Bliss Sampler Blocks 1 -5

Five of 12 blocks done. These blocks are huge -- 14 inches! With additional sashing and a flying geese border, the quilt itself will also be big.  More to come.

Busy quilting...

I've been quilting #2's pinwheel quilt that I finished piecing almost a year ago now.  It's actually going pretty well, given that I've never quilted anything bigger than a baby quilt.  I forgot how much I like the actual quilting -- I think putting the quilt sandwich together is the real impediment for me.

In the meantime, I'll post some FOs for the week.  The purse below is the retro purse by ithinksew.com, which I've made a couple of times before.

I narrowed the strap and made it adjustable so that it can be worn both short (as below) or cross-body.  The fabric, BTW is Amy Butler's Temple Tulip from the Soul Blossoms line.  The lining is Amy Butler's Full Moon Dots from the Lotus collection.

On the inside, I added a zippered pocket, as well as a slip pocket with dividers for a cell phone and sunglasses.  Finally, I added a pen loop and key chain clip.  I love these details!

Then because I had some extra fabric, I made these two card cases.  I was experimenting with a magnetic clasp versus the velcro strip.  I don't know, something about a magnetic clasp gives it a little more oomph.

This one on top was the second one I made.  The tab is a little bit wider and longer.  The one below has a shorter, narrow strap.  The next one I make, I think I'll combine the two and make the tab longer but narrower. :)

Charm Pack Quilt Along

I'm very late to the game, close to a year late, actually, but that's beside the point.  I started this quilt last fall, after finding the pattern as part of a quilt-along at Freckled Whimsy. 

I was about half-way in when I stopped to start my holiday sewing.  I only recently started working on this quilt top again, after a major reorganization of my sewing space.  Well, it's still not done, but I thought I would post my progress.

The quilt-along calls for two charm packs and some yardage, so I chose Lila Tueller's Spirit collection for Moda. The colors are pretty bright, which I think works well with the solid white Kona to make it not so screamingly bright. Now, I have to add the border, make the quilt sandwich, quilt, and bind. Wow, I still have a ways to go.

I wished I were close enough to being done to post it in the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side. Have you seen some of the quilts? They are truly amazing.

Happy Mother's Day!

I was informed by #1 a few days ago that he was in the process of making me a very nice card for Mother's Day.  Mr. Elvy confirmed that #1 has been working on a card at bedtime -- the rule is that he can stay up so long as he 's in his room doing something quiet.  First thing this morning, #1 came down and gave me the card.  It said something like, "Happy Mother's Day.  Please give me a kiss."  That was very sweet, in addition to the gifts I'd already received earlier in the week, because my boys CANNOT keep a secret!

On to sewing, this is my Mother's Day top, which Mr. Elvy called my summer mu-mu (spelling?).  I love this top, it's so comfy and turned out just as I pictured it mentally.

The pattern is from the Lisette collection (Simplicity 2245), as is the cotton voile fabric.  Both were purchased at my local JoAnn's. I made View B, which I think is actually supposed to be a (very mini) dress.  I shortened the bodice by two inches, which raised the pockets to a manageable location for me (cause I'm short). 

The fabric was a little difficult to work with at first, mainly because I could not get it to straighten out and line up. I finally cut off quite a bit from both selvedges to get everything to line up without the wavy edge. From there on in, the fabric behaved beautifully for me.

The picture above is the front placket detail, which I thought was a cool little detail. The bottom picture is the button loop closure in the back. I was going to use these shiny red dome buttons at first, but I thought it might be a little uncomfortable to lean back on, so I opted for these oval wood buttons instead.

By far my favorite detail, though, are the pockets. I love these pockets!

If I have time, I'll try to enter it into the Spring Top Week Sewalong over at Made by Rae. It's a pretty neat feature on her blog and a good motivator for spring sewing!

Look What I Won!

I was so excited when Julie of Jaybirdquilts.com posted that I had won this lovely packet of fat-eighths called Grace by 3 Sisters.  I seriously feel like I could go buy a lottery ticket right now and win that too!

Thank you so much to Julie and to Judi and Clint Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts, who donated the prize.  Have you checked out the Green Fairy Quilts store page?  So many lovely pre-cuts...

The Flores Clutch

I tried out a new clutch pattern this past weekend from ithinksew.com. It turned out pretty well, I think. The pattern was relatively easy for a mid-level sewer like me. The only challenging part for me was the front flap detail, which required some pinning and clipping.

The fabric is an old Amy Butler print from her Belle collection that I bought at Bolt, the first time I ever visited. The solid is also Amy Butler -- I have to say, her solids coordinate really well with a wide range of her prints.

The pattern didn't call for any pockets on the inside, so I added a small zippered pocket using a six-inch zipper which turned out to be the perfect size.

Here's the back -- I'm getting much better about centering print motifs.