Gratitude and Glimmers #111

Welcome to my post of glimmers (of joy and wonder) and gratitude for the month of September. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed. 

--Art Wolfe

Rather an apt quote for this month's gratitude post.

1.  What a glimmer this was!

This wee moth was having a daytime snooze in one of my mandevilla vine flowers. Wouldn't you love to be tiny enough to have a nap there?!

A Commissioned Toiletries Bag

You may recall the totebag I made for my friend from my yoga classes. Well, I’ve made her a coordinating toiletries bag in a custom size.

Amongst the lavender (two years old now) and calla lilies (five or six years old now!)

When I gave the tote to her, I asked if she wanted a matching makeup bag, and she said no, she didn’t think so; they were too small for what she needed. I told her I did have a couple of bigger ones in my shop and so she said she’d take a look.

RSC Catching Up

Earlier this year, I completed my first Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt. It ended up going in a slightly different direction than I’d first planned. I then got busy with the quilt that’s in the current issue of make modern as well as the planning and sewing for my annual quilt along. I’m pleased to say that I spent the last couple of days finalizing what will be the next RSC project for the year and I am caught up with six months' worth of blocks. Because June is pastel colours, here is my pastel blue block.

I’ve wanted to make this block forever; think the first I saw it was way back on Craftsy! Diann of Little Penguin Quilts made it last year and it reminded me to keep it in mind for this year.

The Making of a Lion Quilt

Brady turns 18 this summer (how is that remotely possible?) and so I’m making him a lion quilt as he is a Leo.

This is Lion, a paper-pieced pattern by Tartan Kiwi Designs. I bought it ten(!) years ago, knowing I’d make it one day for Brady. Well, that ‘one day’ has arrived. It is a huge block, the biggest one I’ve ever paper-pieced, at 24” finished. The cows quilt blocks were 12”.

Project Quilting 17.6 A Happy Handful

What a fun way to end this year’s challenge: with a small joy-inducing project. This week Trish asked us to make something that we could hold in one hand, "small in stature, but full of joy." I've had this image in my head for the past several weeks, wanting to work it somehow into a quilt.

I made a mug rug with the symbol for female on it.

A Bag Lady That’s Me

I’ve been a bit quiet this month but my sewing machine has not. My two best customers, now two people whom I consider friends since we've been texting back and forth over the past several months (Lana) and couple of months (Audrey) have made sure of that!

Knitting Project Bag

Lana put in two more requests for when we'd returned from our Maritimes trip. One was a cat bag for a good friend of hers, small size (the usual makeup bags I've been selling for many years), and the other was a surprise bag for herself. I had free rein to choose fabrics and colours, knowing now what she likes; the only stipulation was the size, the 'tall small bag', sizing phrase as determined by her! Instead of my usual SandraJaneQuilts label, I sewed onto the bag side a piece of the selvage from this fabric, most fitting for a bag that will hold beautiful knitted projects.

I'm Screaming!

I actually dropped my phone on Monday morning when I saw who ordered a mug cosy from me on Sunday night. An author. A Canadian author who is "renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre" (from his site). One of my absolute favourite fantasy authors whose books I've read and loved and owned since 1995. None other than Charles de Lint!!

So ya, I was screaming, and I still am. He ordered this mug cosy:

Made in February

My first thought was, Maybe there's another Charles de Lint. Checked the address. Ottawa. Nope. Second thought, He cannot pay; I'll refund him, but then I thought well, I do have to mail it, and my time is worth something, and I have bought his books because I believe in supporting artists of all mediums. So I had the idea to make him a matching coaster! Did I still have any of the butterfly fabric left? It had only been a fat quarter... I did: a 5" square coaster would work!

A Project Bag Commission

You may recall the custom project bag I made for one of my repeat Etsy customers back at the beginning of August. Well, she emailed me asking if I would make a set of four custom bags for her! They hold her ongoing knitting and crocheting projects, and I may just have to make a couple of these since our collaboration!

Garden-Themed Totebag

Last week I mentioned that I'd had another commissioned totebag. Well, it has now been delivered to a very happy customer. She gave me a bit of an idea of what colours based on two makeup bags she'd seen on my Instagram feed, the navy one that was a gift and the black and white one in my shop. So here is where we ended up:

Quite the departure! 

Blues and Backs

In this between PQ challenge week I’ve been plugging away at a few must-be-done projects. I haven’t sold any mug cosies for a little while and then in short order, I sold two, so I needed to replenish my stock of three lol.

I use mine every single day, twice a day: once in the morning over my cup of coffee, and then in the afternoon over my cup of tea! It really does help keep the drink warmer a little longer. The hats and teacups one that just sold had turquoise lining and trim; I always thought it was a perfect fabric for a mug cosy. This one has a hot pink and red checked lining and a piece of Hello Tokyo Robert Kaufmann fabric for binding that was a perfect match. The soft coral butterflies on blue is also the second one I've made in this pretty fabric and when it sells that's it, because you can only get two from a FQ. The link for these is here.

