Hello December

my home studio where all the sewing happens

My December started with a lot of blessings. First, Tina Katwal came to my city and she visited me! I was so excited when she told me a few weeks ago. Finally, I get to meet the leader in our Desi Quilters (the biggest Quilt Guild in India). We've known each other for almost a decade on Facebook. She's an accomplished quilter and entrepreneur. Her studio, the Square Inch in Chennai is literally our go-to shop for anything related to quilting or sewing! Online and Offline. It was really an honor to meet her and hopefully, I can visit her in the near future. 

We talked about quilts and more quilts and a lot of plans for the Desi Quilters activities. I really admire her passion to take Indian Quilter society to the next level, from managing the group to organizing the India Quilt Festival. The first Quilt Festival in India and also showcasing Indian Quilts in several cities in India. Kudos to her! Do check out her Facebook Page or visit her Website to see more. 

Thank you Tina for the beautiful gifts!

The second thing is I woke up to an email from Etsy that I'm a star seller for the month of December. Wow, I really did not expect this! There are a lot of opinions when Etsy first launch the star seller badge and honestly, I still have a mixed feeling about it. Especially as a handmade seller who creates the product from scratch by myself. It's really a nice surprise and a good feeling as the badge is a validation and recognition of your hard work and services. Thank you for all your supports! I would not be able to achieve it without your love and supports! 

Sewing wise, in the last couple of days, I finished quite a few wallets, for orders and stock. This family passport wallet in world map print is pretty popular and from these two wallets, only one is available now in the shop now. I still have a little bit of map print fabrics, but I think I'm going to make a new family passport wallet for myself. We need a new one anyway! 

Map print family travel wallet

Don't you love these cute zipper ends?

I love this linen floral print wallet so much and I am using one myself. It's also available in Blue with the same beige combination. Nowadays I made more zipper closure wallets and I love it too. Especially I love using a single tape zipper.  You can check the tutorial HERE (for the family passport wallet) or HERE for the mall wallet.

Linen Wallet

Lavender Wallet

Bifold Wallet

Snoopy Wallet

Zip Around Wallet

I am still following the time blocking plan and frankly, it makes me more focused and relaxed, especially with a lot of things are going on right now. I still have a basket full of WIPS but I am working on it slowly, as time permits. With the combination of time blocking and batching, I am sure we can be more productive. 

The lake near my sons' school

Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing,

Elvira

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Kawandi Quilt Finish

Kawandi Quilt

Finally, I finished the Kawandi QAL! I said that I am not good at following QAL but this time I did it and I am pretty proud of myself. Even though the quilt is not big, but this is the first bigger quilt that I pieced and quilted by hand. The finished size is about 19" x 42". 

If you're on Instagram, you can see all the progress I put up in my Instagram Stories. Especially when I do the motif. I really love the motif and upon seeing Brinda Ma'am's kawandi, I really want to learn more about making the motif. 

I learn a lot of things while working on this Kawandi table runner. 

1. Batting or no batting? 

Well, if you following the Kawandi Quilt hashtag on Instagram, you can see the Kawandi are making a comeback in a big way this past year! Many that I saw are using batting and so I wanted to try. But the problem is I ended up with a bulky batting in the center as I am finishing it. I thought I should not have a problem as I've done many small quilts which I quilt the Kawandi Style, including this Batik quilt. 

For this table runner, as it is done in the quilt as you go style, I found that the batting - or least the needle punched batting that I used, is stretched in the process. Which did not occur in the quilts that I made using pieced top. So, I carefully cut the batting and overlap it. This solves the problem!

So, my vote will be no batting! Also, working without batting like in the first Kawandi I did during the workshop is so much easier on my fingers. Also, it will be a perfect summer quilt!

2.  Don't worry too much!

Brinda Ma'am keeps reminding us to let go. Let go of the urge to do perfectly matched colors, the even stitches, perfectly straight lines. The Kawandi is about embracing imperfections and being proud of them! In the end, your quilt will reflect your personality. Your mood while you're making the quilt, your state of mind. I did unpick lines of stitches in the beginning, as I go along, slowly I was able to accept that it is OK if the stitch length is not even, it is OK to reinforce the stitches even if it looks odd. 

Imperfectly Perfect

Learning Kawandi, first, we must unlearn all about quilt making, be it the color theory, the matching seam, the quarter-inch seam, etc. Don't worry, it will turn out unique and beautiful!

In this table runner, I mostly use leftover fabrics from making fabric bundles in the shop and also, a few pieces from my kurtas' sleeves. During summer, I usually cut off the sleeves of my quarter or long sleeve kurtas and keep the cut pieces. 

I recorded a video as I was working on this quilt for my own record as well as a reference. In the video, you will see how I bury the tread in different ways. Do check out the video and let me know if you have any questions. If you want to learn to make Kawandi Quilt, you can contact Brinda Ma'am via her Facebook Page. 

Now, I have one small Kawandi WIP and thinking of starting a bigger one, maybe a single-size quilt. It's going to be a long-term project. I really enjoy doing the hand quilting and wonder why took me so long to try it. 

Featured on Handmade Monday!

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

Happy Quilting

Elvira

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