Busy Hands Are Happy Hands: Finish It Up Friday October

Friday, October 27, 2017

Finish It Up Friday October

Three days of retreat projects, good food, friends and fall in the air was a wonderful respite. Thirteen friends gathered at a small center ( The Ranch at Ucross) in NE Wyoming, where we sewed and talked, shared and giggled. I found this pattern online on Craftsy from City House Studio I love to read and so this tote appealed to me. I also found the Literary fabric at a regional quilt store. And heaven knows I have tons of scraps for the letters and the book spines. I decided to make two. One of me and one to donate to our library for their annual silent auction. They offer homemade items for auction every November, and use the proceeds to purchase more books of quilting, knitting, crochet and needlework. It's great fun to participate.

Read side - The fabric looks like library cards. Do you remember those.

2nd side.

Inside with pocket divided into 3 sections for library cards or keys. The fabric looks like old fashioned library stamps/

Literary by Heather Givans

This is the base of the tote. I couldn't find a "wood look" fabric like the pattern showed, but I liked the Hashtag fabric in blue.

I'll link this to Elm Street Quilts Bag It 2017

I also finished assembling 5 more Scrappy Susannah blocks to donate to Kat and Cat Quilt's Covered in Love project. I am so excited about using my extra fabric for such a cause. If you are interested in participating, check out this site.

And I webbed the squares for a special baby quilt for an expected great nephew due in January. It's the Arithmetic pattern by Jeni Baker. I purchased the pattern from Connecting Threads. The colors were picked by the parents. It's way outside of my comfort zone, using solids only.

I have a fabric picked for the backing, but I may switch to minkee or cuddle. I'm unsure.

It was a fun time and I hope to be able to share some of the project of the other participants soon.
Oh, and sometimes, cute little presents show up at your sewing station. This year was awesome. Pincushions, towels, stylus pen, peanuts, first aid kit, a small Best Press, a tiny scissors, and a cute candle in an old fashioned spool. If you are curious, we call ourselves "Loose Threads"