Organizing Mat Under Sewing Machine and a New Family Member

When I posted my Project QUILTING finish this month - sewing machine cover - Denise asked about the mat I had under my sewing machine.  I made this mat several years ago, but I'll happily tell you how I made it.  My mat measures about 20" by 20".  If you choose to make yourself one, you can make it any size you want to fit your machine.

The first thing I did was quilt my fabrics with a single layer of batting.  I did free-hand feathers and just had fun.

The back is orange (here I am pairing orange with teal way back then!).

After quilting, I made binding to go across the top of the quilter's plastic (probably bought at JoAnn's) and around the outside of the mat.

When putting the binding on the plastic, either use binder clips or if you use pins, keep the pin holes inside the binding.

After putting the binding on the piece of plastic - 5" by 20" (or the width of your mat), I put the plastic pocket on the mat, held with binding clips, and sewed pockets up through the binding on the edge of the plastic.  I used the tools I wanted to store in the pockets to determine the size of each pocket.  You really don't want the pocket to be deeper than 5" because it will hit your legs when you are sewing.

After creating the pockets, I put the binding around the mat - using clips again anywhere there was plastic.  I also sewed a length of ribbon on the top center of the back of the mat so I could roll up and secure the items in the pockets when I wanted to take my mat and tools to retreat or a sewing day.

I rescued a German Shepherd and this was the first day at home, learning that the Chihuahua is the alpha of the four-legged family members!!  In less than 24 hours, Hunter no longer needed to be on a leash when Tara was outside with her.  Hunter is currently an outside dog as she is in heat.  As soon as that is over, I'll be having her spayed so she can join the family in the house.  I can figure out a diaper for my daughter's Chihuahua (amazing how well half a sock, rolled up and held in place with a onesie works), but Hunter is just too big for that to work!!  Hunter has now been with us a week and has come out of her shell.  She is happy being a beta and I'm working with her on learning commands to sit, stay, down.  I've never heard her bark.

I'm Working on It!

I was asked to participate in the Quilt Crazy Queens Making Us Laugh blog hop that starts on March 18, so I'm working on that project - and I'm to the quilting stage!!!  I tried a new-to-me technique and fell in love with it!!

I am also working on a mystery quilt with Alycia of Alycia Quilts - I cut for a king size quilt (am I crazy??).

There is an amazing quilter I have "met" on Facebook, in the Free Motion Quilting Frenzy group, named Sarah and she is quilting a OBW...EVERY hexie is being quilted in a different quilting motif!!  I was smitten and she is amazing, sweet and humble...and totally amazing with her mad longarm quilting skills!  The first quilt I saw of hers was a NYB done in creams and white - it is currently doing the quilt show circuit, so if you see it, really look at the lace, pearls, and the quilting!  Sarah is truly an amazing artist with needle and thread!!  So, because of Sarah, I'm doing my own OBW...it is also all cut out and about 1/3 sewn!

Project QUILTING Challenge - Birds in the Air

This was a new-to-me block, so I looked at pictures online and made the blocks with no pattern.  I used 8 fabrics from the layer cake from Island Batik that I won from Kim of Persimmon Dreams back in December.  I LOVE these colors and fabrics!!

I decided that I needed a cover for my sewing machine, especially when I am home because I spend much more time with my longarm then my sewing machine.  Putting together the Birds in the Air block wasn't difficult and I love how they turned out.  I used almost all of the scraps from the 8 10" squares of fabric to create the back and sides.  Of course, there was no pattern for the sewing machine cover either!!  I deliberately made the top large enough that I could keep my stitch selection card on the machine and access the handle to pick up the machine.  While it is not matchy-matchy, it does go with my mat/tool holder I made several years ago to sit under my machine.

I quilted the front, back and sides

Front quilting

Back quilting

I used fusible fleece which gives lots of body and allows the cover to stand up by itself!

Left side

Right side

Back

Thank you, Kim, for the fun challenge this week!!  If you want to make something using Birds in the Air, you can get the "rules" where I am linking up, right here!

2020 Monthly Color Challenge - February

Jen of Patterns By Jen is having a monthly color challenge, driven by the color of birds.  This month the bird is the Indigo Bunting.  A beautiful bird not found where I live west of the Rockies.  Every month there is a bird for the color inspiration and a free pattern for a 12.5" block.  I decided at the end of January to participate and did January's yellow block.

Here is my February block, from stash!!

Aren't the colors this month beautiful?  Loving the teal with the more royal/indigo blue.  I know there are purists that don't mix batik with cottons, but I have no problem putting them together.

Are you participating in the monthly color challenge??

#PBJ #PatternsByJen #soleprenuer #2020monthlycolorchallenge #monthlycolorchallenge #blockofthemonth #bom #freebom #qal #freeqal #quiltchallenge #beginnerquiltpattern #quiltblock #quiltblocks

Project QUILTING Challenge 11.3 - finish!!

I must be feeling better because I knocked this out!!  No pattern, just winging it!  Yes, I had to use my seam ripper a few times...sigh.  But it was fun and it's done!!

I only used scraps for this...starting with HSTs to make the heart, then I played with a log cabin block with thin ORANGE!! and thicker greens.  Embracing the orange, right?  The HSTs were from the Mystery QAL that Kim of Persimmon Dreams had right after Christmas.  The greens were from the Bush Fire Tree blocks.  The wide orange was from the tummy time quilts I made this summer.

I even used scraps of batting!

I used fusible fleece, so my only concern was making sure I kept the sides with the glue in the same direction.  I would not have been happy to have pressed the fleece to my wool pressing mat!!

When the fleece was pressed to my blocks - the blocks measured 8.5" - I then quilted them together and didn't have to pin anything.

Easy part, finished.  Putting on the zipper was a challenge!!  Nothing like putting a zipper in the dresses I used to make, that's for sure!!!  Does anyone know what a zipper foot looks like for a Janome?  None of my feet look anything like the old zipper foot I used on my mom's old Singer!

Had to rip it out, unless I wanted the lining of the bag to be the outside!!

I used the clips to hold the zipper and the front of the bag together, then laid the whole thing on the lining and pinned it together.

Now the fun began...I sewed the outside of the bag together, but didn't have the ends of the zipper in the right place!!  I'm not even sure where I should have put them, so I ripped out enough of the side seams to get them in the right place and sewed the seams back up.  Then I sewed the lining together...all the way around (dumb) and had to rip out a bit of the bottom so I could turn the darn thing right side out!!  I just pressed the seam and stitched the hole closed when I had it turned right side out.

Cute on both sides AND the zipper closes!!  I'll take that as a win and now I have a place to store my extra zippers...but I'll have to find a video that talks me through the zipper process in the future!!  EDITED:  This is the tutorial I'll use next time I make a zippered bag - Color Girl has a great looking bag!!

I'm linking up with Kim of Persimmon Dreams for a finish of Project QUILTING Challenge 11.3!!

Project QUILTING Challenge 11.3

This week's challenge can be found at Persimmon Dreams.  I'm finally feeling a bit better so I'm going to give this challenge a go!!  I know what I want to make, so that really helps!!

Are you going to participate in this challenge??