Heather Ross Mini Spool Quilt

Hello all!

This summer I participated in a Heather Ross mini quilt swap on Instagram. (You can follow me @sewnbyleila)  It was so much fun! I had wanted to make a thread spool quilt forever and this was the perfect excuse.

I wanted the quilt to have a loose "rainbow" order. So, I rummaged through my HR scraps, begged/traded some more scraps from friends, and got to work. The spools are improvisational pieced, which made the final piecing a challenge, but it made for a good variety of shapes and sizes.

I heavily quilted the background with swirls so the spools would stand out. (Swirls are my go-to free motion quilting motif.) It took awhile, but I love the look. Then I stitched around each of the spools and then quilted a few zigzags across each to mimic thread.

It was a lot of fun to make and I will have to make another one for myself soon!

(An outtake of my quilt holder jumping for joy!)

Heather Ross Bag

 I finished this bag a few weeks ago.  I have been meaning to use my linen Heather Ross odds and ends to make a bag and finally got around to it.

I used the free Phoebe bag pattern.  I pieced each side on interfacing before cutting out the pieces.  That gave it a little extra weight and something to piece onto.  I knew the strap length was Way Too Short so I lengthened it....and had to do an awkward fix when the bag was finished because the strap needed to be shorter....like the length specified in the pattern.  Note to self: Follow the instructions the first time you use a pattern.  They may know what they are talking about.  :)

The back.

The first time I used it in public I felt kind of odd.  You don't see a lot of peach pieced HR bags out there.  I've gotten over it and it feels normal now.  And it is perfect for me.  It has my favorite fabrics and is the perfect size.  Not too big, not too small and it hangs just right on me.  I can see making another when this wears out.

If you are looking for a handmade Christmas idea this pattern might be a good idea.  If you didn't piece the panels it would go together pretty quickly.

I know in the next couple weeks people are going to start posting pictures of all the cute things they are making for teacher gifts.  While that is great, I decided a couple of years ago that I was just going to buy our teachers books.  Something they will be sure to use and that the whole class can enjoy - and something I can quickly buy in Amazon.  So, if spending 50 hours making teacher gifts isn't in the cards this year, buy the teachers in your life a book.  They'll love it!  :)

Linking to Scraptastic Tuesday.

Heather Ross Bag - At Last

I bought some Heather Ross fabric years ago planning to use it to make a bag and last week I finally did!  The coral print with the little girls playing with horses was the inspiration fabric.  I thought about doing the whole bag with that fabric, but then decided that it might be a little much.

So I made a bag with lots of different HR fabrics all improvisationally pieced together.  (To tone it down?)  I picked linen fabrics that were in the warm orange/coral/pink family and then added a punch of aqua (not HR) to keep it from getting to boring.

I used the free Phoebe pattern but lengthened the strap because it was blatantly too short --- and then I had to shorten it back up because the pattern was correct.  Note to self:  Make the pattern as directed the first time round - the author might just know what they are talking about.  :)

 

I love the inside pockets.  The rose and tape measure fabric are some of my favorites.

Part of me feels kind of silly walking around with a coral patchwork bag but the other part of me knows that everyone else wishes they had one too.  ;)

The Des Moines MQG are having a holiday swap this week and I think I am going to have to make another bag to swap.  The Phoebe bag is a great size and shape and goes together quickly.  And if I am busy sewing then I can put off raking leaves.  Win-win!

QuiltCon Post #2

Before going to QuiltCon I felt rather obligated - in a good way! - to make some cool, handmade stuff to take.  I used some fabric from the Heather Ross Fabric Swap I hosted last fall to make this awesome triple-zip bag to hold my English paper piecing  (tutorial found here) and sunglasses case.  I made the case much like this tutorial, except I added a magnetic snap and decorative button and stitching.  Love!  And I love that I had to use the sunglasses even more!

 I also finished binding this quilt for Becca to use.  It almost didn't make it - I literally pulled the quilt out of the dryer and stuffed it into my bag minutes before going to the airport.  But man, I love all of those rainbow colors.

