Bella Clutch, aka camera bag!

Howdy folks!

So, here is my modified Bella clutch all ready for my camera. I lined it with soft baby flannel, in pale yellow. I didn't have the metal hardware needed for the handle, so just inserted the handle strip into the side seam as is. 

Please note that my bag is much deeper than the original pattern. I needed it that way so it could hold my camera and a few necessities.

Thanks so much to Clover and Violet, for having this great tutorial. I will have a link on my Cute Tute page soon. Have a look round their blog, it is packed with lots of tutes and other great ideas!

I made this table runner a few years ago. I will try to find the tutorial for it…might be lost in the Forbidden Room, aka; my sewing room!

Here's a close-up. You can see I did a bit of simple hand quilting in the white border. I used to do a lot of hand quilting, but since I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on BOTH wrists I don't have full range of movement anymore.

Got some Happy Mail from Christa's yesterday! Just love, love that juicy gumdrop print! I had been eyeing that cube of Double Wedding Ring sticky notes for ages. She is having a close-out sale and I got the last on at half price!

Also fron Christa's, these cuts of Kona cotton. This is; Azure, Sand, Robin's Egg Blue and Lipstick Red. I got 3 yds of Sand and 2 yds each of the other three. I should have got more of the red. It is my favourite shade of red…but it is so hard to tell on a computer. She is all sold out of Kona now.

Last, but not least, I got this Cheese and Crackers boy quilt kit. It was $60, but I got the last one for $30! Such a smokin' great deal; an Atkinson pattern, 10 fatties, half yard of the blue and yardage of Kona-white.

That's all for me today, the hubs needs the computer…grrr..I can't complain though, his need is directly tied to getting a paycheque!!!

Another hexie shot! Can't get enough of these little, happy bits of scrappiness!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Gettin' caught up...

Hi all!!!

Thought I would show off the ~1,000 hexies I have already basted for the Kid's quilt. Just under 3,000 to go! (Notice how I have re-purposed the bag that my fabrics from Fort Worth Studio came in!)

We managed to catch the tail-end of Saturday's PM Day parade. Our little town is celebrating 100 years of incorporation this year.

The firefighters come armed with spray guns….

…and the kids too! It is an annual event and kids are encouraged to join in the fun. It was a really hot day and I ended up getting squirted too! Eek!

The 4-H kids were showing off their sweet bunnies. Poor things looked a little hot, even though they were in shade.

Here's me in front of an equally hot(yea, right!) red car. That dorky, floppy hat came in real handy! There were a whole bunch of booths this year and I bought a big bag of Kettle Corn. Sooo good, but soo bad for me…hee hee hee

Do you remember me telling you about saving up my pharmacy store points? Well, they had that extra points sale this past weekend and I got all this for $12.22!!!(you just have to pay the taxes on the non-food items). I spent $219.93 of an available $220.00 worth of points. YEA!!!

I got 2 x 8-packs of Duracell batteries(on sale) for my camera, Tylenol(on sale), 2 x Lactaids for the Kid, 4 x Palmolive dish soap(on sale) and tons of food(most on sale) to a total estimated $300.00 worth(full price) of products/food! I did bring a list and a calculator, but even still, both the hubs and the cashier were uber-impressed! She said I should go on The Price is Right!!!

Next post I will be showing the finished Bella clutch and some Happy Mail!

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Happy day!

Hi all!

I decided that my new camera needed a case or bag of some kind and I remembered that one of my favourite blogs had a cute, but largish zippy bag tutorial, and you know that I'm all about trying free tutorials!!! The Bella Clutch, by Clover and Violet fit the bill! 

You can find the link on my Cute Tute links page.

I did change it up a bit. Remember all those 2.5" squares I cut with my AccuQuilt cutter the other day? I thought that since the tute called for 2.5" strips, I could substitute my squares. I made mine a bit longer, to account for the width of my camera.

I did some basic straight-line quilting in purple variegated thread, using my presser foot for the width from the seams. I am lining it in flannel, to protect the screen from scratches. I am making just one set of slip pockets(pink dice flannel scrap), and am making them deeper, as well. That way I can slip in a small pack of batteries, bank card, my keys and a pack of cigs. No need for a purse!

What do you think of the lime green zipper??? Now I have to sew it in, yikes!

Today is the day of our annual town-named festival. There is a parade(going on right now), as well as a bandstand for local bands, musicians and dance groups.  

There are tones of booths selling food and arts and crafts, as well as Community Service booths(i.e.; local Community Policing etc.). 

It is a beautiful hot, sunny day and the hubs and I are about to head over to the park to see the goings on!

Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

A cuttin' machine!

Hi peeps!

