Making Flying Geese

Before I left for Paris, I made more progress on The Freebie.  With the nine-patch blocks finished, it was time to turn to the flying geese units that form the border. 

I have 100 of the 144 required flying geese units done.  I could not have acomplished this number so easily without my Fit to be Geese ruler from Open Gate Quilts.  Lots of quilters have blogged about this ruler; just add me to the list of adoring fans. 

Using this ruler, you make your flying geese units a little bit larger than called for in the pattern, then trim them down.  I don't like the trimming part of the exercise any better than you do, but this technique results in true to size, squared up flying geese, rather than wonky, a little bit too small here, a bit too big there flying geese.  So when making a quantity, it is well worth it. 

Friday Find - Baggallini Travel Bags

By the time this posts, Miss Main Street and I will be on our mother-daughter trip to Paris (Mr. Main Street and Reggie, the homebodies, are staying home).  It's been a while since I had a Friday Find but this is a good opportunity to tell you about my travel purse, from Baggallini. 

Baggallini's signature line is "Designed by flight attendants, approved by travellers."  I would add, "and approved by quilt show attendees."

My bag is the Zipper Bag, which you can buy on Amazon.com.  Baggallini bags are very light weight, so you don't get that sore shoulder from carrying your purse around all day.  And they have lots of organizational compartments.  My bag has slots in the lining for credit cards, and a change purse on a tether, so I don't need a wallet.  And there are several zippered compartments, to make your things easy to locate.  Besides my credit cards and cash, I can carry my camera, glasses, cell phone, keys, lip balm, pad and pen, tissues, small bottle of hand sanitizer...it holds a surprising amount.  Almost like Hermiones bag in the last Harry Potter book!

Most Baggallini designs have adjustable straps so they can be worn on one shoulder or cross body.  I'm and on the shoulder gal most of the time but prefer the cross body method for quilt shows and traveling because it leaves both hands free and feels more secure.  

If you've been thinking you need an alternative to your usual heavy purse, look into Baggallini.     

The Quilt Fest of New Jersey VII - My Purchases

The vendors are a big part of the attraction of quilt shows for me.  I get as many ideas from the vendors' booths as I do from the quilts on display.  Quilt Fest of New Jersey was a smaller show but, I came home with plenty of loot!

I found Country Inn, a Blackbird Designs book by Barb Adams and Alma Allen.   Thelma blogged about her recent foray into hand applique.  She is using a pattern from Country Inn for her project.  I won't be starting that project, at least not yet, but I'd like to try applique and this book is full of eye candy.

I bought Blooming Possiblities because the projects in it are so darn cute!  The vendor, Cranberry Quiltworks, had samples from the book on display and I bet the book was sold out by the end of the show. 

I bought this bundle of fat quarters from the same vendor.  The fabrics cross several lines but go together so well.  And I already have some larger pieces of a couple of those prints so they will be ready when the right pattern comes along.

Cranberry Quiltworks also had this twill tape, made like measuring tape.  Not sure what I'll do with it yet, but it was only $0.79 per yard.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have it on their website.  Maybe by email...

And I found what I was especially looking for:  wool, in small pieces. 

Ever since I saw this project in Sew Scrappy magazine, I've been wanting to make it.  I've never worked with wool before but am game to give it a try.  I think this will be a good portable project for the summer. I still need to find the black background.  Please let me know if you are aware of any sources.

By the way, The Practical Bag was perfect for carrying all this loot around the show as I made my purchases. 

The Quilt Fest of New Jersey VII - New Technique

One of the vendors at the Quilt Fest of New Jersey was Sue Pelland.  Her quilts covered the walls of her booth and she demonstrated her invention, the Leaves Galore template.  It is an acrylic ruler that makes it easy to cut the leaf or orange peel shape.  I saw the quilts and watched her demo. 

Yes, she reeled me in!  An Orange Peel or Joseph's Coat quilt has long been on "my list" but I was not enthused about having to cut all those shapes with scissors.  Well, this ruler means you can cut with a rotary cutter.  Plus, it is designed to eliminate a lot of waste, as one row of shapes lines up very closely with the next. 

Sue has instructions, including videos, on her website.

The Quilt Fest of New Jersey VII - My Visit

I visited the Quilt Fest of New Jersey VII last week, where this quilt was one of the award-winning works on display.  It is Chromatic Transitions, by Rachel Wetzler, and it is a beauty!  I was wowwed by it!

It is all machine applique, using a tiny zig zag stitch.

Here are few more quilts that caught my eye.  Dots With A Twist of Lime, by Marion Lutz, using Kaffe Fassett prints. 

Isn't this a great idea for a scrap quilt? It's going in my idea file.

 

This is My Eldon, by Bethany Morelli.  This quilt took an award for Best Machine Workmanship. 

The piecing used very narrow strips, which I attempted to show in this blurry photo.

This small wall hanging is Treasures At Sea, by Amy Hamado.  It is only about 14" by 18" so the Storm At Sea blocks are all tiny. 



I'll have another post with more about the show later this week.

The Practical Bag

I've been wanting to make myself a new tote bag and I finally got to it.  I was looking for something that I could take on my trip to Paris, that can be packed easily and is not too large.  I used the pattern Practical Bag from Grand Revival.  Fat Quarter Shop sells the pattern.

This is an unstructured bag that does not use batting or interfacing; just the outer fabric and lining fabric.  No zippers or pockets either, so fairly quick and easy.  I made my bag in about 3 hours. I used some vintage light-weight upholstery fabric I had on hand, and a quilt weight cotton for the lining.  (I should have taken a picture of the lining; it is hot pink polka dots.)

I'm very happy with the way it came out and think it just what I need for my trip.  One caution - I'm not sure it is really a good pattern for a beginner because, though relatively easy, the pattern directions are brief.  She tells you what to do but not how to do it.  That is fine if you have some experience with making bags or clothing but an inexperienced sewist could be a bit mystified.

Amy Butler's Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags

Now that I've finished Practical Bag I feel ready to tackle one of the more complicated patterns in Amy Butler's book.  But that will have to wait until the summer.  In the meantime, I'll test my Practical Bag when I go to the quilt show this week.

The Quilt Fest of New Jersey VII

The Quilt Fest of New Jersey opens this Thursday.  This is the seventh year for this show, at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset.  It is not a huge show but I always find something to like in the exhibits.  And of course, the vendors always entice me to part with some of my money.

I am thinking of going to the show on Friday.  If you will be there, let me know and we can try to meet up.