Cardinal Pillow

The cardinal is such a beautiful bird!  I love to look out the kitchen window and see the vibrant red of a cardinal as it perches in a tree.  It also happens to be the "mascot" of my school, so I often see cardinals in one form or another around the school.   This one has "flown and landed" in the home of a dear friend and co-worker.

The pattern came from a magazine, I believe, years and years ago.  (Sorry, but I'm not sure who to credit it to.)  The fabric has become a favorite of mine, and is called "Esprit De Noel" by French General for Moda.

The backing and hidden zipper is one of my favorite features of the pillow construction!  Thanks to Amy for the tutorial!

Cardinal pillow with Topiary Tree Pillow

Hooray for a Snow Day!

A Snow Day is just what I needed to get back to my sewing machine!  Today I sewed a pocket scarf and hat set using Sherpa Suede, and all I have to say about that process is ... Grrrrrr!  It was not an easy task, and before I try again I will try to figure out how to sew with this stuff without breaking my threads!  But... the end product is one I like.  One gift down ... the recipient does not use a computer so no chance of a "spoiler!" :)

October sewing...

It's hard to believe October is almost gone.  How does time go so fast??  In September, according to my sewing journal, I completed five sewing projects.  October, however, only shows two!  I do think the cuteness of the October projects will make up for any lack of others, though.  And here they are -- burp pads and baby booties!  The gender of the coming little one is unknown, but baby's mom said she's pretty sure it's going to be either a girl or a boy! :)  I think these little elephant shoes will work for either one!

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A Christmas pillow project

In January I started sewing with the Across the Pond Sew-Along.  Around the same time I started sewing a quilt with the Sisters' Ten Block of The Month project.  Over the past several months both of these sew-alongs have taken the back seat to the Patchwork, Please! Zakka sew-along.  One of the projects I had put aside was the Topiary Tree Pillow, designed by Amy of eamylove.  I'm so happy to say I've finally finished it!

 It's been awhile since I've sewn a pillow, and quite honestly, I've never been very pleased with my end product.  The design and instructions for this one, though, had great results!  I used a lovely fabric collection by Moda called "Espirit de Noel."

 One of the best features of this pillow is the hidden zipper on the pillow back.  I'm sure this will be my "go to" pattern for pillow backs!

 It is easy to get the pillow form in and out.  Thank you, Amy, for such a great pattern!!

Handy Market Tote

Can one ever have too many market totes, grocery bags, book totes, etc.?  In my opinion, "No!"  The Handy Market Tote was my project this week for the Patchwork, Please! Sew-along.  It is a great tote.

 It features two large pockets on the outside (one on each side) ...

and a small one on the inside.

This bag is fully lined, and very roomy. Although there are a lot of pieces to the bag, it went together easily.  I love a project like that!

This sew-along is winding down, with only two weeks left to go.  I'm posting my project at A Quilter'sTable.  Check out the many other great market totes posted there.

A walk in the Meadow kind of day... and Patchwork, Please!

Today was one of those days ... cooler air, beautiful sunshine, and the call of the mountains!  A walk in the meadows is always a favorite!  Every season has a different look.  I love the colors in this picture of the golds and greens ... maybe a future project inspiration.

 So ... this week's project was a Vintage Pencil Case.  I started working on this at 6:24 this evening, and estimated it would take about 2 hours.  Despite the tiny paper piecing involved in making the pencil tips, I finished in just over 2 hours!

There are just 4 projects left to go in the Patchwork, Please! Sew-along.  It has been a fun sewing "journey", and to date I've only skipped one project, but I'm ready to bring this to a close and move on to some of my other sewing.

Here's a quick look at last week's project, too.  Somehow I missed posting it here...

A BIG bag!

How about this for a big bag?

 This thing is really BIG.  I think I will be able to fit all my groceries for the week in it!  As usual, I made a few adjustments to the pattern.  Adjustments made for the most part due to not having certain things on hand, and -- yes -- once again waiting until the last minute to start.

 Sadly, my last minute this time was not soon enough for entering my bag in the give-away drawing.  I DID finish it, though, and it's ready to go. Ok -- the changes.   I did not have cotton straps with which to make the handles, so I used a cotton fabric instead.  For the body of the bag I used a painter's drip cloth --unused! (Hmmm...a used paint drip cloth would make an interesting bag!)  I also did not line the bag with laminate fabric or a plastic table cloth as suggested.

I will use it, and see what I think about the size.  I'm still not sure... :)