100 days.

Right then, one day to go, but with an event for 150 tomorrow night it's unlikely this list will change before the end of the year!

Having posted back on the 9th November that I had made progress on only 4 of my 17 projects, and that I would have to work hard over the coming 40 days, everything went a little bit awry.  As many of you know, less than a week from that post my life went through a pretty cataclysmic shift.  So, I'm sure you're not expecting great progress with this, and you'd be right!

Here goes:

1) design & make a cd holder using the Melody Miller records fabric - tried and failed.  Have something else in mind during the course of 2013.

2) Make double-sided quilt for niece Megan - finished, loved and delivered to Megan.  I saw this over Christmas hanging in her newly decorated pink bedroom! (1 finish)

3) use the brown batik Charlotte challenged me with - 2 projects in mind for this. I used the tote bag we got goodies in at Retreat and made the batik into a tree trunk.  The leaves are Innocent Crush.  Project two was a 40th birthday present for Charlotte - a pouch which you can see in her post here.  What she has failed to mention is that the pouch was lined with brown batik! (2 finishes)

4) Make an Amy Butler weekender bag using 'Newquay' fabric neeeeever gonna happen!

5) make the Christmas wonky log cabin into a mini quilt - Christmas was pretty much cancelled in my house this year, so no Christmas projects got done.

6) finish the double circle flying geese cushion cover from FQ Retreat scrapped...

7) make mug tree / Christmas cards  see item 5

8) make 3 thank-you popsicle mug rugs replaced with Bottle sacks filled with pink champagne! See this post for more details. (1 finish)

9) finish campers travel sewing kit oh dear, no excuse for this not getting done!

10) make 2 x hopscotch quilts with jelly rolls This may have been a tad optimistic, but will keep me busy in 2013.

11) finish Maison de Garance quilt for Christmas gift DONE!  Hurrah, I did manage to finish something, even if I was hand-finishing the binding on Christmas Eve!  This now graces the bed of my OH's parents, and looks lovely, though I say it myself.  It was finished with a border of the rich goldy-biscuity colour with the rich deep red as the binding.  Backing was a plain beige sheet.  Although I wasn't sure about this to start with, and it was definitely a 'well, they'll like it' I ended up loving the warmth and vintage-y feel of this one. (1 finish)

12) make 4 x Oh Fransson! bags for Christmas gifts 3 made, and then another one was made in black denim, 2 of those were sold for use as Christmas gifts, the other two are still here.  I also have wallets cut out ready for sewing, and I made 2 pretty pleats totes in Melody Miller Ruby Stars Vinyl telephones panels - one with the orange phones, one in the blue phone colourway. One sold along with the pouches and one given as a gift.  I also started another Christmas quilt for my niece and nephew but a sewing machine in need of service put paid to that!  (counting this as 2.5 finishes!)

13) make a notebook cover for Christmas gift well, I've got the fabric and the notebook, just need to get the two together! Nothings' changed there but I did make other Christmas gifts - see above!

14) make a duvet cover for the spare bedroom out of IKEA fabric another project for 2013.

15) make a QAYG version of Weekender bag using Tula Pink fabric.  see item 4.....

16) various bee commitments 

17) edited to add: finish raw circles quilt!!! Yay!! All done, hand quilted and bound and just gorgeous.  Currently over the back of the sofa where the feline in residence is also in love with it and spends most evenings asleep on it! (1 finish)

So, out of the original 17 items, I'm counting 8.5 finishes.  As 3.5 of those were quilts, I think that's not bad under the circumstances.  Had I not had a few weeks of other things to deal with, plus a sewing machine which gave up the ghost in the days before Christmas, I would have got a lot further. However, hopefully I can get the remainder finished in the next few weeks - at least they'll be ready for next Christmas.  

I'm linking up for the final round-up.  I don't expect to be in line for the prizes, but it was fun trying to get everything done!

Halfway there...

There's been quite a bit of upheaval and change in my life in the last few weeks, so I'm not as far along with this as I'd hoped!  Still, here goes for the 50 day link up:

1) design & make a cd holder using the Melody Miller records fabric - ha, great start, no progress

2) Make double-sided quilt for niece Megan - finished, loved and delivered to Megan, only 5 days late!

3) use the brown batik Charlotte challenged me with - 2 projects in mind for this. I used the tote bag we got goodies in at Retreat and made the batik into a tree trunk.  The leaves are Innocent Crush.  Project two still on the back burner.

4) Make an Amy Butler weekender bag using 'Newquay' fabric ermmmmm...... I still want to do this, but probably now a QAYG version if I can pluck up the courage!  Will merge with item 15!

5) make the Christmas wonky log cabin into a mini quilt ermmmm....

6) finish the double circle flying geese cushion cover from FQ Retreat will NOT be doing this - have had several attempts, getting it all out, reading the instructions, and I can't get my head round it, so this one will be scrapped...

7) make mug tree / Christmas cards  planned for next weekend

8) make 3 thank-you popsicle mug rugs another ermmmm....

9) finish campers travel sewing kit good grief, this is getting repetitive!!

10) make 2 x hopscotch quilts with jelly rolls guess what....

11) finish Maison de Garance quilt for Christmas gift next priority - the top's done, the backing's ready, just need to save enough pennies to buy the wadding and then get it quilted and bound.