Here's a close-up of my appliqué wall-hanging I shared a few days ago.

I was in a cutting mood yesterday, so I got out my trusty AccuQuilt Go Baby and the Econo die(love it, has 3 different shapes to cut on the same die) and went to work on this pile of scraps from my stash!

They were sent to me by my dear, dear friend L in Arizona. She is a prodigious quilter and sends me a big box of her beautiful scraps a couple times a year. I love that peacock fabric near the middle of the pile! 

It looks like my hubs' empty booze bottles have done a little photo bombing!!! *sorry*

I got out my old loaf pans to keep the unruly piles of cuts from falling off my ironing board. I use my cutter on my ironing board as it is easier on my back, and I can place the board in front of the balcony doors to keep cool. I got a bunch of  2.5" HSTs, 2.5" squares and 4.5" squares done. I will probably add the 2.5" squares to my hexie shoebox for the Kid's quilt. I am thinking that the HSTs would make a great border for the Paper Bag charity quilt!

Here's an old pillowcase full of my off-cuts. Once it is full, I will sew the opening shut and donate to a local kitty cat shelter, for use as a kitty bed.

I had a hankering to make a Paper Bag quilt! Do you know what that is? You put your cut squares in a paper bag and mix it all up. Then you close your eyes and choose the next squares to piece together. I will be piecing mine with Kona-snow as my alternate, making a checkerboard quilt for charity. I still have A LOT of squares to cut(thank you Go Baby!!! It's one of the best investments I have ever made for quilting tools, other than rotary cutting supplies). I kinda over-did it yesterday, so have to take a breather today.

This is my sweet baby, GRACIE. She has had a bit of a rough time. She was the runt of her pack and never quite learned how to cover her litter box additions. She was two years old before she learned how to meow!!! She recently had a nasty infection and I really thought we were going to lose her, but she pulled through. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

I couldn't find GEORGE at the time of this post, so look forward to seeing a picture of him sometime soon.

It is such a beautiful day today, I think I will go outside and read a quilt mag in the shade!

Have a super day and thanks so much for reading!

Jacqueline

Crummy weather

Hi all!

So, I was planning to shoot a tutorial today, but the weather isn't cooperating…grrr…it is overcast and starting to rain. Bah…

I thought I would share a pic of my winnings, from the semi-annual Sew Mama Sew Giveaway. They arrived safe and sound and Tina, of Seaside Stitches, had included a nice little card, too! The tiny lapel pin is so sweet. I can't imagine foundation paper piecing such a small item! I think I will stick to my scrappy hexies!

I thought I would share a photo of my beloved Pffaf! She is Model# 7530-Quilt and Craft Pro. I have had her for over 14 years, can't believe how the time has flown by! She has quilted so many quilts and other crafty projects. Every once in a while, I think I will go ahead and get another machine, but she is such a good old gal, I really don't need to. 

I have never had a Bernina, but have lusted after them for sooo long…it is a Bucket List item!!!! 

Which kind of machine do you sew on?

The guy who lives behind us has been running his table saw all morning and now I've got a Migraine on deck.

See ya later,

Jacqueline

Got some Happy Mail!!

Hi peeps!

Look at this yummy fabric I got a few weeks ago from Fort Worth Fabric Studio! Those turtles are so darn cute I just couldn't help it!!! I am going to trim up some flour sack towels with the coffee bean and apple prints. I bought what they had left(3 yds) of that juicy Amy Butler print and might make myself a Washi Dress for the summer. 

See what they give you in your order? Some hot choco(this brand is hard to find up here) and a nice, thick pen. My order was wrapped in a clear plastic bag(not a zip-top one though), and sealed with a sticker. Yay!

I did get my coordinating Fabric Boxes done yesterday. I wanted to see if I could make a tall one for my scissors and a large spool of thread. I made the 10" square, then measured 2" in from the corners to make it skinny. 

It was a bit fiddly to sew down the inner flaps and sew on the buttons, as I have kind of big hands, but I managed! As you can see, I totally changed my ideas on the buttons. I think the little red ones are super-cute!

Here they are with my cute scissors that were sent to my by a friend in England. I am so, so, sorry, I don't know how to make my pics stand up straight!! If anyone knows how, please comment!!! Thanks!

I dug this book out of my sewing room and did up some tea towels for my Dad for Father's Day.

It has tons of well-photographed stitch how-tos.

I would love, love to learn how to make a Bullion Rose. So pretty!

Here are my ideas for trimming the towels; the red paisley is too dark and I am leaning towards the antique toys print. Any thoughts? I'd love some help on this one. The prob with the Debbie Mumm stars print is that I don't have much of it, so the trimmed edge might be a little skimpy.

