Happy Wednesday! I realized this week as I looked over my tentative blog schedule for September that I hadn't done a "catch-up" type post in a long time. Summer came and went in a flash and I didn't do much to document it. Something about the change of seasons makes me want to reflect on the previous and plan out the next.

I ate this ridiculously good looking ice cream cone in New Glarus, WI when my family came to visit at the end of July. It was scotch coffee ice cream in a freshly made cone. It was as delicious as it looks!


I didn't do nearly as much garment sewing this summer as I had planned. I bought plenty of clothing patterns, and I even printed/cut/taped most of them. One thing I did manage to make was a pair of City Gym Shorts. It's a free pattern from the Purl Bee. I made mine with Dreamin' Vintage and they turned out pretty cute! I made some adjustments to the pattern for the next pair, but I'm happy with how these turned out anyways!


Issue 11 of Love Patchwork & Quilting hit stands last month. I wrote about my Geometric Bliss Quilt Market booth in my column this time! You can also find my tips for a successful craft stand or market booth on their blog, here.


Got my hands on a few skeins of Moonrover Yarn. I couldn't resist any longer!


I've been knitting away at my Pogona shawl for the Eat Sleep Knit 3rd quarter Yarnathon challenge. The shop's reward/customer loyalty system is a marathon based on the yardage you buy! There are teams (go Roboknits!), fun prizes and challenges for earning extra yards. I'm looking forward to finishing this one up, and I think I'll even make the end of September deadline! For more project info see my Ravelry page here.


I picked up a few pieces of vintage enamelware when my family was in town. A yellow striped Cathrineholm bowl and a blue Dansk Kobenstyle pot. Both were a steal! Now to find room for them, yikes!


I made refrigerator pickles for the first time this year, using cucumbers from my garden. I used this recipe and they turned out great!


As soon as I saw that Kayanna of June Craft was doing custom watercolor pet portraits I sent over a request for George! The resulting piece is absolutely beautiful and I really love it! I've since framed it and a few other pieces of George art, I just need to hang them!


Speaking of George! Here he is looking all cute!

Have a great day!

Nordika Sew Together Bag

Happy Tuesday! With summer coming to an end, I've been looking back through all the things I made this summer. There are quite a few I haven't shared here yet, so I'm going to try to play catch-up and fix that.  The first project is another Sew Together Bag. I made a pair of Dreamin' Vintage Sew Together Bags earlier this year, and found I needed to make just one more!

Sew Together Bag pattern by Sew Demented can be found here



This time around I used prints from Nordika. I quilted the outside panel the same as my last pair, with simple straight lines using the dark gray 50wt thread from my Favorite Things Aurifil Thread Collection. I used an extra long (22") gray zipper for the outside.


For the inside I used three coral zippers and a number of different Nordika prints from the Frost Valley colorway. It came together without a hitch!


Around the time I released my Sew Portable Travel Set Pattern, I realized that a matching Sew Together Bag would be the perfect addition to my set. So naturally, I immediately made this one! It's so matchy! I love it!

You can find the pattern here: Sew Together Bag Pattern by Sew Demented

Favorites

1. sea glass table runner by karin jordan - leigh laurel studios - for sizzix, 2. Finished!, 3. Exploding Star - in the Summer 2014 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited, 4. Jacob's Ladder, 5. Pastel Hand Dyed, 6. Citric Acid Curves quilt top, 7. Schnitzel and Boo Mini Swap, 8. x-plus, 9. DiamondsintheDeep4

Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

Happy Weekend!

Indigo Patchwork Quilt

Happy Thursday! Today I have a quilt finish to share with you! This simple quilt came together this month just in time for my friend Lei's birthday!


Lei had mentioned earlier in the summer that she liked the indigo fabric I had dyed. When my parents came to visit at the end of July, I was able to to another batch of indigo to dye fabrics for her quilt and a backing for my one-day indigo quilt.

I use this kit when I dye. It's inexpensive and easy to use. For more information on indigo dyeing, check out my Indigo Dyeing Tutorial.


I had my Mom snap a few photos as I was dyeing, they turned out pretty cool!



A few of my favorite pieces from this batch!


I didn't want to chop up the prints too much, so I went with simple large patchwork scale to make this throw sized quilt. It adds some extra interest, but let's the fabric shine.


I used four separately dyed pieces for the backing. I couldn't imagine anything else for the backing, and this makes it a double-sided quilt.



For the quilting I used my go to white #2024 Aurifil thread for the piecing and quilting. I kept it simple with the quilting. I shadow quilted on either side of each seam, then added an additional horizontal and vertical line through each block as well as two diagonal lines. I bound it up with a Swiss dot that I indigo dyed last summer.

One of my crafty goals this year was to give more handmade gifts. I'm happy I can add this quilt to the list! :)