Yellow and Gray Quilt FINISH!!

So, I started this quilt MONTHS ago, before we moved. In fact, I took my first few blocks with me to the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting back in June!

I started working on blocks again last month (from my square in square block tutorial, though I want to revamp that now…), got on a kick, and pushed through to get them all done. In fact, I took plenty of photos on my phone, but I didn’t even take the time to get any with the real camera while I had all those beautiful blocks up on my *new* design wall!

Photography frustrates me. If I take the pictures in full sunlight, I get weird ugly glares, and it’s too bright. If I take them in the shade, they turn out dull, like these. Any suggestions from those of you that are better at this than me?? The colors are so much more vibrant in person!!

I combined two of my favorite free motion patterns, and quilted loopys and flowers, per my mom’s suggestion. It turned out so cute and I love it! And I love this block with the big chevrons. It is left over from the backing of another finished quilt that I just got photos of, and will share soon.

This picture does not even do the backing justice. It looks AMAZING in person. It is a Joel Dewberry print from Aviary 2 (L O V E!!), and the border is a BasicGrey grunge yellow. It is AWESOME.

I bound the quilt in Kona Charcoal. I love the way it frames the blocks. It was definitely the way to finish it!

Each block finishes at 10”, and the quilt is 50” x 60” finished size.

I seriously wanted to keep this and change my entire bedroom to match it, but my husband wasn’t too keen on the idea :( Too bad, it would have been fabulous!

Since I didn’t get to use it for my bedroom, I have listed this quilt in my shop here:)

Removing Evil Wall Anchors–A Tutorial

I am taking a short break from packing boxes, because 1. I am running out of boxes, and 2. I am dang tired and want a break!

I have been painting at the new house for what seems like FOREVER, but really has only been 2 or 3 weeks. I will definitely have some before and after shots to share, but for now, I wanted to share a quick tip.

Recognize these? EVIL WALL ANCHORS. You know how hard it is to get these out to make the wall look pretty again? (Oh, and FYI, they make AWESOME wall anchors that you screw into the wall instead of pounding in, and then can UNSCREW from the wall when you want them out. Way easier.)

So, there were about ten gazillion of these in my new family room. Not so good for the whole painting thing!

Now, I don’t know if I saw this somewhere and suddenly remembered it, or if I was just brilliant and came up with it on my own. Probably the first option. Anyways, after my stroke of brilliance, I grabbed the drill.

I put on a drill bit that was bigger than the hole in the anchor, but smaller than the outer edge of the anchor. I actually had to bump up bit sizes twice before I hit the right one. If you aren’t sure, start smaller and work up.

Now, drill into the anchor. Once your bit has a good grip on the anchor, pull! You might have to wiggle the drill around a little to loosen the anchor. I had some that came out with a small tug, and some that needed a little more elbow grease.

And TA DA! Evil wall anchor OUT of the wall! You might have to use pliers or vice grips to twist the anchor back off the drill bit. I had to do that with some of them, and then some just twisted back off using my fingers. Now you just have to fill the big gaping holes that wall anchors leave behind!

We are doing the big move (furniture and everything I haven’t taken over while painting) on Saturday. Wish me luck! And energy, cuz I am sorely lacking!

Halloween Table Runner

Ok, I am ignoring the fact that I have THREE completed quilts, that I DO have pictures of, to blog, and instead showing off what I just finished!

Ok, bear with my pictures, I have ZERO good lighting in my cave of a house…I promise these look so much better in person!!

So, my awesome friend Melanie came up with this beyond amazing table runner last year, and I have wanted one ever since! Seeing as it is finally Halloween time again, I finally felt justified making one.

THEN I decided that it would be awesome to make a couple of these to sell at my boutique this month (this Saturday now!). So, off I went to get supplies for 2 to sell and at least one more for me. Well, I totally misfigured while standing in the cutting line, and only ended up with enough glittery orange satin for two runners. Yeah, you heard me right, glittery orange satin. It looks so cool. And made it very difficult to photograph.