This is my one and only finished hand appliqué project. Just not my thing I guess. I have large, fat hands and find needle-turn too fiddly.

A gratuitous shot of some hexies I did last night.

I store my basted hexies in a plastic shoe box from the dollar store. I wedge them in there tight so they self-press. No ironing for me on this project!!! I can fit about 1,000 hexies into the box and when it gets full, I dump them in a large, clear plastic bag.

I am ready for my close-up, Mr. Deville!!! Ha ha ha 

They look so good, just like a handful of potato chips! YUM!

I am off to sit in the shade,

Thanks for reading,

Jacqueline

A sunny saturday afternoon

Hi all!

I had a lovely morning sewing(while emptying the dishwasher and other nasty things like that!), and am at the halfway point on the fabric boxes tutorial I shared with you last week(link on Cute Tutes page).

These are the two fabrics I've chosen, as well as some buttons I am auditioning. Not sure which ones I'll go with yet...

One of the fatties had the designer's name printed on it, but the other did not. Love my little vintage fruit nappy, perfect for holding tidbits!

Can you see my shadow on the turquoisey-green fabric??? 

I wanted the quilting to show up a little, so I chose some Antique Gold-coloured thread. I hope to finish them up tomorrow(best laid plans... *wink*).

I was a naughty girl and did a little online retail therapy at Fabricworm. It arrived on my doorstep Friday. Happy Mail!!! I have plans for the black print, bias plaid and the teal, but bought the remaining 4 yards of the oh-so-colourful block print just because! It is in all my go-to colours, so it will be used! I am thinking maybe a scrappy BOM??? All the fabric arrived enclosed in a large, sturdy ziplock-style bag. That will be re-purposed as soon as I get the fabric into my stash. No, sorry, no pictures of the stash…it's embarrassing to say the least! hee hee hee

So I decided to jump on the blogosphere bandwagon and got the Sew Together Bag pattern by Michelle Tucker of Sew Demented. I just had to have that pattern! It is a great little zip-up organizer…perfect for my paper piecing supplies. I first heard about it on several of the blogs I follow and then again during the Sew Mama Sew semi-annual giveaway. I am a little concerned about installing all those zippers, but the 14 page pattern(it's a PDF) has loads of info. You can get your copy here.

Here's another sneak preview of the giant hexie quilt(I have to wait for the hubs' help to photograph the entire quilt):

You can see the border fabric in this one. I decided to sew the border on by hand as well, so now I can say it is pieced entirely by hand.

And this is the backing fabric. The gingham check is 1/4". 

Initially, I bought 6 yards(it is 57" wide), but by the time I finished the quilt, I realized that I needed much more. The Lord was in my corner, as I found the online store I'd bought the original piece from(they had moved their store to Etsy) and they had some left! Can you believe that? I bought what they had and now have enough! Happy story!

That's all for me folks!

Happy sewing,

Jacqueline

A new addition...

Hi all! 
I'd like to welcome my new followers! Feel free to share with your friends.

Soooo….guess what the UPS lady brought me last night??? Woo-hoo!!!! My purple camera has arrived!!! I have finally joined the 21st century! 
Thanks, hubs!

Now I can show you a few things…

This is my shoe box, get it? S.H.O.E. B.O.X. (*wink*). This is where I keep my pre-cut fabric for hexies.

 This is a view of what's inside.

These are my new quilting and embroidery books that my guys gave me for Mother's Day! Aren't I spoiled???

Last night before bed I decided to do a little rummaging through my fat quarters. I wanted to pick 2 coordinating ones to make the quilted fabric box mentioned the other day. Found them and then started playing in my huge glass button jar(it used to be a Biscotti jar, I love to re-purpose!)…well, the hubs gets out of bed and comes roaring into my sewing room, hollering "do you know how loud you are being?". It never occurred to me that my mindless fondling of all and sundry buttons was irritating the poor man! What could I do? I had to find some matching buttons, and yes, I did have to do it at that moment! He was not amused….

This is sneak preview #1 of the giant hexie quilt. Little blurry I know, I must learn to not breathe when I take pics!

This is sneak preview #2 of the giant hexie quilt! I love those blocks with the kitty cat faces and the one with the cactus.

Had my appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon yesterday. Turns out I have 'early' Arthritis in my knee and nothing can be done about it, surgery-wise. He gave me a physiotherapy exercise to do and told me to lose weight. Not so helpful, but I will do the exercise and cut back on the sweets. Groan…

The kid got called back for a second interview at the cinema, so he is quite excited and so are we!

It is a beautiful day, so I am going to have the hubs unearth my lounger and have a rest under the tree with my new quilting books.

Has anyone got any new books lately? I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks for reading and have a great one,

Jacqueline