Several years ago I won a piece of hand dyed red fabric from Vicki at Field Trips in Fiber.  I hate to admit it but I lost track of that piece of fabric – it got tucked down in between several pieces of fabric among the short stacks – I forgot I had it.  I found it recently and I immediately once again wondered what should I make out of it.  I love the large tote bag that I made last month and the pattern came in three sizes.  I decided to make the medium size bag.  I have been busy today making this bag and I got some work done on Joseph’s Coat too – more on that one tomorrow.

The fabric.

First I pieced together a charm package of squares to use for the inside lining.

I had enough of that patchwork for two sides and one pocket.  I used some of the red for the center piece and one more pocket on the inside.

I am pleased with the look! The front.

The back

Two inside pockets, one outside pocket and I put a loop inside to hook my keys on.  Now tomorrow I need to shop for a new wallet – this one is going to be a large purse – I can fit my kindle in it for times I want it with me.  I can fit brochures in it when at museums and such – I can never fit them in the purses I normally use (smaller than this), my camera can be tossed in,  I’m going to get a couple small flat cosmetic types bags for organizing and it will be set!

Thank you Vicki for the win – sorry it took me so long to make something out of it!!

Nothing new going on here just the same old stuff– I continue to work on Joseph’s Coat and Star Crazy so I thought today I’d let you know of some sales going on.

Head on over to “the twiddletails store” Anina is having a sale – a clean up sale as she calls it.  I have ordered from her in the past – nice reliable service!

Also the Fabric Depot is having a sale – I have ordered only a time or two from them but remember them being reliable also.

For those of you who have the Go Baby, or the AccuQuilt full size – do you really think they are worth the money you spent on them?  Are you constantly spending more money on them buying new dies and trays.  If you are a hand quilter and often a hand piecer are you pleased that you bought it or does it mainly make sense to get one if you are constantly cranking out one quilt after another.

I have heard so much of these things but the other day I went into the site to look at them and start to add up prices – my goodness – talk expensive!!!  If you go to the AccuQuilt website and write down which machine you want, then start to tally up all the pieces you need – trays, mats, dies WOW it gets pretty darn expensive!  Those dies – well you can’t just get one , I think I got up to $1,000 and said ok I don’t think this is for me – now if I won one that would be something else – but to buy – give me your opinions –if you have one why did you buy it? Do you just not like to cut with a rotary cutter, scissors – Now I totally understand if you are putting kits together, have a handicap with your hands like severe arthritis or whatever – but I think I will stick with my rotary cutter and scissors for now.

I normally do not do mystery quilts.  I like to see a photo of the final product first so that I select the right kind of fabric.  I hate wasting fabric at the price it is and I can not pick out the proper colors without knowing what it will look like.  That is the great thing of a free mystery quilt on line – you can print out everything – patterns and instructions and make it when you get it all!!

Pearl P. Pereira has a new free BOM out this year.  If you sign up for her newsletter and web site you can have access to it.  I haven’t a clue when I will make this and I don’t know if I will make the quilt or use the flower appliques in something totally different – but in the meantime I’m printing!

Here is a link to Pearl’s web site – P3Designs.  If you go to Forums and then to Mystery BOM you can download the patterns.  Another one for maybe next year –  or the following

Is anyone out there making the quilt called “Sedona Star”?  It is a BOM from the Quilt Show.  The pattern is by Sarah Vedeler and finishes at 88” x 88” – here is a clip of it:

I think it is a beautiful quilt.  I had joined the Quilt Show a couple years ago when I made the Star Crazy quilt which was a BOM at that time.  I let my membership lapse and then I saw someplace last week – I can’t remember where now – but someone posted that the Quilt Show was having a temporary “gift” of a month membership free – you just had to put in a code for the gift.  Once you have membership you can access the patterns.  It is listed under the BOM – you can look at it without a membership but you can not print out the pattern unless you have it.

My one month free membership let me access the first 5 months of the BOM  – how about that!  I immediately printed out all that I can and I will go back to it in December and print out the rest of the instructions by purchasing another month ($6.95)  It does involve a lot of paper and I know I could just download to my computer instead.  I have found though that if I do that I forget about!  This way I print it all out – like printing out a book! and put it in sleeve savers and put in a ring binder – then I will have it all ready when I am ready for it.

