a duo of sew together bags

another post that is a bit different than the quilt ones to come is this one!
last year i made two sew together bags (which i've made a few before these) because of their useability (is that a word even?) and also the ability to combine fabrics and make each one cute as can be in their own ways.
the first bag i made was on a whim for my aunt to gift to her secret pal.  i had fabric bits leftover from the ruffle pug aprons as well as a chunk from amy & luke's wedding quilt from way back when.  yeah, i hold on to fabric for awhile... don't judge!
as much of a dog person as i am (i am not, in case you weren't sure) i do find the peek a boo pugs so amusing!  everything so simple, tan & green, and then BAM pocket pug!
the second bag i made was for the annual sacramento modern quilt guild holiday gift exchange.  the only parameters is that the gift has to be handmade (or purchased handmade) so after awhile of being unsure of what to make, i decided to bust out another one of these bags!
this time it was all completely from my stash, but had some plans go awry in the middle.  i was certain it was going to be blues & greens, but once i scrounged and found fabric big enough, my gray zipper set just wasn't right.  after a new set of zippers were purchased, this was created.  and it was nearly too hard to give up!
the secret sewing machines on this one just add that extra flair that this was absolutely made for a fellow quilter/sewist, and seeing the excitement when the recipient opened it made giving it away that much more worth it.  this second bag was probably the best as far as the construction process went.  the difference between the two bags is that i did not use batting or quilt the second one like i did with the pugs.  it is a step listed as optional in the directions, but it does add some extra heft when sewing those side seams in.  going forward, if i make another one of these bags (which i planned to this month for a friend's birthday, but it just didn't happen in time) i won't add batting or quilting.
and maybe someday, i'll get around to making one for myself!

sew together bag pattern by SewDemented

i have eleanor shellstrop's file. i do not have a cactus.

i cannot believe this day has already come...
the SERIES finale of the good place is tonight!
how i've come to adore this show the past 4 years and shout from the rooftops that EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH IT.
while cruising etsy, i found myself searching the good place, and landed on this perfect gem to add to my wall.  my first attempt was a fail, something about my fabric's count size was off, which made the pattern not fit on the cloth i had cut.  i started again fresh, and finished it this past weekend, just in time to make this post.
plus, i found the super adorable janet funko pop i had preordered (that wouldn't ship until the END of february from amazon) in store at box lunch, so she had to come home with me :)
i won't lie, i'm absolutely going to miss new episodes of this show.  between eleanor's arizona trashbag self, jason's antics and janet's not a girl/not a robot life... i'm just always entertained by it.
it is most certainly going to be regularly binged on netflix along side parks & rec.
and now that this is posted, maybe... just MAYBE i'll get my janet halloween costume posted... but that might not happen until summer time when i wear it again :)
welcome! everything is fine - pattern by IrisRaeStitches

pug life & tea parties - ruffle apron sets

as a follow up to the 2018 apron extravaganza, i had a few custom orders placed last year.
first off, jenny asked me if i would make a tea cup themed apron for her mom for her birthday.
her only parameters was that it was that theme, and let me know her favorite color was purple.
i found this adorable teacup print that was in an alice in wonderland line of fabric from cotton & steel and rifle paper co along with this marbled purple and blue from joann fabrics that meshed perfectly!
the second batch of aprons is a twofer, and was another for my aunt's work.
this time, it was for a round of secret pals, where the recipient was a huge pug fan.
oddly enough, it was VERY difficult to find a variety of pug fabrics.  Her favorite color was green, so it was very lucky that i found a pug fabric that was also green.  The realistic pugs tied in quite well with the bright green print, and gave that bold pop that it needed against the black.
the pug faces front and center just crack me up!
its always nice to have a brain break and sew something other than a quilt that goes together as quickly as these do.

