Needle Case

I finished this project from Malka Dubrawsky's new book, Fresh Quilting. It's a needle case with a quilted patchwork cover and linen pockets inside to sort and hold knitting needles. The book has some lovely ideas and helpful techniques (machine piecing hexagons!), and I was happy to see some crafty projects in the mix.

The patchwork is made up of linen and cotton scraps from recent projects.  I followed Malka's lead and quilted with close parallel lines in red thread. The case rolls and fastens with two button loops.

The project in the book features rubber ink stamps for the pocket labels. I decided to go with some hand stitching.

And a monogram on the outside.

Scrappy scottie

Another handmade holiday gift, this one for Malcolm to give to Hamish. Starting with a Denyse Shmidt pattern, I went back to the last extra fabric panel from my marquee projects. The squares are cut from bias strips, then pieced at alternating angles. Alert readers may remember that Hamish has been the recipient of two projects using these same fabric panels (the gaming quilt and the consolation quilt), so Scrappy should feel right at home.

Next on the gift list

Please tell me you see Mario when you squint.

Christmas list

I've checked the first item off my Christmas list. I used an Amy Butler pattern to sew these two kitten pillows for my niece. The larger one is the pattern size;the smaller is three-quarters size, though the face isn't reduced quite as much. I decided the two looked better together if the faces are closer to the same size. That's the way it is in real life, right? The proportion of a baby's/kitten's head to her body is larger than the same proportion for an adult.

The fabric is from the Clothworks Woodland Friends collection, with contrasting color on the back of each pillow. The faces are felt with a satin stitched edge.

The biggest challenge was stuffing the ears and feet without overstuffing. I popped a couple seams in the process and ended up whip-stitching on the outside to repair. I've decided to follow Cyn's lead and value the scars.

The back is finished with a bit of hand embroidery to personalize the gift.

Name and date

I've resolved to be better about labeling my quilts. For the shirting quilt, I embroidered a tag and sewed it into the corner binding. The embroidery itself goes faster than I expected, especially considering all the time that goes into piecing and quilting a blanket. Now I have to finish hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt.

What's your favorite way to label your projects?

It's curtains

Here are the curtains I made for Matt and Jason. They make quite a statement! There are eight panels of a twill print from Amy Butler's Nigella collection, each fully lined. I mentioned before that Matt bought 20 yards of the stuff 2 years ago.

Matt had finished 8 panels of the white lining with loops and hung them in his living room. Unfortunately I had to rip out all the seams because the existing finishing on the linings didn't work with my plan for the curtains. It was a bit intimidating chopping into all that fabric with very little to spare. And I learned that needles dull quickly sewing through layers and layers of twill.