test projects – Knit-Spin-Quilt

Mini-Dresden progress

Well, I have to admit to not following my own to-do list when it comes to this one. I decided that I wanted to machine-quilt on the Dresden medallions, and that tumblers on the back would detract from the effect of the quilting. So instead I pieced together two pieces of dark brown, to provide a little bit of contrast from the more chocolatey brown of the front, and machine-appliqued the two medallions on.

Here’s what the front looked like just after that step:

Here’s what the back looked like:

Isn’t the concentric pattern pretty?

Then I finished piecing and ironing the fans for the corners, and attached them, again by machine applique. I’m definitely doing all pointed medallions for my larger quilt, because folding the edges under by 1/4″ on the fans was a huge pain.

Now I need to decide what to do for the center of the circle and the centers of the fans. I may fussy-cut a teacup print for the center of the main circle, and then use quarter-circles of pale blue or dark brown for the corners. I think probably brown: I don’t want something as eye-catching as the blue for the corners, because it would draw attention outwards, when I want all attention on the medallions!

I think that since this is a mini-quilt, probably destined to live on someone’s wall (I’m planning on putting in little hanging-friendly corners when I bind it), that appliqueing the medallions and their centers down should be enough quilting to make it sturdy enough: I can’t think of any way to quilt the border areas without detracting from the clean lines it has right now. I’m tempted to try to quilt a zig-zag line that mirrors the Dresden’s spokes, but I don’t think I could pull it off successfully.

Then I just have to make my mind up about binding!

Mabel Messenger Bag: Done!

My green bird Mabel messenger bag is done!

Pattern: Mabel Messenger Bag by Jenna-Lou Designs
Fabric: Leftover from my Mixtape Quilt. And of course I forgot to write down what it was at the time.
Hardware: 18mm magnetic snap (I got mine from Purse Supplies R Us on Etsy) and a rectangle ring and slider from Jenna-Lou’s Etsy shop. There are lots of other options for what hardware to use, even if you limit yourself only to Etsy. :)
Alterations: I added a flat-applique’d on pocket on the interior, which will be nice for being able to locate pens and pencils and small things quickly. I also top-stitched around the edge of the bag once I was done ironing in the hopes that that will help it stay a little bit crisper in the long run.

This was a pretty straightforward pattern. A little dense in places, so reading the whole thing first was definitely a good idea! I managed to attach the straps wrong the first time, and had to un-pick and re-attach them, which was a little annoying. But there were pictures for all the steps that I might have been confused by, which was nice.

Only one oops: when I put the lining in, I forgot to check which side the zippered pocket was on. Usually (at least, I think usually) the zippered pocket is on the back of the bag — in this case, the side the closure flap is sewn to. Here? It’s on the other side. Oops.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Linking up to Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, which is hosted at Missy Mac Creations this week!

Next up in the bags queue is a second Mabel messenger bag, in Perk Me Up. I still haven’t entirely decided on how to use the fabrics, but I’ve got a little while to play with ideas yet.

Where it began

Getting into quilting is largely what made me start this blogging thing up again. And that’s largely because of quilting blogs I was reading that made me think “That’s gorgeous!” and “Hey, maybe I could eventually learn to do something like that!” Besides, it’s not as if I have a dozen knitting and spinning WiPs. I’ve only got, say, eleven or so of those.

The first project I really wanted to try was the Ninepatch Lattice Quilt. Elizabeth Hartman’s blog, Oh, Fransson! is a source of fabulous information and inspiration. Her patterns are clear and easy to follow, and I love the way she thinks.

Of course, I didn’t trust myself to do anything right the first time around, so I made a set of practice nine-patch blocks, and then, when they weren’t disastrous, sewed them together into squares that I’ll probably use as the front and back of a pillow.

The print fabrics are fat quarters I picked up at a Joann Fabrics sometime when I was in Connecticut or Indiana, and the green is from a sheet I picked up at a thrift store in Atlanta for pretty much exactly this kind of project. I don’t think they match perfectly, but for a test swatch, I think it came out okay.