Potholders Swap

 

Hello, I hope everyone is doing fine. It's the end of October already. The past few weeks, I have not done much sewing, cos my spondylitis is giving me trouble again. The therapist told me to stop working for a couple of weeks and exercise more regularly. The latter I'm still struggling with. Ha! 

But I managed to finish the potholders swap for our Desi Quilters Pot of Gratitude Swap. It's now received with so much love. Thank you, partner!! Well, working with the mood board assigned to you is pretty challenging. I was assigned this cool mood board by Kuppulakhsmi.  

It took me a couple of days to think about what would be the best fit. I browse Pinterest and Instagram and even made a couple of blocks that I thought would work out, but it was not. So I add those blocks to my PHD bin. I decided to make mini granny square blocks, using 1.5" squares and the color palette in the photos. Well, some shades and added green to brighten it. I found the blue bird print in my stash that is perfect for backing. 

WATCH NOW: HOW TO MAKE SCRAPPY POTHOLDER

And I also got my swap package from Preetha. When she posted the pineapple potholders in the group, I sort of know it's for me but I was not sure. So I'm very happy when they arrived with all the other goodies she sent. The color thread cones are fantastic. I've been searching for one but did not find it in my regular shop. And don't miss the pretty keyring, my initial!! The potholders are so cute that  I put them up in my sewing room now. I don't have the heart to use them. Thank you so much Preetha for the thoughtful gifts! She told me the lady who made the beautiful keyring is battling cancer. If you happen to read up to this part, please send a prayer to her.

As I said, making these potholders is pretty challenging. Besides we have to make according to the mood board, we also learn to make a small block that fits the idea. You can choose, either color or shape from the mood board or a mix of those. I was thinking of different ideas, including making flower appliques, but decided to make a simple one, a granny square block, but using smaller pieces so that I can fit in more colors. Now that reminds me of my UFO Granny Square quilt. 

ALSO READ: How to make a granny square pillow with zipper

All in all, swap is a great learning process and the feeling of receiving gifts of love from our online friends is really warms my heart. 

Thank you for stopping by,

Take care & happy sewing!

Elvira

Mini Quilts with Camo Blenders

Mini Table Topper

When I got the Camo Blenders bundle from The Square Inch, I was so excited to start making something, but could not decide what to make. The colors are so pretty that I have several ideas in my head. After a few days of contemplating I decided to make a few mini quilts. You know I love making mini quilts. 

Camo Blenders by TSI

I decided on this block I saw in one of my Japan Quilt magazines (according to google translate the magazine is Patchwork Class - 2018 Edition)  and I scaled down the size a little bit. Since the weather is getting warmer, I thought I'll mix cool and warm colors. Don't they blend beautifully? 

The block is pretty simple and quick to do. I used 1.5" wide strips in here. The fabric is quilting weight cotton and it's super easy to work with. I used poplin solid for the combination. 

Deciding how to quilt is always tough for me and the best way when you're confused is to use simple quilting lines. 

Square Table Runner

And since I am in the mood, I went ahead and made these 2 mug rugs. This is one of my go-to quilt projects to make when I have a lot of things going on in life. I made the mug rugs based on this tutorial. 

Camo Blenders in 10 Color Ways

I have a few more sets to make with the Camo Blenders! It's just a perfect blender fabric when you need something that can add zest to your projects! Camo Blenders have 10 colors and come in Yardage, Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, and Fat Quarters at The Square Inch. 

Now, I better go and finished a few more mug rugs! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Stay safe & Happy Sewing!

- Elvira-

Linking up to these wonderful blogs

The Kawandi Style Mini Quilted Wall Decor

 

And here's my first finished quilt of 2021. A mini wall hanging which took me quite a while to finish:)

I started making the Bali batik background in 2019 I think. The plan was to make a panel for a tote bag. I even drafted the bag in detail! But then lockdown happened and we stuck at home. I know I won't need a tote bag! I kept the panel in my UFO Bin and got busy making face masks and whats not :D

And then the Kawandi class happened and I'm hooked to the Kawandi style of quilting. It's therapeutic to just do running stitch round and round, and the result is always satisfying! 

So I decided to make a mini wall hanging. And as I browsed Suzuko Koseki books, I saw the cherry blossom applique quilt. I made the applique before for my kindle cover and I decided to add applique. I chose a chikan white fabric which I have in stash and started making the applique pieces. I have not done applique for a long time so it took me a while to get finish the first flower. Well, practice makes perfect, the second one came out pretty quickly. 

