A few handmade gifts....

My mom was here last week and it gave me a chance to make a couple of handmade gifts while she played with the kids. (Thank you, Mom!)

I found this great tutorial through flickr and I made two cute box tote bags. The first one is for my cousin's birthday. She loves green so I chose a sweet Nicey Jane print. The tote is fully lined (I used a Kaffe Fassed Aboriginal Dot) and it is a perfect size for pencils, bath stuff, etc.

The second is for one of my dearest friends. She is a vet and an equestrian so I dived into my HR stash for her little bag. It is lined with a cute Michael Miller flower/paisley print. I filled it with some lovelies from the Body Shop and mailed it a full 2 weeks before her birthday. That in itself is a miracle...I am always late with birthday presents. Especially homemade ones.

And finally, my mom arrived at my house with her knitting in a plastic bag. I couldn't let that stand. She asked for aqua and red and I threw in a whole bunch of pink (because I seem to have a bunch of pink scraps) and made a quick drawstring bag. (I used the principles from this tutorial and just made the bag with scraps and a bit bigger).

Side 1:

Side 2:

I've also finished up my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap but the pictures I took this afternoon are horrible. (Singing, "All I want for Christmas is a fancy camera....") I'll try to get some new photos tomorrow with better light and I'll show them to you asap.

Have a great weekend!

Improved Nine Patch

Can you tell I found my Double Wedding Ring Template set this weekend? Remember when I made this block at a class two summers ago? (and no, I still haven't made any more...) 

Well I discovered that the template set also allowed me to make Improved Nine Patch blocks. (The template is From Marti Mitchell). I was inspired by these gorgeous blocks (scroll down, they are worth it) by Amy at Badskirt.

Up first is my pillow for Pillow Talk Swap 4. My partner loves bright colours, Heather Ross and Flea Market Fancy (who doesn't??). I had fun pulling out a few favourite fabrics to make this block. At first I was concerned that it had too much pink, but the friendly people over on flickr seemed to like it.

What kind of border do you think I should make? I was thinking patchwork with aqua, orange and pink. Or maybe just aqua...I'm up for any ideas that you have!

Since I was on all roll, I decided to make another for Austen for The Maple Leaf Quilting Bee. I'm behind (sorry) so I was just happy to get this done before another month passes by.

I'm pretty much in love with these blocks. I'm thinking that I need to make a baby quilt with this pattern (without squaring off the blocks). I found that once I got going the curved piecing wasn't as difficult as I remembered.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Last Minute Halloween Treak or Treat Bags

I decided at the last minute on Saturday that my kids needed home-made trick or treat bags. Needed. So bought my very first Halloween fabric, and worked late into the night.

 

I used this tutorial as my inspiration and added a few inches to both sides to make them a bit bigger. I want these bags to last a few years. I also referred to this tutorial for basic bag making instructions. I used some images from Clip-Art for my applique templates.

A pumpkin for my son:

 And a bat for my daughter:

These were so quick and easy and I was so happy that my kids didn't have to use pillowcases for trick or treating. Now I just have to start making home-made costumes!