Fabric Baskets

When I am out at quilt shops I like to buy the mini charm square packs of 2 1/2" pieces.  They are from a specific fabric line so you know that they all coordinate together.  When I get home I sew together the blocks and set them aside for a future project.

Then when it's time to make something, they're all ready to go!  For this project I made my patchwork squares in to a fabric basket.  I used pretty fabrics from my Corey Yoder collection to finish the basket.  I usually put felt on the inside of the front layers and interfacing on the lining pieces.  This helps the basket to stand on its own but doesn't make it too stiff.

Here is another one that I put together.  I added the rose fabric and gray for the lining.  I'm not sure what fabric line it is made from, but I like the look of it.  For this basket, I quilted the top layers with a free motion stitch.  

I like it better than the first one that I made because the quilting gives it a more homemade look.  

Which one is your favorite?

 

Fall Fabric Basket

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  I love everything about it - the colors, the scents, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, pumpkin tea, squash soup and of course, the apple cider donuts!  I have a lot of orange fall fabrics and I wanted to make a patchwork fall basket.

I used a lot of fabrics from the Squirrely Girl collection and put together this fall fabric basket.  I donated it to my quilting guild because I'm in charge of the Opportunity drawings each month at our meetings.  Every month I include something handmade in the drawings.  

The woman who won the drawing loved the little basket.  Now I just want to make More!  

At the end of September this year I twisted and sprained my ankle and broke one of the bones in my foot tripping on the stairs.  So for the whole month of October, I was pretty much out of commission.  

During my time at home while my foot was healing, I tried taking some fall photos around the house.  Here is one that took in my room near the window.  It's not perfect but it's what I came up with.

A cup of fall tea in the morning alongside my Bible devotion reading.  :)

Once my foot got somewhat better, I did get to enjoy a lovely fall in nearby Lake George.  Although it's pretty cold here in upstate NY during the winter (6 months), fall is exceptionally beautiful.  I enjoyed a wonderful day with my friends looking at the foliage and sitting alongside the lake.

Here I am sitting and relaxing with my foot up wearing my fall crocheted poncho that I bought at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. When I saw it, I just had to buy it!  I love the retro look and I remember wearing a poncho similar to this when I was a girl in the 70's.  

Don't you just love it's pretty fall look?  

Now I'm off to make some Christmas items.  :)

 

Many Fabulous Fobs

When I was at the Quilt Show a few weeks ago, I picked up a pattern to make this fabric basket with handles.  I also bought a package of mini charm squares that measure 2 1/2".  I used the squares to make the basket with!  It didn't take very long and was easy to make.  I'm sure that I will be making more of these.  I didn't quilt the lining on this basket, but I think that when I make the next one that I will.  It needed to be a little thicker.

I recently saw an article in a sewing magazine that had these (Fabulous) Key Fobs in it and wanted to try making them.  I had a hard time finding the hardware so I had to order it online.  Then I had a hard time finding the webbing to fit the hardware!  I ended up ordering that online, too.  Of course the webbing that I ordered didn't match the size of the hardware, so I had to order MORE hardware.  Then I had to order MORE of the webbing to fit the original sized fobs!

Now I have enough hardware to make 150 of these things!  Ha ha!  I couldn't have just ordered 10 or 25 of them.  I mean, really- what crafter orders only 10 of something?  I think that my family and friends are going to be getting assorted Key Fobs for presents-  for EVERY occasion! 

I really love the fabrics that I made these from.  If you promise not to tell, these are the colorful fabrics that are in a quilt that I am working on for my niece- for her graduation!  I ended up with way more fabric than I needed to finish up her quilt (do you notice a trend here?), so I need to do something with it.  (You might be seeing more of it!)

I tried making the Fobs in two sizes.  The smaller ones are just in case you don't want a large key holder in your purse.  One for each key?  What do you think?

Make a Fabric Catch-All Tutorial

Isn't this little Catch-All made from fabric cute?  I love making these and have them around my house to "catch" lots of things!  They make a quick and easy gift, too. 

I have wanted to include some tutorials on my blog to show you how to make some simple sewing projects.  Today I made this little basket catch-all out of fabric and thought that you might like to make one yourself! 

 It's pretty simple if you have some basic (machine) sewing knowledge.  If you'd like to make one, click on the tab at the top of my page for the tutorial.

Let me know how your catch-all turns out!  What are you going to use it for?