Unlike my previous hand quilting projects (THIS and THIS) where I used cotton batting,  this time I decided to use needle punch batting. Actually, I tried using polyester batting but after I started quilting it, it shifted so much even with a lot of pinning. Although I quite like the result when I did the outline stitching around the flower. 

this is using polyester batting

So I unpicked the whole stitches and changed the batting. The best part about hand quilting is unpicking stitches is so much easier :). Well, there are a lot of learning experiences here, as I incorporated the Indian Kawandi/Gaudi style of quilting and the quilting from Suzuko Koseki's book. In her Playful Patchwork book, she did outline stitching around the applique and then quilt the background in diagonal gridlines. The Kawandi style quilting is done from outward going inward in a circular motion. In this quilt, I did the quilting by section as I quilted circling the appliques. Sometimes, I did the quilting from the back as I can see more clearly :)

As I was finishing the quilting, I drew the last lines using an erasable pen to keep track of where I should go. Oh, by the way, the quilting is around 1/4" apart. It's quite dense :).  While the kawandi quilt doesn't have binding, I used yellow and white stripes as binding here. It gives a good contrast with the indigo block print fabric at the back, doesn't it?

Well, I am happy now it's done and probably I will frame it! I will keep practicing hand quilting this year, Insha Allah, and let's see how this year will unfold. No more resolution for me. I will go with the flow, doing what I can, and hopefully, I can share more tips with you all.

I posted the video on my Youtube Channel from the process and a more detailed view.

Quilting Stats:

Finished Size: 15" x 15" 

Fabric: Bali Batik for background, Indigo block print for the backing, chikan cotton fabric for applique. 

Thread: Anchor Pearl Cotton No. 8

Thank you for stopping by!

Take care & Happy Sewing!

Elvira

Linking up to these wonderful BLOGS

Scrappy Quilted Mouse Pad

Hello, I hope everyone is safe and well!

My scrap bag is growing rapidly with every single day from making face masks. I keep them in a laundry bag which now already overflowing. One day I was watching Darlene Video on Youtube about how she turned her skinny strip of fabrics into interesting panels and I just had to try it! 

I have a lot of scrap interfacing and batting. I found one that is around 6" x 8" all-purpose interfacing from making the phone sling bag and I thought it was just perfect. I pulled out a bunch of scraps and start arranging them randomly. 

This is liberating. you just arrange them the way you like it on the glue side of the interfacing and press them nicely. No rule here just covers the interfacing with fabrics!!

After ironing, I put the panel on a scrap batting and start quilting it pretty densely. The quilting really gave character to the panel, right? And once you're passed this stage the possibility of interesting projects will start popping in. I thought I'll make a mobile sling bag, this will make an interesting flap, right?  

But I decided to make a small mouse pad because I need one :D. It turned out just perfect. 

Did you recognize some of the scraps? It's a fun project and a small reminder of this ongoing pandemic. I'm still making masks and also working other projects Finished a couple of wallet orders, but yesterday the state government suddenly announced that we're going into strict lockdown again next week. Hopefully, after a week, there will be relaxation so that I can sending out your orders. Ah, one good news, from now I'll be sending all orders via DHL e-com or FedEx depends on your total orders! Remember my post about the shipping problem we're facing as an Etsy Seller in India? Well, Alhamdulillah more or less they are solved. A few orders have successfully delivered via FedEx. Thank you to all delivery men out there! May the Almighty always keep you safe & well! 

So, don't throw away your scraps, make something from them. Check out Darlene's video below to see her tutorial and her collection of scraps!! Now I feel less guilty of having 10 buckets of scraps LOL

What is your fave scrap project? leave your comment and link in the box below, I'd love to see them!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Stay creative & stay well!

- Elvira -

LINKING UP to THESE WONDERFUL BLOGS

Webshop NEW LOOK

Hello,

Today I was updating my Ecwid Shop and I was just checking the what's new section on the Control Panel when I realized that I have not updated my shop with the new features!! What?? If you are using Ecwid Starter Site, you might as well want to check it out.

After I enabled the new 4 features, within seconds my webshop got a new look! Desktop as well as Mobile Version!! LOVE the new look of my shop.

I must say, I made the right choice when I decided to use Ecwid. So much freedom for us to customize the listing. It's so Portable and they keep upgrading the features.

Passport Covers

Now the category shows multiple products on mobile version, which is great for buyer, make them easy to see other products in the same category.

One of the features that I love is that we can put one product in multiple category or shop section. If you put your new product under the Store Front Page, it will appear as the FEATURE PRODUCTS.

Featured Products

This works out seamlessly with the new FACEBOOK SHOP that they launched recently. Oh yes, I love their integration with the facebook shop. Make my work so much easier.

Featured Products on Facebook Shop

I simply share the products to my pages or groups and buyer and click the BUY BUTTON if they wish to buy.

Facebook Shop

The buy button also appear if you send the product link to your customers on Facebook Messenger or comments. Isn't that cool?

I have so many new things coming up now. From new passport wallet designs, fabrics to handmade quilts.  

Handmade Mini Quilts

Don't forget to sign up for my blog for receive updates.

Until then,

Have a nice day!

From Bundle to Quilt

Hello,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. On Saturday, my boys had a music competition in their school. It's a rock band competition. Both the boys performed with their own group and too bad parents were not allowed to see. So I had to rely on their information. The younger one was busy practicing with his friend for the last few days before the D-Day. He played guitar and just started to learn for the last few months. When I showed my mom  his practice video, she asked: "what song is that?" LOL.

