More scrappy placemats

Small Table Mats

Last week I finished a few small placemats using scraps from my wallet and face mask making. It's fun to pull up scraps cut them into workable pieces. That totally my mood booster activity. Even though these placemats don't really make a dent into my ever-growing scraps, but I am happy to make them into something. I mean, we don't want to waste those pretty prints, right? 

For these medium-size placemats, I cut the patchwork pieces into 3.5" square. My fave is 2.5" but I kinda love this size too. I have a bunch of 3.5" squares cut and will make another set of placemats when  I have time. 

I'm using this yellow dot with golden print cotton fabric on the back and you can easily make these placemats a reversible one, right?  Hand sewn binding is always my personal favorite. For smaller quilts, I like to cut the binding at 1.5" wide, because I found 2.25" wide is too heavy for small quilts. Each placemats measures about 9.5" H x 12" W.

Another set I made was this green small placemat. I am still using the Camo Blenders fabric I got from the Squareinch last time. I posted the pink version of these placemats in my previous post.  On the back, I use a cute chicken print cotton fabric. Making small quilts like these are addictive. So stay tuned for more :)

Green Small Placemats

These small mats size is 8" H x 10" H (20cm x 23 cm) and it's just a perfect size to place a bowl of ramyeon while watching my drama. Or for my son's cereal while he's on zoom class. 

I used my scallop ruler to draw the quilting lines and quilt them on my Jack machine. For the small quilts, this hack works well and I like the result. 

 

Scrappy Medium Placemats

Scrappy Drawstring Bag

I have a few scrappy tops done and waiting to be made into something. As you know, I love making simple things, something useful and giftable, just like the drawstring bag above. It's my fave bag to keep essentials like an extra facemask, wet tissue, and hand sanitizer while going out.

I hope I will have time to play with my scraps next week. What about you? What are your fave scrap projects to make?

Until next time,

have a nice day!

Elvira

*****

Linking up to these wonderful blogs

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

Hand quilted Trivets - Moonshine and Valentine

 Here are some 9980 hours to mastering hand quilting 😃

I'm a big fan of Suzuko Koseki and I collected a few of her books. The one I particularly love and want to learn from is the Modern Quilts book. It has an interesting quilt pattern from simple to complicated ones, or at least it looks complicated to me :D. 

In these 2 mini quilts, I am using Indian Handloom fabrics in high contrast colors. I was not sure in the beginning but once done, they turned out really pretty. Sometimes, we have to try something out of our comfort zone! 

Colorful Trivet

The book only gave dimension of the block but not really gave instructions. But I supposed it was to be pieced in half circle. So I did with this teal and orange one. 

I made another one which I cut 5" square and piece quarter circle block. I don't know if this is the correct term :D. 

I called these block my Moonshine and valentine - just because it the shape remind me of the moon and I was watching C-Drama with the same title. Johnny Huang is stunning in the drama 💙! 

Mug Rug

On the back, I used glace cotton fabric in dark teal and I love the texture of the finished quilt. They turned out very soft. The trivets finished at 8" x 8" and it's just the perfect size for anything. From mug rug, doily, trivets, or even for indoor plant mat.

I am still curious about the block and plan to make more but using poplin cotton instead of handloom fabrics. Although handloom colors are gorgeous, it's a bit too stiff for circle piecing. Maybe I can do better with cotton or Bali Batiks! 

I bought this local brand needle Jyoti Needles before I did the Kantha Workshop. I was skeptical in the beginning but the shop owner didn't have Pony Needle when I went. And guess what? It turned out really good and all the needles are sharp. I always have a problem with Pony Needle for hand sewing my wallet. But this one turned out better than Pony. I may need to stock up now.

I am still doing the quilting based on the Kawandi Quilt as I really love it. I plan to make more small kawandi quilts too, but it may take a while before I finally get down to make it. I have a few UFO quilts that I want to finish. Most of them are small quilts and a few single bed quilts. 

If you want to know how I did the quilting, I uploaded a small video on my Youtube Channel. It was recorded during my first Instagram Live. You can watch it here. 

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your visit!

Happy Sewing,

Elvira

***Linking up to these wonderful Blogs ***

Resources:

Book: Modern Quilts by Suzuko Koseki

Fabric: Handloom / Shotcotton

Reopening My Etsy Shop after Vacation Mode

 As you know, I really enjoy making simple and small quilts. And since I took the Kawandi Quilt Workshop last month, I've been hook to hand quilting. I have many small patchworks waiting to be made into something, but always got sidetracked. Well, I always have several projects going on besides working on orders. But you know what? Working in something you love is a great mood booster. And no, you don't have to follow so and so design or style or trend. Just simply do what you're happy to do. Even if it's a simple project. 