100 acre woods quilt - for baby w

oh hey there, blog-o-sphere.
we're back with a finished project post, and january isn't even over yet!
my unposted projects of 2019 list is much longer than it should be... and given that i already have one finish for 2020 under my belt now, i've got to get things underway!
so why not kick it off with this little paper pieced cutie?
remember this guy? the lion king quilt?
well, lion king quilt had a brother!
my dear friend amy had baby number 2 in the summer of 2018, and i had high intentions to get them another coordinated quilt before he made his debut.  that didn't happen. but it's all good!
big brother got the lion king quilt when he was born, and when baby 2 was on the way, i had to figure out what my next option was.  well, the other disney character i associated amy with was tigger!
this collection of winnie the pooh characters was perfect, and i magically had just enough of the same blue and green to create the background and sashing the same way.
i decided to align the main four down the center row, and then offset the other based on the browns.  the tigger block is easily my favorite, but gopher is pretty dang adorable too.

when doing the finishings on the quilt, i kept the quilting the same as i did on the original lion king one.  i stitched only in the green, framing the characters.  for the backing, i didn't find a fitted sheet, but i found this PERFECT yardage and had to make it work.  to make it the right width and add some coordinating colors to it, i searched the scrap bin and created some blocking to the side of it.  the binding is ALSO the same as the lion king one, but this time i machine bound it.
it was fun to get this set of patterns out for amy's littlest, even though i know she STILL doesn't allow the lion king quilt to get used.
ha!  i was also able to gift this quilt in person this summer when amy came to visit, which was an added benefit (as well as the cause to create a deadline)
pattern: fandom in stitches winnie the pooh blocks
quilt count: 125

ok, so maybe 2019 had some good times.

6 major concerts
a whole lot of movies
(peanut butter falcon, a beautiful day in the neighborhood & yesterday are probably top 3)
sew fest in utah
quilting
cats
holiday festivities

bye, bye, 2019. hello 2020

i will not miss you in the saddest fashion (unlike li'l sebastian, that is)
2019 was exhausting, emotion, and all around rough.
i know i briefly mentioned it in the TMNT baby quilt post that our grandma passed away in late september and the whole year leading up just made it one long blur.  she fell in march, and her health declined the rest of the year which made it feel like it was a never ending.
know that once she passed on, we all as an extended family felt a sense of peace and relief as she has been ready to go for years now, especially with granddad and aunt donna passing the year prior.
the day before grandma passed, my mom texted me saying elroy wasn't doing well, and he very well might be going to the vet and not coming home the next day.
the day after grandma's passing, elroy crossed the rainbow bridge after almost 15 years of grumping around.
earlier on in the year, we also lost 2 of his brothers from both litters prior, Murphy and Rufus.
Velcro still is with us, but also giving us some scares recently that are truly showing his age as well.
safe to say, blogging really fell to the wayside with all these losses.  well, crafting and sewing in general really fell off the radar for the most part as well.
i felt like i was starting to sew when i had to, and not when i wanted to.
my maker monday sewing group was dissolved and then ultimately cancelled, so there went that outside sewing group.  i have a new roommate who doesn't sew, so now we're just back to pre-maker monday sewing talk with lisa via text and marco polo.
BUT
here's to trying to make that change.
turn those HAVE to craft back in to WANT to crafts
an acquaintance from high school started a local crafting group on facebook with hopes to get together and craft and chat.
i stumbled across a posting on nextdoor about a monthly crafting get together group (which is surprising, because most of my notifications are about found cats)
i joined another facebook group about a yearly UFO sew along to get work in progresses finished.  this month is a christmas quilt that i purchased the pattern and stuff for probably 2 years ago now and have tried to convince myself to do.
craftster.org is gone, but it is now lettucecraft.com which has helped revitalize my sharing online as well.  hopefully that will kick blogging in to gear.
2019 had about a third of the blog posts that years prior did... so it is time to make that change!
i've got about 8 posts of projects currently that are photographed and needing to be blogged, so buckle up!  things will soon be coming your way.
here's to 2020.
fresh start.
new adventures (quiltcon in februrary!)

