Sapphire Star is in!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

A few months ago I entered Sapphire Star into the Canadian Quilters Association National Juried Show. This year the show is only a few hours from my home, so I am super stoked to be able to attend ( did someone say Merchants Mall?!)

Sapphire Star

I also received email notification that Sapphire Star had been accepted into the show! How amazing is that? I am so happy and proud that my works gets to hang with some of the best quilt artists in Canada and from around the world. Last years entries were phenomenal, and I am so honored to have Sapphire Star in the show this year!

The countdown begins tomorrow, when I send off my quilt =)

Belated WIP Wednesday

I finally finished the growth chart last night for Monkey Man’s first birthday…..3 weeks ago……

I am very happy with how it turned out. My FIL brought down the stain and finish for me, and I picked through a pile of pine boards until I found the one I liked. Add a Wood Paint Marker and we were all set. I used one of my 1″ rulers to mark off the lines, so there is a line of paint coating one thin edge but it was worth it! I printed off the numbers and did the while DIY carbon copy thing, rub the pencil on the back of the paper then trace over the front.

The little monkey even helped Mommy clean up afterwards. What a sweetie-pie!

14Apr2013

Easy Charm Pack Quilt Tutorial

Posted in Finished Quilts, Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

At the Creative Stitches show last month I picked up a couple charm packs that were on sale for a great price. I was super excited to find a pack of Ten Little Things by Jenn Ski for Moda. I needed to make a little boy quilt, and Ten Little Things is the perfect collection for a little boy, regardless of whether you have the panels or not.

I looked for a pattern or tutorial to make a baby/toddler quilt with just one charm pack and a few fat quarters, Moda Bake Shop has quite a few excellent tutorials and freebies, but I couldn’t find one that seemed just right. I decided it was long past due for a tutorial here and drafted one up.

I drafted out what I wanted in EQ7 and started cutting. I chose Kona Snow for my sashing and borders, mostly because you can get a full 45″ long strip from Kona after you trim it, and push it to 45 1/2″ if you don’t mind a little selvage in your seams.

Its the Ten Little Things Toddler Quilt!

Materials

1 Charm Pack

10 Fat Quarters for backing, binding and HST’s

1.5 yards Kona Snow (or other Kona Solid) for sashing and border

1.25 yards batting

Layout Sheet

The layout sheet is a good visual reference to have on hand for the placement of your squares, the layout of the diagonal strips and the orientation of the filler triangles.

Cutting Chart

Kona Solid

Cut 14 strips 2.5″xWOF

From the strips cut the following lengths;

1-5: 9 @ 5″ (45 total from 5 strips)

6: 3 @ 5″, 2 @ 9.5″, 2 @5.5″7: 2@22.5″

8-9: 1@36″

10-13: 1@45″

14: 2@10.5″

Set the sashing strips aside.

Cut 2 Strips 3″xWOF for horizontal borders

Cut 3 Strips 5″xWOF for Vertical Borders. Cut one of the strips in half and sew one half to each of the remaining two strips, sewing so close to the selvedge that the seam allowances are all selvedge. This will give you the most usable non-selvedge fabric in your border possible. ( I sew my seam exactly on the dotted lines)

Set the Border Strips Aside.

Fat Quarters:

From 8 Fat Quarters cut 1 5.5″ Square (8 total). Draw a line from corner to corner an stay stitch 1/4″ from either side of the line.

This will help keep the quilt from stretching on the bias as it is sewn together. Cut the 8 squares in half to make 16 Half Square Triangles . Set Aside.

Square up the remainder of the 8 fat quarters. Keep all the selvages and scraps.

Charm Pack:

Remove 3 squares from your Charm Pack (or the amount needed to) leaving 39 remaining. Cut 2 of those in half and set aside as Half Charm Triangles. Keep the last charm square for a fun label background.

Instructions

Make your long sashing pieces as follows:

1. Sew the two 10.5″ strips to two of the 45″ strips to make the 55″ sashes.

2. Sew the two 5.5″ stips to the remaining two 45″ strips to make the 50″ sashes.

Set the 9.5″, 22.5″, 36″, 50″ and 55″ sashes aside.

Long Sashing Strips

Using the chain piecing technique, sew the 2.5″x5″ strips to one side of the 39 charm squares. Press seams open or towards the darker fabric.

