Busy As A Bee

It's hot. And no A/C, just fans. But most days I still feel compelled to sew for at least some of the day. I have many projects in the works.

 First up is the #100days100blocks2018 challenge on Instagram. I bought the book the year it came out but I never could make myself dive into it. This challenge, and several successful sew alongs behind me, spurred me on. I find that I am enjoying it and to make it doable for myself, each group of 10 blocks has a specific color theme. This makes choosing fabrics less overwhelming.

This is one of the block diagrams to show how to assemble. None of the blocks are difficult, but at least one has 30 pieces and these blocks finish at 6 1/2 inches, so, small pieces.

And an upside is that I am using some of my stash for this. Look at the year on this piece. I have used some in various projects over the years. Man...and I don't think it is the oldest piece I have either.

At a request from my oldest, the children need an overnight bag. So I found this free pattern and I have to say I do like it. The comments on the site are not very kind for the most part. It is not the best written pattern I have ever used, but it is 5 years old and I like to think the designer has improved her skills. If you are an accomplished sewist, you can do this. It requires a bit more thought than just following the directions.

This one was the first I made, for my daughter to test the bag out. I have made a few adjustments to the sewing of the pattern that I will use for the others. Bottom line, it is a nice duffel bag. I chose to add batting to the sides and bottom instead of just an iron on interfacing. The interior of the bag is the fabric with the months on it, so I chose to put the month of her birthday on the outside as well.

These are the end pieces for the bags for the three children. Instead of doing the cording along the top of the pockets, I chose to fold a bit down and stitch it into place. I did the cording on my daughter's and while it is a nice touch, I think it's not necessary here.

 The next project I have, waiting in the wings (ha!) is this Firefly quilt. I don't usually fall for these, but for some reason this one really spoke to me. I didn't want to join the sew along, but they offered just the pattern, so I bought that. I have never made a totally solids quilt, so another first for me.

And here is the fabric, just waiting patiently to be pressed and cut for this little lovely. It's been nice to have a bunch of different things to work on this summer.

I still have 3 triangles to applique on my Kingfisher quilt and then it is done and ready for quilting. And I am still sewing hexies for a future project that I haven't fully thought out yet. I just enjoy having hand work to do,
I hope you are staying cool. Talk to you soon.