Ruler Pouches Scrappy Project

I've been busy working on two quilts for a lady in Texas so it has been hard to play but I managed to find a little time this past week.  I spent Monday morning cleaning up my cabinets in my quilt room because they had become a disaster.  In the process, I realized I needed SOMEWHERE to keep my rulers more organized.  Hence, a scrap ruler pouch for my Shape Cut ruler, my 12" square ruler and a couple of long 24" rulers

I simply pulled out my jelly roll scrap box and started putting long strips together.  When I thought it was big enough, I cut it down to 18" square, added a backing and some Pellon batting and stitched in the ditch.  I did the same thing with another set of jelly rolls scrap strips but made it shorter than the smallest ruler so the end would stick out.  I think I made it 10" tall.


Before stitching in the ditch, I added a little embroidery to make it more interesting and then bound just the top of the pouch piece.

Both pieces were then stacked on top of each other and bound all the way around.  Ta da!  All done!  Took me maybe a few hours at most from start to finish.  I hung it behind the door so I could get to it quickly but it wouldn't be in the way.

I love this so much, I am making more for my smaller rulers,  my embroidery templates and embroidery hoops.  These are great as they fit snugly against the wall.

These will definitely be a scrap project for presentation at our March Quilt Club over at Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing!  Stay tuned for more of these!

I'll be linking up for Finish up Friday over at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com as well as some of the links on my side bar.  Come join the fun!

Flurrious Fun Flimsy Finish!

Flurrious Fun!

A Flimsy Finish!

(pattern by Sandy Fitzpatrick)

I am so excited about my first major appliqué project that I just can't wait to share until it's quilted.  My friend, Nita, who subjects herself to the "agony" of appliqué constantly, picked out this project for us to do together on a sewing night.  I was not thrilled but always game.  Those two snowflakes just about ruined my evening!  I think it took about one hour to cut those thorns in my flesh out!  And I can't tell you how many times I cut on the wrong line; I would accidentally cut on the line for the area to be hidden rather than the cutting line.  That's not good.  Nita was so very patient with me and although I issued out a very loud grunt once, all ended well.

Flurrious Fun finishes at 43" x 16".  I finished each appliqué piece with the 51 buttonhole stitch on my Bernina and it turned out great although that is definitely a skill I need to perfect. The mouths are also done with that buttonhole stitch.  The red and green striped border is actually a flanged border; one of my favorite parts of the pattern.  Here's a close up of each of my buddies.  Once quilted, the final touch will be some sort of beads for eyes on the cardinal.  Love that one!

So tell me!  Whether you actually quilt your projects or not, how would YOU quilt flurrious fun??!!

Join me at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com and the sites on my sidebar for more flurrious quilty fun!

Quilt Club!

The second Friday of each month is Quilt Club over at Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing.  That means several days of preparation of scrap stash projects, printing pattern copies, and getting everything together so everyone has an awesome time.  This month we looked at more quilty projects we can make from either cut fabric from our stash or a precut jelly roll plus some background fabric.  This adorable basket table runner can be found under the free stuff on Laundry Basket Quilts; it measures approximately 14" x 28".  I used a jelly roll plus background fabric for the runner, more jelly roll strips for the binding and more jelly roll strips for the pieced backing!  It turned out great!  This is one way I get to make things for ME!  The baskets were quilted with stitch in the ditch and feathers were used in the setting triangles.  It will be stationed in my dining room on my buffet.

And here's another free pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts: a thread spool pin cushion!

Pieces from the same jelly roll were used and the top portion of the pin cushion is quilted with stitch in the ditch prior to attaching to an outside backing.  It's small, about 4" x 5", but very simple to make and I filled it with rice, uncooked of course :)  !

And finally, the proverbial pot holder!  Actually, I really need potholders, I don't know where all of mine went to.  So I used the same jelly roll still and am still making pot holders!

These pot holders take about 20 minutes!  I took a 9" square of fabric for the back and laid it wrong side face up.  On top of that I layered two 9" squares of Insul-Bright.  It's time to sew!  One jelly roll strip was placed in the middle from point to point.  Another was placed on top of that, right sides together, and stitched with a 1/4" seam. Open it up and continue the same process to the edge.  Then repeat for the opposite side.  Prior to binding, I cut it down to 8 1/2" and then chose another strip for the binding and attached it with my Bernina. That's it!  Done!  

Quilt Club down at Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing is a great time for quilters to relax, connect and enjoy an hour of quilty show and tell and demonstrations. This year we are also starting a quilt along where portions of a pattern will be signed for completion prior to the next meeting.  And this week we celebrated the day of showing love with a gift exchange.  All gifts were to be homemade, preferably from those HUGE stashes we all seem to have, and relatively nominal in commitment of time.  Yesterday about 20 ladies showed up for a great gift exchange.

Show and tell is a highlight at Quilt Club:

I hope your week was a good as mine!  I'll be linking up with some of the parties on my side bar as well as Crazy Mom Quilts at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com, so join me in seeing all the creativity!  Have a great weekend!

Gray, Teal & Beautiful!

Gray, Teal & Beautiful (my name for it) is the final quilt from Awesome Grandma who made one for each of her grandchildren for Christmas.  This quilt was very simple but stunningly beautiful. 

I used a design from Tracey with Whirls & Swirls Quilting again but added other motifs as well using a light gray 50 weight Aurifil thread..  This is the second of only two quilts for granddaughters.  This design was chosen because it gave me a "girly" feel and has swirls and movement that blended with the teal fabric.

The backing is the same beautiful teal used on the front.  

Here are photo of the other quilts I have quilted for these very blessed children, two of whom are still to arrive from the Congo.  You can read about each quilt in prior posts.  Each quilt was made with flannel, front and back, and the designs and fabric were specific for each child.  

This was so neat.  Grandma said each of the children just loved their quilts and some of them would not put them down.  What a blessing!

Have a great week; I will be linking up with some of the linky parties on my side bar.  Join me to see all the wonderful creativity!