Using the layout page provided plan the placement of your blocks, or, if you wish, make it random. Start sewing your rows.

My “design wall” on paper =)

Makes 2 rows of 1 charm square: Sew a 2.5″x5″ strip RST to the charm square on the opposite side of the first sash. Take 2 HST and sew one to either ends of your row so the long angles (hypotenuses) are pointing in the same direction. Trim

Make 2 rows of 3 charm squares: Sew three charm squares RST, square to sash. Sew a 2.5″x5″ strip to the end of the row. Take 2 HST and sew to the ends of your row as above. Trim

Make 2

Make 2 rows of 5 charm squares: Sew five charm squares RST, square to sash. Sew a 2.5″x5″ strip to the end of the row. Take 2 HST and sew to the ends of your row as above. Trim

Make 2

Make 3 rows of 7 charm squares :Sew seven charm squares RST, square to sash. Sew a 2.5″x5″ strip to the end of the rows.To one of the rows of 7 sew a HST to either side, with the long sides pointing in opposite directions. To the remaining two rows sew a HST to one end, making sure that it is the same end on both rows and that the long angle of each is in the same direction. Take a Half Charm Triangle and sew it to the other side of the row, matching the center of the triangle to the center of the row. Trim

Make 1

Make 2

Sew the sashing to the ‘top’, or shortest, side of your long rows as follows:

1. 9.5″ sashes to the 1 square rows

2. 22.5″ sashes to the 3 square rows

3. 36″ sashes tot eh 5 square rows

4. 50″ sashes to the 7 square rows with corner HST’s

5. 55″ sashes to either side of the 7 square row with opposite pointing HST’s.

Press the seams towards the sash.

Sew the remaining Corner HST’s to the 9.5″ sashing, matching centers and pinning. These will be trimmed later.

Fold the HST and strip in half to find the center, pin and sew RST.

Start sewing your rows together. You can use chain piecing for this.

Sew your 1 and 3 square rows together, and your 5 and 7 square rows together, setting aside the double sashed 7 row. That row is the diagonal center of the quilt.

Find the center of the row by folding it in half and finger pressing down the sash and square. Match the centers, RST and sash to unsashed edge. Pin.

To make sure that your squares line up correctly in the diagonal, Pin carefully every 5 inches or so, checking that the squares of the row on top match teh squares of the row underneath. Here is a great tutorial from Marje Rhines from AQS newsletter on Aligning Sashed Rows. It is the technique I use and she has some wonderful illustrations to go with her instructions.

Press your seams to the squares. Sew the 3 row to the 5 row in the same manner as above, pressing to the squares. all your seams should be pressed in the same direction, towards the outer corner. You will have two sections of four rows, from corner to corner, and a middle row. Lay them out on the floor so you can get a visual of how the 3 sections will be sewn together, and correctly align the middle row.

Try to keep it out of “helping” hands……

Match the middle row to the top section of the quilt as shown. The HST of the middle row will align diagonally with the first square of the adjacent row, and the long edge of the HST will align with the long edge of the Corner HST. Pin in place RST, using the same technique as above to align on the diagonal. Press towards the squares.

Match the middle row to the top section

Sew the bottom section in the same manner to create your finished top.

Trimming and Finishing

The quilt now needs to be trimmed and squared before you can add your borders. By stay-stitching the HST’s before sewing them into the rows you have helped prevent them from stretching too much on the bias.

Start by trimming your corners. Take the largest square ruler you have, mine is 12″x12″, and place it on one corner of your quilt. Arrange it so that the 45 degree line on the ruler is lined up with the center of the squares in the diagonal row, and the edges of the ruler with the edges of the border HSTs. Trim along both sides of the ruler.

Trim the remainder of the borders, using the corners as your guide.

Lay your quilt flat on the floor after pressing. If the quilt doesn’t lay flat it needs to be eased back into shape using steam.

Before Steam-easing: Border strip matches exactly the long sides, but the quilt does not lay flat

After Steam-easing: Border strip extends past the raw edge of the quilt top and the quilt lays flat.

This next step can be done either on your ironing board or on a iron-safe carpet, depending on how confident you are with your easing. Starting with the top and bottom (shortest sides) take your longest ruler and match the corner of the ruler to the corner of the quilt. The corners are the only edges that are on grain. Using the corners as a guide, ease the raw biased edges under the ruler, pushing towards the corners slightly, so the raw edges are aligned with the edge of the ruler. Remove the ruler, spritz with water, and firmly press using full steam for a few sections.