With the membership you can watch any of the classes and get other patterns and downloads.  I believe some you have to pay for and some you do not.

I most likely will do this quilt in a different color scheme – something scrappy of course to use my stash! Maybe next year?  This will be a challenging quilt to make.  I’m not sure which quilt will be my new quilt to make – I have the two new patterns by Edyta Star and one of those will most likely be next when I finish Joseph’s Coat.  That is after I finish the applique on the Red and Green Applique – that is the one that I will finish first as soon as I get done with Joseph’s Coat.

As I make this purple row of Joseph’s Coat I can so tell how much shorter the rows are getting from the stack of pinned pieces of pieces stacked up in the box.  This is what I have put together so far.  I don’t remember what setting I used yesterday to try to get the purple at it’s true color so I selected this setting it might turn out different every time I do it.

I have been working on the tote bag I should you all the pattern for yesterday.  I have all the pieces machine quilted – I am using Soft and Stable for the “batting” it is a firmer product that is great for bags.  I also have the lining with the pockets on the inside sewed together.

Today I need to put all the pieces together.  Just some of the pieces.  I’ll show the whole bag when I get it done.

I think with some of the rest of the fabric from that bundle I will make a new cover for my Kindle as well.

This quilt group that I go to off and on meets in a classroom at Hobby Lobby about once a month or every couple of months if the room is in use for classes.  Well one can hardly go into Hobby Lobby and not bring their coupon with them – can they?

I had several coupons with me – ok – 4 – I gave one away to someone who didn’t have one.  Regina took one from me and some of my cash to buy me a book -  I used a coupon to buy a sock loom – I have told you all that I would like to learn how to knit socks but I found myself totally not able to do it – well there was a sock loom for sale!!  The loom came with an instructional DVD and a little tool – now I just have to sit down this evening and learn how to use it!!  Wish me luck, I will let you all know how it goes!!   I also picked up the light/magnifier with the last coupon I had before I left.  I will use that by the sewing machine for threading the darn needle which is becoming harder and harder to thread.

This is what Regina is working on – it is a block of the month using wool applique and embroidery – it is the one she is having problems with the needles getting sticky stuff on them.    It is called “Harrington and Hannah”

I was talking & shopping more than sewing and got just about 2 sides of the binding done.  I will work on that more this weekend.

I left after lunch and got my grocery shopping done.  It is too nice of a day to spend more time sewing – that will be this evening I think!

I have been working on my Joseph’s Coat and it is coming along nicely this week, a little more and I will have one more diagonal strip ready to attach to the body of the quilt – that is what I will be working on for Design Wall Monday!  Head on over to Judy at Patchwork Times and see what everyone else is currently working on.  This quilt top is getting a little heavy on the design wall and is pulling on the top – I will have to stick a few more pins in it to make it a little more stable so it won’t pull.  I have the diagonal row that has the brown color in three sections on the wall right now.  The next step is to piece it into one diagonal strip and then connect it to the big finished section.  This is as long as it gets – now on to working it wider.

The next colors to be added are these – then on to reds.  The first in the line of the browns is darker than it looks here in this photo – I can’t always adjust the light correctly.  I only have a little of that color and I will be starting on the bottom with it and then moving to the next and the next.

Here is another bundle of fabric waiting to be used.  10 fat quarters in this one.  Thank you all for the ideas you have been passing on to me.  I must admit though that I am not interested in Sampler quilts right now.  I’m kind of burned out on that after making 2 Dear Jane’s!  I began the Farmer’s Wife and have little interest in it right now.  I do like the newer modern type of quilts that are out – The Moda Bake Shop has so many interesting looks.  Thanks for all of the ideas from those who sent suggestions for the bundles I showed the other day.

I think I have 8 bundles of strips or fat quarters or layer cakes waiting to be cut into – I guess I will have plenty along with all of my scraps to keep me busy for years to come!

It rained last night and a front came through – instead of the near 70 degrees that we have been having today will only be in the 50’s.  It doesn’t look like outside chore weather to me.  I think I will continue on my quilting instead

Last night I posted some links to free quilt patterns that I found and this morning I added a new category to my side bar under the blog roll with all of them listed.  If anyone knows of any more send the links my way and I will add them in this list.  I still buy plenty of quilting books but it is always nice to make use of the freebies on the internet and save a little money.

