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

Three More Coaster Sets

 

Not a lot to say about these.  They are three more sets of coasters that I made from the Pinkerville charm pack.  They are made just like the last set. That basically uses up that charm pack.  There were two charms left over that will just go into my scrap pile.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 1 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

Second Coaster Set

 

Here is my second set of coasters from the Pinkerville charm pack.  As I mentioned before, I limited the quilting to just the flower petals in the corners. I think it looks nice that way and it was much easier to do.  I used light purple thread for the quilting.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 1 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 = 2 of 5
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 0 of 2

Pinkerville Coasters

 

I'm attacking two goals in this one project.  These coasters are made from charm squares of Pinkerville fabric by Tula Pink that I received as a gift in 2019. I've now sewn a set of 4 coasters from that charm pack, so it is no long unused.  So that means I've used 1 pre-cut and made 1 set of coasters.

There are two charms for each print in the charm pack, so I paired like prints together to make a single coaster.  Then I grouped them together by color to make a set.

To make the coasters, I trimmed the charms down to 4-1/2 inches square; added a layer of batting that was cut to 4-1/4 inches square (to reduce bulk in the seam); and then sewed them together with a 1/4 inch seam, leaving an opening on one side.  I turned them right-side out; pressed them; and top-stitched close to the edge, closing the opening in the process.  I then quilted a flower motif in the center using a flower petal ruler and pink thread.

The ruler fit perfectly into the corner, but then to make the petals that go out to the side, I had to slide the ruler around which was a pain.  Going forward, I plan to just do the four petals that go out to the corners and forgo the ones in between.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 1 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 = 1 of 5
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 0 of 2
   

Charmed

 

This is my most recent finished product.  I decided to name it "Charmed" because the pattern was called Layers of Charm.  Charmed seemed appropriate.  It is made from a layer cake of Healing Hearts fabric and some red yardage for the diamonds and binding.

I quilted it on my long-arm machine using Aurifil thread in Bright Pink (#2425).  I outline quilted the diamond blocks and quilted flower motifs inside them.  I also created "ghost" diamond blocks with outline quilting and flower motifs.  Then I quilted a long feather across each row, curving it around the diamond and "ghost diamond" blocks. 

Here are some close-ups of the quilting.

 

I decided to attach the binding completely by machine.  It's not my favorite way to bind, but I wanted to get it finished in time for February Valentine's decorating.  Plus I had bought thread that exactly matched the red fabric in the diamonds and binding, and I didn't want it to go to waste.

This is my first finished UFO for the year. I started it in 2017.

Thoughts for 2025

I'm having trouble coming up with goals for this year.  I did well with my goals last year, and I think setting goals is probably a good idea, but I'm just not sure how I want to focus my creativity this year.

I know that I want to continue to work on finishing my UFOs.  There are 5 left from my original list, plus one top that I completed last year that still needs to be quilted.  Finishing all of them would be nice, but I don't want to lock myself into that as an official goal.  One has been giving me fits as to how to quilt it, and I want to feel a little more free to do new things than I felt last year.  So I think I'll set this goal at 4. 

I also have a long list of pre-cuts that I own but have not yet used. (The oldest were purchased in 2013.) I'd like to make something with at least 3 of these.  More would be nice, but I think 3 is a reasonable goal.  

Beyond those, I'm just not really sure.  

I enjoyed doing the window painting at Christmas, so I thought that doing more painting might be nice.  "More painting" isn't really a measurable goal though.  Maybe I'll set a goal for doing 2 window paintings this year, plus one painting on paper or canvas. (Yikes!)

I also want to create some inventory to possibly have a booth at a craft show.  Again, "create some inventory" isn't measurable.  The problem is that I have no idea what is reasonable in this category.  I'll say 5 sets (4 each) of coasters,  2 small bags, and 2 tote bags as a start.

In summary, that makes:

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

2024 Recap

Last January I wrote a blog post about what I hoped to accomplish in 2024.  I'm happy to say that I actually mostly succeeded.  

I started last year with 14 quilt tops that I considered to be UFOs.  My goal was to complete at least 6 of them.  I actually completed 9.  One more has been quilted, but still needs to be bound. Getting the long-arm quilter was a big help here.  I feel really good about this goal.

I wanted to start some new quilts and see them through to completion.  This one was a little more mixed.  I started 3 quilts last year - a small wall-hanging sized quilt, a baby quilt, and a throw sized quilt.  I finished 2 out of 3.  As the late Meatloaf famously said, "Two out of three ain't bad."

Lastly, I said that I didn't want to let finished quilts just pile up, and I hoped to maybe try to sell some things.  I made several things that I gave as gifts to friends and family - both bags, quilts, and other miscellaneous items.  I donated a couple of things to charity.  And I actually put a quilt up for sale on my Etsy shop.  It hasn't sold, or even gotten very many views, but that wasn't the goal.  The goal was to offer something for sale, and I did that.  I didn't try to get a booth at a local craft fair, like I had thought I might, but I'm still calling this category a win, too.

Overall, I feel pretty good about my crafting and creativity in 2024.