Lift and press the iron instead of running it along the raw edge, this will prevent the bias from stretching back out. Repeat the process starting at the opposite corner on the same side (laying out on the floor is good if possible, because you can use 2 rulers and line everything up and steam all at once instead of in sections.) Pin one of the 3″ border strips RST to the freshly eased raw edge of the quilt every couple inches, and sew with the border against the presser foot and the quilt top against the feed dogs (again, to help prevent more stretching). Repeat for the opposite side, press the seams towards the borders, and trim.

Repeat for the long sides, using the 5″ border strips.

Square and trim your quilt once more, checking to make sure the center of the quilt lays flat within the borders. Your quilt should measure approx 45″x60″ depending on your trimming.

Backing

Piece your fat quarters together to make the backing that is a little bigger than the front. Cut the rest into 2″ strips for your binding. You will need approx 215″ of binding.

Sandwich, baste and quilt as desired!

1Apr2013

Happy Birthday at our house

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

So, I had not realized that my last post was more than two weeks ago! How time seems to be flying! With all the things going on in the last two weeks its no wonder, but never fear! I did not forget about you all!

The little man’s 1st birthday party was on Saturday, that was a lot of fun. I made a shirt for him to wear to match the theme, which was mustaches. Lots of good food and friends.

My birthday is….TODAY! Hurray! I got to spend the whole day quilting and reading and spending time with the family. The little guy has become quite the snuggler lately., and is wholly obsessed with books. I love it!

Oh, and did I mention he is WALKING? Go Harry go! He started about a week ago and is getting pretty good at it (today’s face-plant not withstanding)

In the quilting side of things, I am working on a new lap sized quilt tutorial that I hope to have posted in the next week. Its super easy and fun. I am also making good progress on my FLiQS quilt. The colors really pop and its coming together like I hoped it would. It has morphed from a Mariner’s Compass to a Spinning Star, but that’s okay =) Everyone likes stars!

There was also the Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive Show last weekend. The little guy did good being patient with Mommy, and didn’t try to pull down too many bolts of fabric. I did purchase a little more than I planned, but it was all really good prices. I was happy to see one of our local quilt shops is carrying a lot of modern fabrics now. The Needle and I Quilt Shoppe on the Burnaby/New Westminster border has been switching their inventory. She had the Citrus Colorway of Madrona Road by Violet Craft in her booth for half price. I picked up 2 yards of the chevron and a couple others. I also found the fuschia/orange colorway of Cuzco by Kate Spain. I plan to grab some more Madrona Road and some dark brown blenders, and those will make my colors for my month in the Star Block Bee. I hope to end up with a Queen Quilt at the end of the bee.

This has been a text heavy post, so I leave you with a fun picture that always makes me laugh!

16Mar2013

Happy Worldwide Quilting Day!!!

Posted in Works In Progress by StaceyinStitches

Last year on Worldwide Quilting Day I was waddling around my house thinking to myself “please come early, please come early….”, whipping up a Turning Twenty baby quilt, and putting the finishing touches on client quilt (that’s me on the left).

Wedding Ring Quilt

Today on Worldwide Quilting Day, I was bouncing around the house thinking “please take a nap, please take a nap…”, mailing off swap blocks and printing out a pattern for my Fab Little Quilt Swap quilt.

FLIQs quilt for my partner. Original design

How things can change in a year!

Its crazy to think about. Next weekend is the Creative Stitches and Crafting trade fair, and last year it was the last thing I did before my son was born. I was huge walking around the arena, and so close to my due date that Hubby (bless his heart) would not let me go alone! I am convinced it was all the walking that day that encouraged the little munchkin to come right on time! I am very excited for this year because I get to introduce my little man to the quilt friends I haven’t seen in a while, not to mention all the great deals on fabric!

I also picked up my bundle of Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller. I swear I got one of the last complete fat quarter bundles online ( less one girl print) from Westwood Acres Etsy shop. Amanda was fantastic and held my bundle for me until I got my first paycheck (did I mention i am back to work as well this month?) I recommend her shop, it has lots of great bundles and the shipping is affordable!

