More Zippered Pouches

November 13, 2021November 13, 2021 SewtropolisLeave a comment

A few weeks ago I told you about my quest to use up all my scraps in an effort to organize and use up my out of control fabric stash. I’m happy to report I have been plugging along on that effort and tonight finished up the last of 23 zipped pouches using just what I had in my stash. (I should be proud, but part of me is embarrassed).

To make each bag I sewed smaller scraps of fabric together and created a larger piece of monochromatic fabric – which I liked the look of a lot. I can quickly tell which colors of fabrics are my favorite by the number of bags I was able to make using that color. (hello blue).

Remember my Lard Butt jacket?? The scraps I used for that jacket made 3 pouches, a quilt (which I’ll blog about later) and I STILL have scraps left over! SO MANY SCRAPS!! However, I think the bags made of just solids fabrics are some of my favorite.

I also had some larger chunks of fabric that I didn’t have the heart to cut into so I made smaller bags. This pink bulldog/terrier one is probably one of my favorite. And as much as I love this cowboy fabric it felt good to finally make something with it after holding onto it for 8 years!

All of these pouches are listed on my Etsy page…. and after I sew a few other things on my long list of things to sew, I’ll be back to scrap busting and making more zippered pouches (or ?)!

quilting · sewing

New Year, Old Goals/Old Quilt, New Coat

January 3, 2021January 4, 2021 SewtropolisLeave a comment

Happy New Year! So glad we made it to 2021… things can only go up from here – right? I usually set a bunch of goals at the start of the New Year, I try to have a creative goal, a fitness goal, financial goal and spirituality goal. This year was no different… I set a bunch of goals – one of them to be to journal more. So I cracked open the journal that’s been sitting on my night stand for at least a year and see that one of my last three entries was from Jan 1, 2019…. where I wrote down the same goals for 2019 that I set for 2021!! I decided right there that I needed to find a way to meet those goals…. or let them go.

One of my sewing goals is to use up enough of my stash to make it more manageable. I’ve got fabric in two rooms … I would really like to get that down to one! So, to do that my goal is to sew smaller stash busting projects such as bags, totes, napkins etc. I”ll also make a few quilts… but I want to first finish up some of my UFOs before starting any of those. I’m also going to refrain from buying anymore quilting fabric … I will work through what I have ….or work on getting rid of it. (I mean it this time). So with that said watch my Etsy store for some bags, and bowl covers that I’m currently working on!

Speaking of my Etsy store – I made a quilt a few years ago as part of a Mystery quilt sew along with the Minneapolis Modern Quilters. Even though I liked it… it was not really my style nor my favorite so I listed it in my Etsy shop. I’ve been seeing all the quilt coats on Instagram lately and that inspired me remove the listing and do what I NEVER thought I would do: cut up one of my quilts.

However, I’m SO glad I did… because I made a quilt coat that I absolutely love! The pattern is the Jill coat pattern from Seamwork. The coat isn’t lined which means that I had to deal with the raw edges. I chose to add binding to the seam – which I learned was called a “Hong Kong Seam”. I’m so glad I had a yard of fabric left in this line in my stash … I used pretty much all of it! (Yay for using up my stash).

I added big patchwork pockets because … well… I wanted big pockets. I could have planned the collar a bit better, there is a seam on the outside, but that’s because the pattern calls for a facing – which I ended up not using because it would have been way too bulky! By the time I realized it I decided it was too much effort to rip it all apart – and nobody would notice anyway.

I was going to make a cuff for the sleeves, but after attaching them I realized that they were long enough that I could just fold them up and call it good. Overall, I absolutely love this coat – it’s the perfect house coat for 2021!

quilting · sewing

Quarantine and me: Week 4

April 5, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

What a week! It started off with me registering for Grad school. I am attending Washington University in St. Louis, Masters in Law program. All classes are online which meant that I needed to get logged into their system and store all my IDs and passwords – which I did. The next day, my computer crashed! It won’t even turn on!

I can’t say I am surprised. The computer is about 12 – 15 years old, and I have been waiting for it to crash… but a week before school starts?? Needless to say timing is not ideal and with the “Stay home, stay safe” order in effect it’s not like I can go out and pick up another computer! So I took a deep breath and ordered one from Apple.com and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives before classes start on Monday.

On the sewing front I finished a total of 100 masks; 50 were donated to the Seattle Indian Health Board, and 50 were given to my brother and his co-workers. When my brother came over to pick them up it was sad not to be able to give him a hug. But I had to laugh that we exchanged homemade chocolate chip cookies – unplanned! Yep, we’re related!

Once I was done with the masks I finished this beauty! Which was mostly long arm quilting and binding it.

Quilt, pillow shams, throw pillow front, and smaller panel (pillow).

I saw this at the Quilting and Sewing Expo at the end of February… before shit hit the fan on this pandemic! I saw it hanging there and stood for about 5 minutes just admiring it! It was so pretty and unlike any quilt I’ve seen before…… so of course I bought the kit!

Image of full quilt! Love at first sight

It was designed by Sarah Watts for Ruby Star Society, and the kit includes a queen sized panel, two pillow shams, 18” throw pillow, an small panel to make a baby quilt (or wall hanging), and a extra panel which I made into a small pillow! The fabric is a beautiful sateen that is super soft and makes all the colors bright and beautiful

I bought enough backing fabric to complete all the projects, including the binding, but after I finished quilting it I decided that the pink binding looked better, and added an extra pop of color.

If I were 13 I would put this on my bed and never take it off….. but as it is, now that I have admired it, pet it, and added my ‘artistic’ touch to it, I will list it on my Etsy site. My hope is that someone who admires unicorns, owls, flowers, full moons and pretty birds will find it and claim it as their own.

Stay safe my friends,