Tag Archives | accessories

Hunt Quilt Along: Technical and Travel Tips.

By carolyn friedlander on May 23, 2019 in Featured on Home, Quilt Along | Comments: 2

Hunt Quilt Along: Technical and Travel Tips.

To start, let’s talk about positioning your fabrics after you’ve cut them out. Because there are so many pieces, it’s easy to feel like there may not be enough room for all of them, but there is! What I like to do after getting all of my seam allowances marked and the placement guide in position in the corner, is to lay my appliqué pieces down one at a time alternating between opposite sides and working toward the center. I find this helps even things out a bit. You might need to do a little scooching once they’re all on there, but they will fit. You want them to start off nice and tight so you get those beautiful gaps between the shapes after you appliqué them. This tight, neighborly fit gets you there. Here is a look at mine all ready to go. (If you’re curious about the extra fabric around the block, see the tips in last week’s post.)

In terms of skill level and ease there are definitely some good things about this pattern. Hunt is all about straight lines and outside curves, so you won’t be needing to clip into your seam allowance in order to turn your edges under. The tightness of the curves can give you a bit of a challenge, but here are some tips for that –

+ My main tip for tackling the tightness of the outside curves is to play around with how you baste it (if you’re using the appliqué technique as described in the instructions). When I’m facing a tight, outside curve, I tend to narrow my basting stitch just a smidge so that it’s more of a scant 1/4″. Feel free to play around with this and get a feel for what works best for you and whatever fabric that you’re using. I find the slightly smaller amount makes it easier to evenly turn the edges under at this tighter spot.

+ My other tip is to be patient as you turn the corners. Nothing needs to be done in any one step. Turn each bit under one little bit at a time, and you’ll get there. It’ll be great.

+ If you’d like to practice with a larger curve, my Trudy block on Creative Bug is a perfect first step for getting basic outside (and inside) curves down. Plus, it might be helpful to see and replay the steps.

Otherwise, the great thing about Hunt is that it is the same shape over and over, so you’ll be able to practice it again and again. Don’t worry if they’re not all perfect, I guarantee that no one will notice! The shapes and colors will be enticing no matter what the outcome.

Since I was traveling last week, I thought it’d be fun to share a couple of my favorite project bags for carrying Hunt. Here’s my current situation.

The Clutched pouch by May Chappell is pretty handy (and pretty! Lee made this one up for me in some of that Harriot scallop). What I really like about this bag is that it opens out nicely and stays that way when you’re working, giving you good access to your goodies. Plus, it holds quite a bit! I’ve been surprised by what all I can fit in this one.

Since I had a few other things with me on my trip last week, I also carried the Sew It All Pouch by Aneela Hoey. It’s in her book Stitched Sewing Organizers, (and I have a post about this pouch here). I love this bag for many reasons, but especially for how nicely it slides into my backpack when I’m on the go.

This was not planned, but it wasn’t until traveling with both of them that I realized how nicely they match. It makes me really happy.

There we have it for the week. Next week I’ll be kicking off a giveaway, so stay tuned!

Resources:

+ Here’s a fun thread knot to try.

+ Just because I was looking at my YouTube channel, I thought it’d be a fun flashback to show you the time I layed out my Eads QAL quilt. Ha! If you’re getting hung up on fabric choices and how you’ll lay it out, don’t worry, you still have plenty of time to sort it out! Move forward in the direction that most excites you.

+ It’s time to get some playlists going to power you through some handwork, whether it’s Podcasts, TV shows or whatever summer activities you have lined up. I’ll be sharing some of my favorites next week, but I’d love to hear some of yours too! Here’s one thing I’m eyeing on Netflix about a Price is Right superfan. I LOVED watching the Price is Right as a kid, and something tells me this will be an enjoyable watch when I get to my handstitching.

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Harriot String Bag and Bucket Totes.

By carolyn friedlander on March 14, 2019 in fabric, Featured on Home, patterns, weekend projects | Comments: 0

Harriot String Bag and Bucket Totes.

For the Harriot release, I tried out a couple of new bag patterns. First up is the String Bag pattern by Green Pepper Patterns–a pattern company that I’ve mostly seen at Joann. They have a huge variety of designs, and I was curious to give one a try.

On the String Bag pattern, I made the Small size, which is actually a pretty handy size. I didn’t want one that was too big or too small, maybe one that could hold a pair of shoes for going to the gym. This is the perfect size for that, and I love that it is fully lined.

One thing that I really liked about this design was the front, zippered pocket. It gave me an opportunity to play with and feature the scallop.

This gray version is the most subtle of the scallops, and I like the results, especially paired with the brown zipper and drawstring.

I will admit that the instructions were a little hairy at times. If you’re new to making bags, there were a few parts that weren’t the clearest, and I do remember tweaking a few aspects to suit my taste. But in the end, I’m pleased with the outcome.

Next up are a couple of versions of another pattern that I wanted to try, the Finch Bucket Tote by Stitch Mischief. I’ve been doing a little bit of knitting lately, and this seemed like a worthwhile project to check out.

I made two versions, mostly because I couldn’t decide on just one!

Both make use of a couple of the different yarn dyed wovens in the collection as well as some screenprints.

I always like a bag that has lots of fabric opportunities as well as extra details like the corded drawstring and webbing strap on this one.

The inside of the bag has a nice, flat bottom, and the sides feature a wrap-around pocket.

On the other version, I used the scallop for the pocket.

Even though the finished size for these bags is clearly listed, they still seemed to surprise me a bit by how big they are. They are a little too big if you’re knitting socks, but easily large enough for a sweater or any other big project you have in the works.

There we go! A few new bags, and a couple of new patterns checked off my list.

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Harriot Pouches from Stitched Sewing Organizers.

By carolyn friedlander on February 12, 2019 in fabric, Featured on Home, patterns, weekend projects | Comments: 2

I’m a big fan of Aneela Hoey’s sewing patterns, and I loved getting a chance to make a couple of Harriot pouches from Stitched Sewing Organizers: Pretty Cases, Boxes, Pouches, Pincushions & More–her book.

First up is the See-It-All Pouch. I love this pouch. A friend made me one a while ago, and I always pull for it when packing (and storing) a hand-sewing project. It packs easily into my backpack and holds everything I need.

The clear vinyl front gives you a great opportunity to show off your project and/or some fabric. In this case, I thought it’d be fun to show off the scallop.

I used the meatier woven for the back, and the stripe for the binding. There’s something fun about bias-striped binding.

It doesn’t take up much space, but I can still pack a block or two, thread, scissors, thread gloss and be ready to sew.

Next up is the Two-In-One Case. This pouch is neat because it folds in half and snaps closed.

When opened, there are two zippered, clear pouches. This makes it easy to see what you have, and it gives you another spot to show off some fabric or whatever you’re working on.

I like the tidy size and have found it to hold just what you need as well. I’d really like to make some for my nephews and niece. I think they’d be great for storing colored pencils, crayons, and lots of their creative goodies too.