Les Amis Fat Quarter Bundle from Westwood Acres

All I wanted was the teal colorway, but I am happy I got the entire thing. I plan to make Harry another quilt, probably using Melissa’s Starburst pattern and a very very light teal solid for the background. I still need to sit down and quilt my Starburst QAL quilt, but its on the list. As is the Listen With Your Eyes quilt, my Hoffman Challenge 2013 entry, and the first in a series that will be announced later this year (once I catch up and draft out the first quilt). Last year I would have planned it as a Quilt of the Month Series, but this year I know that Real Life dictates it be a Quilt of the Year Series *sigh*

I am also in the midst of planning Harry’s First Birthday Party. Its going to be lots of fun, and I finally settled on a Mustache Theme. Inspired by this lovely, professional photoshop (read: paint) job by my brother.

Hubby says he “doesn’t get it”. I keep telling him there isn’t anything to get, its just a fun theme, what is there to get? He still doesn’t get it…..

Have a great Worldwide Quilting Day everyone!!!

Stacey

9Mar2013

Madrona Road Challenge Quilt

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

Phew!

I finally finished my Madrona Road Challenge quilt. That is to say, the sandwich was finished 1 month ago, it just took me thins long to work up the guts to quilt is as I wanted to. I have had a quilting motif in mind since the start of this quilt. Like most of my quilts, I know what would look perfect, but I was agonizing over the actual execution of the design. What if I can’t draw it, what if the thread is too dark/light/colorful, what if my machine messes up, what about stitch length consistency, and on and on until things deteriorate into stitch in the ditch so I don’t ‘ruin’ my quilt.

That almost happened this time. I was terrified. I spent so much time hand sewing that I thought there was no way I could possibly do this.

What is it you ask that I love, yet it terrifies me so?

FEATHERS.

I LOVE FEATHERS. Love them! I can’t really explain why, its part symmetry, part motion, part music. Its like someone is stitching a symphony that I can hear with my eyes. I have always wanted to quilt in feathers. I have classes and DVDs and patterns for feathers, but for some reason I was never able to make them come out the way I wanted. Even my doodles were strange, so feathers ended up on the “I can’t do that list”.

Lets face it, we all have one of those lists when it comes to quilting. For some people it’s paper-piecing, for some people it’s working in a certain fabric, like a batik or solid, for others its a style of quilting. Feathers was on mine. I could admire them from afar, but never attempt them.

That changed a couple months ago. Janet from my guild does AMAZING work. Her quilting is spectacular and I have always admired it. I (half)jokingly told her I would pay her to do all my quilting for me, and she said that she started on small charity and challenge type quilts and just practice practices practiced. As I was sitting in my sewing room with the terrifying thought of quilting this staring me in the face, I remembered what Janet told me. It was like a switch flipped in my head, and suddenly the idea of quilting it how in had envisioned didn’t seem so scary anymore. If it didn’t look exactly how I wanted, no one would know except me. The fear was gone and I just went for it!

I divided the sections first, then I used a silver marking pencil to sketch my feathers in one of the sections. I FMQ it, then took a sheet of clear template plastic (unexposed but developed x-ray film that I got from work) and traced my quilting lines onto it. Then I would place it over the next section and use it as a guide for my feather placement. It worked really well, and I am so happy with how the finished quilt turned out. I may have conquered my fear of the Free Motion Feather!

Have a great quilting day!

Stacey

3Mar2013

The Memory Quilt Complete

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

I have been shoving everything aside lately to finish up the Memory quilt before I head back to work….tomorrow! yikes! Where does a year go?

I am so happy with how it turned out. I couldn’t get pictures to do it justice. Maybe once I learn how to use the camera properly, but for now, here it is!

I designed it in my EQ7 and applied the closest colors I could for the mock up…..

I used a variegated thread from violet to fuchsia for the quilting. I stitched straight lined 3/8″ from the seams, following the strips and extending into the borders to make a large diamond pattern. I also echo quilted around the star in the center.

Working with all those stretchy knit fabrics was certainly interesting, especially since all the edges ended up on the bias. I had to make very sure that the white strips and the borders were exact measurements and ended up easing some of the clothing strips. The quilt lays flat and is square enough to make me very happy. Lesson learned, next time I am going to back everything is a super lightweight fusible interfacing then cut it out and sew it together. That way the clothes don’t stretch and it can be quilted any way I want. It doesn’t add much to the overall cost of the quilt, so I highly recommend it for those of you who want to try.

