April Lovely Year of Finishes

So I missed the sign ups for the March Lovely Year of finishes.

I had to make sure not to miss April!

One of my sewing goals for 2015 was to better myself in free motion quilting.

With that said, this month I am going to quilt this beauty and not use straight line quilting.

(straight line quilting is my 'go to')

This quilt was put together last spring and has been sitting in my UFO pile.

(along with a few other quilt tops)

It was put together using the Jelly Roll Race by Missouri Star Quilt Company.

You can find it HERE

You can put together this top in about 45 minutes,

so if you need something fast, this is for you!  Not only is it fun to put together,

but you don't know how it's going to turn out until you're done.

So if you're a planner, and want to be a rebel & throw caution to the wind,

grab your jelly roll and get started!

On another note, have you seen Lori Holt's new book, Farm Girl Vintage?

Lori is from Bee in my Bonnet and I have been a huge fan of hers for some time now.

I preordered my book, so when it came, I also received this free pattern, Canning Season.

For a country girl like myself, this is all right up my alley!

Here's a little close up of each block in the book.  I can't wait to get started!

Lori will also be doing a sew along as well.  Make sure to check out the details on her blog

HERE

This past Christmas I had made little zipper pouches for my brother and two nieces.

Well, I left my sister-in-law out of the mix.  It was one of those last minute 'quick' gifts, because I had to have something to put the gift cards in.  I didn't have a gift card for her, and I was only focused

on what I needed to do right at that moment.  

You know how it goes.

So I thought for Easter, I would find out what her favorite treat is and make her a drawstring pouch using this lovely material from my stash.

Using Kate Spain's Cuzco added with a beautiful aqua color from Bonnie & Camille (and I'm sorry I don't know which line!) you can't go wrong!

I used the 'cute as a button' twill for the drawstring, which I purchased from The Little Red Cottage

on Etsy.  You can find that HERE.

So....on to my 'out of comfort zone' quilting!

I wish you all a creative and sunny day!

xoxo

Cindy

Aeroplane Bag

Hey World!

I hope this post finds you all healthy and happy.

I have been sewing up a storm these past couple months.

Now that my big swap projects are complete,

I will have more time to devote to this little blog of mine.

I WAY over committed in the world of swaps.

(please don't take that the wrong way...

....it's all legit and very legal)

LOL

I am very proud to say that all projects were completed

and shipped on time.  My track record has not been broken.

I'll fill you in on the other items I've made 

(and I cannot WAIT to show you what I've received),

but today I'll start with the Aeroplane bag I made for my partner 

in the Sew Sew Modern 5 group.  The pattern is by Sara Lawson.

It's a great pattern, but I still can't say that I love zippers.

I also made a matching drawstring pouch.  You can find the tutorial for this 

HERE

For the pouch I fussy cut 40 2-1/2" squares.

I also fussy cut 2-1/2" squares for the bag, but lost count!

If you do make the bag, and want to use the fussy cut squares,

keep in mind you'll loose some at the top of the bag due to cutting the pattern template.

so put your 'boring' ones on the top sides.

Also keep in mind where your straps will end up.

I had put of out of print Heather Ross fabric in this bag.

Well, the poor little thing can't even be seen because of the strap.

So, if using 2-1/2" squares, again, keep your more 'boring' fabrics 4 squares in from the sides and 4 squares up from the bottom where your straps will go.  I would suggest using your pops of color here and not a fussy cut.

There are two sizes the bag can be made in.

This suggestions I'm giving are for the large size.

I should have made a test bag first, but as I mentioned above,

I over committed on swaps, so time was not my friend.

The large zipper did give me some grief.  Just go slow and watch your top stitching

so the fabric doesn't interfere with the zipper pull.

Other than that, this is really a great pattern.  I was joking on IG that I 

probably won't be making another one.

But I have some cute nieces that I think will enjoy these bags for Christmas.

More to come on that story!

The cute twill placed on the linen can be found 

HERE

I heard about it from my friend Amy over at 

Amy Made That

How about a look at the lining
(kind of sounds like...."Hey...check out my panties" when I say that)

Both sides of the lining have the zipper pockets.

Here's a closer look at both sides of the drawstring pouch

Looking forward to sharing more with you in the next few days!

Remember.....

today is a good day for a good day.

:)

XOXO 

to all!!

Cindy