Becca had fun playing on it during some of the lectures at the conference.  She also had fun playing with my show pass and name tag.

I made this name tag a few weeks ago to take too.  I am loving the thread on the sewing machine!  I'm not keen on the bow, but it was necessary to cover a stain.   Not as many people at the conference had quilted name tags as I had expected.  My husband thought I was kidding when I mentioned that it was encouraged in our local guild to make a name tag to wear at the meetings - we're a crazy bunch!

I hope you aren't sick of QuiltCon yet, because I have a few more posts to go and a small giveaway coming up next week!  Have a great weekend!

Cutting Fabric For the Heather Ross Swap

My camera has gone absent-without-leave - grrr.  There is a $1 reward for anyone who finds it, so keep your eyes open.  ;)  Hopefully it turns up soon because I have a little red wagon and wheelbarrow full of tomatoes I would like to take pictures of, not to mention a birthday party tomorrow and the fair later this week.  This week is not the idea time for the camera to decide to take a vacation.

But the point of the missing camera story is that I am going to do the tutorial on how to cut the 9x9 inch squares with minimal waste for the Heather Ross Swap without pictures.

Step One:
Unfold the yard of fabric completely.  Fold the fabric in half the opposite way, so that the selvages are folded back on themselves.  Instead of the selvages being opposite the fold, as fabric normally comes off of the bolt, the selvages will be on either side of the fold.

Step Two:
Trim off one of the selvages.

Step Three:
Starting at the newly trimmed side, cut off four 9x36 inch strips.  You should have a remaining scrap of fabric that is approx. 7x36 inches.  (Much better than a bunch of 9 inch scraps.)

Step Four:
Cut each 9x36 inch strip into four 9x9 squares.  Measure your strip before you start to know how much wiggle room you have.  Some stores give you 36.25 inches when you order a yard and some stores cut off a more generous 37 inch yard of fabric.

Step Five:
Package up your 16 squares and send them to me!

Heather Ross Fabric Exchange

When I participated in a charm swap of Japanese fabric last year, I got a few Heather Ross prints in the mix and I LOVE them!  I decided that I wanted to feature a bunch of Heather Ross prints in a quilt, but buying a fat quarter of each of my favorites started to add up Very quickly.

So here is the plan:  A Heather Ross fabric swap!!

The Details:

• Each participant will buy 1 yard of Heather Ross fabric.  It can be any of her old or new prints.
• Fabrics acceptable to swap are all Far Far Away lines, West Hill, Mendocino, Munki Munki and Nursery Versery. Please no Spoonflower fabric so that the weight and fiber content will be consistent and no Crafty Chloe. 
• They will cut the yard of fabric into sixteen 9x9 inch squares.  I will post a tutorial on how to do this.
• They will mail the cut fabric and a self addressed stamped envelope to me by Sept 1st at the latest.  This date is non-negotiable as I will have a baby around the 13th of September and I want to have all of the packages mailed back before then.
• If they wish to have the fabric mailed directly to me, I will cut it up but will keep the 4x36 inch scrap of remaining fabric as payment.   They will still need to mail me a self addressed stamped envelope (or teach me how to charge a payment though paypal - I am completely clueless).
• I will mail out a package with sixteen different 9x9 inch cuts of Heather Ross fabric as soon as all the fabric is received. 
• In order to make sure that none of the prints are duplicated, please post a picture of the fabric you purchase on the Heather Ross Fabric Exchange flickr group.  Prints in different colorways are ok - in fact, I would love to get all three color ways of the cowgirl fabric.  Please look at the flickr group page before hitting buy.
• To sign up for the exchange, leave a comment below.  Make sure I have your email address so I can email you my address and communicate any other details to you.
• There are 15 spots open for the exchange.

Let me know if I have forgotten any details.  I can't wait to see all of the beautiful Heather Ross goodness!

PS.  The Fat Quarter Shop has some Far Far Away III fabric on sale!

All spots have been filled.  If any open back up I will let you know!  Thanks!