All that’s left is the label and applying the pictures to the border. I picked up some Avery Brand Iron-On T-Shirt Transfers. I found mine at Staples for $0.75 per sheet. I have used them before and they work great! The filigree shows through in the white areas, but it doesn’t detract from the pictures. Just make sure that you print on the best quality setting for your inkjet, and remember to flip the pictures! Oh, and check the ink levels. I wasted 2 sheets that way, one for flipping and one for ink.

My test strip using one of the misprints and a scrap of background. Works nicely, just have to make sure I apply pressure for the full 2 minutes.

I have a list of things I want to finish for the year. I was putting off my UFO roll call, but now I think is the time to get it on here. Maybe it will motivate me! I post the list later this week.

If you are interested in a memory quilt, or know someone who is, please feel free to contact me! staceydayquilts (AT) yahoo (DOT) com

For now,

Happy Quilting!

21Feb2013

Oh Quilt Con…..

Posted in Works In Progress by StaceyinStitches

… how I wish I were at you!

Seeing the pictures on my fellow Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild blogs and Facebook makes me wish I were in Texas right now! Especially since its raining and 3 degrees here. *sigh* all the pictures of pretty fabrics and booths and quilts…..

So to cheer myself up I have been drinking lots of yummy yummy coffee and window shopping boots on Amazon.

Oh, and working on a special client order.

I was contacted a couple weeks ago through my mom group by a family that wanted to honor their fathers memory. He passed away a year ago in March, and the quilt is a surprise for their mother. We finished the design process and I have started the quilt. There will be pictures printed on to fabric interspersed into the white background as well.

I love making memory quilts. They are the perfect way to honor someones passing, commemorate an occasion, or save happy memories (I can’t believe you used to FIT THAT) I have been saving all of H’s baby clothes, the ones I simply cannot bear to part with, and when I have enough I am going to make myself a little wall hanging of them. Maybe a large swoon block with each piece a different outfit.

I drafted up the quilt in my EQ7. I really enjoy that program, though for some of my super duper custom crazy paper pieced extravaganzas it gets a little overloaded I have crashed the program more times than I can count trying to do something super intricate.…

The EQ version

The quilt will be made in strips instead of half square triangles because of the different clothing weights and stretches. There are quite a few knits and some heavier thermal type shirts, as well as a selection of beautiful handkerchiefs. I have pieced the inner star with fussy-cut handkerchiefs and the very outer borders will be handkerchiefs as well.

Center Star-not the best picture as it was taken with my phone, but you get the idea =)

I hope to have the quilt finished an bound by the end of the month. I am heading back to work in less than 2 weeks, and I still have a list of things to finish.

As always

Happy Quilting!

16Feb2013

Hip Mama Diaper Bag from A Mingled Yarn

Posted in Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

Well I Finally made it back from my parents house and had the time to sit down and write =)

The week was great. Relaxing, good food and family, who could ask for more? Well, I did do some sewing, which was great because it was *mostly* uninterrupted. I had a lovely squishy package of Tula Pink fabrics waiting for me. I LOVE Frog Prince in Indigo, its my favorite print so far, and it went so well with teh laminated cotton I ordered that I decided to make the Hip Mama Diaper Bag using Elizabeth’s tutorial from A Mingled Yarn. She has a whole bunch of great projects on there so definitely head on over there and check it out! Unfortunately she is no longer blogging, but she is leaving her tutorials and projects up for us to use. I will post her full tutorial here just in case something happens! Normally I never EVER take someones tutorial verbatim because they spent all the time on it, I always only link back.

Hip Mama Diaper Bag

I made my bag almost to the letter of how she wrote it. The only thing I changed was I fully lined the back zippered pocket, because I like to have the zipper tape hidden and finished. I also made my strap longer and then adjustable using a home made D-ring and slider, and I attached in into the seam allowance instead of on the outside, mostly for aesthetic reasons. It is a great bag, and it holds everything I need.

Lined Zipper Pocket in Frog Prince in Honey

Self Made Buckle

I used Joel Dewberry Laminated Cotton for the lining and Frog Prince in Honey for the pocket linings.

Hello Side Froggy!

I also decided to make a matching change pad and soother caddy because I like things to be all matchy-matchy. I basically traced my original gear and then used that for a pattern.