12) make 4 x Oh Fransson! bags for Christmas gifts 3 made, but now had other ideas for these recipients, so will change this to 'make 4 Christmas gifts' - youngest is getting one of these pouches, the others are having other things.

13) make a notebook cover for Christmas gift well, I've got the fabric and the notebook, just need to get the two together!

14) make a duvet cover for the spare bedroom out of IKEA fabric yes, well this was just daft thinking I'd get this done before Christmas!

15) make a QAYG version of Weekender bag using Tula Pink fabric.  see item 4.....

16) various bee commitments sadly, because of the aforementioned upheavals and changes, I've had to drop out of the bee.  I've has no real sewing time since the middle of last month, so I just couldn't guarantee I could honour these commitments.

17) edited to add: finish raw circles quilt!!! Yay!! All done, hand quilted and bound and just gorgeous.  Currently over the back of the sofa where the feline in residence is also in love with it and spends most evenings asleep on it!

So, four out of 17, with two scrapped and two becoming one - not the best first 50 days eh?  Better get stuck in over the next 40 or so.....

A little pouchy distraction

At the moment, it can't be said that life is good.  For lots of reasons I can't go into, life is stressful, sad and exhausting, and I'm waiting for someone to turn on that light, 'cos right now, my tunnel seems awfully dark.

Anyway, in my effort to escape things for a while I decided to make a start on seasonal sewing and make some pouches I'm hoping will make appropriate Christmas gifts.

I wanted to see how the same pattern would look made in different ways as there are a number of possible recipients for these, and so I made a few different ones.  There's a lot of pressure from the title of the pattern 'Perfect Zip Bags' - my efforts were definitely better named 'Not So Perfect Zip Bags'!

First I did a patchwork version with Melody Miller, some Kona solids and some magic beans.  It was my first attempt at a lined zipped pouch, but I followed the pattern pretty carefully, and was really pleased with the outcome.  I interfaced both exterior and lining fabrics and added the interlining the pattern suggested.  The only thing I struggled with was the gusset on the exterior fabric, which the pattern said to do after sewing up the lining.  There also seemed to be a LOT of lining when it's turned in. 

Anyway, one of the possible recipients has passed judgement on this and it seems it might not be the worst present she could find under the tree....

So, next I made one in just one fabric - I've had this Stone Garden in the stash for a while - it was one of the first things I bought from The Village Haberdashery, back in February.  So far I haven't had the right pattern for it, but it seemed to be just perfect for this pouch.

I lined this one with a light olive green solid and it's pretty much the same on both sides.  This time, I cut the lining slightly smaller than the pattern said, added fusible fleece to the exterior fabric only, and no other interfacing or interlining, and I sewed the gussets in the exterior before I stitched up the lining, which was much, much easier.  I really quite like this one - there seems more room inside it.

Lastly, I wanted to have a bit of fun.  I'd been playing around with some Innocent Crush scraps, but I just couldn't get the right combo together for the wonky log cabin idea I'd had.  Then overnight I had an idea for recycling a pair of torn jeans, using a piece of the back with a pocket for one side and if possible actually just cut round the button and fly to make the front.  I cut it out, and then realised the front wouldn't work - there were just too many layers to sew through to join the waistband to the zipper and lining. 

Since I first saw Charlotte's AMH Love wall hanging the phrase that always springs to mind when I see Innocent Crush is 'rock and roll', and so denim seemed a good accompaniment.  So, I combined the two ideas, still using the pocket piece for the back of the pouch and cutting one of the legs into 3" strips to border an AMH charm.  I interfaced the denim, as they were stretchy jeans and as I was sewing the pieces were getting all out of shape.  Once interfaced, though they worked fine.  I lined it with Kona charcoal, and used a dark grey zip, keeping the grungy look.

So, that's my weekend's work.  This evening I'm going to be clearing up the sewing room and rehousing the items that were on the shelf that fell off the wall yesterday morning.  As if I don't have enough to worry about, I now have whacking great holes in the plaster of the sewing room!

Ah well, as they say, 'it never rains but it pours', and 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'.  I'm not feeling so strong right now, but hopefully soon....

Already down to 99 day hustle!

Doesn't sound as good as the 100 Day Hustle though, does it?!  Kelby Sews launched this linky thingy to get us all working on our unfinished projects or starting new planned projects before the end of  2012.  

Anyway, I wrote myself out a to-do list, and I've already lost one of those 100 days, so here goes....

1) design & make a cd holder using the Melody Miller records fabric

2) Make double-sided quilt for niece Megan

3) use the brown batik Charlotte challenged me with - 2 projects in mind for this.

4) Make an Amy Butler weekender bag using 'Newquay' fabric

5) make the Christmas wonky log cabin into a mini quilt

6) finish the double circle flying geese cushion cover from FQ Retreat

7) make mug tree / Christmas cards

8) make 3 thank-you popsicle mug rugs

9) finish campers travel sewing kit

10) make 2 x hopscotch quilts with jelly rolls

11) finish Maison de Garance quilt for Christmas gift

12) make make 4 x Oh Fransson! bags for Christmas gifts

13) make a notebook cover for Christmas gift

14) make a duvet cover for the spare bedroom out of IKEA fabric

15) make a QAYG version of Weekender bag using Tula Pink fabric.

16) various bee commitments
17) edited to add: finish raw circles quilt!!!

So.........  not much to achieve then!  Clearly it's no good sitting her rabbiting on to you lot, best get cracking!

Linking up with Kelby Sews