Bags, bags, everywhere!

I am lucky enough to be the coordinator of our administrative support group at work.  We have monthly meetings with training and other information that department heads don't seem to pass on to us.  For December, I thought it would be nice to have a Holiday Lunch at a local restaurant in downtown Ithaca.  It turned out to be a very nice time at Kilpatrick's on Tioga Street.  

To show my appreciation for the administrative staff, I made some of the Japanese drawstring bags that were explained on Episode 706 on The Quilt Show, with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Those that came to lunch (there were only 7 of us) really enjoyed the bags.  

Here is a sample of what I made:

 

Out of the Box

It has always been very difficult for me to think outside of the box, especially when sewing and quilting.  If I didn't have a pattern to work from, I couldn't seem to create anything.  But something changed recently.

I found a great free pattern online for a handbag on the AllPeopleQuilt website.  I thought I would try to make it for myself.  While going through the pattern and cutting the fabric, I decided to deviate from the pattern a little.  The pattern did not say anything about quilting the fabric and the batting together; I quilted them with a heart and swirl pattern.  The pattern does not include any pockets on the inside of the handbag; I included pockets.  The deviation wasn't much, but I think it's the breakthrough I've been looking for.

Here's the final product:

New Handbag

The inside pockets

I plan to add a zipper also, which is not part of the pattern either.  That should make this bag the perfect handbag!

When my Aunt Sherry saw the bag, she squealed and asked that I make her one.  I'm looking forward to making one with maroon fabric for the lining.  I'm not sure what I will use yet for the pockets outside or the handles.  Stay tuned for that...

Pete's Crazy.... Quilt

I am so surprised that it's been so long since the last time I blogged!  I need to write more!

Anyway, the project that I last wrote about was the crazy quilt wall hanging Pete asked me to do.  I finished it; it turned out to be 12" square and is currently hanging on the wall in Pete's studio. 

Pete used the image of this quilt to create some Ked sneakers on Zazzle.  Check them out here.  I think it turned out pretty cool.

New Project

Here we are back at my sewing room in the hopes that I can complete a project.  Pete has requested a crazy quilt wall hanging and has chosen these colors:

I'm going to begin with a 14"x14" square of muslin and see what inspiration strikes. I think I'll use either a dark gray or black thread to sew a decorative stitch between the pieces of fabric, rather than using the flip-n-sew method, of which I am no good at. 

It's 4:15 p.m. now, and I am done piecing the small quilt together:

What do you think?  I think it will make a very nice small wall hanging for Pete's studio/computer room.  Take a look on our Bashplanet page on Zazzle in the next few days. You might find this pattern on a couple of new items. 


Oh, BTW: I didn't spend the entire 5 hours just working on this small quilt. I watched a movie in there somewhere (it is a Sunday, after all).


- Kathy

New Home

Pete and I moved out of Hanshaw Village MHP in August 2010 and moved into a house in Locke, NY, together.  Kevin, however, remained at our old address with Aunt Edie so he can finish high school at Dryden.  The other children are now attending Moravia schools.

In our new home, there is room for me to have my own sewing room.  It's absolutely wonderful!  Here's a few photos:

Sewing Table by the window

Bookcase and Fabric Cabinet

Cabinet w/ UFOs and cutting table

Here's the very first project that I completed in my sewing room:

This is a keyboard cover.  I had promised to make a friend a keyboard cover over a year ago, and I finally have the courage to break out of the box I'm in to work on a project that does not have a pattern already made for it.  This cover that I made is a template. My next step is to make the cover out of fabric my friend chose. 



Pete suggested creating the keyboard covers with elastic around the edge, or a pull string. I'm mulling over some ideas, including quilted covers.  


Check out our Zazzle page for some of our products:  www.zazzle.com/bashplanet
Talk to you soon,
- Kathy

Sept. 19, 2010
Here's the final product!

My friend, Shirley, loves the Yankees, so she chose this baseball fabric.  The binding is the pre-made double folded binding and is a pain in the @$*! to work with, but it looks great once it's on.  I really hope Shirley likes it.

Trip to Vermont

The Vermont Quilt Festival was held in Essex Junction, VT from June 25-27, 2010. My aunt, cousin and I decided to take a Road Trip to Vermont!  We left at 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 26th, driving the rural roads through the Adirondacks to the hotel in Plattsburgh, NY.  I chose the hotel in Plattsburgh because it was over $50 cheaper on the NY side of Lake Champlain, plus we would get to ride the ferry.

We had a great time driving up to Plattsburgh!  Here are some photos:

Entering the Adirondack Park, but Welcome to Ohio!

 The Hudson River sign






 

The Bridge over the Hudson River






We arrived in a town called Pottersville for lunch.  I thought it was very appropriate, as I am a very big Harry Potter fan! :-)

We found the hotel about 3 p.m., after getting lost at least twice.  We got settled in, went to get an early dinner, then took advantage of the indoor swimming pool.  It was soooooo nice!!!  We were so tired at the end of it all, we went to bed early.

Sunday morning, we got up early, had the continental breakfast at the hotel, and took the ferry across Lake Champlain to Essex Junction for the quilt show:

The empty dock.

The ship's on its way!

Some of the vehicles lined up on the ferry.













 


My cousin, Trish, and Aunt Edie, enjoying the fresh breeze.