Matching Change Pad

Soother Caddy

Here is the tutorial from A Mingled Yarn.

Tutorial: Hip Mama Diaper Bag

This project was frankly inspired by Queen Bee Creations’ diaper bag line. I love the idea of a functional diaper bag that doesn’t look like a diaper bag – and that can also, of course, be used as a regular messenger-style bag if you want.

The bag has a water-resistant vinyl lining to help make cleaning easy – but you can substitute a fabric lining if you want.

This bag’s finished dimensions are: 14″ long, 12″ high, 5″ wide, with a 36″ long strap. You can customize the bag by coming up with your own measurements – just remember to add 1″ for seam allowances.

Materials

1 1/4 yards cotton (44/45″ wide) for the exterior
1 yard water-resistant vinyl (44/45″ wide) for the lining
1 1/2 yards heavy-weight interfacing (unless you are using heavy-weight fabric for the exterior; if so, skip the interfacing)
coordinating thread
12″ coordinating zipper
2 metallic snaps
1/2 yard Velcro
5/8 yard 1/4″ elastic

Pattern

1. Cut out the pieces.

A) Strap: 37″ x 5″. Cut 1 of fabric and 1 of interfacing (I recommend interfacing the strap or adding another layer even if using heavyweight fabric).
B) Front/back/flap piece: 15″ x 13″. Cut 4 of lining, cut 2 of fabric, and cut 2 of interfacing.
C) Side gusset: 6″ x 13″. Cut 2 of fabric, 2 of lining, and 2 of interfacing.
D) Bottom gusset: 6″ x 15″. Cut 1 of fabric, 1 of lining, and 1 of interfacing.
E) Back zippered pocket piece #1: 15″ x 3″. Cut 1 of fabric.
F) Back zippered pocket piece #2: 15″ x 11″. Cut 1 of fabric.
G) Front exterior pocket: 15″ x 9″. Cut 2 from fabric.
H) Side exterior pockets: 6″ x 9″. Cut 4 from fabric.
I) Interior pockets: 17″ x 9″. Cut 2 from lining.

I recommend labeling your pieces with masking tape and marking them with letters corresponding to the list above. This will help you keep track of the pieces.

Also: if you are using a uni-directional fabric (with motifs that all point the same way, as in the fabric I’ve used) take care when laying and cutting your fabric.

2. Apply interfacing (if using).

Fuse or sew interfacing to strap (A), 2 front/back/flap pieces (B), 2 side gusset pieces (C) and 1 bottom gusset piece (D). Attach interfacing to exterior fabric, not lining.

3. Make strap.

Press under 1/2″ on each long side of strap piece (A). Then press under 1/2″ on each short side. Fold strap in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, matching up all pressed edges. Press flat. Keeping all pressed edges even, topstitch a 1/4″ seam on all 4 sides of the strap. Set aside.

4. Make flap.

a) You will need 1 fabric flap piece (B) and 1 lining flap piece (B). On the lining piece, attach smaller halves of metallic snaps to each corner on one long edge. Snaps should be placed so that they are 1″ in from each side of piece.

b) Pin lining piece to fabric piece, right sides together. Sew a 1/2″ seam around three sides, leaving one long edge (the side without the snaps) open. Turn right side out, using turning tool to push out corners. Topstitch a 1/4″ seam around three finished edges. Set aside.

5. Make exterior pockets.

a) Back zippered pocket: Pin piece E to piece F along long edge, right sides together. Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, stitch a 1.5″ long seam at each end. Stitch the remainder of the seam (12″ in the middle) with a long basting stitch. This will be where you insert the zipper. Press seam open. Pin zipper to middle basted section, placing top of zipper and zipper stop close to the ends of the basted section.

Using a zipper foot, attach the zipper. Remove basting thread. Pin wrong side of zippered pocket piece to right side of a back lining piece (B). Topstitch a 1/4″ seam around all four edges. The lining piece will serve as the pocket’s interior.

b) Side pockets: Pin two side exterior pockets (H) together along shorter edge, right sides together. Stitch a 1/2″ seam; trim. Turn, press, and topstitch a 1/4″ seam along edge. Cut a 2″ piece of Velcro. Stitch the fuzzy half to the interior of the pocket, 1/4″ down from the top edge.

