Hop to It: "Buds in Bloom"

Oh, my! Long time, no post. Time just slipped away. It has been a busy couple of weeks, what with the boys (yes, both of them!) starting preschool and getting used to the new routine. Crafting has slid a little by the wayside, but I've managed to eek out a little bit of applique in the evenings and have another Hop to It block completed. Yay! This is block six, "Buds in Bloom."

It feels kind of mellow to me. But I do like the purple/yellow combo. I used a variety of techniques on this one:

• Bias bars for the stems
• Needleturn with freezer paper on top for the leaves
• Freezer paper on bottom and starch for the ovals (I don't use this technique very often-- but I really wanted my ovals to be consistently oval-shaped, so I thought the additional prep this required was worth it)
• Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles for the flower centers

I think it is going to fit in with the other blocks quite nicely. I'm getting excited enough about how it is looking that I might have to put together a virtual progress chart so you can see how they all look together so far. Maybe I'll find some energy this weekend.

Round Robin: Organized Chaos

For this round of Once 'Round the Country, the round robin quilt bee in which I am participating, I worked on Adrienne's quilt. I actually went into this one with a "vision," thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to do. (I bet you know what's coming...) Unfortunately, the fabric allotment was not enough for me to confidently execute my idea and still leave enough for the next round. So, I sucked it up, took a picture, and started working on a new (improved!) plan:


The colors were really distracting to my eye and made it hard for me to focus on design, so I switched my photo to greyscale to "see" it better.

At the beginning, Adrienne told us that her vision for this quilt was "Organized Chaos"-- she really wanted to focus primarily on the prints, using the solids as just accents. The subsequent borders by Anne and Kris did a beautiful job doing just that, so I really wanted to follow their lead by keeping to straight piecing, using as many of the included prints as possible while still having a sense of some sort of organization. I got the idea for flying geese from the center block. It didn't use flying geese, but the outside edges of the block had that kind of flavor. I ran with it.


My border ended up being less "organized" than Kris's (the next one in-- if you look closely, you can see how wonderfully deliberate her use of color is), but maybe a slightly more organized than Anne's (the gorgeous fractured border surrounding the center block). Like Anne, I used every print available. Like Kris, I used very regular shapes throughout. I also tried to echo the center block (and Kris's border) by repeating the solid elements.

Overthink much, Robin? :P

I felt so out of my element with this one, wrapping my brain around it was a serious challenge. It was fabulous.

Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge: Fringed Hobo Bag

Another month, another project from Amy Butler's fabulous book, Style Stitches!


For this month's Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge, I made the Fringed Hobo Bag.


Going into it, this was the one project in the book I was seriously considering skipping. It just seemed a little too over-the-top. So, I never thought I'd say this, but it really turned out to be such a fun bag!

I decided on the small version because I liked the slightly longer strap that can be worn over the shoulder. The bag is listed as an "Advanced" project, and I definitely concur. Dealing with the curves, the trim, and the sheer bulk of all the interfacing and fleece involved all make for a bit of a challenge. So much interfacing. I think I probably spent more time fusing all of it on than I did actually sewing. And I nearly lost it when it came to the topstitching through it all at the end. Ugh. But once I switched to my 90/14 Topstitching needle, I got through it. Thank goodness I had one of those on hand (because the 80/12 quilting needle I usually have in my machine was an epic FAIL)!


I decided to go ahead and add a zipper pocket to the inside. This was a little more challenging than normal because of the bulk of the fleece that had been fused to the lining panel. But I got it to work.


Inspired by cottage revolution's version, I went out and found some wooden disc trim at Hancock Fabrics. It felt like a great match for my woodsy-themed fabric (a gorgeous Julie Paschkis print from In the Beginning fabrics).


Here I am modeling it. You can see exactly just how "small" it is. Ha!

Overall, I'm really pleased with the bag. It is a gift for my sister-in-law. Hopefully, she'll enjoy it!

ETA: I nearly forgot! There was some trim drama on this one. The pattern for the small bag calls for 2-3/4 yards of trim. That was about 9" too short. I ran back to the store and was able (thankfully!) to get another 1-1/2 yards, and that fit exactly. So the small bag definitely requires at least 3 yards (I'd probably err on a little extra, like 3-1/8 yards).

More pincushion-y goodness!

July's selection from the Shabby Fabrics Pincushion Club was from Bareroots. The pattern is #200, "Wrist Pin Cushions", a happy little trio of pincushions.


They were a lot of fun to put together. The kits came with everything but the stuffing, making it super easy.


And here's one on my wrist, so you can get an idea of the size.

So happy!

A new skirt...

Last week I made a skirt. And it fits! And I feel good when I wear it! The pattern is Simplicity 3754. I made view E.


I pretty much just followed the instructions to the letter. They were clear and easy to follow (I was a little surprised that even the zipper instructions made sense to me, and worked like a charm).


I did make a couple of minimal changes, including shortening the skirt by 2 inches, doing a button instead of a hook closure, and using a different fabric for the pocket facings (shown in the picture above). For the facings, I wanted something a little lighter-weight than the stretch twill, and the leftover fabric from my shirt was perfect for the job.


If I were to make this one again (and I think I will-- I really like the simple, straight-skirt style and the pockets), I would probably:

• Omit the pocket binding. It is heavy and pulls some, and I think it would look cleaner if I instead turned the pocket facing and topstitched.
• Add a couple more belt loops. I think having another on either side, placed between the side seam and the back carriers, would make belt-wearing a little more practical.

I am already planning to make another version for fall from a black corduroy that I have sitting in my stash. This pattern is a keeper!

Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge 2011-August's Bag

I've picked out some fabrics for my August Style Stitches project, the Fringed Hobo Bag.


Initially, I was not very excited about this design. But now that I have my fabrics picked out, I'm starting to get psyched!

Hopefully, I can start work on it this weekend.

Hop to It: "Spring Breezes"

Since I'm not really going in any order, I skipped along to block 11 for this month. This might be my favorite Hop to It block thus far:


I just love the weaving vines and leaves, the flowing design, the lovely background, and the colors... oh, the colors! Somehow, I just lucked out on this one in picking fabrics. Happy!

All of the usual techniques prevailed in this one... bias bars for the stems, Perfect Circles for the berries, and needleturn with freezer paper on top for everything else. I had a few problems with placement of the dark green leaves (they should have been placed a little further down on their respective stems), but I managed to make it work without having to tear anything out. So I count that as a success.

I'm now caught back up to where I'm supposed to be block-wise on this project. Woo hoo!