February finish

I am well aware that I don't seem to be cranking out the quilts like I used to.  I seem to work on something almost every day, I just haven't gotten much finished yet this year.  I was spending a lot of time working on Celtic Solstice, but have set that aside for now.  There are a few things I need to finish first.  DH and I also took a week's vacation and went to Arizona.  I didn't take many pictures, except for the Grand Canyon.  Those pictures are all on my phone.  I promise when I get them transferred to the computer, I will post here on my blog.  The messenger bag I blogged about here  worked great as my carry-on bag on the plane.  I made a small purse to go with it... hmmm, no photos of it, either, and I haven't blogged about it yet.  I need to get on the ball! 

Anyhow, here is the quilt I finished this week -

I sewed the top together well over a year ago.  Maybe even 2 years ago.  I can't remember when.  It was made with 2 charm packs and a bit of coordinating fabric for the border.  I can't remember the name of the fabric line, I know it's an old out of print one from Moda.  For the backing, I used flannel - red with white polka dots.  I did not use any batting - and just quilted in the ditch.  The pattern is Disappearing 9 patch.  I have made several of these, and I am always quite happy with the way they turn out.  It is a generous sized baby quilt, which is good, since the baby I'll be giving it to had her 1st birthday in January.  I know, that's really a late baby gift.....

Since I was outside taking the picture of the quilt, I decided to get some photos of the icicles hanging off our house........

 

Ick, I know.  We are all so sick of winter around here.  It's not even funny anymore.  And it's snowing again now. 

 

Anyhow, I'm linking up to "Finish it Up Friday", just because I finally can!  And I promise I will show pictures of the purse, and the Grand Canyon!

 

Messenger Bag Done

I am pretty excited - I finished up my messenger bag today.  I got the pattern at Pretty By Hand.  The directions were very clear and easy to follow - lots of pictures, which helps a lot!  I added a pocket with a zipper to the inside - and I used the quilt as you go panel directions found here.  They didn't differ too much from the way the bag pattern was written, but since I had a lot of canvas and not much fusible interfacing, I used the method that uses canvas.  Anyhow, here is the finished bag:

Front view:

 

 

And here's the back:

 



I had some old vintage embroideries that I added.  These pieces all had stains, so I actually soaked them in coffee to make them darker, and then cut them apart to use on the bag.  I was able to work around the stains.  I used raw-edge applique for the pieces on the front, and just basically sewed them down with a straight stitch.  I am hoping the edges will fray a big.

On the back, I stitched along the lace, so there shouldn't be any fraying going on with this side! 

 

I apologize for the poor pictures - so hard for me to get a decent picture this time of year!

 

Anyhow, this is a great pattern.  I will definitely be making this again.  I think next time, I will make the shoulder strap adjustable - the pattern doesn't give directions for that, but I have other patterns that do.





My Celtic Solstice

I worked on my Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt today.  I still have a long way to go.  Mine will have 81 blocks.  I have all of the "B" blocks sewn, and I'm working on finishing up the "A" blocks.  I had enough of the "A's" made up to lay it out and see how it looks.

The mystery is from Bonnie Hunter- you can read about it here.  I'm not going to lie... it has been a tremendous amount of work.  There will be over 3,200 pieces in the top.  More than that, once the borders are added.  And there is something about the Bonnie quilt's I've made....(I guess this is only the second one!)... they really look better from a distance.  Up close, it looks like a mish-mash of colors and patterns.  But if you back up a little, the design pops out at you. 

The other quilt I've made by Bonnie is Easy Street.

 

I started another project earlier this week, and I should have worked on that today. 

I bought the pattern for the Molly Messenger Bag over at

Pretty By Hand.  DH and I will are taking a trip to sunny Arizona in a couple weeks, and I want a big purse/bag for the trip.  I was looking for a messenger bag that had a zipper,  and this one fit the bill.  I don't want my stuff to spill out all over the place on the plane.    This pattern is so neat-  it calls for 10 fat quarters.  It also gives yardage if you'd rather make it out of just one fabric.  I am using fabric that has been in my stash for awhile, plus throwing in some pieces of vintage embroidery.  I'll post pictures in a few days!

Our weather here has been awful - this has been the coldest winter I can remember in a long time!  It's good weather to stay in and sew!  :)

 

Linking up to Bonnie's Celtic Solstice mystery link-up finale.