When we arrived on solid ground, we drove toward the quilt show, but didn't get very far!  Almost immediately, we passed this huge green frog:

This turned out to the be mascot for a gift shop. (highly over priced)

So we stop to take pictures, because another aunt of mine loves frogs.  Where we stopped was a small bagel shop, so we went in to refill our coffee mugs.  During our conversation, we found out that this bagel shop is also the home of the Vermont Brownie Company!

This company was featured on Bobby Flay's show on the Food Network!

We were there when brownies were being taken out of the mixer so they can be spread in the pan to be baked.  

We were at the shop about 8:30 a.m. and they had already prepared and baked over 2,500 servings of brownies! 

 That was the trip before we got to the quilt show.  It was definitely interesting! Stay tuned for the next entry:  More about the quilt show!

 

Obsession

For the past few weeks, I've been feeling this very strong urge to sew.  I began a duffel bag a few weeks ago, before I had my medical issue, and just finished it this past Saturday.  It wasn't the best bag I've ever made, but it was my first duffel bag, so I think it came out really well.  I liked it so much, I gave it to my Aunt Edie for a retirement gift, telling her it was a picnic bag so she can carry everything she needs for a picnic in one bag.  She loved it!

I am now making a tote bag for Pete, my boyfriend.  He's been whining about not having anything that I've made yet, so I found this really cool musical instrument fabric that he will just love!  I can't wait to get it done!!  Unfortunately, I won't be able to finish it until I can get more nylon web strapping.  I've found that if I include the nylon strapping in the handles of the tote or duffel bag, the straps are stronger and they don't fold up like they would without the nylon strap.  The handles are sturdier, too.  It won't be too long before I get more strapping, so the bag will wait.

This past weekend, Saturday after Aunt Edie's retirement party, Pete and I drove down to Waverly, NY, to pick up a box of fabric this wonderful lady, Anita, was selling.  What a treasure trove!!!!  The fabric was in a paper box and it filled the entire box!  There was one bundle with large cuts of fabric, a yard or more, with no less than 14 different fabrics!  When I got home that evening, I reorganized all of my fabric, sorting them into smaller cuts (1/2 yard or less), larger pieces (1/2 or more), and a box of scraps.  There is so much fabric that my cabinet is total packed full!  I felt like a kid in a candy store playing with all the fabric.  Is that strange???

During the retirement party on Saturday, I received 3 separate orders for bags that I'll be paid for.  This is fantastic news!  It'll be the first time I will have sold anything I made.  Since I can't finished Pete's tote yet, I'll begin working on the handbag orders this evening.  I'm gonna have so much fun!  I'll post photos when I get them.

First Craft Fair

We went to our very first craft fair at the Dryden Firehall on April 24, 2010.  It turned out to be very slow for everyone vending at that show.  Not many purchases made at all.  For our table, we had a lot of variety, but only 2 jewelry items were sold, both of them made by Robin.  Here are a couple of photos of our display.

First Event

Ellis Hollow Nursery School is holding a craft fair on April 24th at the Dryden Fire Station.  I have decided to register as a vendor for that event.  I plan to have baby and lap quilts, quilted bags, and crocheted washcloths for sale.  I have also invited my cousin, who makes handmade jewelry, and my aunts, who knit, to participate in the event.  I am also hoping that my boyfriend, Pete Miller, will allow me to show some of his paintings.  

This will be my very first event and I am pretty excited.  Now I just need to make the items for sale!  Wish me luck!!

New from Old

I'm working on a new wall hanging from some very old fabric that a friend gave me.  My friend, Jody, was cleaning out a house that her husband inherited from his grandmother.  She had passed away and Jody's family had planned on moving into the house.  She brought me this small box of fabric and pieced blocks wondering if there was anything I could use.


Last week I finally took the time to look through the box and found a treasure trove!  The box held a multitude of handpieced Dresden Plates (12 in all) that will make a wonderful twin or full size bed quilt made in fabric from the late 70s/early 80s.  It also held several 4-blocks, a couple of Sunbonnet Sues and quite a few butterflies already cut out and ready for appliqueing onto fabric.  To begin with, I decided to put 4 of the 4-blocks together and to applique the Sunbonnet Sues, and maybe a butterfly or two, onto the 4-blocks.  I think it will be a really cute wall hanging.  I'll be sure to take pictures as I go along.

New to Blogging

Hello.  Welcome to my new blog.  I am totally new to this type of technology and I certainly hope I become addicted.  The more I write here, the more I learn to communicate (or at least I hope).

I would like to use this blog to explain what I am doing in the quilting life.  I truly love to quilt.  It is so difficult to find time to actually sew and quilt, though!  For example, it took me 3 weeks to finish a quilted purse that should have taken 2 days.  There just wasn't enough time in the day for my to sit down as my table and work on it!!  But once it was completed, I was totally happy with it and am looking really forward to giving it to my cousin.  It's a belated Christmas present and I think she's going to love it.  Here's a photo:

My goals for this year are to begin making quilted items (bags, purses, blankets, wall hangings, etc.) to sell, show, and enter challenges.  I also want to take sewing classes to improve my skills.  Pete and I are also going to have booths and tables and arts/crafts shows/fairs to sell quilted and crafted items along with his paintings.  It's going to be a fun-filled and exciting year!  I can't wait to get started!!!!