Sewing Small Projects Part 2

Yesterday, I finally finished this long-time languishing Schnibble project.  The pattern is Recess and it had been so long since I worked on it that I had to search Sinta's blog to find out when I started the project. Way back in June 2011. Ah...2011...that explains everything.  My traumatizing year...let's not drag up any memories from that year and just move on to the finished top.

I had all the rectangles cut out and about a third of the rows sewn together.  It just took a couple afternoons to finish sewing and this UFO is nearly done.
I love the fabric line--Charlevoix by Minick & Simpson.  It is the perfect summery fabric line and even better, reminds me of Michigan.

Over the weekend, I finished my second "Everyday Bag" from Sherri McConnell's A Quilting Life book.  This one is for nephew Cameron.  

I don't really have any kid-type fabric in my stash and my goal is to use what I have right now.  I did find a random fishing/camping charm pack (Northern Shores by Holly Taylor for Moda) and some random camping/outdoorsy fat quarters (Northern Flight by Holly Taylor for Moda) in my stash.  Wonder what my original idea was for this fabric??? Who knows. 

I pieced the handles and the lining from the fat quarters. This is a fun bag to make and I have two more that I want to make this summer.

Cat photo for this post is courtesy of Gomez who enjoys sleeping away the warm afternoons under the ceiling fan.  

Sewing Small Projects

Not a lot of sewing to report lately.  Work has been busy and when I'm at home, I've been as lazy as the cats--reading and watching TV.  

I have been sewing more small projects.  Currently I'm working on making several "Everyday Bags" from Sherri McConnell's A Quilting Life book.  This is a great pattern and it is perfect for using up those single charm packs that you have in your stash or scraps from your favorite fabric lines.  

I made this one for my niece Mackenzie.  Purple, cats, and owls--a perfect combination in my opinion.  I had a random charm pack from a Moda line called "Cosmic Cats" (from several years ago) and used Moda Bella solid in Periwinkle from my Daydreams quilt.  The owl lining fabric was leftover from an apron that I made Mackenzie. 

These bags are the perfect size for toting projects, books, toys, etc.  The interior has a nice pocket for keys, phone, or as Mackenzie says "George Washingtons" (that's what she calls quarters--cracks me up).

I'm nearly finished with my second bag for Cameron and I'll post that next.  

The cats love sleeping, sunbathing, and watching the birds from the windowsill in the bedroom.  

I call this photo of Remy "I'm Batman."

The More You Know: Weather Edition

Spring in the high desert is interesting to say the least.  It may change quicker than Michigan weather.

On Tuesday (May 13th) we had snow flurries all day.  Yep. After weather in the 60s and 70s then it snowed all day.  The snow didn't stick to the ground and it really wasn't that cold, but is sure was entertaining.  The snow then changed to this weird bean-bag-fill shaped frozen precipitation.  It has done this before while I've lived here but I didn't know what it was.  Like a small hail but not icy.  After some research on the Internets, I found out it is called graupel.  From Wikipedia:  Graupel (also called soft hail) is formed in high altitude climates and forms when supercooled water droplets collect and freeze on snowflakes.   The more you know.

Graupel on my Adirondack chair

After working all morning, I watched the grauple from  my sewing room and happily sewed away.

In case you are wondering the current temperature is 68F and is headed up to the 80sF this weekend.  YAY! Crazy weather.

My sewing mojo is running at a high level this week.  I have a million projects I want to work on.   Right now.

I started out with this month's Another Year of Schnibbles project.  The quilt is from Carrie's book Schnibbles Times Two and the quilt is called X Rated.  I picked out some French General charm packs that I had and Moda Bella Solid in Stone.

(I write my own selvedges on solids so I don't forget what color I bought...)












As you can see, Stella decided to "help" with the layout of the rows.  Such a big help.  Remy ran away with a couple of the little pieces and Edgar Poe came in and rolled all over the squares getting cat hair on the light pieces.   We had BIG FUN sewing this quilt together.

 I had the day off yesterday and whipped up this oh-so-cutemous bag.  I was (unsuccessfully) looking for some  French General fabric to use as borders for the Schibbles project and found a small fat quarter pack of the Outfoxed line by Lizzie House.  I have no idea what I had planned for this fabric.  It may have been a have-to-have-because-purple-hedgehogs-y'all purchase.

I found purples for the straps and the lining in my stash.  The pattern is Winslow Market Tote by Pink Chalk Studio (I've had it printed out for ages so I don't know where I originally got it.) and was fun and easy to make. It's the perfect size for a farmer's market bag.  I will definitely make more.

Lastly--a Remy photo for all his fans.  Remy was doing some major lounging on the bed yesterday.

Fall Reading and More Treat Bags

Tiny Treat Bags from Quilts and More fall issue

I made four more little treat bags.  These are just too fun and cute.  A few will be staying here and the rest will be mailed to Michigan for my Halloween-loving family.  This is going to be a short post because I am declaring today "binding Saturday" and am sewing miles of binding on my Mardi Gras quilt and maybe two more. 

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I read mostly nonfiction books.  Lately, I have been reading a number of World War II books.  Here are two that are really interesting and well worth checking out.  The Women Who Wrote the War by Nancy Caldwell Sorel is an excellent book that explores the lives of women reporters and photographers in both the European and Pacific Theaters.  An amazing book about amazing women and the first time women were allowed to report from combat areas.  

 

The second book is American Nightingale:  The Story of Frances, Slanger, Forgotten Heroine of Normandy by Bob Welch. This is another wonderful book about an amazing woman. Ms. Slanger and her family survived World War I in Lodz, Poland and immigrated to the US in 1920 when Frances was seven.  The book details the struggles the family faced living in the 1920s and 1930s in Boston and how Frances defied her family, went to nursing school, and worked at Boston's City Hospital. Against the wishes of her family, she enrolls in the US Army Nurse Corps and is among the first US nurses to land in Normandy on June 10, 1944.  I triple highly recommend this book. In fact, if I was Steven Spielberg, I'd option this book right away.  It's high time movie studios made some decent movies for women that are not the same ol', tired, retread-story chick flicks.  Hear that Steve?!  Good. Off to bind.