Pencil Pouch, round 2

I added a lining and a small pocket to the pencil pouch. Now it can hold even more things! No matter the size of the bag, I must cram it full of stuff.

Adding to the fabric stash.

I have been slowly but surely adding to the fabric stash. Since my craft budget is limited I love that fat quarters are super affordable and I can still get super cute fabric that I love!

I love cherries, I even have a cherry tattoo, so this fabric is totally my style. Plus the yellow is so vibrant, I couldn't pass it up.



I am not a huge fan of purple but my sister is totally in love with this color right now. What I like though about using different colors I wouldn't normally use is that they remind me of certain people.
I think of my sister whenever I look at this fabric and can't wait to make something with these purple cherries!

Flowering Vines Quilt

I am at the beginning phase of working on the Flowering Vines Quilt I first posted about on April 23, 2010.
Here is the fabric stacked nicely, cut into various sizes from 1"x 3 1/2" up to 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".


Fabric splayed out to see the variety of patterns and colors. Most of this fabric is from scraps that I have had in a large paper bag, not knowing what project to use them on! I finally went through the bag and was so excited to see they would work perfectly for this quilt.

I have on 3 1/2" x 58" strip done so far. Only for of these left to do!



This is the book I am using, Flowering Favorites.


Remember to check back to see the progress of the quilt!

Cute pencil pouches.

I have been working on getting stuff ready for my etsy store. It has been a long time since I have posted things there but want to dust the shelves off and put out some new merchandise!

I have always loved pencil pouches and though I would give them a try. They are super easy to make and a great quick project.


I used the zipper foot to sew on this cute lime green zipper.


Here are two finished pencil pouches. I didn't realize how many colors zippers come in! I bought these zipper's at Joann's fabric store. The fabric is from Thimblecreek quilt store in Concord, CA.



The inside of the pouch.


These pouches are 3"x7" when finished.

Binding take 2.

I have complained many times about binding a quilt. It is something that I have struggled with and had a hard time learning. Well it seems that I finally figured it out! Yeah!!! I even showed my boyfriend, saying, "See?! Isn't this awesome?! I FINALLY did it!!". He gave me a weak smile and a "yeah". He didn't realize that he should have thrown me a quilt binding parade! He did give me a nice hug though, so that was good enough!

After studying this tutorial (over and over): http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/10/binding-tutorial.html I then felt confident enough to try again. I first put binding on a few of the quilts I have made for my puppy. These turned out well so then I put binding on my Roman Squares quilt and the Rainbow Quilt.


This is the rolled up binding.



Pictures of the finished binding from many angles! I was so happy with the results. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have this turn out!!

My puppy loves quilting!

I finished it!

I finally finished the Roman Squares baby quilt! Part of why I did this one was to learn new skills. My repertoire has now expanded slightly! I think I am more of a make it up as you go girl rather than a pattern follower. I like how it looks but I will let you in on a little secret, it doesn't fold up square! It's totally uneven! I laughed about it last night when I finished it, seeing the silliness in my mistake!


I like especially how the back turned out! I think it's very pretty. Well, onto the next quilt!

Beginners mind.

When thinking about today's post I kept hearing in my mind the phrase "beginners mind". It basically means setting aside all of your judgments, preconceived ideas about outcome and being eager and open to the process.

As a beginning quilter I am truly struggling with learning something new. I can't help but compare myself to others, feel frustrated with my mistakes, and have moments where I feel completely discouraged.

Some of you know my "story" and others don't. About a year and a half, to two years ago I decided to let go of my chosen career path. It was something that I was (and still am, but in a different way) deeply passionate about. I had gotten my master's degree, began working in this field and felt I was pretty good at what I was doing. As painful as it was I had to let this all go due to major health issues.

Some time has passed and after much searching I feel I have finally found something I am passionate about again. That new passion is Quilting. I want to know all there is to know about it, I want to become really good at it, and I want to help others in someway through my quilting.

But as a beginner, wow, it is a rough place to be in. I don't think I have set my goals too high, I know it's possible to do well because I love quilting. I just wanted to put this out there. That I am trying to be open to what comes with learning and trying this new path.

Roman Square quilt.

I am almost done with this Roman Square quilt. Well, almost done with the top, which feels then like I am close to being done. I started it maybe two weeks ago and hope to finish it in another week.

I recently decided to work my way through the Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!!! The Complete Guide to Quiltmaking Second Edition. I am a very new quilter and up to this point have made quilts without patterns. I need some quilt skills and find this book very approachable. So onward I go in my learning adventure and here is my guide, this great quilt book!


This amazingly cute puppy fabric will be the corners. I decided to use my Sushi Roll of fabrics (check out April 20, 2010 posting). I wanted to save it for a special quilt but then decided to just dive in and use it, I didn't like waiting!

Quick, simple potholders.

My sister came over one afternoon for a quick visit. We decided to make some potholders for some random reason. I may have seen a cute pattern in a quilt magazine. We didn't follow any pattern though.Basically we just made a 8"x8" quilt square with a little extra batting to help protect against a hot pan.

Mason decided he had to help my sister with her potholder.


My sister added a pretty floral square to her zig-zag yellow potholder.


These are the two sandwich squares put together, ready to for binding.



My sister busy binding her potholder.

Here are the finished potholders. So cute!