#dividedbasketsewalong

I am not sure if I've shared my love for Instagram enough so I have to tell you one night after work, I stumbled upon 2 new sewers to follow Shequiltsalot and good_starter and discovered they are doing a Noodlehead pattern sewalong for the Divided Basket (the pattern is only $6.50- great value).  This is a pattern I have been eyeing since she released it.  I have a lot of Anna's patterns, they are well written and easy to follow with great features.  I am excited to use this as a sewing tool basket to keep next to my sewing machine.  Right now I use a plastic mini laundry basket from Dollar Tree.  it's cute, but finding something inside always take a long time since everything is just thrown in.  With the divided basket, there's two inside compartments and outside pocket - much more practical.

This weekend 10 local fabric shops were having a shop hop in Austin - and although I didn't have any plans to participate, I ended up convincing bribing my husband to come along with me and I will buy us lunch. Works nearly every time.  Our first stop was Bunnysdesigns  where I know the shop owner.  That was a fun place, I had intentions on getting some Cotton+Steel fabrics because she got a shipment the day before, but little did I know I would fall in love with several of her Japanese cat fabrics!  Well of course - since I love cats!!  I found the cutest cats to make my Road Trip club Duffle Bag (that I can really use for my upcoming quilt retreat with the Austin Modern Quilt Guild ladies) so as soon as I finish this blog post, I am getting cracking on that!!

Here is a pic of all my loot - our next stop was Stitch Lab, that place has such charm.  This is where I finally was able to get some long coveted Anna Maria Horner Pretty Potent.  Then, we had a delicious lunch at Bouldin Street Cafe which was a recommendation by my cool tattoo artist.  It was vegan/vegetarian and we look forward to going back there!   Our last stop was in Buda B&B Quilting, which was not on the shop hop but I saw one of the gals who is a guild member (that sat next to me at the last meeting), so it was fun chatting with here there.  I finally got some beeswax for thread conditioning when hand sewing that I've wanted for a while. Then I got the lower right fabric an old line from Amy Butler's Love collection for only $5.00 a yard!  I'm not sure I will go back to that store though, it doesn't carry my style of fabrics.  It was a super fun unexpected day thanks to my awesome husband!!!  

It would be fun if you participate in the #dividedbasketsewalong with us!  Thanks for stopping by!

Another Improv Mug Rug and Open Wide Pouch

Today I have to share with you another improv mug rug I made for my sister for her birthday. The fabrics are Basic Grey and Amy Butler. I figured she could use it at her desk at work to brighten up her space.  We all need that for those of us who work in cubicles, right?  I also made an extra small open wide pouch (tutorial by Anna of Noodlehead).  I had the fabric already cut out from a purse I made and gave to my sister last year, otherwise I would have made the pouch bigger. This pouch is my favorite, because the zipper construction allows for the pouch to 'open wide', you don't have to riffle through looking for something in particular because things are in plain sight better.  I love that. It will still fit her stuff in it, since she doesn't wear any makeup.  I added a small lotion and antibacterial gel to the pouch.   I am really enjoying the improv, it's a great way to use up scraps!

Here is the back of the mug rug - the strip of colors was cut off from the front when I squared it up and I had the yellow fabric in my stash, it happened to be the perfect size, serendipitous!  I just did some straight line quilting on this one, I thought it would be just right for it!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a great week!  

I am linking up to the following link parties: Think Pink Sundays; Threading Your Way; Show off Saturday: Show and Tell Saturday.

Bag of the Month Win - yea!!

I just want to share some fun news - I was SO excited to get an email yesterday that MY messenger bag won first place prize out of all the fabulous entries in the Bag of the Month club - how incredible of an honor it is!  Janelle of Emmaline bags just made my day with this response: "Hi Donna! Well of course you did, your bag was gorgeous. I loved your bag and I was so happy to see it selected as a 1st prize winner!"  

I'll have a post up with a creative finish by the end of the weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

City Slicker Bag - final bag of the month

I'm very excited to share my final Sew Sweetness Bag of the month club bag - the City Slicker, designed by Chris W Designs.  This is the advanced version and I admit there were a few times I thought I bit off more than I could chew since it was my first time tackling an advanced pattern.  But, it was very well written and there were lots of pictures to follow. Mainly they were my mistakes and slight tendency for perfection that caused me the most grief.  Luckily, she has an intermediate version for sale as well.  It is aptly made with Sara Lawson's Limited Edition Jungle Ave prints for Art Gallery fabrics (click here to see the Jungle Ave Lookbook).  I have to tell you, if you have NEVER felt these fabrics or even bought them, you are missing out!  I do not understand how they get them so soft, but they are just divine. They make wonderful clothing too!

Here is the back of my City Slicker.  This was my first time making a Welt pocket (it's basically a trimmed slip pocket and I must say, it was pretty cool and easy to do!  

Since I LOVE my Michael Miller Mirror Ball Dots, I had to throw some in the mix with this bag, so I used the orange! I love how the inside of my bag has an unexpected POP now!  

 As you can see, there are LOTS of pockets inside this bag - I love it!

Here is a picture of all 6 bags that started in January; it was so fun getting a new pattern on the first of the month, that I figured when July 1 rolled around I was going to be sad.  I had mixed feelings of course, because I needed to finish June's bag (it took me FOREVER) and there were other projects I wanted and needed to complete!  Overall, this was a great experience - if you missed out on it this time, don't when the opportunity presents itself!  A few weeks ago my friend asked me how many bags/purses I have sewn and I finally counted, I think it was 18 but I gave away some recently.  I think I have a little obsession.  

Linking up to the following link parties:  Threading Your Way; Think Pink Sundays; Sewcanshe ; Bag Bag Tuesday; Show & Tell Saturdays; Sew Can Do; Sewjo Saturday

An Improv Mug Rug

I really need to be better about blogging, so here is a mug rug (First Improv piecing EVER) I have to share with you.  I know one thing for sure - IMPROV is fun!  I know that there are folks who need structure and a 'plan' or pattern for when they sew that this definitely is not the technique for them.  But, for using up scraps and having fun it is just the thing to try!  Some scraps were bought from a destash sale (courtesy of Instagram) and some were from my stash.  All are Amy Butler fabrics. I needed a newer mug rug at work and wanted to practice more free-motion quilting and this is a great practical piece to do just that.  Believe it or not, the binding was even part of those scraps - the seller already had it assembled, it just had to be cut down.  Serendipitous!!

Here is the back where you can see my not so perfect free-motion quilting.  Actually, I think it is pretty decent compared to what I did when I first started!  Definitely need more practice!  I took patterns from Angela Walters Free-Motion quilting book, which is great!  

Sharing this on Made By You Monday; Threading My Way; 

Thanks for stopping by!!!