More Water Bottle Slings

 

I have spent the last week making more 'Walker's Water Bottle Slings' as they are so addictive to sew and make perfect gifts. I have a lot of friends turning 50 this year and they hinted they really liked this bag!   I am so glad I bought a few metres of natural linen last year as it has come in handy for making these bags.  I hit the local second hand shop and bought a bunch of purses with the right sized hardware to make these bags as I am too impatient to order hardware online!

I even dug into my iced dyed stash to make one, the other two are batiks.

I still have been enjoying taking pictures of the hummingbirds in my yard this summer. I noticed a few weeks ago that one really like to play in our sprinkler when I set it up.  So the other day I turned it on and got my camera out. The little bird did not disappoint!  She played in the water for about 5 minutes and looked so happy!

Water Bottle Sling

 

I made this handy bag last night and think I will be making many more as they are so fun and quick to make!  I purchased the pattern online yesterday from Whistlepig Creek Productions Etsy shop and the pattern is called The Walker's Water Bottle Sling.  

The pattern has two sizes and I made the larger one so it can hold all the different varieties of water bottles I own.

The other day I was going to throw out a cheap little purse ( the ones that you get inside another purse as a bonus) and realized it had great hardware on it. So I ripped off the D rings, swivel hooks and even the metal zipper and used some of it on this bag. The pattern only calls for one D ring but I adapted the pattern to use the 2 D rings and swivel hooks!  Now I have this overwhelming urge to run to the second hand shop to find more purse hardware! LOL!

I made my bag with Essex Linen and used my favorite Fusion fabric for the two outer pockets and strap.

Owen the Owl

 

I have been making great progress on my UFO's this week and finished the binding on my Owen the Owl wall hanging this morning.  This was the last block from the North Stars Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman that I started back in Oct, 2019.

I had not purchased any binding fabric for this project to had to steal some fabric from another future project bin so hope that doesn't cause me issues down the road. ;)

Wall hanging are fun to photograph as you can pin them to anything!

The North Stars Quilt was a fun one to make and now I can start to think about my next big project.

Last night was had a wicked storm with wonderful lightening to photograph.  

Hawaiian Applique

 

I picked up this great Hawaiian Applique kit when I was in Hawaii in November.  We had stopped at a cute quilt shop in Kona called Ohana Quilt Works and they had a laser cutting machine so made their own kits. It was hard to pick one so I got 3!  I gave one to Lori and you can see hers completed at her blog post  here.  

I started mine this winter and hand appliqued the design while on a road trip with my husband back in March when we could travel. It then sat waiting to be quilted which finally happened yesterday. I decided to pebble the whole background as I wanted it to be a pillow and love the feel of pebbles. If I was going to make it a wall hanging I might have taken the extra time to echo quilt it like the traditional Hawaiian appliques are done. I'm saving the last kit, which is a Pineapple block, to do on our next road trip, but that could be awhile!

This design is called Ulu or Breadfruit and the block is 18".

Home Quarter in Wovens

 

For the last couple of weeks of my summer break I have decided to tackle some of my UFO's that need to be quilted.  This quilt was our working prototype when Lori and I were writing the pattern for Home Quarter so it has been sitting as a flimsy for awhile.  This is the lap size without borders so measures 45" x 60" so makes a good sized baby quilt or small lap quilt for a seniors home.

I quilted it with a new pantograph called Parchment, used light grey So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting. 

Last night was the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower so I got out my lawn chair and put my camera on the tripod and took photos from 10 to 11pm. We have a great north view right at the constellation Perseid so didn't have to travel anywhere, just sat on my driveway! Saw about 12 meteors in the hour and the one that was the most spectacular starting in Cassiopeia and traveled right across the sky for a few seconds so only caught the start of it in my photo using my wide angle lens.   It has a beautiful burst as it burnt up so I was sad that was out of my camera frame, but still a nice bright streak in the photo.

 

Most of the meteors looked like this in comparison.

Bonnie Bucket Bag

 

Last month I purchased a kit from Wendy at Fabriculous in Swan River, MB to make the Bonnie Bucket Bag by Swoon Sewing Patterns.  I purchased the downloadable pattern online and Wendy put together a kit with Emmaline Bags hardware and this great blue vinyl she has in the shop.  If you don't follow Wendy's shop on facebook or IG you should, she has fabulous idea and products and always way ahead of trends. She just recently got a pallet full of vinyl for making bags so I know I'll be making more. 

The lining is from a collection called Mermaids and Unicorns by In the Beginning fabrics. 

I also made another Ruby Waxed Canvas Tote which is a pattern written by Wendy.  I used a blue/grey Waxed Canvas and the outer fabric pocket is gorgeous fabric called 'All A Twitter" by Hoffman.

North Stars Quilt #2

I finished quilting the second North Stars Quilt and used the same panto as on the first one, Bora Bora. I still have to put the binding on but don't have anything in my stash that will work besides the grey I used in the background. I might use that but not sure yet.

These blocks were so much fun to make, lots of work but a great project to take to retreats and my weekly sew days. I still have the owl block to quilt to make into a wall hanging. I'm glad I decided to make two quilt instead of one big one.

North Star Quilt #1 and the Big 5-0

I finished quilting on of my North Star quilts. I used Bora Bora for the panto, light grey So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

And this happened last week!

I recently had a special birthday, the Big 5-0!  I was able to spend a few days visiting some family and a few close friends in Winnipeg over the long weekend.  I had high school friends cover my moms lawn with decorations so they would be there when I arrived. There were 50 candles on the lawn!

 I received a lovely surprise from my friend Lori, she gave me a Featherweight for my birthday!  She has quite a few of her own and uses one of hers all the time when we go to retreats. I love how quiet they are and think I'll have lot of fun with my 'new' machine! Thanks for the wonderful gift Lori, I felt very spoiled! 

Oh, here is the last photo I got of Comet NEOWISE before it faded from view.  This was taking right in Emo at the River front dock.