The boys also got new pets - a pair of rabbits- my BIL brought back from the village. They were excited but I hope this is a short-term thing, though they are really cute.

And from my sewing room, I finally finished this mini quilt. The quilt sandwich was done one year ago or so. I meant to do hand quilting, but I used the wrong batting. I did few diagonal lines of hand quilting, but because the batting is thick and uneven cotton, it was too tough.

After chatting with Mbak Belly - my quilting friend, I decided to just go ahead and finish it by machine. After all, finish is always better than perfect, right?

I used Indian fabric for this quilt. IMHO, Indian fabric has gorgeous colors and prints that even a simple quilt will look attractive.

This quilt size is around 34' x 34" square. I quilted using straight line quilting 3/8" apart. I just kind of eyeballed it. I really love a dense line quilting. It sort of pop the quilt up easily.

Straight line quilting on my Usha Stitch Queen

Don't you love the backing? :D

 Many Indian quilters hesitate to use Indian mulmul fabric, like the one I use here. They are lightweight but have the coolest color shade and prints. The trick is to always starch it. Normally I will prewash the fabrics and dip in a starch solution water. Just like my MIL did with her sarees. That will give just enough stiffness. 

After cutting and after each piecing, whenever I iron the seam, I spray a little bit starch too. You can buy spray starch or make your own solution using starch powder. Nowadays we even get liquid starch! 

After finishing this quilt, I want to make a bigger version. May not be the same design but using the Indian Fabrics. Since I love Indian Kantha Quilt, I thought making my own quilt will be fun. Let me. If the batting is right I might do the hand quilting too. 

As usual, when I am not sure what binding to use, I always use black and white! The binding fabric, I got from Namrata. It was a diagonally print stripe fabric. Simply love it!! Just cross cut it and you get a bias-look binding!!

here are the rabbits

So, what are you working on this week? Whatever that is, I hope you enjoy working on it! 

Happy Sewing,

Linky Party:

Handmade Monday 

Moving it Forward

A bright week

This week was quite a busy week and I seem to be in a bright mood as you can see from the works I've completed this week. 

Today I finish this mini runner after watching MSQ Youtube  Tutorial on Double Friendship Star block. It's so easy and fun to make. I made this with  2 red riding hood FQ  and a scrap of solid white. 

And I still love using my variegated thread so I used a light red-white one and love how it turned out. 

Very often when I'm cutting fabric order for my customers, idea will pop out in my mind. This mug rug happened like that. I thought I just had to make a quick mini mat with this one. I made pink one earlier and gave that to one of hubby's aunt. Indian fabrics print and color are so attractive that practically you only have to quilt it. 

Still in orange mood, this mobile pouch was made for a client. She saw my patchwork pouches and wondered if I can make a similar patchwork for iPhone pouch. And why not? 

frankly creating your own patchwork so much more fun than using printed patchwork fabric, right?

and with the same fabric she wanted 2 patchwork pencil cases. 

I did this passport wallet with this african print. I have mini quilt still in WIP state with the same print. I added names in the passport wallet but not in the pic ;)

in the last post, I mentioned about embroidery patches. I did the pouch and add the patch but not happy with how it looked. So, I took out my embroidery machine again and did the embroidery directly on the pouch. Now, I like this better! 

That's all for this week. How about your week? I hope you had a good one too

This post is linked to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

Until then,

Few finish and WIP

I just recovered from cold and cough. It's getting very dusty and dry here since winter is approaching. It's quite cool in the morning and evening and pleasant throughout the day. Though sometimes I still need the fan. 

Since I can't have cough syrup { I am allergic to certain medicines}, so I usually made ginger lemonade when I have cough. It works wonder for me. I add ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks and pepper corn in 1,5 cup of water and boil it for 3-4 minutes till the water reduced and add lemon juice + honey. I have this drink 3 times a day. It helps with the sore throat and body ache too.

Picture source: HERE

Click the link for the recipe too

❤❤❤❤❤

After three days, I get back to my list of stuff I have to do {sewing wise}. House works can always wait when I'm in the mood to sew. Ha!

First I finished this 2 cute mug rugs or mini mats or candle mats

They will be available in the shop 

I did simple diagonal quilting there. It's really good for small quilts, isn't it?

and second one, I finished sewing up the sailor blocks.

I'm so excited, I hope I can finish it soonest

and since I can't get my mind off of this charm packs

I simply had to make something 

and table runner it is !

it's nice and bright!

there,there, finally I found a way to attach my label. 

I quilted using decorative stitches Row 2 #13 in my HV Designer Topaz 20

I love love how it turned out

I use this fancy foot. Simply love it!

and made this mango print bias binding! 

The mango fabric is available HERE

it comes in 4 yummy colors 

So, that's how my last week went

I hope next week will be better

I have a long list of WIPs and UFOs I want to finish

Until then,

Happy Quilting

Shops Link:

Fabrics

Runner and Mats