Still quilting over here

I have a couple of small finishes to share, 

starting with this silk infinity scarf for a friend

who purchased a dress made from Liberty Art Fabrics on sale

but didn't wear it because it needed some alterations.

I used the sleeves, the front and the skirt panels to make 

a soft, drapey scarf which she loves.

Not sure what to do with the leftover polyester lining though.

I've also been on the road, and one recent stop was Toronto for Quilt Canada 2017,

where I saw M-R Charbonneau's Canada 150 display.

I saw her work on it via her blog and IG feed,

and I was pleased to see it in person.

I purchased a patchwork-y green knitted wool poncho/scarf

from Henrietta Park while visiting London last month

and saw a quilt or two at Dover Castle in England.

I know it's a recent make, but I love the strong colours

and improvisational piecing.

I also made some VW van pouches using a novelty print

sent by Heidi from Germany and fabric from the ripped canvas tent 

from our own VW camper van.

And another set of small finishes: seven luggage tags in bright colours

for the last trip and any future identification needs.

I'm linking up to other Friday finishers here and here.

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

Blocks and giveaway for Blogiversary!

I've been hanging out in this space for nine years

(as of yesterday)

and lots of quilts have come under my needle since then.

What I appreciate most about this space and all of you

is how I've made connections.

To celebrate these connections, 

and how the world is a smaller place than it used to be,

I'm sending these four house blocks

(OK, one is a mosque, but it is a house of worship)

to the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild

to make quilts for the families of victims of the recent shooting in Quebec City

The deadline for 12.5 inch house blocks to get to Montreal is March 4.

Check out the hashtag #quiltsforqc on Instagram and Facebook.

Closer to home, right here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,

I've been part of a project to make blankets with new Canadians,

mostly from Syria, who live just blocks from me.

Women from my church joined with these women to tie four blankets

made from tops donated by quilting friends and me,

and batting donated by another friend.

We backed them with 108 inch wide flannel backing

(which shrunk to 100 inches, which is why pre-washing is good)

and brought back to front to bind them.

The result is four warm blankets to keep their families warm on cold winter nights,

as well as making a few connections between new Canadians 

and those of us who arrived a few generations back.

Now for the giveaway: 

To any of my followers, old or new, I'm offering a chance 

to win a personalized zipper bag, measuring about 8 inches by 6 inches,

with a quilting comic on one side and your first name on the other,

like the ones above.

Leave a comment on how you spread love through quilting by Feb. 14.

Make sure you're a follower!

You get an extra chance if you're also a follower on Instagram

and leave me a comment telling me that.

@brendasuderman

Bag lady

I've been playing around with upholstery samples recently,

sewing them into bags of various shapes,

depending on the size of the sample.

Here are some box pouches measuring about 6 inches by 4.5.

All of these use 8 inch zippers scored from my local thrift store

for 10 cents each.

I engineered some fabric from braid to make a bag

and then took it a step further by sewing zippers between the braid

With a facing and a lining, it's now a five zipper, five compartment pouch!

Here's the whole bunch.

They're all headed to a local charity craft sale at the end of the month.

I'm off to a retreat this weekend 

and will work on my quilty projects there.

Just packing up the Singer Featherweight and its folding table now.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers at:

TGIFF

Crazy Mom Quilts

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Summer stitching projects

I've finished a few sewing projects this summer.

First up: This drawstring backpack and matching zippy pouch

for my cute little cousin Audrey, who turns 3 next week.

The zipper bag is only four inches by three inches

and the backpack is definitely toddler-sized.

I used coordinating corduroy prints from baby garments I made 20 years ago.

Yup, I've kept these fabrics for two decades.

I sewed a zipper to the top of the pink pocket and then sewed twill tape on that,

and attached that to the green fabric.

My pile of hexies is growing.

I started hand sewing them in the Rockies two months ago

now I have about 50 or so.

Here are the backs.

I've used a lot of Kaffe prints, some hand dyed fabrics

and that yellow/orange white Liberty print.

Here's more of that Liberty print in this table square.

I got a Liberty of London blouse from a friend, who also passed on fabric in the linen borders.

I put that all together with a doily from the thrift shop

to make a pad for a hot tea pot

which will be covered by this tea cozy.

Star Trek quote on one side

And Liberty print on the other.

If you look closely, you can see the original Liberty tag 

on the bottom left of the tea cozy.

I used the padding from a discarded ironing board cover

for the batting, using up scraps of bits and pieces inside and out.

Earlier this summer, Sherri Lynn Wood put out a challenge to make quilts

out of found materials, and I think this one works as part of her

#makedochallenge she's currently running on Instagram and on her blog.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers at

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

TGIFF

Crazy Mom Quilts.

All zipped up

  I've been upcycling upholstery samples into zipper bags lately, adding zippers from my stock of 10 cent zippers and using up metres of twill tape from a factory sized roll, all in the name of charity.

These 38 bags go up for sale this weekend at the Mennonite Central Committee quilt show and sale.  All proceeds go to MCC's international relief and development work. 

I've had fun playing with these colours and I hope potential buyers find one or two they can love and take home. 

I've got several quilts hanging in the show and after I help to hang the show tomorrow I'll get some pix to share here.  

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.

International pouch exchange

I've lost count of how many of these VW van pouches I've made--

maybe 13 or 16?

But I do know that it is worth it.

I've made some great trades with these,

including this handwoven one from Beth in California.

Thanks so much, and yours is in the mail!

Basket of little finishes

I've been cooking up samosas lately

for an upcoming craft sale.

 I put together a dozen of these this week,

using my 10 cent thrifted zippers

and a variety of fabrics.

Each one of these takes two pieces of 5.5 by 8.5 inches of fabric.

I stabilized the exterior fabric with fusible fleece

and put in a few quilting stitches.

 I also made a few rectangular zippy pouches,

two from that same Kaffe print (far right, middle and top rows)

 to add to the others I made earlier

from a thrifted linen tea towel (top six)

and other goodies in my sewing room.

All of these will be for sale at the MCC Quilt Show and Sale next weekend

at 134 Plaza Drive in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I won a prize at a show I attended a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going to have some fun with these half yard cuts

of Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably fabrics.

Part of the prize was that variegated spool of Sulky quilting thread

held onto the package with those fun colours of ribbons.

I'm linking up with other Friday finishers at

Crazy Mom Quilts

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

TGIFF.

Thanks for stopping by!

Zipping to the finish line

I've been zipping along in the finishing department lately,

putting together a whole bunch of zipper bags.

This is the second batch of VW bus bags

and everyone loves them. 

I only have two left

of the total of seven that I've made.

This time I used a transportation fabric for the back.

I've used fusible fleece inside of these 

and quilted around the bus in grey thread.

Remember my thrift shop purchases?

I bought this Leicester linen/cotton tea towel for 60 cents

and that bunch of new zippers for 10 cents each.

I cut apart the tea towel, fused some interfacing to the back

added a linen napkin also found at the thrift shop

and made six bags featuring the buildings of Leicester.

They are lined with a cotton scarf found at a second hand market in Iraq.

Here's the whole bunch, including the two in the bottom row made earlier.

I'm linking up to Sarah and TGIFF.