Saturday Afternoon Wall Hanging

I started off Saturday afternoon with the intent of using my new sewing machine (more on that later) to sew together some of the many jelly roll strips I've acquired. I had a pattern from a book in mind but wasn't haven't much luck getting the pieces grouped the way I wanted. Then I started playing with my batik jelly roll strips and remembered the pattern that my friend Kathleen had given me, "Hot and Cold Flow". I took that out and got out my Leaves Galore Templates from my friend Sue Pelland and within a few hours I had this lovely piece that I'm going to hang in my office at work.

Because I was using the jelly roll strips mine is a bit bigger than the pattern and I actually have enough pieces left to finish another wall hanging. I made two colorwaves, each with 10 jelly roll strips (I used 1/2 a length of jelly roll strip). Then went at them with the Grande Leaves Galore template. The finished wall hanging is 32"x20". This was also my first attempt at the invisible binding and I must say I really like the result. Kathleen had given me the tip about making the backing a 1/4" smaller than the front, and that was just the trick. Her pattern is easy to follow and the whole project goes together super quick!

What's funny is that using the batiks and Kathleen's pattern I thought I was going to end up with a piece that looked something like her style. But when I stepped back and looked at mine I laughed out loud - my warm color choices - the reds, creams, green, and navy are me all over.

References:
Kathleen Murphy Designs Hot and Cold Flow Pattern
Sue Pelland Designs Leaves Galore Templates

From My Secret Valentine

My quilt guild does a secret valentine exchange and I received this lovely table runner along with some chocolates (long gone), fabric, and a new tracing wheel. Love it!! Am just trying to keep the cat off of it...

Crafty Sister Scarf

My sister won the Martha Stewart prize this Christmas, giving Mom a hand crocheted scarf. Max learned to crochet when she was three from a great aunt who was a prolific crocheter. I recall Max made some interesting toilet paper cover dolls, and she also made crochet Barbie clothes and other little goodies long before anyone had ever heard of arugami. Beautiful!

References:
Max Happyfeet

Amazing Angels

My mother's friend Chris Ingersoll made my mother and my sisters these amazing corn husk angel tree-toppers. The one on top is my mother's and the one below is mine. I wish I had pictures of the others because they are all unique and truly exquisite in craftsmanship and detail. They are all made of natural materials, I especially love the Milkweed pod wings. I love bringing them out every Christmas!

Rebicyclist Belt

The West Coast JP's did very well with their green gifts this year. Peter received this awesome bicycle tire belt made by Julien Jaborska. How cool is that? I made need to borrow that from time to time...

References:
The Rebicyclist
Another Gift from the JPs

Trendy Mittens

For my birthday I received a lovely pair of hand-knit mittens from my friend Elizabeth. The wrist is done in a Missoni pattern, ooh-la-la. She also made them in a washable wool - I can wash them - hurray! Because I always end up with soiled mittens (I'm such a naughty kitten).

References:
LizaP Designs
Missoni
Three Little Kittens

Recycled Gift Wrap

Not only did the JP's give green gifts for Christmas, but they also used recycled newspaper wrap. However, I'm not sure what Miss Manners would say about giving someone newspaper wrapping with the Sudoku already done!

Happy New Year!

Well as the holiday season usually goes, I got a little busy and behind in my blog updates. I've got lots of pictures and goodies to post. Here is last year's Christmas craft from Dad - a lovely Christmas Tree tray. There were several other patterns he made for the family, below is the stocking he made for Mom. Just right to separate the tipsy balls from the nuts!

Redwork Christmas Row Robin

I participated in a 'Christmas Row Robin' with some members of my quilt guild. We just had a party to reveal our rows and this is what I got! The top row is the one I made and I sent around the fabrics and the snowmen pattern to the others in the robin. I love how it turned out...now I just need to put it together and quilt it!

I've had the redwork pattern from Buttermilk Basin sitting around in my pile of patterns and I'm glad I used the pieces for this - or I may never have gotten it finished! All the finished robins will be displayed at our Guild's quilt show in March.

References:
Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild (Visit for info on the show)
Buttermilk Basin (See the original Redwork Pattern)

Car Litter Bag

A while ago I was in Elizabeth's car and noticed her cute little trash bag. I admired the design and quality of materials and told her that I had been meaning to make one. She told me she had intended to make one too, but then came across this one on Etsy and liked the design so much she decided it was worth buying.

Even though I'm a crafter and frequently look at items and say, "I could make that", or even more horridly egotistically saying, "I could make that better". I looked at the design of this one and immediately knew I was not going to best it. Hence, I opted to support another crafter and purchase her snazzy car litter bag.

The bag arrived quickly and was nicely packed, Allyson also packed along a cute fabric pin and a mini notepad with a vintage vogue pattern cover (pictured next to the cat in the first photo). I am pleased as punch with my purchase, and it's just what I needed to fashionably keep the litter in the car under control. Thanks to Elizabeth for the recommendation, and to Allyson for the lovely product!

References:
Allyson Hill's Etsy Shop
Allyson Hill's Blog
Lizap Designs

Plaid Bag

This is a cute bag my friend Jen gave to me that her mother-in-law made. I took it out this weekend for my trip to the Brimfield Antique Show. Great size for toting around my finds, and the straps are just the right length too that I can push it to your back to navigate narrow booths. Thanks to Jen & her MIL for a great bag!

References:
My Brimfield finds