Sally Said Sew

Okay, so it's been awhile since I have posted. I went back to a 40-hour a week job. I've been busy and haven't sewn much. I have done a lot of kitten fostering though. Do you know how hard it is to sew, live almost full-time in an RV, and foster a litter or two or three of kittens? Yup, not much sewing happens. Any way, I am back at the sticks and brick home because of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order in my state. And like many other sewists, we are making cloth face coverings, AKA masks. Lots of them. I think my mother (who lives with us now), has her own little sweat shop going in our front room. The supply of elastic for masks has pretty much been depleted and our patterns either can use or call for ties made out of bias tape. We have plenty of fabric to make our own bias tape but my bias tape maker tool has gone missing. It's been quite some time since I have used it and who knows where I may have put it. Maybe it is in our RV, lol. I got tired of the fold and ir...

Once again, I was able to be a pattern tester, this time for a great little bag from Stitched Essentials. This bag is perfect for those times when you want to go to a game at the stadium or a concert but have to deal with size regulations. Meet Bella! The front flap is kept closed with a magnetic snap fastener. The thin strap can be made to your length preference. Add a 1/2" slide and make it adjustable. Bella's back features a zipped pocket, perfect for keeping your cash and credit cards secure. Inside, there is a pocket large enough to hold your cell phone along with a pack of tissues, your tickets and some other smaller sized items.  You'll also find two slip pockets to hold your lip balm and lipstick. Maybe tuck a small pen in there. Be creative! You can purchase your pattern through the Stitched Essentials Etsy shop here  and start sewing your own bag immediately! No waiting for the mailman to arrive. It's fast, fun and fabulous!

My mother recently pieced a quilt for one of my cousins in Florida. Kris is a big Buffalo Bills fan. After looking at the quilt, I decided I wanted to do a custom edge-to-edge quilting pattern. It took me a few tries on paper to get the Bills logo in a continuous stitch line. Finally the quilt was ready to load on the frame and before long, it was finished, ready to ship back to my mother for the binding. I used Superior's King Tut red/white/blue thread. Mom shipped a matching fleece to use as the backing. I am pleased with the outcome. I hope my cousin enjoys her new quilt!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I completed a quilt for Quilts Beyond Borders. Shame on me! I've had a partially finished quilt sitting on my ironing board for way too long, waiting for binding. For some unknown reason, I ended up watching (again) the Jelly Roll Race at Missouri Star Quilts. Hmmm...I have a few jelly rolls sitting in my stash. Time to get busy! The jelly rolls I had were 20 strip rolls. Not enough to get to the size I needed for QBB. That's okay. I have a big stash to raid to add more fabric plus backing and binding. Two days, two quilts, plus I finished the binding on the third. Whew! Time to get them mailed off on Monday. Binding Complete! Pink & Yellow Jelly Roll Quilt Green Jelly Roll Quilt I made a third jelly roll quilt top but needed a break from quilting. Hopefully it won't sit there for two years waiting to be finished!

After taking the summer off from sewing, it was time to get back into Doll Quilt Swap mode. My partner lives in Canada and our theme was "Fall". I wanted to do something that incorporated both things. I found a paper pieced pattern from SeaSew based off of Canada's 150th birthday that is happening in 2017. I thought the pattern was kind of pretty, but I wanted to substitute fall colors. So I did using batik fabrics from my stash. And here is the result. Finished size is 14" 14". "Canadian Autumn" I was so inspired by this little quilt and I had plenty of scraps, so I made two more Fall-themed quilts. This pattern was from a potholder pattern at Buttons and Butterflies . I thought the leaf would make a pretty little mini quilt. It did! Finished size of these are 13.5" wide x 15.5" high. I kept one for myself and donated the other to the Merc Playhouse in town. At the end of September, they are doing a performance of the The Bedquilt...

I have been using a sheet as a dust cover on my Handi Quilter HQ16 longarm machine. Not pretty, but it did the job. The other day I was shopping at my local quilt store and she had a bolt of fabric that called to me and said, "Hey! I would make a great cover for your longarm machine." The fabric pattern is called Laugh Love Quilt by Amy Hamberlin for Henry Glass Fabrics. I knew there was a free download pattern on the Handi Quilt website so I checked to see how much yardage I would need before leaving the store. The pattern is for their Avante 18 (they also include info for the Fusion 24). They also include a pattern size if your machine has the Prostitcher--mine does not. The HQ instructions are really brief and not very informative. There are not many pictures of completed covers to give an idea on what the finished product is like. I found a couple of blog posts for the sit down version covers that were somewhat helpful. Otherwise I would be on my own. I would nee...

I was commissioned by a group of ladies from our local American Legion to make a quilt for them to raffle off for their scholarship fund. I decided to go with a red/white/blue theme and settled on a Carpenter's Star pattern. All of the fabrics are good quality quilting fabrics. No cheap stuff here! The batting is an 80/20 blend. Finished size is approximately 80" x 90". Completed Quilt Center of Quilt I did an edge-to-edge design and used Superior Thread's King Tut in a variegated red/white/blue color. Quilting Detail My mother graciously helped by finishing the binding since it is no secret in my house that I do not enjoy hand sewing, although I did sew on the label. The name of the quilt was inspired by the pattern. Carpenters are builders, and this quilt will go towards providing funds for some student's future. Quilt Label Tickets will be $1.00 each (so I hope the ladies sell lots of tickets!!). I know I will be buying some in hopes of w...