Green Living Market Bag - Octopus, Seahorses and Anchors on a Freezing Day in February

I've been working on this queen size quilt for six weeks now.  Since the first of the year.  And I love it, and it's been great, but I can't share it.  BOOO!  So I was itching today for a quick win.  Something that I knew I could finish today and would love.  I went back to my very favorite pattern...The Green Living Market Bag by Bari J. 

This is my 10th one.  When I say I love this pattern, I'm not kidding.  I've made most of them as gifts.  This one is for a dear friend of mine who saw the fabric on Instagram when I bought it.  It's Tula Pink's Salt Water line.

Makes me think of carrying beach toys and flip flops!

I managed to get the seahorses to line up on the top cuff.  This is one of the benefits of having made so many!

Seahorses!

I am also much better at getting the folded up corners on the bottom to be neat and lined up perfectly with the sides.  This is a super sturdy bag that is perfect for groceries or goodies from the farmer's market.

Folded up corners for the bottom

So Kari, here are a few ideas of things you might be able to carry in your new bag...stuffed animals and American Girl dolls.  Both of which I know you have at your house.

Do you have a favorite pattern that you've made over and over again?  What is it?

First Finish for 2014 - 2 year old Tula Pink Field Study Quilt (Heather Ross Mendocino Included)

So I finished this quilt top on January 2, 2012.  That's over 2 years ago.  Is it just me or is it frightening how quickly the time passes?

This was the first quilt that I used some of my very precious stash of Heather Ross Mendocino fabric for.  Orange is my favorite color, so it was a big deal for me to cut into it.  I am thrilled to finally be able to use this to keep me warm on the couch and see those seahorses every day!  You can barely see them in the lighter orange arrows at the bottom and top.

I am also on a striped binding kick.  So what better choice than some Heather Ross stripes to finish this off?

Close up of the AWESOME striped binding

Now I'm back to the quilt that I'm making for our guest room.  I started it last spring, and got sidetracked.  What else is new?  The big deal about this quilt is that it's full/queen size, which is the biggest top I've made to date.

Redemption! Amy Butler Origami Bags

After the Cosmo Bag debacle I bravely decided to try another pattern in Amy Butler's Style Stitches book.  I had to redeem myself, and I had a gift to make for a friend.  I used some of Violet Craft's Peacock Lane and some of my hoarded Tula Pink Neptune.  Loving the pink and black together, very 80's feeling.

My pictures are a funny color, it was actually really sunny outside, but these are the bags I made.

I made the "mini" size and the "medium" size.  The bags I use the most are one for pencils and eyeliners and such and the other to hold all of my other makeup.  I was very happy with the sizes I chose.

I used more of the upcycled sheets I got on Etsy for the insides.  They open up nice and wide, and I like to use light colors on the inside of bags so you can see what's inside.  I found that if you use dark colors it's hard to find stuff at the bottom of the bags.

I am SUPER happy with the way these came out.  The patterns were very well written, with lots of pictures that were helpful.  These I would agree, were "Easy".  I would guess they took me about 2 1/2 hours to make, including cutting time.

WELCOME 2012 - Tula Pink "Field Study"

Happy New Year everyone! I've had a wonderful 10 days off from work and it's going to be tough to get back into the swing of things tomorrow.

I am thrilled that I can start the year off with a blog post of a FINISHED UFO so soon. Both of the kids had friends over today so I got time by myself to sew and finish up this quilt top.

It's Tula Pink's Field Study pattern.

A few quick observations...I actually seem to cut smaller pieces much more exactly than I do large pieces. These blocks are 12 1/2" and my squares were not so square.

The pattern was well written, clear, and I LOVE that it's color on glossy paper. I'm rough with patterns and this will last well, and I will certainly be able to use it again. It went together quickly, when I actually WORKED on it.

(Clearly, one of my goals for 2012 needs to be improved picture taking!!)


This is the first quilt that I made entirely from my own stash. It was actually really satisfying to buy the pattern and "shop" on my shelves for what I was looking for.



I also am hopeful that this size quilt will be good practice for my very so-so quilting skills. I'll be sure to post when it's all made up. I truly love how it came out, so I'm motivated to get it done.

Do you make up entire tops from your stash?