Summer tote

I have been using my gingham tote non-stop since I made it over a year ago, and it was starting to show it, so I decided I wanted to whip up a new bag before Quilt Market. I wasn't in the mood for anything too fancy or that required a bunch of interfacing or hardware, so I perused my Pinterest boards until I came across the Summer Madras Tote tutorial by Noodlehead. Bingo.

This simple, easy tote went together in just a few hours' time and was just what I was looking for. It's big enough to carry what I need but not too bulky, and those outside pockets are super handy for my phone, keys, and sunglasses.

For the body of the bag, I used the tangerine crosshatch from Carolyn Friedlander's Euclid line. The bag and pocket linings are the orange floor plan print from Carolyn's Friedlander line, and the binding on the pocket is Carolyn's Architextures crosshatch in poppy.

I struggled to find just the right blue for the pocket until I remembered this blue toweling we have in the store where I work. It was just wide enough. It was a bit of a pain to work with (lots of loose threads), but it worked out in the end and gave me the texture and color I was looking for.

The strap is a great coral plus print from One Canoe Two's first fabric line, Tucker Prairie.

And you know what happens when you use prints by the same designer in all.the.things (and embrace your love of orange)? They match. My new tote and my beloved sew-together bag. I'm ready for summer.

Quilt Market

The weekend before Memorial Day, I got to experience one of the defining events of the fabric world: Quilt Market. While the fall Quilt Market is always in Houston, the spring market travels to different venues, and for the first time in a long time, it was right here in St. Louis. I work part time at a local quilt shop, which gave me the credentials I needed to enter the trade show.

The first night started off with a bang and a little bit of chaos called Sample Spree. It's a chance to grab some new lines before they hit the stores (and at a big discount off retail), and I was pretty darn excited about my haul, which included some new Carolyn Friedlander, Elizabeth Hartman, and Cotton + Steel lines, among other goodies.

On Saturday and Sunday, I was able to go back and walk the show floor, checking out all of the amazing booths and displays. Just take a look at a smidge of what I saw, starting with my favorites by Elizabeth Hartman and Carolyn Friedlander.

And I really love the new Shimmer collection by Jennifer Sampou.

Big Sky, Anna Brady's new line for Moda, was one of my favorites, and she had some of the cutest items in her little booth. That fox!

And Alison Glass had a whole bedroom set up to display her three(!) new lines, Chroma, Diving Board, and Adorn.

Some beautiful thread work at the Aurifil booth. Love these soft colors.

Violet Craft's paper-pieced peacock and feathers quilts were bonkers amazing.

And finally some beauties from Art Gallery, Rebecca Bryan, Latifah Saafir, Amy Butler, and Tula Pink.

I could have taken so many more pictures. It was such a fun time to get a little glimpse of the industry at work. St. Louis, you did us proud!

May do.Good Stitches blocks

For the May block for the Emerge Circle of do.Good Stitches, Amanda asked us to make two Magic 8 Ball blocks (tutorial by Blossom Heart Quilts).

She took her color inspiration from a print in Alison Glass's Seventy Six line, and it includes some of my favorite colors. I used a white Moda Bella solid (unbleached white, color 98) for the background, mixed with prints in aqua, wasabi green, and a pinkish burgundy.

Quick, easy, fun, and straight from my stash. A perfect bee block!

Sweater Sarge

When Elizabeth Hartman released her Dogs in Sweaters pattern earlier this spring, I snatched it up, knowing I had to make a version for my mom, who has a ridiculously cute dachshund named Sarge. I decided to just make the pillow version, and I was so happy with how it turned out! Pillow Sarge, meet real-life Sarge:

I've made a lot of Elizabeth's animal patterns (fox [here, here, and here], hedgehog, flamingo, dog), so I'm comfortable with her basic approach to assembly (namely, a lot of diagonal lines and stitch and flip). After last surviving the flamingos, the dachshund was no problem. It also didn't hurt that I only made one. Still, that's a lot of pieces for one dog.

I assembled it over the course of a few nights, including quilting. I kept it simple, thinking I didn't want a lot of dense quilting to take away from the image. For the back, I used a lovely Japanese linen from my stash and quilted vertical lines using the fabric as my guide.

On the front, I used Essex yarn-dyed in Flax for the background, Moda Bella solids for the dog body, a citron gingham print from Tucker Prairie for the main part of the sweater, and a bit of Rhoda Ruth for the cuffs.

I mailed him off to my mom for Mother's Day, and she was thrilled, so what more could you want?