Sew The Library: Pencil Holder

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sew The Library I am so happy you stopped by! For this month I decided to make a project from one of the first books I ever bought and one of my most beloved ones: 1 ,2, 3 Sew. It is a wonderful book filled with inspiring projects. This pencil holder has been on my to do list for a while. I want to use it to hold marking pens and notion by my sewing machine. I made a few adjustments from the original pattern:I made it a little shorter that what the  pattern calls for and instead of using the loop as a closure I'm going to use it to hang it on a hook when I need it out of the way. Also, pattern calls for canvas for the outer and lining fabrics, but I used linen quilted with batting for the outer piece and cotton fabric for the lining. I just couldn't resit linen is my absolute favorite fabric. 

I'm really excited to seeing your projects and learning about the books in your library. Please link up your projects and visit others. 

I hope you have a happy week!

   

Log Cabin Obsession

Hello friends, how was your weekend? Around here the weather has been wonderful; there are signs of spring everywhere. And it just feels like a happy and joyful time. Yesterday I  picked some freesias from my little garden to adorn my table. I love having fresh flowers around the house; specially when they come from my garden. 

Another thing that I love is starting a new project. The excitement of picking out the fabrics and seeing your idea come to life is just so much fun. Although, on this particular project I had a bit of help. My husband requested a quilt of his own. He always supports my hobby and enjoys the quilts I make, but has never requested a quilt of his own. So I had to get  on it right away. He helped me choose the fabrics and gave some "pointers" on the design :) He did't want all the blocks to be exactly the same or be very symmetrical so I decided on wonky log cabin blocks. After I showed him the first block he says that he approves, lol. 

Even though I just finished another log cabin quilt, I just couldn't resist. Log cabin blocks are so much fun to make and they offer so many possibilities. I'm really enjoying working on this quilt and seeing my husband excitement every time a complete a new block. And that reminds me why I love quilting so much.  I hope to make more progress next weekend and finish it very soon.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

XO 

Martha. 

Sew The Library: Kimono Tunic

Hello and welcome to our second edition of Sew The Library. I'm very happy to have you here. For this month's project I decided to add a new piece to my wardrobe. I've only made another top before (you can see it here) and since then I've been anxious to try again, but for one reason or another I kept postponing it. But not anymore: Sew the Library is the perfect encouragement to put our beloved craft books to use. This new top is the Kimono Tunic from the Sweet Dress Book. I'm absolutely obsessed with Japanese sewing books and this one is a great one. The patterns are very relaxed and user friendly; specially for a beginner like myself. The fabric is a cut to flannel I got at my local fabric shop on clearance and I've been saving it for months looking for the perfect project. It is super soft and very cozy. I think this tunic is going to get lots of use. I love the color an the texture and so easy to wear. The fit is a bit loose but I think that is part of the charm of these designs. And it is perfect to wear with leggings or tights so it makes for a super comfy outfit. 

Now on to the link up.

What you have been up to? Please link up your projects you made from a craft book or a magazine this month and visit each other.
Thank you for stopping by,

XO
Martha

Planning...

Hello friends! How is your week going? Around here the weather has been glorious. It looks like spring has arrived a little early. Also, the second installment of Sew The Library is upon us. I've been planning my project and I hope to finish it this weekend. The link up starts on the 20th and I'll be hosting this month. I hope you will join us and link up the projects you made this month from a sewing book or a magazine. 

For now back to the sewing machine :)

XO

Martha

WIP: Scrappy Log Cabin

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was busy, but very productive. I made a few more of the scrappy log cabin blocks I had been working on. When I started this project, I just wanted to use up some of my fabric scraps. But I had no idea how big of a project I could get out of them. I thought maybe a cushion or a table runner. The pile of scraps didn't look very big at all. So with no plan, just enjoying the process and cheering every time I completed one more block I was able to put together a small quilt. That's what I love about quilting: how small mount of fabric pieces sewn together suddenly becomes a quilt. Amazing! And now my little quilt is basted and ready to be quilted. I'm still undecided about how to quilt it. Any suggestions? 

Speaking of basting; what is your favorite method for quilt basting? I've always used pins and my favorite tool the Kwik Klip to help fasten the pins. But I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Wishing you beautiful week!

XO
Martha.

Envelope Bag

Happy New Year! I hope 2015 brings you peace, love and lots of crafting adventures. 

I decided to start the year being a bit more organized so I made me this bag to keep my date book and stationary handy. It is a very simple envelope construction and it came together very quickly. Basically after I quilted a long piece of fabric I joined the sides together with the bias tape and added a magnetic closure. Sometimes simple finishes are so satisfying and so far it is helping me to keep my days organized. 

Wishing you a wonderful week!

