Ultimate Travel Bag

I am officially hooked on making bags! Thanks to the amazing Annie of byannie.com I was able to make this gorgeous and ultra-functional travel bag. I was able to learn lots of new skills with this bag and I’m so proud of how it turned out.

This bag is the perfect travel companion for a weekend getaway. It includes a comfortable padded adjustable carrying strap and quick-grab side handles, as well as a handy sleeve on the back to secure the bag to rolling luggage.

The front has both a zippered and slip pocket as well as another slip pocket on the back and both sides. On the inside there is a full-height zippered mesh pocket and three more mesh slip pockets to organize lots of travel items.

All of the hardware is nickel and the straps are reinforced for strength. The bottom of the bag is stabilized with a custom acrylic insert, helping the bag handle whatever gets packed inside. On the bottom there are coordinating buttons to protect from wear.

I had so much fun making this bag and definitely want to make more in the future!

Garden Flowers

Aren’t these flowers stunning? I’d never done a piece like this with a black background and I am so excited about how it makes the appliqué really stand out.

The pattern is called Baltimore Garden by Shabby Fabrics. The individual components are fused and stitched down. I then added free motion quilting in black to add texture to the piece.

This is a versatile piece that can be used either as a table runner or a wall hanging. I can’t decide which way I like better!

Prismatic Medallions

The request was for a bright and cheerful table centerpiece and I think this perfectly fits the bill! I love small pieces like this that are fairly quick to put together and allow me to be really creative with free motion quilting.

This design is called Prismatic Medallions by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. I shopped my stash for the rainbow of fabrics, most had been used before in my Technicolor Galaxy quilt center.

I’ve thankfully collected a good number of colors of cotton thread that made quilting easy. I chose a neutral gray backing and loaded the bobbin thread with gray to get this effect on the back.

Doesn’t it look so happy in place at its new home?

Technicolor Galaxy Progress

This skill builder quilt has been a perfect project for me to work on to sharpen my free motion quilting skills. Alyssa from Pile O’ Fabric has designed this gorgeous Technicolor Galaxy pattern. I’ve complete the center portion and have a ways to go before the whole quilt is complete, but I’m excited for the whole process!

I love it when quilts inspire the kind of free motion quilting designs I want to create. In this case, I chose varying designs for the different portions and it was so fun to play with new techniques including piano keys, scallops, ribbons and pebbles.

The shapes were fused down onto muslin and then joined together using white bias binding. I think I might make this same center medallion into a pillow or something someday. I love it so much!

I love when the back of a quilt is nearly as beautiful as the front. This makes me want to try a wholecloth quilt someday to keep working on free motion quilting designs.

I can’t wait to see my Technicolor Galaxy quilt grow!

Rainbow Rays Pouch

By organizing my fabric scraps in rainbow order, I’m often inspired to whip up little rainbow projects! I put these two colorful pouches together as Christmas gifts for family members using the Rainbow Rays pattern by Kittens & Threads.

This was one of the first times I used zippers which was easier than I had anticipated it being. Bag making is so satisfying to see something you create turn into a three-dimensional, useful item right before your eyes!

I quilted the black fabric using matchstick straight line quilting and I was pleased by the texture and stability it added. I hope the new owners love these colorful bags!

Kaffe Fassett Wedding Quilt

When I found out that my sister was going to be married, I knew that I wanted to make a wedding quilt for them. My mom and I worked together to design and sew this quilt using Kaffe Fasset fabrics. They both love bright colors and their home is artistic and full of life.

For the border and backing we selected funky batik fabrics to enhance the design. One of my favorite features is the colorful striped binding, also a Kaffe Fassett fabric.

We had this professionally quilted by a local longarm quilter. We needed a quick turnaround and a quilt this size would have been quite a test of my Juki’s throat space!

It was so much fun to get to work on this piece with my mom, my original sewing instructor. I’m so glad my sister and brother-in-law love it!

Bloom Quilt by Lori Holt

I am so excited to have finally finished this flower quilt for my daughter! It’s my first time doing appliqué on a full quilt and also my first time trying out free motion quilting. Lori Holt’s Bloom quilt pattern on her blog and her videos made it so easy to learn her appliqué method. I’m hooked!

For the quilting I was inspired by Lori’s original quilt. I did straight line quilting along the sashing and a small meandering free motion design within the flower quilt blocks. It was my first time doing quilting on my Juki Tl-2010Q which was a total delight.

I really enjoyed Lori’s method of appliqué using sew-in interfacing and her Sew Simple Shapes. I feel like this will help the flowers hold up really well, even with regular washing. I’m expecting this will be a quilt that gets washed more than others since it will be on a child’s bed!

Aren’t the fabrics so adorable? Thank you Lori for a fun quilt design!

Elsie Avenue Pillow

Meet Elsie. How adorable is this appliquéd hedgehog? I made this sweet pillow as a gift for my sister-in-law who loves all things adorable and colorful. The pattern is Elsie Avenue by Sassafras Lane Designs.

It was my first time doing raw edge appliqué and I loved the process of creating using so many scrappy fabrics.

The hedgehog was stitched down using a zig zag stitch and the quills with a straight line stitch. The quills will fray a bit at the edges which I think adds to the charm.

Doesn’t she just make you happy? I hope she enjoys her new home!

Lone Star Wall Hanging

Often when I’m selecting a design to sew I look for something that will challenge me and help me learn new skills. I’ve always loved the look of traditional lone star quilt blocks and wanted to give one a try. This was made using a free pattern from McCall’s Quilting and it was definitely challenging and fun!

The fabrics are a variety of batiks in purples, greens and browns that I found at my local quilt shop. Matching points was the tricky part of the design for me but I’m so happy with how it turned out.

My very favorite part is the outside border, especially the mitered corners.

Postcards From Sweden Quilt

When I saw this pattern I just knew I had to make it. My sister loves anything that is bright and colorful and I knew she’d be thrilled to receive a quilt from me. The pattern is Postcards from Sweden and was designed by Jeliquilts.

Pieced using half square triangles, this quilt comes together pretty quickly once you get a rhythm down. The trickiest part was staying organized when moving from my design wall to sewing machine. I really loved the movement of color and wanted to keep the same placement as the original pattern.

I chose a really neutral backing and binding to help complement the dynamic colors of the front. For quilting I chose a simple straight line echo quilting along the rows and columns.

I absolutely love this quilt and it was so satisfying to see it come together!