I think this should count…

…as a Finish it up Friday!  Yesterday I picked up this wonderful charm pack that I’d decided to make placemats from.  The pattern is in Fast and Furious Holiday by G.E. Designs.  OK, so I needed 38 charms and the pack came with 40…but you know how some just don’t “talk” to you…well I had to pull out 6.

Next step, find 4 more that would play nicely from my “beside the cutting table stash”.  This is where all the bits of leftovers go after I’ve finished a project and before they make it to the cubbies in the closet.  Without any trouble I found 3 right off the top…and then

I started digging (please note that there was a very large pile to the left and much more on top) and separating.

Still looking for just the right final 5” square!!

Well, since I started this I might as well finish all the piles…it was falling over anyway!  All nicely separated piles by color or type…ready for the cubbies!

So there we were…Rosebud and me…finally found just the perfect square.

Are you wondering where this is going or how it should qualify as my Finish it up Friday project?  Well, these piles didn’t make it to the closet until today!  So now I can “Start over Saturday” with those perfectly coordinated charm squares!!  Maybe the placemats will be ready for next week.

Going Green is Good

I found this tutorial on making reusable snack bags last week and knew I had to try it.  Her directions were very good but I did make a few changes.  You can make these bags any size you like and I did use PUL because it’s waterproof (and we happen to have it at the shop :).  I also cut the Velcro (sew in type) 1” shorter rather then 1/2” that she recommends.  Let me show you how easy:

Begin with 1 piece of fabric and 1 piece of PUL cut the same size…for the sandwich bag I cut 8” x 17”.  Put them right sides together and stitch the two short ends.

Now turn the piece right sides out and press.  Position the Velcro on each end (on the PUL side) and stitch in place…the walking foot is really helpful here because the PUL is fussy to sew.

Next fold the bag in half with the PUL on the outside sew the two sides…trim it a little bit if you like.  Turn right side out and top stitch so no raw edges on the inside and…

you have a sandwich-chip-cookie-fruit-snack bag!!  And because I used the PUL (polyurethane laminated knit fabric) inside it’s waterproof and you can throw it in the wash if you need to!

So that’s my Finish it up Friday for this week…I’ve made 3 already…stay cool and be cool!

Finish for a cause…

Well, since I failed to finish anything last Friday I felt the need to over compensate this week.  As you may or may not know we are collecting unstuffed pillows for “Camp to Belong Massachusetts”.  This is a camp in Western Mass where kids separated from their siblings due to foster care or adoption are brought back together for one week of fun.  During the course of the week the kids choose one of the pillows and then decorate, embellish and write whatever they want on it.  They stuff them and finish the seam before presenting it to their brother/sister.  So with this in mind I decided instead of doing up just a few…I made 21!  That should make up for last week…don’t you think?!  And I’m not the only one this week to finish many pillows…last count we have 54.

These are just a few of the ones I did.

So if you’re interested in making some pillows for this wonderful cause just click here and you’ll be transported to our website where you can read all about the camp and get the directions for the pillows.

Now I’m off to my sewing room to try out something new (for me) and if all goes well I’ll share next week…going green!

Drum roll please...

I had this quilt in mind earlier this week.  It's been done and in the shop and then back home, oh about 4 years ago...without borders.  I have a thing about adding borders...least favorite step in the whole process.  Perhaps I should just do "Quilts Without Borders" or start a group "Quilters Without Borders".  So without further ado, I give you "Cosmic Stars" from Cozy Quilt Designs.

I think this was the first time I used Bali Pops....that long ago!

How about the churn dash challenge you ask?  Well I'm not too far behind.  I should have 11 done for today and I have 10...not bad, but I'll let you know how that goes next week!!