Show and Tell Tuesday

 Yay! for a new bag.  I discovered a new material that I love working with for bags called Pack Cloth.  It has a coating on the backside to make it waterproof.  It's very durable and cleans up easily.  You can purchase it at The RainShed...love that store.

 The inside stripe is an Ikea print.

 

The outside has three pockets...good for pens and a cell phone.  The closure on the pockets are elastic and handmade ceramic buttons (made by a friend).  The top of the bag has a binding into which I inserted elastic cording with a toggle at the center.  The strapping is 1 1/2" and includes a strap adjuster...so handy. Happy Tuesday.  xxoo janae

Camp Cooking = Missed Show and Tell Tuesday

I'm so sorry I missed posting for those of you who are faithful 'Show and Tell Tuesday' followers. ;)

This week I was completely and utterly consumed with feeding 60 teenagers at camp.

Last Monday and Tuesday I spent every waking moment and probably some non-waking moments...planning, buying, and dreaming of the meals I was going to prepare for 60 hungry teenagers while they were having fun playing at camp.

By Tuesday afternoon, my husband and I had three van loads of food ready to go and we were on the road to Triangle Lake about 2 hours from where we live.  We arrived at camp, unloaded, and then got to work making 30lbs of potato salad, chopping 9 heads of lettuce, baking two batches of brownies, and making a pan of rice crispy treats, not to mention all the food prep we did the next morning before the campers arrived at noon.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were spent getting up at 6 am, preparing breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and an evening snack...about a 14 hour work day, with maybe a 10 minute break for the whole day if we were lucky enough to get away from the kitchen for that long.

The whole experience felt like a race...a marathon.  And when I hit the finish line on Friday at 1pm I felt I was ready to drop.  My husband and I headed for home, walked in the door, walked to our bed, and fell face first into our pillows, and layed there for at least 2 hours before we moved.

This week was taxing, but well worth it...this was our 2nd year cooking for the same kids...they beg for us to go back to feed them again and that makes it ALL worth it.

My husband and I give our all when we cook at camp...we try to please the picky eaters, the gluten free eaters, and the vegetarians.  Some say we spoil the kids with homemade chocolate chips cookies and lots of food choices at each meal, but I don't listen to them...it's just the way we like to roll.  We just aren't casserole people...we like fresh vegys, fruit, and homemade goodness.

What could be better than going to camp where the food is the best you've ever had....

I'm only sorry I don't have photos for you of my week.  In the midst of making 30lbs of potato salad, 100 tacos, 10 gallons of spaghetti sauce, 100 grilled cheese sandwhiches...I forget to take a photo.

Vintage Hexagon Quilt

I work with a lady who brought this beautiful vintage hexagon quilt in to show us all and I had to show you.  I'm guessing this quilt is pretty old from the few clues I had...it is yellowed, has some worn spots, and it has a filler that is typical of an older quilt.

I was drooling over this quilt.  The stitching is amazing...teeny weeny quilting.

The little hexies measure 1"!!!!!

I can't even comprehend how many hours and the patience it took to create such a beautie...and all for $20 at a garage sale.

Show and Tell Tuesday

Last week I made two bags, one for my daughter, and one for her friend.  I love this pattern...it came out of a book called SEWING IN A STRAIGHT LINE by Brett Bara. 

The bag is called City Girl Tote.

Of course, as some of you know, I don't follow directions very well, so I changed the pattern a bit.  I used belting for the handles and inserted them into the top seam - which the pattern had you sew them raw edge to the outside of the bag.  I also added elastic and button closure.

The outside and inside fabrics are from Ikea.  Yes...did you know Ikea has great fabrics AND they're very inexpensive at around $6-$8 a yard AND the fabrics are about 54" wide.  Love it!

My daughter is modeling the bags before she is off to her sleepover with her dear friend.  They were so excited to "camp" in the backyard, and sleep under the stars.

She has "Boo" sticking out from her bag.  Boo likes to tag along too.