Another Santa's Belly Pillow

When Dayna saw my first Santa's Belly cushion, she immediately texted, "I want." So what's a mother to do? Comply with her daughter's wishes of course!

This fun, quick-to-make design is by Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation from back in 2018. Little did I think I'd be making not one, but two of these in the space of about a week!

Thirteen Little Makes

As I mentioned in a previous post, July saw me doing more outdoor things and less sewing which is appropriate for a beautiful summer month. I did make quite a few smaller projects so here’s a roundup of them.

These four are the Strippy Pouch pattern formerly on Moda Bakeshop. After I made the navy and cream one for the florist and gift shop in town, I made a second one for my shop. The soft aqua one has a beach vibe and I even photographed it at Seacliff Beach. 😎 The other two are made with Pat Sloan’s Bird Song fabric. Those have been fairly popular; think I’ve sold three or four. 

Beaucoup de Bags

Over the past month and a bit I sold four of the makeup bags I sell in my Etsy shop. So I decided to finish up the two shells sitting in the drawer, and make two more to replenish the stock.

These are a fun and satisfying make.

Rainbow Scraps at Work

I started the year with just one rainbow project. And I’m happy to report that all the blocks are complete; in fact, now that the turquoise ones are done, I have one extra!

It evolved, as they often do, too, aiming to make a gradation in shades of each color. So you can see these three go from light to dark turquoise. I now have 26 blocks, enough for a 50” square quilt with the extra block going on the back. My original plan was to make 30 but I decided this past week that 25 is fine.

More DrEAMi Makeup Bags

Two Drop Everything And Make it! moments happened to me this past week, both the fault of my stock person in my Etsy shop sandrajanequilts. Wow, you may be thinking, you have a stock person? I sure do–ME! Don’t worry, I’ve talked to ME about it and hopefully the issue won’t happen again, though in reality it is a very good issue to have!

This one was DrEAMi #2. I added a pretty green fancy bead zipper pull after I took the photo for the customer. It was well after supper, so I took it outside to the front of the house which faces west and has our rhodo in all her stunning glory at present as a supreme backdrop.   

Project Quilting 14.1 One

When I read the challenge, "The First One", almost immediately I knew what I was going to make! I think this is the earliest (Tuesday evening!) that I have finished a project for Project Quilting which is hosted by Kim Lapacek.

For some time I have wanted to make a make up bag using a whole cloth technique. This was the perfect opportunity!

I'm Back...

albeit with a little reluctance. I'm my own boss, so why don't I take the rest of the summer off blogging and (mostly off) Instagram? Answer: the longer I do, the harder it is to get back into the habit. And habit it is. So what have I been up to over the month of July and first week of August? Here's a summary with more details inside.

First and foremost were three glorious weeks with Brady here.

Here he's cutting out a pair of sleep shorts. While he was here, not a lot of sewing got done but a lot of getting out and about did. I read 6.5 books, which I'll mention later, as there have been several excellent ones. I've sewed a bit over the month, not all quilts. I've lazed around in the pool, and done a bit of gardening. I've got one pattern ready to release and another nearly there with a third at the 'ready to figure out yardage and start typing' stage.

Makeup Pouches and Etsy Thoughts

One of my favourite parts of the quilting process is combing fabrics, whether it's all one family or several. I really like making makeup bags either with 2.5" charm squares or strips. Last week I sold a deep blue makeup pouch and this week I've made two more, one in white and ivory, the other in pinks. I kind of went down a rabbit hole, aka had a Drop Everthing And Make it! moment.

I've adapted the latest few to use Noodlehead's zipper application that allows the bag to open to its full extent. These two came about because I'd cut a few charms from scraps from my spring tote bag I made for Benartex. I never make just one bag these days, always two as it's a more efficient use of time.

TGIFF: Positive Flow Tote Bag

Welcome to TGIFF - the linkup where we celebrate our finished quilt projects! Please honour the spirit of this linkup and only post finishes, thank you! If you would like to host TGIFF, the signup sheet and details can be found here.

Recently I made two tote bags as commissioned Christmas presents. Well, one of those who requested a bag for her BFF asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would make another one similar to it but for herself. Not a problem! I was in the process of making the heart quilt, Millie, so once that was done and sent off in the mail, I got started on the bag.

This one has the same main fabric A and B, but different fabrics for the plus blocks and front band than the one I made for S's friend.

PQ 13.1 Postcard Pouch

It 's that time of year again! Project Quilting time that is, the brainchild of Kim of Persimon Dreams, hosted by her good friend Trish  @quiltchicken . The first challenge Trish dreamed up is called 'All the Colours'. As in use 'em all. In my last post I mentioned that I was going to once again host a Postcard from Sweden Quilt Along. Put that with all the colours, add in wanting to make a small gift for my niece, and boom! Postcard Pouch idea was born.

I used the Charm Square pouch tutorial, formerly available on Moda Bakeshop, that I've made at least a dozen times, substituted HSTs for the squares, based it on Kelly's Postcard from Sweden quilt, formerly available on Craftsy, tried Anna's technique at Noodlehead Open Wide pouch and another boom! It all came together beautifully.