One of the most recent bouts of crash crafting was a new book bag for Shaley. She told me she wanted me to make her one about a week before school began.
The coral fabric with the anchors was sent to me by fabric.com as an accident. They let you keep the mix ups and send you the correction fabric for free. It's her favorite color and she's currently infatuated with anchors so she's been begging for me to make something for her with it since it arrived. The Anna Maria Horner Sinister Swarm is left over from a quilt backing and has made it into so many projects now that I've lost count. The mint fabric was given to me by my grandmother from her stash. The other fabrics are from my stash and I even had fusible interfacing left over from the last T-shirt quilt I made. So this was essentially a free project. However, it was quite labor intensive. I didn't have a pattern, she just found a bag she liked on Pinterest and I did my best to knock it off. I was sewing the flap on at 2 am the night before the first day of school. Really, its not completely finished because the edges of the interior seams are raw and it still does not have any type of clasp. But it's cute, usable, and she's happy with it. The size is perfect for her books and a snack. Plus, I can throw it in the washer when it gets dingy.
I finished the top of the Minnie Mouse quilt.
I still need to pull all those threads through from the satin stitching around the applique and tie them. I finally used my ruffler foot, too. I haven't even basted it yet, so I'm no where near ready for binding, but I really wanted to try out the new foot. It took a lot of trial, error, and frustration, but after watching some youtube videos and playing around with it, I finally got it figure out. A project requiring a small ruffle wouldn't be worth getting it out and installing it on my machine, but for quilt edging or anything else that has a lot of ruffles, it's definitely more efficient that gathering by hand.
I've been making bows for the cheer team again. This year their theme seems to be bling and glitz.
I've seen similar rhinestone covered bows on etsy and specialty websites for around $20.00 each. That would definitely be way above our means. But, my friend used a product called diamond wrap to bling up everything for her wedding reception and its much cheaper than actual rhinestones or crystals. I found a big roll of it on ebay for 17.99. I used about 2/3 of it making 18 bows. They are backed with grosgrain ribbon to make the bows a little more substantial. Even with the bands, glue and zip ties holding them together, these still ran under 3.00 each to make. There is even enough diamond wrap leftover to bedazzle the pink bows they will wear to games through October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, too.
And last but not least, this photo may look a little familiar.
No, I'm not recycling pictures. I got a message on my facebook page from a lady who saw Sawyer's Chevron quilt on pinterest. She found me on facebook and asked if I could make one for her baby that's also coming soon. Of course I said yes! She wants it backed in minky, but other than that its exactly the same. Luckily I hadn't thrown out my sketch, I had all the measurements I needed handy and just checked my email account for the confirmation from the first time I ordered those fabrics to make sure I got a the same colors. I have all the blocks cut out, but I have a lot of serious studying to do and a paper to write, so I may have Shaley press the blocks and mark them for me. It's an easy task, but time consuming. Chain piecing them will be a cinch, then. I'm hoping to have the top finished and ready to baste by the end of the weekend. It's looking like I'm not going to be spending Labor Day the way it's intended. But that's OK, if I can get all my school work done over the weekend, crafting isn't really work, it's fun!
Have a great weekend!
