Small Zipper Wristlet

I had to make a zipper pouch for the January swap for the Modern Quilt Guild, and I decided I would make two. I made this pretty little zipper wristlet for a friend of mine for Christmas. I just love the colors and the metallic in the fabric. I found the tutorial for this pouch on Pinterest, and you can see it here.

I bought the fabric in bundles at Hobby Lobby. I don't usually buy fabric this way, but I wanted 12 different fabrics that coordinated, and I had a coupon. When I saw these prints, I knew my friend would like them too. The jelly roll came with 10 prints. I had the black with white polka dot in the center and I bought a 1/4 yard of the black and white paisley (top right corner). I also bought another bundle of larger pieces of coordinating fabric for the lining and pockets inside.

I will definitely make this pattern again. They make such cute gifts (I'm thinking teacher gifts at the end of this school year). But next time I won't trim the quilted portion until I finish the lining, and I will trim them together to make sure they are exactly the same size. My quilted side turned out quite a bit smaller than the lining because the fabric pulled up during quilting. Also, I will shorten the strap about a 1/2 inch. I accidentally sewed the end of the strap into the seam on the opposite side BOTH times I made this pouch.

I really liked the instructions she provided for sewing a zipper. This was my first attempt at a zipper, and following her instructions worked like a charm! I'm not scared of them any more!

I added the charm to this one because my friend really likes peacocks, and I thought it gave it a little something extra.

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Modern Quilt Guild Potholder Exchange

Last night I attended the monthly meeting for our local chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. For this month's exchange we made potholders using fabric from our stash, a little batting, and thermoline (a heat-resistant product).

For the trade, we each drew a card from a pile, and when a matching card was drawn from another deck, you got to go pick your favorite potholder from the pile.

Here's the one I made (just in case you missed it). It was first to go! (Yes, I'm a little proud--it was my first exchange after all).

Here's the one I received.

I love the colors she chose. She said this project was good practice for her and free-motion quilting. I wish that I had felt more confident with my new machine, because it would have been good practice for me too!

Bird Checkbook Cover

This month's service project for our local Modern Quilt Guild was to make checkbook covers. We will be donating them to a local women's shelter.

We were supposed to use up a leftover or lonely 8-inch block that we already had on hand. I actually don't have any, so I used up some fabric that I got for free. I really like the bird print. It is kind of retro.

First, I made an 8-inch block. The first one I attempted to make wound up in the trash. It was just too complicated. I like the simplicity of this design. I also had 9 1/2-inch iron-on batting and 10-inch backing. I ironed the batting onto the backing (with right side facing out) and layered the 8-inch block on top. Then I basted all the way around.

I chose to quilt using straight lines rather than random loops and swirls because I have a new machine, and I need to practice to feel confident. Plus, I didn't want the quilting to make the checkbook cover too stiff. I quilted diagonally across the block from corner to corner and I also quilted around the bird block in the center.

Once I finished quilting, I cut the checkbook cover down to the right size (7 1/4 by 6 3/4). The directions said I didn't have to center my block, but that would have REALLY bothered me! So I centered mine.

After I cut it down, I placed the pockets on the inside and basted all the way around. To make the pockets, I just cut two rectangles (6 1/4 by 6 3/4) and pressed them in half with wrong sides together.

Then I sewed the binding on to the inside of the checkbook cover, using my new knowledge of beveling the corners! (I learned how to do this while making a quilted potholder a few weeks ago).

The directions said to sew the binding onto the front of the checkbook cover using a decorative stitch on my machine. And I think it would have looked pretty, but I chose to hand stitch it for the same reason I chose straight-line quilting--I just wasn't confident with my machine yet.

Quilted Potholder

This week, I took a break from quilt making to focus on a project for our local Modern Quilt Guild. We are making potholders to trade with each other this month. The guild supplied us with a 9x9" square of themaline (a heat-resistant product) to get us started.

First, I chose my fabrics (you'll also need the thermaline and a square of batting).

Since this is for the Modern Quilt Guild, I decided to go with a simple, streamlined design. I wanted to focus on the owl print (because I think it's so darn cute!). I used the green as a border, and the pink as the binding. The owl is leftover from the baby girl quilt I made a few months ago.

Once, the square was done, I layered the thermaline, batting, and fabric together and quilted a quarter inch around the owl square. I told you this was a simple design!

Next I based the edges to keep them from slipping before I attached the binding.

The binding only took me two tries. I FINALLY learned how to bevel the corners. It looks so much nicer and less bulky that way.

And here is the finished project.

I'm taking it to the Modern Quilt Guild on Tuesday night for our trade. I hope I get a cute one!