TMNT baby quilt - for baby p

for years and years and years now, much like the plans for the lion king quilt, lisa and i had always talked about someday making a ninja turtles baby quilt for our cousin brian.  he was an avid turtle fan throughout his childhood, and our dear aunt donna had kept his turtle candles and even reused them in recent years prior to her passing.  just under two years ago, brian married the girl of his dreams and this year it was announced they were due with a baby boy in october.  lisa and i revisited the idea of making the turtle quilt together, divvying up the turtles and their weapons and made plans for it to be finished in time for the baby to be here mid october.  life got crazy, so it was pushed back to being planned to be a christmas gift.  and then life got real crazy...
our grandma myrna passed away at the end of september, just about week shy of her 91st birthday and baby p was born just a few days after.  once the funeral date was secured (last friday) lisa and i knew we needed to get this done and ready to give it to brian, brandy and baby in person so we kicked things in to super high gear.
our game plan shifted a bit even more with the time crunch.  originally, there were talks of a pizza block in the middle, paper pieced to match the turtles, but as the funeral inched closer, there just wasn't time to do it.  lisa and i still had our blocks split, her taking the red & orange while i had the blue and purple.  right now i should also include the disclaimer that it was much easier for us to refer to them by color... and will probably remain that way throughout the rest of the post :)
the evolution of quilting also changed a bit.  at first, i wasn't going to quilt in the blocks.  after thinking it through, i know that was one regret i had with the two quilts i made for amy's kiddos, but i couldn't make up my mind.  i had thought to just free motion quilt, but then i realized i had more practice with that on the long arm than a domestic machine.  lisa and i talked about echoing the head/weapons, but i felt like that would get boring with a lot of starts and stops... then i remembered this jagged type of idea that i'm pretty sure i remember learning when i took the "walk this way" class at meissner's, and in my head it felt perfect.
lisa finished her blocks on friday, dropped them in the mail and got them to me on monday.  i was booted from my apartment due to a stairwell replacement, so i was jamming each night at my parent's to get this done before the funeral on friday.  instead of the pizza block, we opted for this quarter square triangle block to tie in to each of the turtles, and i am OBSESSED with how perfect my points got on this... so sue me with being excited.  i also remembered this stitch from "walk this way" to echo the triangles in a wonky sort of way, and as i got it going, i was so happy with the decision.  monday night, i made the center block, trimmed and interfaced the back of the pieced blocks, and got the top entirely together.  tuesday, i quilted the middle block between jobs and stitched two turtle blocks... while crossing all my fingers and toes that pg&e didn't cut off the power.  wednesday, i finished up EVERYTHING like a crazy person.  i thought i would be able to go back to my own bed that night, but since it was after 11 by the time i finished sewing on the binding... it didn't happen.  and thursday led me to my next crazy idea...
initially i had thought to reach out to my guild members to see if someone could machine embroider a basic quilt tag for us, but as you can see, my brain was a little on overdrive with everything going on.  so after a lot of thinking while driving, i thought making a tag shaped like pizza would be perfect, since it was ninja turtles and we didn't get the pizza block on the front.  i had lisa send me a photo of her name in her handwriting, traced it on to the yellow once i got my pizza template and started stitching away while watching the masked singer & the goldbergs.  the black olive heart is a little nod towards our family joke that you aren't a true member of the family if you don't like black olives... and brian doesn't ;)
after all things funeral wrapped up last friday and after we spent time at grandma's looking through old things to see what any of us may want, we all went to do what we do, which is eat ice cream at leatherby's family creamery.  while brandy and the baby didn't make the 4 hour trek for the funeral, we still made brian open it so we could see the reaction we were hoping for... and it was there.
lisa and i have worked on so many projects side by side over the years, or even the same project together with our own interpretations to it (remember the twin sweater dogs?) but this was a lot of fun to put our brains together to create this project for another member of our family.  while we've had 3 major losses in a year and a half (all three especially affecting brian, as he lived with our grandparents for years and lost his own mom last november) our family has remained close even throughout it all.  we are so lucky to have had these grandparents show us the importance of family and while we all went through our angsty teen years in one way or another, any time we gather together we can talk, laugh, and celebrate like a day hasn't passed since the last visit.
lisa and i both talked about how we remember brian and my little brother being buddies together during our childhood and how one day he was going to be a great dad.  now that he has a little buddy of his own, i know we can't wait to see how he officially turns in to a dad.  just watching him gush over photos of his little one last weekend was a side of brian i was so excited to see.
what will lisa and i sew together next?
well, actually 2 prior project i did with her (both virtually and in person) are up next to be blogged.  kind of hopped around to get this quilt up sooner than later :)
pattern: fandom in stitches ninja turtle patterns with our own center quarter square triangle block
quilt count: 124