Place the pocket piece against one of the interfaced side gusset pieces (C), matching bottom and side edges. Mark placement for other half of Velcro on piece C, then stitch in place. Place pocket piece against gusset piece, with Velcro lined up, and stitch a 1/4″ seam around three edges. Repeat for other side pocket.

c) Front pockets: Pin the two front pocket pieces (G) together along long edge, right sides together. Stitch a 1/2″ seam; trim. Turn, press, and topstitch 1/4″ around all four edges. Attach other halves of metallic snaps to right side of pocket, through both layers. Measure up 5″ from bottom and in 1″ from each side to place snaps. Fold pocket in half width-wise and press, creating a crease down the center. Place the pocket piece against the remaining front fabric piece (B), matching bottom and side edges; pin in place. Topstitch along center crease, to create two front pocket halves. Cut two pieces of Velcro, each 4″ long. Stitch two fuzzy halves to the interior of the pocket, 1/4″ down from top edge, and centering each piece on each side of the center crease. Mark placement for other halves of Velcro on piece B, then stitch in place. Line up Velcro halves and topstitch 1/4″ seam around edges.

6. Assemble bag exterior.

a) Pin interfaced bottom gusset piece (D) to one side gusset piece (C) along short edges, encompassing bottom of side pocket, right sides together. Stitch a 1/2″ seam, beginning and ending 1/2″ from ends. Press open. Repeat for other side gusset piece.

b) Pin back zippered pocket piece to gussets along sides and bottom, through all thicknesses, right sides together, having zipper near the top. Stitch a 1/2″ seam, pinning corners like this:

Repeat for front pocket piece. Turn right side out. You should now have a bag exterior that can stand up on its own. Set exterior aside.

7. Make interior pockets.

a) Turn under 5/8″ on top edge of one interior pocket piece (I) and stitch in place using a 1/2″ seam allowance, forming a casing. Cut a piece of elastic 10″ long, insert it into the casing, and secure at both ends. Repeat for other interior pocket piece (I).

b) Pin wrong side of pocket piece against right side of one lining piece (B), matching bottom and side edges, easing in fullness at bottom by creating pleats or gathers. (It’s pretty much impossible to gather vinyl, so I used pleats across the bottom. If you’re using regular fabric for the lining, do a gathering stitch across the bottom and pull up the threads to fit). Stitch a 1/4″ seam around each side. Repeat for other pocket piece.

c) To create two interior pockets on one piece, fold the whole piece in half width-wise and mark the center line. Topstitch down that center line through all thicknesses.

d) To create three interior pockets on the other piece, measure in 5″ from each side and mark lines. Topstitch down those lines through all thicknesses.

8. Make bag interior.

Follow step 6 to attach side and bottom gussets and assemble the interior of your bag, with one exception: leave a long opening on one of the bottom seams for turning the bag. Do not turn right side out.

9. Finishing the bag.

a) Pin unfinished edge of flap to top edge of back zippered exterior piece, right sides together (lining side facing out). Stitch 1/4″ seam to attach.

b) Slip exterior of bag into lining, right sides together. Pin top edges together through all thicknesses. Stitch a 1/2″ seam. Trim seam.

c) Turn bag right side out by pulling exterior through the opening in lining. Sew up opening in lining. Push lining down into bag. Topstitch 1/4″ seam around top opening edges of bag.

d) Lap each end of strap 1.5″ over sides of bag. Topstitch strap ends to bag in an X pattern to secure.

You’re now ready to rock your new bag!

4Feb2013

Starburst QAL Week 4

Posted in Other, Quilt-A-Longs, Starburst QAL by StaceyinStitches

Today marks the first day of week 4 of the Starburst Quilt-a-long, which is block construction. I am totally in love with my blocks! I was unsure at first about the first one put together, but after. 30000000000000000000000000000000000000

ha ha ha, Harry helped me with that. He is just tall enough to reach the keyboard. He hits the keys and runs (crawls) away.

As I wa saying, after I got them all together and laid out, I love the look and how they flow together. I have 2 high impact blocks and 2 low impact blocks, which balance out nicely. Even better is there is one in each colorway, Heartbreaker and Dreammaker! I love accidental symmetry!

I did work ahead on the next week because I am going to need more time for the final stretch of quilting and binding. I am very excited to finish this one off!

I also got my star blocks done for Linda in the Star Block Bee. She asked for 3 12″ blocks. I hope she likes them =)