Friday finishes

I made market bags for family gifts this year.

The one from the left is from a tea towel I picked up in London,

and the other is made from flag fabric picked up right here in Winnipeg.

My nieces loved them. The one at the right visited London last year,

and was thrilled to locate familiar subway or tube stops on her bag.

My guild exchanged mug rugs for Christmas gifts,

and this is the one I got, as well as

a Sew Together bag just because from my friend C.

The outside, with a pattern if I want to make another one.

I made the mug rug with the 200 HST on the top left.

Some quilty friend gave me these tiny triangles,

and I was just crazy enough to sew them together.

Another couple of bags -- the bottom one from a thrifted piece of canvas,

and the top one made by simply adding handles onto a discarded cotton coin bag.

No more pennies in Canada,

so the mint got rid of their penny coin bags.

Read the back story on how I got this bag here.

Earlier this month, I spent a Saturday sew-in making this denim tote.

It uses circles cut from old jeans with squares cut from

vintage pillowcases.

I had many worn out pillowcases so I saved the embroidery for this project.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts

and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Small finishes for Friday

Sometimes a little fabric aquisition road trip

inspires me to new places.

Like this bobby pin fabric which shouted at me from the sale bin

to make something from it.

So I did. Here is the bigger size and the smaller one,

just the right size for bobby pins.

Here's the five I've made from the half metre cut.

I could probably make another five,

but I'm running out of the right colours for the zippers

and I'm pretty committed to using my 10 cent thrift shop ones

instead of buying retail.

I'm posting the selvage info here because

this fabric got lots of interest on Instagram when I posted it there.

If you're on IG, please follow me at @brendasuderman

I'm also finished with this wool and polyester crazy quilt.

I tore off the back years ago so now it is just the crazy piecing

on a muslin back.

It doesn't have a sentimental meaning for my family

and no one is sure where it came from

so I'm giving it a local friend

who gives new life to all types of lost and lonely linens.

I finished this set of solid placemats for my SIL recently

quilting them with the walking foot on my Juki

and figuring out different designs for each one.

Here's a shot where you can see the quilting on them.

That's the back on the far right placemat.

I picked a backing fabric that hides the stains.

I figure the blue is the company side and the striped is the everyday side.

I'm linking up to other Friday finishers.

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Crazy Mom Quilts

TGIFF

Vintage block mashup

I've had a pile of vintage blocks for too long

and I'm thinking about how to use them.

I know they're bright and busy, but that's what I love about them.

Here's layout #1

Toning it down with layout #2,

which includes some leftover solid pinwheels from another project.

How about if I make that centre medallion into a star?

Layout #4

Actually, that star is made from a set of vintage printed napkins.

And then I decided to turn it around and put the napkins on the inside.

Layout #4.

I'm not convinced in any direction yet,

What do you think?

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network.

Before the snow melted

I took advantage of some fresh snow last weekend to dye fabric.

This is the yellow bin.

(Yes, we still have snow in these parts, but not for long!)

And this is the one with yellow on one side and blue on the other.

I overdyed vintage linens like this in with blue

and I really like the feathered results.

I also dyed some white on white yardage

bottom left and bottom right

while my friend A. threw some prints and bits of unbleached cotton

into the bins.

This tote bag came out of the pail with the two colours.

Here's the back.

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday

at The Needle and Thread Network.
and at Midweek Makers

Happy Hippo

Quick recipe for happiness:

20 minutes at the sewing machine

with a vintage-style fabric

and a red zipper

to make an incredibly bright and fun

Happy Hippo zipper bag.

I'm linking up with Lee;s WIP Wednesdays

and The Needle and Thread Network.

Wednesday WIP

I'm nearly done with the borders here.

What's the best way to deal with the corners?

Cut them to a 90 degree angle and join then as usual?

any other ideas?

Also, how do you like the different coloured centres of the Dresdens?

When I put the same on same, it just didn't work.

I'm linking to WIP Wednesdays at 

The Needle and Thread Network

and Freshly Pieced.

Design wall Monday

On my wall today:

A baby quilt in progress made from

a combination of vintage fabrics, Moda solids and a text print,

using my Darlene Zimmer Easy Dresden Ruler.

