Quilting

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I share my work over on Instagram @sarahgoerquilts. Top Nine combs a person's feed from the year to find the nine most popular posts. Here are mine.

1. My first quilt finish for 2019.

2. That time I designed a tile quilt for my bathroom wall.

3. NOT MY WORK. Quilt by Charlie Mankin. One of my favorites from QuiltCon 2019. See my IG post here.

4. The smallest Drunkard's Path block I sewed at the curves workshop with Jen Carlton Bailly. Finishes at 1". (I only made one of them.)

5. Strip Twist quilt block for a collaborative quilt.

6. Aurifil Artisan wholecloth challenge mini quilt.

7. Tula Pink dress I made for my adorable niece.

8. MQG Swap in Nashville, Feb 2019.

9. Enjoying the quilty landscape (New Mexico, I think) on my flight to Nashville for QuiltCon.

 

I'm participating in the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge with Cheryl of muppin.com.

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Happy Hanukkah!

My good quilty friend, Mel Beach, recently finished up three winter/holiday mini quilts and I wanted to share her Hanukkah Mandala quilt with you. Be sure to visit Mel's blog to see her other two projects.

Mel's Hanukkah Inspired Mandala is a variation of her Mod Mandalas; in this workshop Mel teaches everything her students need to know to make their own mandala mini quilt, including bias tape appliqué and traditional piecing. She also teaches a variety of other workshops including free motion and walking foot quilting.

She used the pearlescent and glittery Fairy Frost collection from Michael Miller for her three projects.

One of my favorite parts of Mel's work is how she adds such amazing detail to her quilts with the intricate quilting motifs she chooses. In her Hanukkah Inspired Mandala she added eight quilted candles to her design, plus flame motifs.

Don't miss Mel's Christmas and Winter mandalas on her blog, Piece, Love & Happiness.

Photos by and used with permission from Mel Beach.

I'm participating in the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge with Cheryl of muppin.com.

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Happy Hanukkah!

I've been on a quest to make enough reusable Hanukkah gift bags to wrap the gifts for all eight nights before Hanukkah started this evening. Last month I shared a tutorial for a quick pillowcase style gift bag. I whipped together three final bags this afternoon and wrapped everything up. I'd still like to make a few more, but with a couple reused paper bags and boxes, and four of the reusable gift bags from Amazon, I was all set. I'm still feeling so appreciative of the bag I received as a gift.

My tutorial shows the most polished version I've made this year, with french seams, and a hemmed top edge, but there are ways to make this quick project even faster. On numerous bags I used the selvage edge to speed things up. Positioning the selvage at the top edge of the bag saves the need to hem the top edge. Or having the selvage edge along the side of the bag meant the seam could be a simple straight stitch seam (which I pressed open) before stitching the bottom edge with a french seam and hemming the top. On one bag I serged the seams as well as the top edge.

I have just a few more pieces of Hanukkah fabric that I will fashion into bags to eliminate the need for the couple of paper bags/boxes I used this year.

Opening the first gift of Hanukkah. He got Legos. :-)

Here's a peek at the inside of my hemmed edge and my french seam (on the right side) from my gift bag tutorial. Everything was stitched up with 50wt Aurifil. Depending on the fabric you chose, the hem could be fancied up with a decorative stitch.

This is a great time to visit your local quilt shop for sales on Christmas and Hanukkah fabric. Stock up now and make bags throughout the year to be ready for next holiday season. Or go with fun fabrics you love that would work year round for gift giving.

These were all for gifts given within our house, but I would use cloth bags for gifts given to other family members and friends, giving them the option to keep the bag to reuse themself or I could take it back for future gift giving.

I'm participating in the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge with Cheryl of muppin.com.