Abbey Bags

The 2nd sewing class I took in 2010 was from Parkland Parish Quilt Co. for the Abbey Bag from Abbey Lane Quilts, you can find the pattern here. I saw the sample Abbey Bag they had at the quilt shop and fell in love.  I didn't think I *needed* it, but I had to have it because it was so cute!  It is a pincushion with an attached bag.  The class was fun but since there were so many pieces to cut out we weren't able to get it completely finished during class.  I don't remember the instructor's name but I do remember she gave all of us her phone number and said we could call her if we had problems finishing it.  I didn't call but I appreciated knowing that I could.  I'm sure I probably could have picked my own fabric but since they had a kit I just went with it.  I still love it and use it all the time!  One of these days I plan to make myself a second one so I can have one near my cutting area and another near my sewing machine instead of moving it around.  I took out most of the pins that are normally in it so the pincushion was more visible.

My first Abbey Bag! 

close up of the flower/pin cushion part

 I made another last year for my friend Fawn who is a very accomplished quilter and amazing person.  She was going through a rough time and I wanted to give her something that might help cheer her up.  It wasn't too hard picking fabrics as the stripe one seemed quite happy and I picked others, from my stash, that I thought played well with it.  Plus, I just kept thinking "happy" and it all seemed to come together. The fabric I used for the button was from the first quilt shop hop I went on the year before.  Even though the background is dark the other colors seemed to really tie in with everything else.  However, looking at the picture now I'm not sure if it was the right choice because the dark background draws so much attention to it, but I thought it looked pretty and just went with it.  I was (and am) really happy with how it turned out.

 I made a third one that I included in a basket I donated for a fundraising auction, at work, last December.  It was harder trying to pick colors that would hopefully appeal to others, not just me or a friend.  I learned not to buy fabric with texture.  The fabric I used for the cuff and petals had an interesting puffy texture on the white flowers but trying to sew with it was challenging to say the least.  But once I finished it I loved it so much I didn't want to give it away.

The basket included the Abbey Bag, several fat quarters, thread, chocolate, a couple different containers of pins, a $25 gift card to a quilt shop, and some fun misc things I found (that purple thang, angel embroidery scissors). It was fun putting together the basket and helping to raise money for a good cause.  There were tons of other gift baskets as well, but mine was the only sewing one.  I loved it so much I joked about buying it myself, but I managed to refrain. ;) 

First Quilt Project

I figured I would start posting my completed projects (possibly even in order).  One, because I haven't sewed anything since finishing Danile's bag and two, because that way I will have a record of my projects and progress in one place (an online quilt journal).  I had wanted to learn to quilt for years but had never made it a priority to learn.  After being unemployed for several months and not having any luck obtaining a job I decided it was time to learn to quilt in 2010.  I figured at least I would have something to show for my time at home.  Of course I continued applying (and interviewing) for jobs and finally landed one several months later.  Yay!

I had inherited part of my paternal grandmother's fabric stash years before but had no idea where to start or what to do with the fabric.  My husband knew I wanted to learn to quilt and bought me a sewing machine for Christmas a couple years before as well (thanks, honey-bunny!).  So in January I decided to sign up for a beginner quilting class at Evergreen Quilting and was at a complete loss for everything.  The instructor helped me pick out the fabric for the table runner and even helped me figure out how to properly thread my machine.  I swear I was probably the slowest sewer she had ever seen! :)  Even though it was a beginner quilting class, I don't think the others were brand new to sewing.  Fortunately, the instructor was pretty patient and even though I didn't get the runner completed during class I was able to eventually finish it.  Sadly whenever I looked at it all I saw were my mistakes and was seriously thinking of tossing it until I mentioned that to my Mom and found out how much she liked it and that she was excited I had made it.  Of course she has always been good at ignoring my mistakes and loving me anyway.  Thanks, Mom!

It's probably not bad for a first project.  Of course it didn't help that the instructor's measurements were off so we ended up needing to piece additional fabric in the outer borders.  But my Mom likes it, which is good since it lives with her now!  :)

First Post & First Bag

My first post.  I'm not sure what all of the blog etiquette is, I've been reading blogs for a while but haven't paid attention to when others do or don't link to something, I'm not sure if there is supposed to be a limit to the number of pictures per post and feel there are probably a ton of other things I'm not even thinking of.  Hopefully I do alright.

I finished the bag for Danile (my younger, but not youngest, sister) last Saturday.  The pattern is called Juliet from Me and My Sisters Designs (appropriate name!) and can be found here.  Of course they also have a super cute blog.   I think Danile bought the pattern back in October and we picked out the fabric around the same time.  It's my first bag and I put it off because I wasn't sure if I could do it.  But it was actually pretty easy and I am so excited and happy about the way it turned out!  Hopefully she loves it as much as I do.

The hardest part was probably sewing over the thickness created by multiple layers of fusible.  I was a bit worried my machine might not be able to handle it, but she did great!

We saw this bag during our first quilt shop hop in 2010.  Danile loved it but I was so new to sewing I didn't want to (or have her) buy a pattern and not be able to do it.  I figured we would be able to find it online later, but we couldn't.  The note says it's called Anytime Tote by Touch My Heart Design.