MIssy's Drawstring bag

Well, I believe drawstring bags are growing on me!  It turns out that they are practically THE perfect gift wrapping that is so cute and functional that it won't be throw away! 

(Yes, I seriously and silently feel sad each time I see all that beautiful wrapping paper that ends up in the trash. My recycling bone awakens each time it happens, and some of it has even ended making up greeting cards and all sort of things of beauty and love - but that's the stuff for another blog post.)

Time came for another gift, and yours truly had everything ready BUT a gift box/bag... I still sort of refuse really taking a good look at those, unless I will remake them into something else.

So... Missy... A sweet, sweet lady that loves purple and bright colors... I took a peek at my fabric, chose the three below and went back to Crafty's Bag-Making Basics: Drawstring Bag & Bucket Bag, with Kristin Link.

I really liked the way it came together!

And here is a close-up look at my cutting mat, with Kristin Link's instructions handy, to make sure I got things right.  

Here is Missy's bag finished, right on that spot on the carpet, now more like a "spot of fame," hehe...

Well, yes... It's a tad too big for nail polish, but she can use the bag for so many more things.

(Mental note: Take time and write down the math to make smaller baggies and use in the future.)

I really like how bright that lining fabric looks next to the purple...

And when you pull the drawstrings, it almost turns into a pretty flower!

If you like making things, this baggie is also easy to make and Kristin's class in Craftsy is free and she shows each step - it couldn't get easier!

And you? Do you personalize gifts?  I would love to hear how you do it!

Have a blessed day!

Yiya.

BOM 2015 - Irises and Y seams... Check!

We only have a week left in September, and I'm still trying to catch up with blogging about my 2015 Craftsy BOM blocks! 

I'm not really sure whether to start with saying that this block is actually the July block or with sharing that all of the blocks are finished now, and I actually completed the frames today!! YAY!! I can't wait to take lots and lots of pictures!!  It's really exciting that my first traditional quilt, which is also my first BOM, is almost finished!

But now, I need to go back to July and share about the beautiful irises - it's amazing what can be turned into a quilt!  So exciting!

Beginning with some mise en place... Everything ready to go, with seams marked in chalk, pieces stacked together, the middle stem already pieced... Everything just waiting to get sewn in the right place to live happily in the Iris block!

It took me a while to mark all the seams... Hehe... you can even see some chalk on the right side of the fabric!  (I had them all stacked on top of each other, but you cannot tell in the final block, phew!)

The moment of truth came... Y seams... From corner to corner, or dot to dot or seam to seam... Stopping at the intersections... You know, intersections make the piecing!  :) 

And yes, I made a tiny design decision and changed the color of the petals.  I wanted to show the range of color in the fabulous palette. I was liking every bit of it!

So, I started making my way along the Y seams; however, I was not very sure it was supposed to look like this,...  

... but things looked better after pressing!  Yay!!  My first Y seam flower down!

I also made my mind and decided to give hand piecing a try.  Not too bad, but I didn't like the way it looked after pressing; I ended up redoing that little triangle, but left my hand stitches there, just for mere romantic reasons... hehe!

I actually enjoyed doing the Y-seams. I have heard about them, and I have seen people in blogs talking about how to avoid them and sew the Y in different ways, just to avoid it all together. 

I wouldn't mind doing some more of them; I thought the flowers ended up looking quite nicely! There are also some other Y seams in some of the other blocks, and welcoming this new skill was refreshing... A little challenge doesn't hurt much, huh?

Throughout this quilt, I have put the pieces on the mat, just to take a peek at the finished block. This one was no exception - I got more and more excited each time I got to see things coming together.

Sadly, I got so excited, that something didn't look quite right when I saw this:

I couldn't believe that I made such a silly mistake - placing the squares in the wrong order! 

I was about to undo the seams, when I thought of the easy way out, but what would also become a sort of Easter egg in the final quilt... something to look for and talk about when the quilt is done!

And here is the official picture on the carpet, with the evening light coming through... 

I had that minute of excitement, knowing that I had learned something new and that it actually worked!  :)  

Have a blessed week!

Yiya

BOM: Baskets!

Well, who said things had to stay the same all the time?

When I first started my quilting adventures, I never thought I would be working on a year-long project with bunches of baskets! 

The 2015 Craftsy BOM has brought challenging opportunities to overcome and fall for this wonderful craft over and over again!  

I look back at these five blocks, and smile as I remember the challenges of understanding a very basic skill - pattern reading. I think it was the beautiful fabric that got me involved, and it has been fantastic.  I keep working bit by bit and some of these will get appliqued flowers very soon.  I couldn't resist but snapping a quick pic to remember how they all look like together. Pieced handles, bias-cut handles, matching points... A smile comes out and I feel grateful for the opportunity of enjoying the creative process.

I once said that I'd never quilt baskets - ha! Better watch out for next time I say I'll never quilt something - I may end up making a whole quilt of them...

Until next time... Have a blessed week!

Yiya.

BOM 2015: Paper-piecing in August!!!

OK... wait a minute... August blocks in August? Really? Well, yes!!  

I spent a good time yesterday working on these beauties, and it was just fantastic!

After a challenging week and some really needed time to relax, I must confess I kind of forgot there was laundry waiting to be done, or dishes to be washed... I just took my quilt ruler and rotary cutter, and did not stop!

OK, I did take breaks, and made sure that things around the house were taken care of. However, Mr. Fuzz did most of the work; he said that he knew I needed quality time with my fabric - isn't he the most amazing fuzzband!! 

And, although I'm behind in posting other things I've been working on, I thought about jumping into August and share the beautiful paper-pieced flowers for the Craftsy 2015 BOM, with Jinny Beyer.

By the way, remember that this is a free class, so you may want to visit the site and see what all the fuzz is about.

It all starts with a piece of paper...

... and cut fabric...

... and it just keeps going, and going!

I love the perfect points and the complexity - elegant and clean.  I can't wait for September blocks, which will also be paper-pieced - let's see if I'm caught up with my blogging by then.

Thanks for reading, and stay blessed,

Yiya