A Cross Stitched Beautie

This cross stitched beautie measures only 8" square...yah, that's right!  8"!  I can't even begin to tell you how teeny wheeny the stitches are.

This was made by a lady I met who came in to the shop to buy more red thread to make another one.  (She must have perfect eye sight).

She said it took her about 1,400 hours from start to finish.  Wow!...sometimes I don't even have the patience to finish a project that takes me only 3 hours!

This piece is so impressive.  She said it was designed to replicate a rug she had that was from the 1800's.

Amazing!....Betty you are an inspiration.

Show and Tell Tuesday

I'll admit...I really don't have a knack for writing long posts...a long post to me is more than one paragraph.  I think it's because I just don't have the patience AND I know that a lot of you don't like reading long posts...me being one of them.  So I try and keep my posts short and to the point, but I realize in doing so I leave out a lot of pertinent information that would be helpful to my reader...sorry.

Anyway, I'm going to try and be better at writing a little bit more and giving you more details.

So today for 'Show and Tell Tuesday' I would like to share the story behind one of my latest patterns.

One of my student's named Tenny...love her name, was in one of my quilt classes and she was carrying her sewing machine in a bag. 

A light bulb went off...

I honestly had never thought of making a sewing machine tote before.  I mentioned that it would be really fun to make a bag similar to hers, and all the other students thought that was a good idea.  So by the next week when we met again, I had created this bag.  When I'm inspired there is no stopping me.  All my students fell in love with the design and a pattern was born.  It was only about three weeks after that that I had a pattern in my hand ready to sell. 

My bag came out to be quite different from Tenny's bag.  Mine doesn't have a zipper closure and hers didn't have a front pieced pocket, but in the end I love how mine turned out.

The bag is called the 'Supersized Satchel' and it's just that...SUPERSIZED.  I reinforced the bottom with high density foam which makes it sturdy enough to carry a sewing machine, and it's completely washable.  

This is the first one I made...

I love the fabrics...they are by Denise Schmidt (DS Fabrics). 

The canvas is a Painter's Drop Cloth from Lowe's...can I just say I LOVE that fabric!  And at only $2 a yard, who can resist!

  Each side has a button and elastic loop to pull the sides in and keep them together.

The top of the bag has a button/loop closure as well. 

 The buttons on the bag are made by my friend Chloe.  Love them!

The inside mustard color fabric is by Lotta Jansdotter love her stuff!.  There is a small side pocket and each end has a pocket (sorry...you can't see them).
There is my story...hope you enjoyed my l o n g post...
Anyone can make this bag from a Beginner to Advanced Sewist.

To purchase a pattern to make this great big bag click here or visit my Etsy shop.

Happy Sewing!

Hot Fingers No More...

Coffee Cup Quilts...

I've had fun making these little cuties.  In the near future I will let you know when I have some available in my shop...the pattern will be available too!

Thank you, Denise, for letting me use your beautiful deck for the photo.

Show and Tell Tuesday

As many of you quilters know...the Sisters, Oregon Quilt Show is coming up on July 14th.  The quilt store that I work at is in high gear getting ready for the quilters who will stop by on their way to the show.

In preparation I am making ring pin cushions. 

They are not quite done yet...I will add some bling then they will be ready to hit the store.

Hope you have a Wonderful 4th of July tomorrow!

Happy Sewing....Janae'

Scrappy Quilt Block Tutorial

How to make a scrappy Block!

Start with a square of muslin as the base, the size is your choice
. 

Use a smallish square as the center, once again the size is up to you.

Sew strips of fabric (I use scraps) to top and bottom of center.  Press open with iron.

Sew strips to other sides of center, press open with iron.

Continue adding strips of fabric to sides, making sure to extend

 beyond edges by 1/4" - notice how the

 stripe fabric entends beyond the orange fabric.

As you sew on strips, trim as needed.

Continue sewing on strips until the muslin sqaure is completely covered.

On back side of square, cut ragged edges off using the

muslin square as a guide.

Finished square!  So fun to use up scraps this way.

I made my square into a pillow...I continued on in the same manner

 just using black to make the pillow bigger.