Soooo, I only have two, which I will attempt to sell on Saturday. However, if one of them happens to not sell, I think I will be totally ok with that so I can keep it for myself and not spend all that time cutting again!! Seriously, I have a bruise on my finger and made my thumb go numb from all the snipping.

If you aren’t near me and want to make yourself one of these awesomely cool runners, check out Melanie’s tutorial. (heck, if you are near me and want to make your own, check it out!). If you ARE near me, and don’t want to bruise your fingers but want one, come find me on Saturday!

And, just because it downloaded from the camera when I sat down to get these pics off, here’s a shot of me and my 27 week prego belly. Ignore the goofy look on my face, I don’t do well for pictures in sunlight :)

Have a fantabulous day!

Easter Revisit

Seeing as it is almost Easter, and I don't have a whole lot going on at my sewing machine right now (ok, so I do have some scrappy blocks I just started, but I don't have pictures yet), I thought I would share my Easter basket tutorial again. Enjoy!

Alright, at the urging of Melanie, I have created a tutorial for these adorable baskets! And I warn you now, there are a LOT of pictures in this post! Like, going crazy waiting for all these dang pictures to upload, a lot of pictures. Anyways, on to the tutorial!

The first two steps are deciding on your basket size and choosing fabric. They kind of go hand in hand, because they might influence each other! The larger one has a 9"diameter and is 6" tall. smaller one has a 6" diameter and is 4" tall. I will give the cut sizes for both sizes, but feel free to deviate if you want!

Cut sizes for 6" diameter basket (fat quarter friendly)

Main front fabric:

1 strip 19 3/8" x 3 1/2"

1 circle 6 1/2" diameter

Lining and banding fabric:

1 strip 19 3/8" x 1 1/2" (front band)

1 strip 19 3/8" x 4 1/2

1 circle 6 1/2" diameter

Handle fabric:

3 strips 18" x 1 1/2"

Cut sizes for 9" diameter basket

Main front fabric:

1 strip 28 3/4" x 5"

1 circle 9 1/2" diameter

Lining and banding fabric:

1 strip 28 3/4" x 2" (front band)

1 strip 28 3/4" x 6 1/2"

1 circle 9 1/2" diameter

Handle fabric:

3 strips 22" x 1 1/2"

Other supplies:

12/32" cording

fusible fleece

normal sewing/cutting supplies

bodkin

Once you have chosen your fabrics and size, cut them all out! The handle fabric size might seem long, but remember that it will end up shorter once it is braided! If you want handles longer or shorter than the ones pictured, you can adjust accordingly. Figure out how long you want the handle and multiply by 1.5 for the take up in braiding.

* 1/4" seam allowances are used throughout this project except when specified!

There are many ways to cut circles, but here is my way. Use a string (in this case, I had a needle with embroidery floss on it within arm's reach, but a piece of yarn or other string tied around a pin would work just as well), put it in/on your fabric, mark the string at HALF the cut diameter(for a 6" dia. basket, mark at 3.25). Then use the mark on the string to mark your circle, like so. Hint: once you have one circle cut out, lay it on top of the second fabric and use as a pattern!

You should now have 8 cut pieces.

Now, take your main outside piece and outside banding piece, sew long sides together, and press.

Cut out and iron your fusible fleece onto your basket front, lining, and both circles. The only pieces NOT "fleeced" are your handle pieces. Hint: lay your cut pieces onto your fusible fleece and use as a cutting guide!

Next, take your two outside pieces, and stitch the short side together. Be sure to line up your banding seam or it will not look continuous.

Press your seam open. The piece should now look like this.

Now, fold the tube you just sewed, in half, with the seam on one side. Mark the fold. I used a disappearing marker. Then match the seam with the mark you just made and mark both new fold lines. Now you should have "quartered" the tube. Continue matching up your marks and marking the folds until you have "eighthed" the tube.

Grab your outside circle and fold it in half. Mark those folds.

Then line up the marks and mark the folds again. Continue until your circle has eight marks as well. Kind of hard to see in my picture...Sorry!

