Colorful bag

Last monthly meeting my guild had received some fabric from a lady who had shut down her store. A few big boxes of fabric were on display, and the best was that it was free for the guild members! Who can say no to free fabric? At least not me!

The boxes contained mostly curtain fabrics, but also a few good cottons. I brought home a few items, with the intention of making bags. I was in a bright color mood, and soon I had picked out a design for a big bag that is perfect for class-projects. There is a lot of room in this one, for cutting board, big square ruler, project box, and probably more. The size is approximately 18" square.

Here it is on display in my old, dead plum tree in the yard. As you can see, the spring has not come very far, yet. The snow just left a week ago, and we have had fairly cold weather. Since there are no flowers or green grass around in my yard, the bag really cheers the place up.

We have put out one chair on the porch, that is where my cat takes a nap in sunny, warm weather. Since the temperature is just a few centigrades, the chair is available for picture taking of quilt projects. Here is the other side of the bag, plus a peek of the lining.

To sum up, the outside of the bag is a compilation of curtain fabrics, and the lining is an old IKEA fabric from my stash.

I am pleased with the result, and looking forward to start using it!

First attempt of clamshells

Attending the class with Sue Daley last weekend I learned how to make clamshells. This is mu first completed corner of the table runner 'Remember When'. I am pleased with the way they turned out, even though they probably could have been better. But, this is my first attempt, and I am happy. I have a little more difficulty with the apple cores, and I am not ready to show my poor attempt of the center of this table runner. I might be re-done, time will show. For the time being I will concentrate on the clamshells.

Weekend class with Sue Daley

The last two days have been filled with busy work attending this class. In addition to class on Saturday and Sunday, Sue had a trunk show on Friday night. She showed us the most gorgeous quilts. Below are a few of them.

The real colors of the quilt are not showing off properly on the pictures; the quilts are really fantastic!

Another one:

Finally, the the two models we were starting on during the class, the table runner Remember When, and In My Garden:

It was a relly busy class with only hand sewing, but super fun! I have not done much appliqueing and English paper piecing before, but I will definitely work on it to improve my skills. I did not make a lot of progress on my two projects during the class, but I will try to work on them regularly. I have become a fan of hand sewing, and must say I had a fantastic weekend!

Second barn completed

The picture is a little dark; the golden wood-stripes in the green fabric stole most of the light. But, anyway, the barn turned out OK. I like the Halloween cat in the attic window, and the corn-on-the-cob fabric in the pinwheel.

Slow working...

Finally, one week into April 2013, I finished the December block of the 2012 Aurifil Designer of the Month . It took me an enormously long time to complete this stitchery, and I can't really blame it on anything particular. Maybe it was just me running out of steam... Anyway, here is the last stitchery of this BOM.

I liked the 3D-effect of the braids on the skier. I have a fairly good idea on how to put all the 12 blocks together, and I will do it as soon as possible.

Right now, I have started on my second barn of the Barn Along; to be continued...

First barn assembled!

Lori Holt does not only host the Row Along, she has also started The Quilty Barn Along. I am a late starter with these blocks, but they are fast to make, and I guess I will have caught up with Lori when she comes out with the next block.

Today I am working "together" with Bonnie Hunter on Quilt Cam, finishing the stitching on the December block of 2012 Aurifil Designer of the Month (I am a little late on finishing this one). The sashing will come on later this evening, and a photo of the block will appear on the blog tomorrow. Then it is decision time for how this quilt will be assembled; I have a pretty good idea, already.

April block is done

Here is the April block in 2013 Aurifil Designer of the Month . It is a good feeling to finish early in the month, because I have plenty of other projects to work on.

Look what I got in the mail today!

I have been participating in the Mug Rug Swap organized by the Quilting Gallery. The ones I made and sent were received in Washington State last month, and I have been anxiously waiting and checking my mail box often. Today, an envelope containing two beautiful mug rugs was waiting for me when I came back from work. When I opened the envelope, these two beauties appeared:

These two brightened up my day, and they should, because they came all the way from sunny California!

My swap partner, Sheri, did a tremendously good job, and I just love my new mug rugs! They are so nice that I am considering to hang them up on my wall instead of putting a coffee mug on them.

Last finish in March

At the last meeting in my guild in 2012, we were given an assignment to make a thimble case. I started working on it that night, but I have to admit that it was put away for some time and became a UFO. Last Saturday, when my sewing machine was cleared away, I took out the little project and decided to have a go at it. It didn't take a long time to finish it, and now I am the proud owner of a tiny new case for my thimble!
A Must-Have for a quilter! :)