Green Living Market Bag - the perfect quick gift

I went to a great Farmer's Market last weekend with a friend.  When I got there she said "do you need a bag?  I brought a bunch."  Except, that she had the recycled shopping bags from the grocery store.  So when I got home, I immediately got to work making this for her.  It is, in my opinion, the PERFECT shopping bag, and a perfect gift.  It's the Green Living Market Bag, by BariJ.  You can get the pattern from her directly.  It sews up in about 1 1/2 hours (including the cutting), and it looks like a million bucks with your farmer's market haul sticking out of the top.

I actually had these fabrics out on my table for another project, and knew they would look great for this bag.  I didn't think to try to get the diamonds to go perfectly up the center of the handles, which is why they're off a bit, but they're close enough for me!

I got to use a bit of vintage ribbon from my stash...

And here's the best part...it folds up and the ribbon wraps around and it looks like a gift when you hand it to someone.

This pattern was designed by my dear friend Bari Ackerman, of BariJ.  She currently designs fabric lines for Art Gallery Fabrics and writes THE BEST patterns.

What is your favorite sewn gift to give?

Ally's Tumbler Lap Quilt - long time UFO

I.am.finally.done.  I have so many UFOs.  This was one of the quilts that I took to my aunt to long-arm quilt for me.  I got all of the red, white and black fat quarters during a shop hop...dear lord...was it THREE summers ago??  This was the first quilt I cut using my Accuquilt GO cutter and then the pieces just sat and sat.

My daughter LOVES to have a quilt on her lap while she watches TV, and she had actually forgotten that I was making this for her.  She's very happy with the finished product.

She was willing to pose for a few shots. Gotta love that summer, unbrushed hair look.

The back is some Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush that I just love.  I have a ton of red fabric, and it is amazing how broad the spectrum of red can be.  This was the perfect color for the back.

The binding is some of the first fabric I ever bought...years and years ago from Jona Giammalva's Fabritopia.  It's Mary Englebreit bowls of cherries.

I found out about two friends having babies in the last week, so needless to say the next two quilts you'll see will be baby quilts.  One boy and one girl.  Wondering if I should do the same quilt in different colors?  Likely I'll just use it as an excuse to buy more fabric.  Which I do not need.

Last Two Mystery Designer BOM Blocks!

What seems like LONG after a year ago, I finally finished my last two blocks for the 2012 Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Designer BOM quilt.  It was actually June 25 when I finished the first block last year.

What I liked most about this block was the HST made from one triangle, and the other side having a split triangle.  They were fun to make. ("County Fair" by Julie Comstock for CosmoCricket)

I'm not sure if Fat Quarter Shop saved this block for last on purpose, but MY GOD were there tiny pieces in the pinwheels in the corners!  ("April Showers" by Sweetwater)  The whole thing all assembled is only 3 1/2" across.  The toughest part was sewing them together with the really thick centers from all of the layers.  I hesitated trimming because there was so little fabric to begin with.

I've got a bunch of other projects to finish and two baby quilts to make before I can do all of the filler pieces to this quilt.  I think this will be my winter opus this year.

Not only am I still alive, I actually finished something!

I am finally coming up for air.  May and June were just crazy for me at work and at home.  But I was able to take a four day weekend for the 4th of July and I'm back into a more normal routine.  I even got to work on one of the my Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Designer BOMs that I have left.

This is 11 of 12, County Fair, by Julie Comstock of Cosmo Cricket.  There were a few new things that I did in this block that were fun.  The four corners have half square triangles, that then have another triangle placed horizontally across.  I love the look of those!  I also didn't get my center seams lined up just right on the first try and I'm very happy I ripped it out and re-did.  The center is just right now.

What took up all of my precious little sewing time in May and June was my super double top secret project.  Here is a super mega close up, which is all I can share.  But I LOVE the way the project came out and I can't wait to share more.  I learned a lot about working with linen...which I'll share when I can do a bigger reveal.

Top Secret Project

I must admit, I love having "top secret" projects.  I am helping out Quilt Dad (aka John Adams) with something, and I am absolutly in LOVE with it.

He sent along these Joel Dewberry prints, and for the first time, I also get to work with Robert Kaufman linen!

I'm looking forward to sharing it with you when it's done, but this is what I can share now.

 

Aren't they beautiful?  Aren't you just dying to know what it's going to be???

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - I did it!

I can't believe that it's been over two weeks already.  But I had to wait for the photos to arrive to properly describe my recent success story.  On April 7, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run with my cousin in Washington, DC.  Not only did I run it, but I finished, and I ran across the finish line smiling. It felt absolutely amazing.

For those of you that have followed my blog, you know that I am not a very experienced runner.  I started running on December 2, 2011.  I started running because for my entire life, I told myself I COULDN'T run.  That I had a lung "thing" and I just couldn't get the breathing right.  I had some fabulous women, including my cousin (who is a tri-athlete by the way) encourage me, and support me through all of the whining and complaining as I slowly became a "runner" over the last 15 months.

I don't look like I'm suffering too much, do I?  (to be fair...I didn't include any of the photos where I look like I was about to die).

I knew this race was a HUGE accomplishment for me, so every time I saw the photographers along the route, I hammed it up like crazy.

We averaged just under an 11 minute mile.  Not a land speed record by any stretch...but I did it, and I felt, on that day, like I could set any goal and achieve it.  A most amazing feeling.

Here we are, crossing the finish line. Running AND smiling.  Not bad for a girl (who am I kidding, 42 year olds are not "girls") who could barely run 30 seconds at a time just last December.

Now, I LOVE running.  It's a permanent part of my life.  I feel better, I am significantly stronger, and I am in the best shape of my life.  The next time you tell yourself you "can't" do something, think again.  You can do anything you put your mind to.

Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Designer BOM #10

Can you believe it?  Ten months have gone by ALREADY?  How does this happen, the time flying by like that?  It is really fun to look back at the blocks as I add each new month to the pile.  Some I remember because of what else was going on in my life at the time.  Some for what the weather was like.  Some because I screwed them up and had to un-sew or completely re-cut parts.  A really nice way to mark the passing of a year.

This month's block is by Minick and Simpson called "Sunday Drive".  It uses this fabulous red houndstooth fabric that I LOVE.

I can also very clearly notice my improvement in technique as the months go by too.  I'm happy with my points, and how everything lines up, and most of all, that after a very tiny trim, I actually have a 12.5" square!

I've already started cutting my next big project.  It's a quilt for our new guest room from Quilts Made Modern by Weeks Ringle & Bill Kerr.  My first solids quilt.  I can't wait to show you all some progress.