be finished.

I have volunteered to quilt some tops for our guild's Philanthropy group, mostly to give me practice with the mid-arm quilting machine. I started out just stippling quilts, using a template to give me some guidance. This quilt top, with its plain red inner border is asking for a little something more than just an overall pattern; perhaps a vine and leaves.

Watching long-arm quilting videos on Youtube has helped me immensely in venturing  beyond meandering and stippling, into overall freehand quilting, using a couple of different designs. Some great long-arm teachers include Nicole Webb Rivera, Jamie Wallen, and APQS among others.

I have gotten very kind remarks about my quilting, and this is giving me the courage to consider quilting for others, to perhaps earn a little extra money, to help support my quilting habit.

Stars and Stripes

A few years ago when I got serious about making quilts, one project I set for myself was to make a quilt for each of my 5 (and counting) grandchildren. I got better with each quilt, which I suppose is to be expected. The first 3 were very simple, just squares and simple shapes.

For the fourth, I saw a quilt in a magazine that I thought would be perfect. I think the pattern was called crazy daizies. Then for the 5th grand, I was stumped, so I thought about it for a long time before settling on a pattern called "Streaks of Light." I saw the pattern online and loved it, deciding to make it exactly the same colors as the original. Only one problem, I think the pattern should be called "Stars and Stripes."  I made it queen size, so it will be plenty big for years to come.  My youngest grandson will be 6 in August, and this quilt will be part of his birthday gifts. I sure hope he likes it.

So now I am on to other projects. I have a partially completed Dear Jane quilt in the drawer waiting, and a kit sitting there staring at me. Those projects will have to wait, though, because I'll be playing with a couple of grands for the next couple of weeks.

Bionic Gear Bag

So, the other day I was reading on the Quilting Board, and someone asked about the Bionic Gear Bag. My curiosity was piqued, so I did an internet search for it, and this is what I found. After viewing the site, I just had to make one for myself. These photos are my result.

It was easy enough to cut out, and the instructions were comprehensive and easy to follow. There are four zippered pockets which are contained within the pleated sides. The zipper that closes the bag is 22 inches long and is attached to both sides of the bag, creating handy carrying loops.

For the main/outside, I just used some fabric that I had picked up at Manteca's annual quilt show boutique; when I bought it, I had no project in mind at the time, so it came in handy.  The inside coordinating fabric came out of a packet of sample fat quarters from Keepsake Quilting.

For the outside, I used extra stiff fusible interfacing. The inside, including the zippered pockets had regular medium weight fusible interfacing. For binding, I used twill tape, because stretch was not required.

This was a fun project, and it went together fairly quickly once I had assembled all the materials needed. As you can see, it holds a lot of stuff. The first pocket is shorter than the others and is great for holding smaller items such as packets of needles, machine or hand sewing . The slots between the pockets are useful for such items as scissors, rotary cutters, thread, seam rippers, even your cell phone. I think this will be handy for those times when I am sewing away from home, such as classes or other sewing group.

One thing I forgot to mention is the little fabric bowl on the right side of the lower photo. The instructions for this little bowl are available for free on Craftsy. Magnetic snaps in two of the corners attach to corresponding snaps on the first pocket and bag side help to hold the bowl in place while the bag is in use. It certainly isn't required when you are making the bag itself, but it can be handy for smaller items like bobbins or Clover wonder clips. The corner created by the bowl between the magnetic snaps creates a handy spot for items such as that purple thang, Frixion pens, or your stiletto.

I personally am using this bag for my sewing tools, but it could also be useful for electronics such as cell phones or ipods. It would hold ear phones, chargers, and styli in addition to the phone or ipod itself. It could hold art supplies such as pencils, erasers, markers, paint brushes. It could hold manicure supplies, first aid kit, nintendo games, or whatever, this bag is useful.