Urban Home Goods

Tonight I'm playing catch-up if you can't tell!

In addition to Spicing Up the Kitchen I'm also participating in the Urban Home Goods flickr swap and wanted to share some photos of my finished projects I'll be sending my partner.

My partner really likes Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry, and Denyse Schmidt. I tried combining patterns from all three designers to make a fun and funky gift my partner could use for sewing or every day life.

I selected these fabrics and tested the waters on flickr but my partner was very silent. It's hard to go wrong with these designers and I really liked the look of these colors together so I went with my gut and continued using them for her projects.

The first item I made was a market bag using this tutorial from Rosy Little Things.

 

 

 

 

 

It was totally worth the money I paid for the pattern and I will definitely be making more for myself! The one modification I did make was adding another little pocket on each side for business cards or other little things. What's great about this pattern is you can really make it your own!

Next, I decided to make the pincushion from Anna Maria Horner's book Seams to Me which was an ambitious undertaking to say the least. If I make this pincushion again I will use a more rigid interfacing for the center tube and leave two openings for stuffing the fiberfill in. It was pretty difficult going all the way around to the back of the container. I am still not completely happy with it but after ripping it open and adding some more batting it wasn't so bad. Here's a peek:

 

The only modification I made was to hand sew some hexagons on around the outside of the pincushion. I just like the way they look but she can also use them to organize different pins.

The last little something I made for my partner is a matching needle keeper for her tote bag. I wanted her to have something small to keep a few needles, pins, hem clips, and a seam guide for when she's traveling with her works in progress. The center portion is lined with template plastic to keep the needles poking through the other side and padded with some wool scraps I had leftover from making the Portable Tea Party set for Gracyn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The needle book folds in thirds and Velcros together. I added a little hexagon to the front in keeping with the theme and also because I love them. Hopefully my partner will enjoy all three of her gifts and appreciate all of the little details!

Happy Quilting!

Spicing up the Kitchen Update

As you already know I am participating in the Spicing up the Kitchen flickr swap. I already revealed the first couple of hints in this post but I've been pretty silent for awhile and it's past time for an update! I truly don't know where the time goes...

Anyways, here are some photos to enjoy of the gifts I will be sending my partner's way:

As you already know, I started out by making some kitchen towels with some cathedral windows sewn on as an accent. I then made some coordinating magnets for my partner to use on her fridge.

I tested them and they definitely work!

For her next gift I started with a 12 patch of scrap squares and added a piece of medium gray fabric to the bottom side for some applique. The center is bordered with more medium gray.

I added applique birds and the simple but appropriate word 'COOK' to the top.

I embroidered a simple rectangle around the words before I added the birds because I wanted the birds to break up the sides a bit.

 The little birds have some simple embroidery along the outer edge and to define the 'wings'.

The back is a red gingham and shows the free motion and straight line quilting very nicely.

I added a little pocket to each corner before sewing the binding down so that my partner can use a dowel rod to hang it and keep it straight.

All of her gifts are tied up and ready to be sent. I hope she likes everything and that they work well in her kitchen!

Happy Quilting

a Dozen Quilters February Project - Red Wonky Cross Blocks

Here are my A Dozen Quilters wonky cross blocks for Jenny of Cut.Sew.Iron.Repeat. I am a huge goober and messed up the starting squares but hopefully it will add a little variety rather than throw the whole quilt off!

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Hope they work for you Jenny!

Weekend Sewing - Andrea and the NOVA MQG

I convinced my friend Andrea to come up for the weekend so she could participate in a  sewing event I planned for the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild. It didn't take much to twist her arm and it was a lot of fun having her here.

We were sitting on the family room sofa, she was knitting, and I was sewing hexagons:



She told me how much she loved the pincushion I was using and asked if I made it. I proudly told her it was a gift from traceyjay from the Make Mine Modern swap (formerly Modern Swapping).



Tracey has some much better photos in her stream but you can tell from my photo that it gets a lot of use!

I knew traceyjay had linked the pattern so we checked it out and picked out some fabrics to make one for Andrea.

The combination of prints is just precious! The browns, pinks, creams, and greens make such a great combination and Andrea loves them so that's what matters most.

Here are some (probably way too many but I couldn't help myself) photos of Andreas pincushion:













We also finished up the coffee cozy Andrea has been working on. It was hand pieced and machine quilted, then hand embroidered for a more quilted look. We added some Velcro rather than sewing the ends together so that Andrea can use it for various sized cups.





So cute! I just love hexies!

Happy Quilting!

Spicing up the Kitchen - Hint 1 & 2

Here are some photos I shared on flickr in the Spicing Up the Kitchen swap I am participating. My partner seems to like brights paired with neutrals (who doesn't!? lol)...



This mystery item will be part of a pair. I really love how it turned out with the two shades of gray and lots of brights in green, orange, yellow, and red.



this little guy is teeny tiny! To give you an idea of scale, that's part of my cell phone in the background there. I think he is going to need some friends :)

I am also in 2 other swaps so my evenings have been pretty busy with sewing! I don't think I am going to sign up for so many all at once next time. It's pretty hard keeping track of what is going on in active flickr groups!

Happy Quilting!