Weekly Digest

Days go so fast when you're having fun or have deadlines, even during the Pandemic. I always want to be able to write more regularly, like a few times a week, but sometimes, words just don't come to my mind when I am sitting at my desk. 

I thought I'll do a weekly recap kind of post once in a while. 

Let's see what I've been doing in the past week(s):

1. SEWING

I made a few face masks and Doitrei Pouch orders last week and as usual, I made one or two extra for stock in the shop. I made this plaid black and white spacious face mask and it turned out really cool. I also ordered jute drawstring bags to pack the face mask orders. I am thinking, many people need reusable bags to keep their masks as they go through their daily routine. So now with every mask order, you will get this pretty jute bag. Yay!

Plaid Face Mask

Also made a few face masks from Quilts Japan book using Indian fabric bundle.

I usually use this double zipper pouch to keep an extra mask, hand sanitizer, and tissue. 

Double Zipper Pouch

A customer was asking for a bigger size triple zipper pouch and I kinda liked the size. I think I'll make a few more when I get time. 

I also made this cute card wallet. This is one of the bestsellers in my shop now! I think many people love this Wonderland Fabric :).

Mini Card Wallet

2. QUILTS & FABRICS 

I finally completed the wall hanging which I posted in my previous Post and I also prepared a few coasters set for my small quilt shop! I'm so happy to get a few of my hand quilted coasters sold out! Thank you so much for the supports!!

For these teal and floral coasters, I tried using mercerized cotton thread. The effect is softer than using the anchor pearl (Perle) cotton thread but it's easier on my fingers :D

Floral Tie Dye Coaster Set

Made a set of mug rug

Coming up next....

A few mug rugs also in the making. I used this tutorial to make the above mug rug, but instead of using fabric strips, I am using 2.5" square pieces. What do you think?

New Floral Prints!

3. READING

I love reading Kathleen Tracy's Remembering Adelia. By the way, Kathleen is having a quilt along from her new book Schoolgirl Sampler. I was thinking to join in, but I'm very bad at following any QAL or SAL.

I also got 2 new Quilts Japan books! So excited to try and learn from the book. 

4. WATCHING

I'm watching this Korean Drama True Beauty on VIKI. Finally, one drama that I can enjoy watching and maybe rewatch again later. It's about the insecurity of being a teenager, the mental struggle they have to go through for being ugly, bullied by friends, etc. The story looks good so far. The actors are doing really well, esp Moon Ga-Young. Having 2 teenagers myself, I found watching coming-of-age drama helps me to know what the millennials are going through. Grew up in an all-girls family and now raising 2 boys, sometimes I feel clueless. I guess, we as parents, never stop learning. 

That's all from the last week or so. Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing and have a lovely weekend!

Elvira

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Resources:

Patterns: 

Double/Triple Pouch - Doitrei Pouch Pattern

Face Mask - Trio Spacious Face Mask

Mug Rug - Scrappy Mug Rug

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

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