Still thinking....

I'm having a hard time deciding which way to go on the border for my Kaleidoscope quilt.  Ricky Tims' book shows so many options that it is hard to choose.

Check out the progress of these other quilt bloggers who have also been making this quilt:
   
    Carol at quiltfever is using a delicious looking citrus color palette.
    Patty at piecedgoods  has been industrious and made 3 different snowflake looks for her quilt.
     Lynda at quiltsbylynda has a fresh-as-spring kaleidoscope and is working on choosing her borders too.
     Kris at thequiltinggarden is just getting started on hers.  I can't wait to see what it will look like.

     Since I don't have any new quilt photos to share, I thought I'd share a photo of this:

It looks like a simple compact for face powder, but it holds a secret.  Look inside:

Pins!  And mighty sharp ones at that.  I opened a new package of "fine" pins for this project so that I could reduce the wear and tear on the bias edges of the fabric when pinning them together.  The pins came in a teeny tiny plastic box:

I felt clumsy every time I had to  reach in and get just one pin at a time.  (and those pins really are sharp!)

The other morning,  I dropped the compact on the floor, and what was left of the powder inside cracked and fell out.  I had one of those "A-ha!" moments and decided it would make a good alternative pin box.

I like to keep the label with the pins for future reference, so I just taped it inside the lid.  A great recycled pin box, and it makes a satisfying *tink* sound when I drop the pins back in.

Double Duty

Karen, over at Sew Many Ways posts every week with a "Tool Time Tuesday" idea where she shows interesting new uses for ordinary objects.  It made me think of a couple of items I have on my cutting table that have been re-purposed from the stationary aisle.   One is a pencil holder, and the other is a letter holder:

Together, they make great holders for rotary cutting tools.

I put a few pieces of batting on the bottom of the letter holder to protect the edges of the rulers, and I covered a cardboard circle with batting and fabric to give some cushioning to the points of the scissors.

Very handy to have on my cutting table, and the bottom of the pencil holder doubled as a template for a circle when I needed one:

Auditioning border fabrics

I usually decide on a border fabric, or fabrics, after I have the center of the quilt made.  Here's a tip for auditioning fabrics without having to take the whole quilt with you to the fabric store.

Once upon a time, I made this quilt:

It is an Eleanor Burns pattern, called "Star Log Cabin", and it is queen size.  After I had made all the central log cabin blocks, I was trying to decide on what fabric to use for the inner border that separated the center squares from the piano key border.  I did not want to have to bring all my squares with me to the fabric store and try to lay them out while I auditioned fabrics. 







Instead, I did this:

I laid out snippets and leftovers of the fabrics I had used onto a piece of paper, and machine-basted them, just enought to loosely secure them to the page.  Then I trimmed it down to 8.5 X 11 inches, and slipped it into a clear plastic sleeve.  That way, I could bring the plastic sleeve with me to the fabric store, and the snippets stayed safely in place, allowing me to  see a whole variety of fabrics at once.

I didn't do anything fancy with the stitching, just went around trying to be sure I caught at least a small piece of each fabric.

I found this fabric sampler in my drawer with my fall fabrics that I showed yesterday, and thought it was worth sharing here.

Tips for Tote-making

I finished the tote bag I was making yesterday.

The basics of making this carryall tote are similar to any general quilted tote. I created this list as a reminder for myself.

• Create 2 pieces of quilted fabric for the front and back of the bag. I use a flip and sew technique with the batting as the foundation.
• Trim the excess batting from  the quilted fabrics, measure for size, and cut 2 lining pieces to match.
• If you want to add pockets to the lining of the bag, you add them before you sew the lining pieces together. See this post.
• Sew the quilted front to the quilted back, on three sides. (left side, bottom, right side)
• Sew the lining front to the lining back on three sides, leaving an opening in the bottom seam for turning.
• Box the corners of the bag and lining to give the tote some depth.  ( Here is a handy online tutorial showing how that is done.)
• Make the handles, and the closure tab. (see tips below for making those.)
• Center the handles and closure on the outer fabric and baste in place
• Place lining  inside the tote bag, right sides together and sew around the top opening
• Reach through hole you left in the lining seam and turn the bag right side out
• Top stitch around the bag opening
• Hand sew or fabric glue the opening in the lining.

I like to make the handles using 2 different fabrics, but, of course they could be made using just one.  I cut two 2-inch strips of each fabric that are each about 30 inches long.  (I find the ideal length for tote handles is 25 inches, but I start with  30 inch strips  to be sure I have enough.)  I also cut two strips of batting that are also 30 inches long, but are slightly less than 2 inches wide. (approximately 1 7/8)

Stack 2 handle fabrics with right sides together, and lay a batting strip on top of them.   Center the batting strip in the middle of the fabric.

Sew with a healthy quarter inch seam down both long edges of the handle. Since I cut the batting strip a little narrower than the fabric strips, it allows me to see the edges of the handle fabrics as I'm sewing, and make sure they stay  lined up.

Turn the handle inside out, and press.  There will be some bulk due to the batting in the seam allowances, but that's okay.  It actually makes for a more comfortable, padded handle.

Sew a row of stitching right down the center of the ironed handles.  I use the markings on my soleplate as a guide.

Make two more rows of stitching approximately halfway between your center row of stitching and the edge of the handle.  (Use whatever is convenient on your machine to line them up, either a marking on the soleplate, or the edge of you presser foot as a guide. )  Trim the handles to 25 inches.



If you want to add a button and loop closure, you'll need to make a loop.  I use a half inch bias tape maker that I already had on hand. 

Start with a one inch strip of fabric for your loop  that is approximately 8 inches long.  Later, it will be trimmed a little shorter, but a little extra now helps keep your fingers out of the way of the iron in the next step.

Feed the fabric into the wide end of the tape maker. It will come out the other side with the 2 edges folded in towards the center.  Use your iron to press the folds as you slowly draw the tape maker along the fabric. Steam is good here, but WATCH those fingers!

Fold the bias strip in half, press again, and sew the fold closed.  What started as a one inch wide strip now measures 1/4 inch.  I trim the length to about 6 inches.

Pin the handles and the loop closure to the top of the bag, with raw edges all facing out.  Baste.    .

At this point your bag is ready to be sewn together with the lining.  See the last four steps in the list at the top of this post.









Here is the finished tote, with padded handles, a button and loop closure, and an inside pocket.   Enjoy!