XO

Martha

Scrap Challenge: Dottie Constellation

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. I'm so happy to share with you my latest finish.  It all started a few weeks ago when I won the Lark Scrap Challenge contest held by Rachel at Stitched in Color and generously sponsored by Heather at Lark Cottons. The challenge was to create a project using the dottie fabrics in the fat sixteenth bundle that I received. 

I love polka dots and from the first time a saw this rainbow of dottie prints wonky stars came to mind.   I wanted to have a whole constellation of starts and the variety of colors gave me the opportunity to create a set of unique star blocks.  Big, small and in between each block has its own personality. I used Kona cotton in Snow as the background for my starts; I think it is the perfect complement and allows the stars to really shine. I found the fabric that I used for the backing and the binding at my local fabric store and it was such a lucky find. I still can't believe how perfectly the color and dots match the stars; that doesn't happen to me very often.

I didn't plan on the size of this quilt before hand. I simply went where the fabric scraps took me and amazingly I ended up with a 60X65 inches quilt. Wow! I just did't expect that. I absolutely love how it turned out.

Thank you to Rachel and Heather for this challenge. I really enjoyed working with all of these yummy scraps. Please head over to Stitched in Color to see the creations of the other challengers.

Have a wonderful week!

Martha 

Veronica Bag

I finished my new bag (finally!). It is so nice to have a new finish. It feels like it has been forever since I finished a project. As you might remember I started cutting all the pieces two weekends ago and it wasn't until yesterday that I was able to finish it. But the wait was totally worth it. I love how it turned out; specially the pleats in the front of the bag.  Right now this is my absolute favorite bag. It is super roomy, totally perfect to carry all my stuff around. And let me tell you,  I carry a lot of stuff!
I used essex linen for the body of the  bag and one of my most treasured prints of the Flea Market Fancy collection for the handles. I have been hoarding that Denyse Schmidt print for the longest time.  I don't usually hold on to many fabrics but this one I just couldn't bring myself to cut into it. I just think it is so pretty; thus, I wanted to wait for the perfect project to use it. And I'm so glad I did. I just can't can't get over how well it looks with the linen.  To keep things organized I added two pockets to the interior: one with a zipper to help things stay in place.

Pattern from the book Bags: The Modern Classics.

Wishing you a beautiful week!

*Linking Up to Let's Be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts and Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts*

XX
Martha.

Lately...

I wish there were more hours in the day. Oh my goodness! I have so many things to do and so little time. Do you ever feel that way? As if the day is not long enough? I do most of the time, specially when I want to fit in more sewing time in my day. Having another project in the works I really didn't need to start a new one. I usually work on just one project from start to finish before moving on to the next one. But I thought for a change I'll do a bit of 'multi-tasking' and see how it works for my creative process. Making a new everyday bag has been in my to do list for a while since I really need to retire my current one.  So I'm very happy that I'm finally going to be crossing that off my list. I'm using the pattern for the Veronica Bag from the book Bags: The Modern Classics. The book is absolutely lovely. Every single pattern is modern and very chic. This is the second bag that I make from the book and I think I'm going to love this bag as much as the first one. 

I hope to show you the finished one very soon.

Have a wonderful week!

XX
Martha

Travel Sewing Wallet

I love Noodlehead's patterns. Anna is so talented and everything she creates is so stylish and beautiful (probably your already knew that). A few months ago she published a free pattern for a manicure wallet, which quickly caught my eye and immediately added it to my ever-growing list of things I wish to make. Yesterday I had some time and decided to finally make on of these little wallets. Although, I had  a  different purpose for it in mind. I want to use it as a travel sewing kit. The size is perfect to accommodate my tools and some notions. I totally adore the way it turned out and would love to make a few more. I had a bit of hard time installing the snap closures as I had never done it before. But I think it will go a lot better with the next one. 

Have a  wonderful week!

XX

Martha

Plus Quilt

For the past few weeks I've been planning on making a quilt for my sister. Her birthday is coming up and I wanted to give her a quilt. But I couldn't settle on a design. I wanted something young and fresh and I just couldn't make up my mind.  Then suddenly one day the light bulb in my head went on: a plus quilt! The design is simple yet modern for a young lady...There is something so special about simple patchwork that I'm always drawn to it. I don't think I can ever get tired of it. The piecing was fast and easy (maybe that is the reason I like patchwork so much) and I used only fabrics from my stash. 

For the quilting I did a meandering design that blends in well with the fabrics but gives it a nice texture. 

One of my favorite parts about this quilt is the backing. I found the fabric at my local fabric store and I bought it because it reminded me of Charlie Brown's t-shirt, don't you agree?

I hope my sister likes her present as much as I enjoyed making it for her. 

Wishing you a beautiful week.

XX

Martha.