spring bag

While the outside is grey and cold, inside of our sewing room warms our hearts with cheerful colors. However bleak the day might seem it is too easy to find comfort in creating pretty things.. especially it is such a happy feeling to make something for a sweet friend.

It is never too early to prepare for spring, so I picked this beautiful Lecien print full of purple blooms to make a spring bag for her. I opted for these simple green handles as their fresh color reminded me of first leaves of the season.

This bunny with its floppy ears looked so cute that I had to use it for the pocket. Instead of a square pocket like the pattern suggested, I thought a chubby pocket with rounded corners suited this bag well. I sewed the handles onto the bag by hand, but the stitches didn't look very neat on the inside. So I added these blue linen patches with tiny dots using a simple running stitch.

For attaching the bag handles I used a sewing thread that is specially made for this purpose. This thread is 100% polyester and is very strong but still thin enough to go through the holes in the handles. It comes in lot of colors so we can choose a matching color.  I got them here if you are interested.

The pattern didn't suggest any kind of closure. So I attached this 'sew-on' magnetic snap with an improvised buttonhole stitch.  I wanted the inside of the bag to be as fun and practical as possible. So I also added a tag with a linen tape to the side to hang keys etc. But it doesn't show in the picture.

I hope my friend gets good use out of it during her outings in spring and summer and every day is a nice day for her ( ' u ' )

~ Pattern is "Soleil pin-tuck shoulder bag" designed by Miho Takeuchi.

I got this pattern when we visited New England Quilt museum long time ago from the museum shop.  It was a pleasant surprise to see that they carry a small selection of patterns and sewing supplies from Japan. I enjoyed browsing through their shop and also loved their selection of Japanese fabrics. If you are in Lowell anytime, it is worth a visit.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a beautiful day!  * v *

House numbers quilt

At long last the houses stand in neat rows..

with blushing roses hanging over their fence and little sneak peaks of happenings visible through the gaps.

There is a secret garden in the back with many unique plants and unknown trees waiting to be explored..

surely a green mist of adventure for any enthusiastic botanist..

 or a dark wonder of beetles and bugs for naughty neighborhood kids!

For the back of the quilt I used this botanical print called Blythe  by Anna Griffin and added a narrow strip of Heather Ross fabric with tall trees to complete the woodland look. I felt these pink and violet flowers in the back complemented the purple binding. This shot cotton fabric was so nice and soft to work with, I feel like getting more colors.

It took some time to get the arrangement right. I did lot of shuffling on the design wall and concluded that some of the outer strips need to be replaced to balance the look. So I cannot say it is purely improv' pieced ;)

I wanted to keep this quilt relatively simple and without any distractions. So I quilted it with stitch in the ditch through all the seams. 

Some of the center pieces in the blocks are little big, so I randomly stitched around doors and windows with matching threads to avoid any shifting of the batting. It also worked as a nice accent. But not all houses were lucky enough to get this decoration.

 This quilt is about 54" x 67" and made with low loft organic cotton batting inside. So it is light weight and perfect to drag around and snuggle up in your favorite corner :)

Hope you are keeping warm and enjoying hot cups of tea! These days making tea in the afternoon and clinging to the hot cup for as long as I can has become a daily ritual. As you can tell by my lack of postings, I am finishing things at my usual snail pace and this cold isn't helping either :)

Wish you a warm and cozy weekend ( ' u ' )