Now pin the pieces right sides together, matching your marks.

Sew together! I find it easiest to sew it with the circle on the bottom.

Press the seam. This part is kind of a pain since it is on a curve, but it makes it look much better! ps I have no idea why my camera put the line through this picture. It has been happening a lot lately...anyone have a tip for me?

See? The seam should be all pretty now.

Repeat all of that for the lining pieces, omitting the part about the banding but use a 3/8" - 1/2" seam allowance to stitch the lining bottom to the lining side!! Oh, and pressing the bottom lining seam is not necessary, but you can if you want to. I didn't. Once it is seamed, trim the bottom seam allowance down to 1/4".

Press the top edge over 1/4", to the inside for the outer piece and to the outside for the lining. That doesn't sound confusing at all... :)

Insert the lining into the outer piece. It will look like it could never fit, but don't worry, it will! Set this aside for now.

Ok, time for the handle. Take a few deep breaths, this part can be a little tricky! First, take a handle strip, fold right sides together matching the long edges, and sew to make a long tube. Stop about 1/2" from the end, and backstitch! Now, get your cording. Stitch it to the end where you have the little flap.

Ok, get out your bodkin (if you don't have one, a big safety pin will work too.)

Slip the bodkin into the fabric tube. See it sticking out there?

Clamp it around the end of the cording. Now you are going to turn the fabric and pull the cording through at the same time. I'm not gonna lie, this part is a pain. Push the bodkin through the fabric tube and pull the fabric down over the cording. I actually made a video to help show how to do this, but it's not loading....If your bodkin comes unclipped inside the tube as you turn it, don't panic! It happened to me at least once every single one of my tubes. Just push the bodkin back into place and reattach it.

Cut the cording about 1/2" below the end of the fabric once it is completely turned.

Repeat with the other 2 handle strips.

Once you have 3 covered cords, stitch them together at one end. Then braid! I pinned to my ironing board to hold it in place while I braided.

Stitch the end of the braid to keep it from unraveling.

Alright, now you have a braided handle and a handle-less basket, time to put them together!

Put one end of your handle between the front and back pieces at the seam. Pin. Now start pinning the outside and lining together, working around to the side opposite the seam. Pin the loose end of the handle between the layers directly across from the end in the seam.

Topstitch 1/4" from the folded edge of the fabric around the top lip, and then again at 1/8".

Guess what? You are done! Stand back and admire your handiwork!

If any of you use my tutorial to make this I would love to see! Either comment with a link or email me at maniacalmaterialgirls [at] gmail [dot]com! Oh, and if you have any questions or trouble with the tutorial, email me for that too!

Drawstring Backpack Tutorial

Warning, super super picture heavy post!! I have step by step (by step!) pictures for making this awesome easy(ish) drawstring backpack! And may I say, wow blogger took FOREVER...

Alright, most of the directions are on the pictures, and each picture is numbered. I refer to picture numbers in a couple steps :) 

Materials:

Yardage requirements for 1 fabric bag(straps/casing/body all one fabric): 3/4 yard

Yardage requirements for 2 fabric bag(pictured): 1/2 yard for body, and 1/2 yard for straps and casing

Matching thread

Important!!! IRON YOUR FABRIC before you cut it out. It will make your life soooo much easier.

Cut sizes:

Bag body 14" x 30"

casing 4" x 14" (cut TWO)

straps 4" x 34" (cut TWO) 

I use something called french seams on the body of this bag (pictures 2 and 3). You can just serge it if you want, but I like the finish of french seams for the inside of the bag.  

Now time to prep the top casing:

And now the straps:

Ok, back to the casing. 

Alright, now to attach straps to bag body. I apologize for the somewhat crappy pictures and instructions for the straps. I realized midway that I should have had the bag turned how it is in pic 18 so it would make more sense...

Time for the casing!

As always, if you have any questions or need clarification or whatever, leave me a comment or shoot me an email! I'm finishing this late at night, and it makes sense to me now...I will definitely need to proof it again in the morning! :)