Wizard Tote Bag

 

 

I made this bag today, from start to finish.  The wizard fabric is the same as the fabric in the bag I made for Ruthie, but the purple accent fabric is different.  This bag is also smaller than the one I made for Ruthie.  This one is my normal tote bag size, roughly 5 x 9-1/2 inches at the base and 14 inches tall.

I quilted the outer shell on my longarm in a spiral meander pattern, using Isacord thread in Sugar Plum (color #2912).  The batting was leftover 50/50 Bamboo Blend Happy Cloud batting from Fat Quarter Shop.

I made this just to be inventory for my imagined craft fair booth, that may or may not ever happen.  But it also fulfills one of my creativity goals for this year.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 2 of 4
   
2. Use pre-cuts = 1 of 3
   
3. Do window paintings = 0 of 2
   
4. Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
   
5. Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

Mini Art

 

 

I decided to try making some little 3 x 3 inch watercolors inspired by Kirstin Van Leuven.  She's doing 100 mini painting this year, but I'm not necessarily painting along.  I like the idea of the small painting, but I'm not planning to do 100 of them or to necessarily do the same subjects that she's painting.  Just taking her idea as inspiration, mostly.  My goal right now is to do at least 2 per month for the rest of the year.

These are the ones I painted this month (Not today). From left to right, some trees inspired by a tutorial from Rebel Unicorn Crafts, a tree inspired by the tree in my front yard, and a sunset inspired by one that my husband and I saw taking our evening walk one day.

Watercolor Again

 

 

For the month of March, I decided to pull out my watercolor paints and try to paint at least a little something every day.  Mostly I did Zen Tangles, but I did try a few other things as well.  I decided I didn't want to post about it every day on social media like I did for Inktober several years ago, but I thought I'd share a few of the highlights now that the month is over.

Mostly it was pretty fun to do.  I plan to try to keep painting some, but not every day.  Maybe I'll do some more sewing now that all my creative time isn't focused on watercolor.

All Star

 

This quilt is a baby shower gift for my daughter-in-law's sister.  I actually finished it over a week ago, but I forgot to post about it.  I still need to attach the label, but other than that, it's done.  Which is a good thing, since the baby shower is this Saturday.

I decided to name it "All Star" because the pattern is obviously a star, and it is quilted with a stars and loops motif.  I used an off-white thread from Hobby Lobby to do the quilting.  The binding was attached by machine and hand turned to the back.

Watercolor Zen Doodle

 

YouTube suggested a video to me a few days ago of a person painting a watercolor zen doodle.  I was inspired by the idea, so yesterday I painted one of my own.  Hers is much better, but it's not about comparisons.  It's about motivation and inspiration.  It felt like a do-able watercolor project.  Maybe it's a way for me to learn a little bit about how watercolor paint and brushes work, without stressing out (too much) about what the end product looks like.  It's not supposed to look like anything in particular.  It's just supposed to be paint on paper, and that's what it turned out to be.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 2 of 4
   
2. Use pre-cuts = 1 of 3
   
3. Do window paintings = 0 of 2
   
4. Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
   
5. Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 0 of 2

Sports Star Baby Quilt

 

 

My daughter-in-law's sister is expecting her first baby a couple of months from now, so I decided to make a quilt for them.  They are having a little boy, and I was told they are going with a sports theme. 

I looked through my stash and found the blue sports-themed fabric.  It was left over from a soccer quilt I made several years ago (It was the backing fabric).  I found the background fabric at Hobby Lobby.  

I modified my Charm Square Star pattern so that the center and star points would be solid pieces instead of patchwork.  I wanted the footballs, etc. to be as intact as possible.  

The next step is to get the backing fabric pieced, so that I can get it into the quilting frame and get it quilted.  I'm planning to quilt it in an all-over stars and loops (or meanders?) pattern.

The top measures 40-1/2 inches square.

Little Ladies

 

I finished the binding on this quilt about a week ago, but I just got the label on it Saturday night.  I named it Little Ladies because of the cute little girls on the fabric.  I started this quilt back in 2015, and I was planning to finish it then and donate it to the blanket drive that my church was doing at that time.  But my sewing room flooded while I was working on it, so I didn't have the opportunity to finish it for that purpose.  Ultimately it got stashed away and became one of my many UFOs.  Fast forward 10 years, and my 7 year old granddaughter decided that it was "adorable," so I've decided to give it to her as part of her birthday present when she turns 8 in a couple of months.

I quilted it with my long-arm quilter in a hearts and swirls all-over pattern.  The top thread is a denim blue color (Isacord Ash Blue #3853) and bottom thread is a cream color (Isacord Twine #1760).  The binding is attached to the front by machine and turned to the back by hand.  This is my second finished UFO for this year.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 2 of 4
   
2. Use pre-cuts = 1 of 3
   
3. Do window paintings = 0 of 2
   
4. Do non-window painting = 0 of 1
   
5. Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 0 of 2