Pretty Little Pouch II

For the second time I entered the Pretty Little Pouch Swap over on Flickr. This round I wanted to do something a bit different for my partner. She mentioned that she likes hexies and patchwork, so I decided to combine both and made her this wallet using scrappy hexies. I spent about a week piecing the hexies (mostly during my commute to work). It actually felt really good having a little project to do while on the go, and paper piecing is great for that. The basic pattern for the wallet is from one of my favorite books Bags: The Modern Classics. The pattern is lovely and very easy to understand as the other patterns from the book.
 I mailed the wallet to my partner this week and I'm anxiously waiting to hear from her how she likes it. I hope she does:) . I think I want to make one for myself.

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Martha.

Improv Table Runner

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a lovely Mother's Day. My celebration was a bit bittersweet. Days like this is when I miss my mom the most. But I'm grateful I still have my mother-in-law and my four legged babies really made my Mother's Day special. They gave me lots of dogie kisses, tail wags and silly faces. And instead of getting sad I tried to keep my mind busy with some sewing projects. I practiced some improv piecing; I love the look of improv quilts, but I don't know why it is more difficult for me to create a random design than a pattern. Probably it is the way mind works. Anyway, I gave it a try and crated a table runner to give to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I'm really happy with they way it turned out. And she said she loved it. Right after she unwrapped it she put it on her dinning table and kept showing it off to everyone :) 

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Martha

Stars Quilt

Hello, I hope you are having a lovely week. I'm still recovering from a very busy weekend. We celebrated my husband's birthday in the company of family and friends. That is always fun! And I finally finished my Stars Quilt that I have been working on since the beginning of the year. Wow! that was a long process. This has been the largest quilt I have made so far; it measures 70X80 inches, so hand stitching the binding took me a while to finish. The quilting is simple diagonal straight lines meeting in the middle. I'm really happy with the way this quilt turned out and I'm sooo ready for a new quilting adventure.

Quilt Stats:
Measurements: 70X80 inches
Fabric: Denyse Schmidt Chicopee,  DS Quilts and Kona White.
Machine Quilted 

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Martha.

Crafty Cooks Apron Swap

I entered the Crafty Cooks Apron and Recipe Swap over on Flickr. It is such a lovely swap organized by Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches and Sam from Cup of Tea and a Slice of Cake. I have been crazy busy and I finished it the apron just in time for mailing deadline. I hope my partner likes it. She requested something in pinks and greens. The pattern I used for the apron was from the book Sew, So Cute. I found the book at my local Joan's on clearance right at the time I was trying to figure out how to make the apron for my partner. Don't you love when things just work out? The pattern for this apron presented a great challenge for me; I had never pieced curves before. Honestly, I didn't think I could do it. But after reading the instructions a few times, I did it! (and it turns out curves are not so scary anymore). I really like the way the apron turned out. To go with the apron I also made a potholder as a little extra for my partner. They are now on their way to their new home. I really hope she likes it.

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Martha

Pattern Review

Paper piecing... that is how I spent a big part of my Sunday. And oh boy did I have fun! Diane From Blank Pages asked me to test one of her new patterns. I'm utterly delighted to have tested another pattern for her. Diane is extremely talented and all of her designs are incredible. (You might recall of when I reviewed her pattern Illusion here and the mini quilt I made with the block here). This pattern is the latest one on her series My ABCs an alphabet paper piecing pattern. This pattern contains the numbers 0-9 and 19 common punctuation marks and it is to be used along with her previously released alphabet patterns. 

I made the exclamation point, the question mark and the number 5.  Each block finishes off at 3" tall. So I enlarged the punctuation marks to 150%. I wanted them to be a bit larger because I'm going to use the blocks to make a cushion. The number I made it exactly as it is in the pattern and it is so cute! This is a great pattern and all the instructions provided are very concise and even gives instructions for enlarging the pattern. All in all, a great pattern. I can see myself using it over and over again.

Please visit Diane's blog to check out the release date for this pattern  and the link to her store for the rest of her patterns. 

Martha.

Sarting A New Project: The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

Ever since I became interested in quilting, I have been fascinated with the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. I thought I will make that quilt some day... However, trying to accomplish this quilt felt a bit daunting: with all the intricate blocks and tiny piecing. But lately I have been thinking;  I will never feel ready unless I try it. And with some encouragement from Beth who started hers a few weeks ago I think I feel ready for the challenge. Well sort of. Let me share a little secret with you: this is not the first time the I attempt to start. Last week I made a few blocks using fabric from my stash, but I figured I wasn't going to have enough to complete the quilt, so I order more fabric. Well, when the new fabric arrived it didn't complement much the fabric that I had already set aside (lesson learned: late night fabric shopping is not for me, lol). So I reconfigured my fabric choices and I made two new blocks today. Yay, for a second start!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Martha.

Purple

Spring has definitely sprung around here.  Everywhere I look the grass is  lush green and many plants are  in full bloom. Though everyone in the Weekend Doings household has to deal with the pesky seasonal allergies, spring continues to be my favorite season. My dog Mona has been having the hardest time (poor thing she is allergic to so many things), so we have to limit the time she spends outside. Luckily, my allergies are a bit more under control and I can still spend a lot of time outdoors enjoying the warm and sunny weather. Right now, the wisteria vine, one of my favorite plants in the garden is laden with petty blossoms. When standing under the trellises that support the vines there is a soft purple glow from the sun shining through the purple flowers. I just wish that the lovely purple display lasted longer or even all year. 

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Martha

Making Progress...

Hi everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I'm very happy that today I was able to make some progress on my Star quilt: I finished the quilt top and basted it. Yay! It is just a few steps closer from being finished  and put to use. I can't wait...

Martha.