Zippered Pouch Swap

I gave it away, now I can show it to you! I meant to post this weeks ago, but I got a bit side tracked by life.

The top portion is Blossoms in Creamcicle from the Oh Dear collection from Momo for Moda and the bottom is Kona. I used Anna from Noodlehead's pattern again, but this time, I used the width of the large bag, with the height of the small bag. I think it turned out quite well.

Like for my first pouch, on the inside, I used a fabric I bought from Stampin' Up on clearance (I don't think they sell fabric anymore). I don't tend to wash my fabrics, but since I wasn't sure of the shrinkage on their line, I pre-washed that portion of the bag. For the tab, I used a scrap piece of fabric from the Weeds collection by Me and My Sister for Moda.

I miss sewing, I haven't been at my machine for almost a month because I've had back issues so bad I can barely move. What do you do when you can't get to your machine and can't handle hand sewing?

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Linked to Sew Fresh Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts

Pinwheel Squared Tutorial

Here it is, my first tutorial. I hope I will be able to convey my vision in an easy to understand way. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask in the comments section or by e-mail.

I am a part of a modern quilt guild and I am mostly making this tutorial for my month of the quilt bee, I can't wait to see all of the pieces come together!

This is what one quilt block looks like.  The directions are to make two blocks.

First, you will need nine 5 by 5 blocks (charms) and one 12 7/8th square block.

 

The goal is to make a square of 6 blocks by 6 blocks, with each block measuring 2 inches square (finished). You can do this my cutting the charms in four and then piecing them together in a grid. However, since I dislike piecing little blocks and try to keep them straight, I use a different method. Either way should yield similar results, and it's up to you which method you use. Here is the method I use.

 

First, but the charms in half. This will yield 5 inch by 2 1/2 inch rectangles.

 

 

Second, mix the rectangles so no two the same are together and piece them in pairs, sewing on the long edge.

 

Third, press the seams open. I am not a fan of open seams, however, this will make piecing easier later.

After this, you will end up with nine pieces as seen below. Plan them out in three columns as you would like to piece them. making sure that no two of the same are together.

 

Sew the blocks in columns, then cut them in half. You will then have six rows of six squares.

 

 

 Rearrange the rows and sew them together.

 

Now, you have it, a 6 by 6 grid. Take your solid fabric and cut it in half diagonally. Do the same with the patchwork piece.

 

 

Sew the triangles of one piece or patwork and one piece of solid together to recreate a square.

 

My goal when I get the blocks back will be to set them up as a pinwheel. I will have four pinwheels that I plan on sashing for a nice summer lap quilt.

I can't wait to show you the finished top, in a  month or so from now!

P.S. If you'd like to see another finished block, visit my fellow quilter M-R at Quilt Matters

Patchwork Ball

My son's teacher is having a baby, but they kept the gender a surprise.

So on to the dilemna I recently had. Since my son wanted to give a gift to the baby, but I didn't want to give anything in the traditional green/yellow/brown color way, I had to figure out what to make.

I came across this tutorial by Abby over at While She Naps. The tutorial is so well written. Or at least it was for me since I do have some English paper experience. So with my template printed on cardstock in hand, I went on the hunt for fabric.

I ended up deciding to use the Mixed Bag Studio line by Moda. So gender neutral and bright!

 

 

I added some washed cereal bag to the Inside to make that crinkly sound, and this is how it came out.

 

 

 

Though now I have to learn how to make it on the sewing machine. I would love to stock up on these for upcoming babies!

 

Does anyone know how well cereal bags fare in the wash? If not, I'll have to experiment a little... Off to test washing methods!

Happy belated Halloween!

So how are your kids this weekend? I know that here, we let them eat as much candies as they want Halloween weekend, so you would expect mayhem! Surprisingly though, they haven't eaten all that much candy and all is calm, which I can't say happens often.

I made some cute Halloween bookmarks for a fundraiser at work, but unfortunately, only three out of the sixteen sold. So I made a few more and gave them out to the children in my son's class at school. At least, they seemed to like them!
 







I now have one left. So I’ll be posting it in my store. Go check it out if you are looking for something for next year. Or if you’d like some Christmas themed ones, let me know, they make great stocking stuffers!

Welcome to Jak and Will

I have finally done it, jumped into blogland, hoping to share my ideas and what I make with whomever is out there. I hope you'll enjoy my posts and find products you love in my Etsy shop.

First a little introduction. I am a mother of two boys, wife to an indescribable man. I work a demanding job and love to escape to my sewing room when I find some spare time. It's not much of a room, just a corner in our laundry room in our dark basement, it’s not very pretty, but it is my escape.

So why Jak and Will? I wanted a fun title, and what better than one that somewhat comes out of a nursery rhyme and pays homage to my sons… I know, it’s corny, but everyone needs ‘corny’ now and again.

For my first post, I also want to share my latest project. It is totes that I made for five boys in my life.

I sure hope they will like them!

Until next time,

Stephanie