Sports

What's a guy to do when his game isn't on TV?


Virginia Tech is on the computer, Rutgers is on the radio, and I think Michigan is on TV. I am sewing in the dining room - this is not my scene!

A bag from leftovers

No matter how accurately you try to estimate how much fabric you'll need for a quilt (and don't even get me started on the estimated fabric yardages given in EQ!), somehow the scrap basket always stays full. This little bag is a great way to have fun with the leftovers. It's a free pattern given on the AllPeopleQuilt website (http://allpeoplequilt.com/quarterlychallenge/APQ_QtrlyChal3.pdf), and it's pretty easy to make. This is coming from someone who's not so great at following someone else's patterns! Although I did actually make a couple of small changes to the pattern such as making the pockets a little deeper and squaring up the bottom of the bag.

Here's how I used some leftovers from Mark Lipinski's Krakow line. For those who recognize fabrics, there are a few pieces from his previous line of fabric, Califon. It matches so nicely. I love it when different fabric lines can be used together.


Here's the other side. It's fun mixing up the fabrics.


Loop the longer strap through the small one and off you go. Pockets galore inside! And if it gets dirty, just throw it in the washer and dryer.

Mark Lipinski's Krakow line

Mark called me Friday evening (last week) to see if I would make a quilt from his new fabric line called Krakow (that's "crack-ow", I asked). I know he previewed pictures of the fabric on his blog (http://marklipinskisblog.wordpress.com), but seeing the fabric in real life is so different. As soon as I saw it up close, I had a mental image of what I wanted to do. The line has a blue and a red colorway. I don't work with blue very often, so that's what I chose. Mark was very agreeable to whatever I wanted to do. I think he loves seeing what his buddies come up with - we all have fairly diverse creative ideas. So we cut off what I needed, and I went home with my treasures.

This is what I started with - a dresden plate block. It went together so easily.


I love putting points on the dresden plates. It makes it so much easier to applique it to the background, whether by machine or by hand. On the reverse side, you can see how the edges are already turned under for you - no needle-turning necessary!


Then I played around with triangle squares. I was trying make sure I used each one of the fabrics in the blue colorway of the Krakow line. There are 12 - I used them all!


I made four of these blocks, then had to decide on sashing/border sizes. I can't bring myself to follow the "rules" for those sizes in relation to the block size (as if I even remember them anyway). Besides, the blocks ended up being 24" square. I felt that I needed a border big enough to feel "solid". See, it's all about ME and what I want, haha.


Here is the final quilt. I settled on an 8.5" border and 4.5" sashing. Wish my picture-taking was better. Either the flash is wonky, or the camera holder is wonky - one or the other. Um, yeah, I admit I am the camera holder. Sigh.