I'm considering options for the circles in the middle of the plates.

Any suggestions?

I'm linking up with Judy's Design Wall Mondays

and Beth's Main Crush Mondays.

Goodies from another type of quilt market

I've been seeing all these goodies from Quilt Market and Festival in Houston

and I thought I would show you some goodies I found at another type of quilt market.

I went to what was billed as a "quilt and craft hoarder's sale."

Granted, there was a lifetime of craft supplies, but not so terrible.

In fact, if all my stuff was laid out in a basement,

I might even have as much.

I dug through the eight Rubbermaid bins to find these lovelies:

three vintage pillowcases with crocheted edging

a rug hooking canvas (for my dad, who does locker hook rugs)

three metres of a lovely Nancy Crow leaf print

and one and a half metres each of three different batiks.

And then there were all those 1970s quilts, mostly made from polyester doubleknit.

I left those behind, but did take home this bunch of log cabin blocks.

I love how wild and fun they are.

I'm thinking these will look great with some vintage and African prints.

All this loveliness, plus the fun of looking

and the satisfaction of not paying airfare and hotel rooms,

for only $15.

My friend V. scored a Bernina Record sewing machine

and some of those doubleknit quilts for $50.

I'm linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Vintage cover for a vintage machine

I needed a cover for this vintage Singer 301

and decided to use a vintage embroidered pillowcase

that I bought this summer for $1 at a thrift shop in Rosthern, SK.

first I cut it in half lengthwise.

I opened up the seam because it was  bit tight for the Singer

and then I inserted a two-inch strip of vintage cotton.

Then I sewed the top seam, boxed off the corners

and lined it with the other half of the pillowcase.

This is made from heavy duty cotton,

most likely a flour or sugar sack.

Now it protects my machine from dust,

and I can enjoy the embroidery on it every day.

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network

Vintage modern #3

I like the colours and quilting motifs in this vintage double Irish chain.

It has a fresh look,

although it is probably 60 years old.

Vintage modern # 2

Another vintage quilt in the collection of some friends.

This one has a backing, but no batting, except for maybe a layer of fabric.

This one has Depression-era fabrics.

I like the alternating blades in this fan quilt.

Vintage modern

Recently some friends showed me their collection of quilts and textiles.

Most of these quilts were made by extended family members

and date back at least 60 years.

I like this improved nine-patch for several reasons--

the use of bold prints, and lots of shirtings,

the variety of neutrals,

and the lack of perfection in making corners match.

I really like the print in this block

and if I'd happily have that fabric in my stash.

Isn't it fun?

Stay tuned for a few more vintage quilt posts.

Decades-old finish!

Last year my friend Y. gave me this vintage quilt top found in a thrift shop.

The top measures about 39 by 48 inches.

It's machine pieced in a modified log cabin pattern,

with lots of fabrics from the 1960s, and even older.

You can see from this photo that it is wonky in places,

and not entirely squared off.

 

Last night I took the plunge,

trimmed the edges,

and lined the top with unbleached muslin

(also from the thrift shop, for the record)

and backed it with a piece of left over microfleece

 

 

Then I embraced the quilt's wonkiness,

and quilted in the middle of that sashing fabric with a variegated grey thread.

This created another grid in the quilt,

established in a little order in that wonkiness,

and put my own 2013 stamp on a very vintage quilt.

 

 I bound the quilt with a DS navy/blue/red/white floral print

and now it's done.

It's destined for a new baby coming this fall,

whose mother has grown up with thrift shop finds

and so I think she'll appreciate this quilt, which stretches back many decades.

I'm not an expert on dating fabrics,

but I like the huge variety in this quilt,

and the poverty piecing in some of the blocks,

including that salmon/black one in the middle.

Here's some more fun fabrics.

I like that geometric tan/brown/white/red print.

And I like that green and black print too.

These cats -- not so much.

I think that pink one with blue features looks deranged

and is strange enough to scare any baby.

But that floral print on the blue background is adorable.

 

Here's a shot of the back.

And the binding again

 

Thanks, Y., for sharing this top with me.

I had fun looking at the vintage fabrics,

and giving new life to a quilt waiting many decades for a finish.

 

I'm linking up with Sarah and Amanda.