Last week I finally open my UFO/WIP bins and started working on small hand quilting projects and I am so happy with the result. In the Kawandi workshop last month, Saba told us about big stitch quilting (check out this post), which apparently trending now. I looked up about it on Pinterest and it's basically running stitch hand quilting like sashiko, Kantha, boro, and kawandi. Now, there is more than just running stitch! All those arts have a significant style and history behind it. And I'm so happy I'll be learning more about Kantha in next month's Workshop with Brinda Ma'am. so stay tuned and make sure to subscribe to my blog :D. 

I've been procrastinating about re-opening my small quilt shop on Etsy and finally a few days ago I did it! Wish me luck and if you have a little time, do check it out and favorite the shop! Thanks!!

VISIT MY QUILT SHOP

Right now, I only listed ready to ship items. Mostly are mug rugs and coasters! I really love the rectangular coasters. I used solid color at the back, so it will have a unique design and make it reversible! 

The coasters come in a set of 2 and since the gifting season is here if you buy 3, I offer free Express Shipping (5-7 days delivery)! The offer is also valid in my Handmade Shop.

What happened during Vacation Mode? 

Well, if you also thinking of re-opening your Etsy shop after a long hiatus like me, there are a few things you have to keep in mind.

According to Etsy, here's what happened when you put your shop on Vacation Mode:

• Your shop will still appear if someone searches for your exact shop name, but will not appear as an auto-suggestion in Search or other shopping tools.
• Your items won’t appear in Search.

And when you re-open your shop, it's basically like starting a new shop. What I noticed tho, my products still WON'T appear in searches for at least 24 hours after I activated the shop. Well, I used to put my fabric shop and handmade shop on vacation mode when I travel for a month or two, but I always able to bounce back within a few days. 

I think it's because the shop was not active for a long period of time, and during that time many changes have happened in Etsy, and all my previous data sort of deindexed. Now, I will have to work from scratch again! How exciting is that! :D

Now, how to get your shop up and running again after a long vacation mode?

I've been reading a few blogs and articles and I'm trying out a few things right now. When I checked my stats, I still have visitors every month even though it's very minimal. The visit mostly comes from my other shops. 

Here are a few things I am doing now:

• Edit my shop - fill up all the shop policy, announcement, about info, etc
• Editing the listing photos. If you have stock of your previous products, you can retake the photos, editing the title, tags, and description. 
• Adding new products at least one every day! If you have many items to list, DO NOT list them all at once. By listing one or a few products each day, your shop will get a little booster in search placement. 
• Post shop updates every day and
• Share it on Social Media as much as you can. Using Etsy social media updates comes with a link to your listing. It's very convenient instead of copy-paste the link from the browser.
• If you have a blog, it's a good time to post about it too (like what I am doing now).
• If you have a small budget to spare, you can consider using Etsy Ads, starts with a minimum amount, and increase it as needed.

I've seen an increase in views and visit since yesterday and hopefully will hear a ka-ching soon :D

If you're thinking of opening an Etsy shop, use this LINK to get 40 free listings! 

Thank you for stopping by today.

Happy Sewing!

~ Elvira

Linking up to these wonderful blogs

Quilted Mug Rugs

Hello,

I finished 2 mug rugs last week and another 2 I still need to finish the binding. Though it's not making a dent in my UFO quilts piles, but I am happy that I am making (very) slow progress.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Mug Rug

I was wondering for a few days how to quilt these two very hungry caterpillar mug rugs. I love straight line quilting and also wavy or serpentine. But I don't feel like setting up my HV machine. So I decided to go organic. People love anything organic nowadays :) 

Since the blocks are quite colorful, I decided to use white thread and did the organic wavy lines. One thing I learn that to be creative, it really doesn't matter what machine you have. We should not limit ourselves based on what tools we have on hand, instead the limitation should make us more creative! 

Reversible Snack Mat

Quilted Mug Rug

When I took this picture, my son was about to have his breakfast and I borrowed the bowl for a quick photo session :D.  Don't you love the back of the mug rug? It makes this quilted mug rug reversible!!

Caterpillar Mat

As usual when I am not sure what to use for binding, the black and white stripe is always my first preference. And I love how modern it looked!

Hand sewn binding

The binding is machine stitched on one side and finished by hand on the back. I always use 1.5" wide binding for mini quilts, like placemats, mug rugs, or coasters. 

Apple core patchwork WIP

Meanwhile, I also started apple core patchwork. I'm doing hand piecing this time. It's going to be a tote bag, Insha Allah. I'm sharing the progress photos in my Instagram

Also, more mini quilts are queing to be quilted now. I have so many projects  going on at the same time. I tried to stick on one project at a time but somehow never work out for me. 

But as long as I can be creative, I'm happy! 

What about you? What project are you working on right now? 

Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing

~ Elvira~ 

Linking up to:

Handmade Monday
Finish it up Friday
Show Off Saturday