April Stitch Tease Blocks

This month's Stitch Tease Bee Queen is my friend, Cindy. She went easy on us and gave us a quick, fun block with easy color instructions. We were to use any bright color for the plus center and low volume prints for the background. This is going to be an awesome quilt!

She also requested that we each make a siggy block. I didn't take a picture of mine (my handwriting is wretched), but we made the type that you can find in this tutorial from PS I Quilt. These look great incorporated into the backing of a quilt, and they're a fun way to commemorate all of the different people who contributed to a bee quilt or other collaborative effort.

Happy Quilting!

The 1 Hour Basket

There's a basket making craze happening lately on Instagram! Tons of pics of the 1 Hour Basket are popping up all the time. This is a fun, quick, and best of all FREE pattern by Hearts and Bees that you can download from Craftsy.

The nesting bug is really biting the past few days, and I decided that I needed something cute to hold all the bottle parts for the tiny human. Organization is key, after all. To what? I'm not exactly sure. 

So I finally jumped on the bandwagon and tried out one of these baskets. It did in fact only take me 54 minutes from start to finish - including pressing and cutting. 

I also added a couple of my own minor touches. I wanted the handles to be a little stiffer than what I've seen on the Instagram pics, so I added a layer of Pellon's Shape Flex to those. I also made them an inch shorter, and I really like how they turned out. 

The only other tweak I made was a little extra top-stitching. I really enjoy the look of a double top-stitched seam, so I did that to both sides of the handles and around the top of the basket. 

This is a great pattern, and I think I'll probably make one or two more of these for some odds and ends in the nursery. 

I tried to get a picture of Keef in the basket, but she was having none of it. She is not a team player. :)

Bucket Hats

This past weekend we had a MadModQuiltGuild sew day at Bungalow Quilting & Yarn in Ripon, WI. This is such an awesome quilt shop. It's not a huge place, but it is chock full of awesome modern fabrics and patterns. I feel like a 5 year old in a candy shop every time I walk in there. It's almost a bit overwhelming, but in a really good way!

While I was there, I noticed some really cute Bucket Hat samples that were made up in great fabrics. I decided that I had to make a couple for myself and the tiny human for our days out strolling this summer. 

They're not perfect, but hey - first try, right? They're still pretty rad. Also, they're  reversible. 

Both of the hats were made from free online patterns. The adult size pattern is by Kitsch Bitsch, and you can get it from their website after submitting your email address. The kid size pattern is from Oliver + S: no email required.

I used Pellon's 911FF Fusible Featherweight non-woven interfacing on both layers of fabric (quilting cotton) for my hats, although the patterns didn't call for this. I like how they turned out. The interfacing helps them hold their shape, but they are still soft, comfy, and able to be manipulated. 

Moms are supposed to look a little silly sometimes, right?

The weather is already beautiful here in Wisconsin. We got lucky with an early spring this year. I can't wait to get the boy out in his hat and stroller - hopefully by the end of May if he arrives in a timely fashion. 

Double Pocket Pouch

There's a new and exciting pattern out by Aneela Hoey called the Double Pocket Pouch.  When I saw the pictures start to pop up on Instagram earlier this week, I knew I had to make one straight away. I managed to get started on the cutting last night, and I finished the pouch this morning.

The finished size of the pouch is about 5.5" x 9" when it's closed and 11" x 9" open. It's perfect for travel sewing, cosmetics, etc.

The fabric & notion requirements are all fairly straight forward. I actually had everything on hand in my workshop. I love the interfacing she suggests (Shape-Flex by Pellon, and Fusible Fleece). I use those two for most of my bag and pouch projects.

There was one section of the pattern with which I struggled. She describes an interesting way to make the bias binding. It looks really amazing in the illustration, but I just could not figure it out! Perhaps it was because I was trying to get everything cut & prepped at 11 pm. I ended up cutting and prepping my binding in the traditional manner, but I'm hoping to give Aneela's way another go for a 2nd pouch - ideally at a more reasonable time of the day.

Overall, I thought this was a really cute project. It would make a great gift for any sewist or gal pal who travels.