I don’t know about y’all but I also check for all the web sales from the on-line quilt shops.  With fabric prices raising all the time a person must find some deals.  I don’t know about you but I can’t  buy fabric at $10 a yard for all my projects, I have to find some good deals.    The fabric on sale is still designer fabric it is just that maybe it is the fabric from last year or the year before  and they want to make room for this years designs.  You can find some fantastic finds – I had not planned on ordering any fabric but the other day Hancocks of Paducah sent me a 20% off appreciation coupon for being a good customer.  I went to the site needing some thread and thought to look and see what else they had available and found a 106” wide backing fabric to put aside for one of the quilts waiting in line to be quilted.  The fabric was sold for $6 a yard – and that is for the wide stuff keep in mind.!!  I ordered 3 yards of it and 5 yards of some other fabrics that was on close out -  total was less than $4 a yard.   The Fat Quarter Shop has a lot of sales also – go to their sales listing and you will find fabric for $5 a yard and under.

Yesterday I got more quilting done – this quilt is moving along quickly – I have only been quilting for a week on this one and I am close to being half way finished with it already.  I must have too much time on my hands   of course I have sore fingertips now and will need to slow down and maybe not work on it at all today!  I have begun to neglect the quilt on the big frame as well and really need to get back to work on it as well.

Sometimes I can see the area quilted better shown from the back than the front in photos.  This quilt if I remember right measures about 58” x 58”, I would have to measure again to be sure.

I also got the flowers glue basted on the table runner and got started with the applique – yes I do have too much time on my hands! I tell you when you are not traveling and hiking every day quilting and piecing tends to take over my time!  I don’t like how the stems are at the bottom where they are joined and will probably add another leave or two – changing it up from the pattern somewhat but it will cover up my poor applique.

I don’t know how some of you who work outside the home and have children at home get any quilting done – I know the amount of things I get finished with would not be near what it is if I had a job outside the home and children in the house.

Do you remember last week that my iron stopped working and I bought a new one?  Well I should have remember that I sometimes put extra items that I am not using for some reason or other out in the workshop on several shelves.  I store extra kitchen items out there that are either duplicates or too big and/or rarely used so they are out of my way – I have a small kitchen and not a lot of extra storage space.

Today I am getting the back of the car loaded with things that I am donating to Good Will.  I got done with the things in the house and thought to go out to the workshop to check and see if there was anything out there that I really and truly no longer needed or wanted.

Look what I found a perfectly good inexpensive iron!  I remember now putting it out there but had totally forgotten about it.  (I remember the big soup pot was out there and the extra laundry basket)

I also found an extra tea kettle:

And an extra coffee pot – a little dirty from being out in the work shop with dust flying and all  but it would clean up just fine if I need it and it still works!

Some of the duplicates are from when we had the big 5th wheel camper – I had bought things to just keep out there – using a smaller camper meant I didn’t have as much storage space so I got smaller items for it. Extras got put in the workshop.  Sometimes I get extras if we see a small appliance that I like better and then the old one gets put away in case we need it.

Do you all do that too – forget to look and see if you stuck something away before buying a new one?

Before I forget on the subject of collecting things to donate for Goodwill — do any of you visit Victoria’s site Bumble Beans ?  Victoria and the group she works with are trying to collect up quilts that they donate to people down on their luck.  They have been homeless for various reasons and are helped to find a home to live in.  When each family moves into their home they are given a quilt – I believe that is the way it works – she explains it all here at this site Bumble Beans Basics.  Quilter Pat Sloan is helping her out with the drive to collect 700 quilts which are going to be given away close to the end of November. If you have an extra quilt that you made and doesn’t have a new home yet you might want to think of sending it her way.  I have two children’s quilts boxed up and ready to send off to her tomorrow.

While I was traveling I stopped in some quilt shops along the way as I have none here at home close by.  It was nice to see what was in some of the shops.  I found a product I had not seen before for removing pencil markings so picked it up to see if it worked.  Most of the time I do not use pencil but now and then -

The product- I found it at this site on line, I’m sure other places have it as well.

How to use:

Here is a pencil mark that I made using a mechanical pencil

Spray a small amount of liquid on the pencil mark and let it sit for 15 seconds, then gently rub the mark with a soft piece of fabric.  As you can see – where is the mark!

It doesn’t say to rinse out but I did with a small amount of soap.  Pressed and I can’t see the mark.

I will be using it in the future when I need it