My Ginormous Tote Bag

At the last meeting of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild, we had the reveal of our tote bag swap. Sadly, I did not participate in the swap. (Trying to be realistic about what I can actually get done in the time that I have!) I still wanted a tote bag, though, dang it. And I wanted a really large one. On the lines of an artist's portfolio. One large enough to hold a cutting mat, pressing board, big rulers, etc. Large enough to take to guild meetings and to classes. Large enough to hold a couple of quilts. Or, even a cute toddler if we come across one. (Okay, forget that last one. Family joke.)

At the same time I was dreaming about a tote bag, this quilt top has been hanging around. It was from the guild's Row Robin that ended in December. I envisioned a sewing themed wall quilt, and made my starter row some colorful spools. My fellow "robiners" did a great job with my top. But when it was all done, I just wasn't feeling a quilt.

And then it occurred to me I could make the top into a tote bag. So I took it apart in places, did some rearranging, added some solid red to the bottom and came up with this really ginormous tote. I LOVE IT! It's about 35" wide, 25" tall and 8" deep. It holds everything I want and then some. I layered the outside with some thin batting, did some minimal horizontal line quilting, then fused a stiff interfacing to the outer layer and the lining as well. The lining is a favorite vintage sheet in an awesome red print (never seen before or since.) I already have it stuffed to take to our next guild meeting. I know this will get tons of use.

Filled with 2 quilts and a 20" pillow!

Pillow Pop, my version

There's a new book out called Pillow Pop, compiled by Heather Bostic from the blog a la mode.

                                                                   

I really like it! With limited quilting time, pillows are the perfect project to satisfy a creative urge. Lots of projects from some of my favorite bloggers (and some new ones to check out!) The book even inspired me to finish UFO!

I made the tops, over two years ago. I participated in the Spice up your Kitchen swap on Flickr, and made my partner place mats (plus some other goodies!) based on this QAL by Cherri House. I made two extra panels at the time, thinking I'd eventually turn them into pillows. Didn't think it'd take me two years. I really love the brights solids against the Kona coal. I debated whether or not to do any quilting. I finally decided to do some simple straight line quilting to emphasize the horizontal lines. And I think the quilt batting adds a little more stability to the pillow in general. Honestly, once I got started, it took maybe two hours to finish them. Why did I wait so long? They really add a {Pillow} Pop of color on a dreary February day.

Working on a little mini quilt today. More solids. So not like me. Or maybe more like the new me! We'll see!

Sewing with Vintage Sheets

I did some catching up with Bee Vintage this week. Since I was late with July, I decided to be proactive and knock out August as well. Whenever I sew with my sheets, I always take over the sewing room and make a royal mess. As I was working with them this time, I decided to tame the beast a little. I went through a bunch of scraps, and cut them into layer cake sizes and for those that were too small, charm sizes. The rest I tossed. I'm still deciding what to do with larger pieces. Whole sheets, I either save for quilt backings, or sell in my Etsy shop. Others that may have a rip or stain, I'm thinking of cutting into yard size pieces, just to make them more manageable. We'll see.

Here are this (and last) month's blocks:

Pam asked for Garden Fence

Linda wanted Wonky Stars

Liz wanted Bow Ties

And finally, Emily asked for a Dresden

In the last round of Bee Vintage, I also asked for Dresdens. I found all the blocks I had received, and realized I only needed one more block to make a top. Then I found my Ziploc of Dresden making supplies and found I had most of the blades already made ~ enough for Emily's block and one more for me. So, one for Emily, one for me. At this point, I couldn't put this quilt away again, so I plugged away and now have this top!

My latest stack of tops needing to be quilted stands at four, with another 2 in the works. Sigh. Might be time to visit my friend Maria.