Posts from — December 2009

Of course, this may have been discovered on the left and right coasts long before it was by me in Minnesota, the latest innovation in my sewing life has been Laminated Cotton. (I would have called it Oilcloth, but oilcloth is heavier than the stuff I’ve been working with, and has its own category on Fabric.com)  And of course, what I’m making out of it is not really news, particularly to my friends and rellies (relatives) in Maine who’ve been bringing their own bags to the supermarket since about 1985.  I’m making tote bags.  Like this one.  Click the picture if you’d like to see it larger.  The point I’d like to make, though, is that all good ideas can be tinkered with, and sometimes the results are better.

Hip Waterproof Tote

I started with a pattern (The Mighty Tote, by Susan Fuquay, copyright 2008  American Quilt Retailer) that I got as part of a goodie bag at Bear Patch Quilting Co. in White Bear Lake, MN.  That’s also where I spied and bought the lovely laminated cotton you see in the photo.

Of course, after reading through the pattern, which makes a 12″ x 12″ x 12″ bag, (which won’t fit in my shopping bicycle’s baskets), I forged off on my own.   After a couple attempts at measuring standard brown grocery bags, making the thing taller,  adjusting the size of the piece to leave open for turning, etc., I now have some new dimensions.  I’ll probably publish these later after I’ve done the math for the cutting layout, etc.  I plan on doing this for our quilt retreat in March.  I’m debating whether or not to put a Peltex or cardboard, plastic mesh piece in to make the bottom firmer in the next iteration.  The bag is fully lined with the same laminated cotton (or in my case, one bag has a contrasting lining of a leafy pattern).

Why is laminated cotton so cool?  Why is it perfect for shopping bags for me?  Why does this pattern rock?  Because if the milk leaks or fruit gets mushed in the bag there are

• no stains

and

• no extra laundry

because I can just rinse these puppies out under the faucet, or wipe them out with a wet cloth!

All this, and I think they will be a great fashion accessory with the Mary Poppins bike this spring.  (Even though I’ve started to use them already.)  They can also be used as an impromptu cooler, if you throw in the ice or ice packs.  I can also see this as the hip new pool accessory among the swimmers I know for toting suits, fins, goggles, etc.

What are your thoughts regarding solid bottoms vs. bags that can be rolled up, dear readers?  I can see pros and cons to both arguments.

And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…..  The Quilt Has Been Named!

Ruth Said "Let Us Quilt."

Our winner is Ingrid,  who will receive a $25.00 gift card and a custom Wonder Wallet, which was made with the LazyGirl Designs Wonder Wallet pattern, which I purchased on the WAQG bus trip back in November.  I hope Ingrid likes her Wonder Wallet as much as I like the one I’ve been using for more than a year.   I am especially impressed that Ingrid was able to briefly, but humorously, refer to Ruth B. McDowell and recognize the Boston lettuce.  It was important to refer to Ruth, since it is her Boston lettuce block I used in the quilt.

For her lovely poetry and ability to work in not only The Garden Song, but the fact that this was a long term UFO,  Polly also receives a prize… the 2010 Quilting Arts Calendar, which is in the mail on its way to her.  I hope she finds this inspirational as she goes through the next year.

Thanks so much to all who offered up names, good cheer, and support in this process.

If any of you are quilters, and have been on a bus trip that takes you to new stores where they sell cool stuff, you can probably relate to moments of weakness, insanity, or just optimism that brings you to purchase items, figuring you’ll make them into something for someone at some time.  I bought Amy Butler’s In Town Bags pattern
at Bear Patch Quilting in White Bear Lake, MN.  Then, at a later stop at Fat Quarter Quilting in Coon Rapids, MN, my friend E and I purchased some cool fabrics so I could make a bag for her (wicked smart) daughter J as a Christmas gift.  Then E and I got lost in All About Yarn, which was a couple doors down.  Yes, we optimistically purchased items there, too!

Here is one Smart Handbag from Amy Butler’s pattern.  Click on the image for a larger view.

The Snakes Bag for J

The lining and pockets of the Snakes Bag

As I started to cut out the pieces of J’s bag, I decided to make a second Smart Handbag for another smart chickadee in my life, my niece K.  My sister tells me that K and I not only share the family jock gene, we both share a love of a certain baseball team, and admire people who play catcher.  I figured this would be an appropriate use for the fabric I have been saving for years.

Perfect Accessory For a Member of Red Sox Nation

Lining for Sox Purse

Again, click on any of the photos for a larger view.  I’m hoping that these gifts are well received.  I sure had fun making them.  I might need a Smart Handbag of my own.

See? And they even fit my feet!

After the Quilt Guild’s bus trip three or so weeks ago, I found myself with several new projects to work on.  The first I tackled was knitting a pair of socks, using the technique from Melissa Morgan-Oakes’s book, 2-At-A-Time SOCKS, where you knit both socks on a long circular needle, so that you finish both socks at the same time.

The Book That I Am Using- It's Very Good

I knew that this was the only way I would ever manage to knit a pair of socks.  Why, you ask?  First, because I like knitting on circular needles, (Easier), and Second (and more importantly), I am impatient, and would likely lose interest if both socks weren’t finished very near the same time.

I learned a few things on this pair, and I’m hoping my second pair will be a little neater where I picked up stitches for the heel gussets, and now that I’ve learned better to deal with such tiny yard on tiny needles.

This pair was on a size 4 40″ circular needle, and was done with 2 balls of wool sock yarn. The color scheme was devised by Kaffe Fassett- could it have  been Rowan yarn???  The pattern is what randomly happened with each ball of yarn, as it is just straight knitting, after the garter stitch for the ribbing.

My next pair will be on a size 1 needle, with a less freaky colored yarn.  We’ll see if there is as freaky a result.