Water Bottle and Snack Carrier

The beverage holster - I've been working on this project for a while now, and just got around to putting them together. Those are two 23 oz sports-style water bottles, but 20 oz soda or smaller bottles all fit in the drink pockets.

The drink section is quilted, with batting, to help keep drinks cooler. There's some towel fabric at the bottom, to help catch condensation, too. The pockets on these 3 are each different sizes, but all will hold a bunch of small snacks. It clips right on to many things, with a carabiner clip, so leaves your hands free.

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  Clip it onto a purse

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  Clip it onto a backpack

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  Clip it onto a loop or a belt

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  Store some snacks in the pocket

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  These are just the first 3, of one design!

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  Teddy Bears 2 bottle holster

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  Cats 2 bottle holster

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  Star Wars, zippered pocket over 16 oz bottles

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  Star Wars 2, w/23 oz bottles

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  Groot, zippered pocket over bottles

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  Rocket, zippered pocket over bottles

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  3 Bottle holster with Mickey

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  Looking into an empty pocket

A Baby Bag

Just finished!  'Diaper bag' isn't inclusive enough for all the different items you can find in a bag for babies. Or maybe it will never be used for a baby, maybe they will use it for themselves, an over-night bag, a carry-on bag, or a gift bag for someone else. It's their bag, so it's up to them!

When You Have Some Extra Time

This beautiful quilt is complete, and ready to be mailed. It's a Quilt of Valor, and the most time consuming quilt I've ever made (up to this point.) Each 6" block (center square and framing triangles - 29 to 32 pieces) took an hour to assemble (that's not cutting, fixing or building into a strip...) I made it as a quilt-as-you-go, and the instructions are on my How-To pages. There were days I was ready to toss my sewing machines, and by the end, I was really done with all of it. But now, I don't think of the frustrations, the imperfections, the mistake I made that effected several rows of the finished quilt. 

Now it's done, and I am thinking of the next thing I want to create.

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  I began with blocks (5" here)

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  Laid them out and added triangles

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  Until patterns emerged

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  Built out strips of blocks

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  Then began quilting a corner

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  And adding the next strip to be quilted

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  So that slowly but surely

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  A quilt was emerging

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  And finally, it was finished

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  And from a distance, it's beautiful

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  And ready to go to it's recipient

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  And the instructions are in my 'How-To'

I'm Doing It Again

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  Hours of cutting and sorting

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  Laying out for color arrangements

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  Each block takes an hour to assemble

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  Strips will be Quilt As You Go'd

I decided to do a 'How-I-Made-That' for this quilt, and in cutting out some pieces and doing the tutorial, I find that I am now making a second quilt of similar design. This one is a Quilt As You Go version, different in many ways.

Another Early Quilt Found

Went on a quick road trip, and while visiting, my sister pulled out a quilt I made for her about 25 years ago. Each block has a blocked image in the center.

The 2-year Quilt

So, I finally finished this one. I started it in 2017, from a photograph, and I thought, that's really great, I can do that, but I will add something to it, I will make it even better. It's always a mistake, I think, to create a pattern from a photo, and before even getting it right, making changes. But that's what I did.

I probably didn't think it through, just got going on it, and then had to stop, as there were some other things I needed to get done. By the time I got back to this, I had forgotten where I was going with it, and ended up having to completely deconstruct the second half and retro-fit it into the original direction. I tore it up several times, including during the quilting. It's not perfect, though if I make another one someday, it will be closer, because I've had time to think it through, ripping it all apart as many times as I did. It's a one-of-a-kind, that's for certain! Want to see more on how I made this quilt? 

Memory Pillows

It's great to have photos very handy, and photo's that commemorate the last year or so, all the fun and changes that took place in that period, to be able to remember just by pulling your pillow over and remembering, that's even better, I would think! This is the theme of my Birthday Gifts this year, and in time, I will know whether it was a good idea, or not...

Bowl Cozies

My latest undertaking, bowl cozies. Made like potholders to keep your fingers from getting too hot or too cold. Those pictured above are unfinished, but on their way to completion. I've read that this is a "30 minute" craft, but I find that's not true. Anything worth making is worth making well, goes the old axiom. Though, they probably take an hour and a half to complete, you could take longer on them, to make them perfect. I was having sewing machine troubles, and was ripping a lot. Getting the final top stitching straight lost me some time, and I add a 'do not microwave' message, for safety's sake. Click through to my tutorial in the 'How To' section, should you want to make them yourself.

Toys in the Attic - Update

Finally finished this set of bags. As with all the items I make, each is a one-of-a-kind bag, each special and unique, and most of all Fun! There's been lots going on. Some family time, fixing and fixing again a water problem in the fridge, dogs, yardwork, housework... It's an even dozen bags, with very little in scraps left. Lets hope that these grab folks by the imagination, and they need to include one or two in their own collections!

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  Bigger Doll and Cats Squared
  These two are bigger than the others, big enough to carry small electronics, as the image shows
  
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  For Comparison
  At set of Purses with an iPad Air
  

Toys in the Attic

My latest creation, this is heavy woven Teddy Bear fabric, and it makes a very cute bag. In the photo on the left it looks a bit smaller than the other bags I have made, because I brought the sides in a little, to be closer to the handles.  I bought this fabric about 15 years ago, with a couple of similar pieces. I haven't been able to find anything like it since then.

Important to note: It's lined, and will have a velcro 'snap' closure. I will make more of these, using all the fabric that I have available to me. I plan to make several different styles, in each of the three fabrics I have here, some a bit bigger, some with longer handles, some maybe a bit squarer. Lots more coming up, this is just the beginning! I'm calling it Toys In the Attic, because the other pieces are an antique doll print and a multiple cat print. Stay tuned to see where I go with this!