Next Up: Flapper's Fancy

When I finished the flimsy for this quilt in April 2021, I called it Deco Elegance. It was more of a provisional name; it emerged mainly from the fact that I used Jason Yenter's Deco Elegance fabric line, and admittedly, I didn't take time to create a more original name. Now, with the assistance of my AI minion, I have a variety of alternatives. And there are so many good options, I still might change my mind again about the name. (Update: I learned there was already a Deco Delight quilt pattern, so I changed it AGAIN to Flapper's Fancy. I'm pretty sure that won't be taken. LOL)

Anyway, I designed this quilt myself in early 2021. One of the prints in the fabric line featured these 3-inch medallions and I was inspired to come up with a plan where I could fussy cut and use them. So, I scoured my library of blocks, selecting ones that would let me incorporate these medallions then I combined them all in a medallion-style quilt. I was quite happy with the result.

I've now had my long arm for a year, but I've been reluctant to quilt this one because I kept reworking the plan. The complex blocks I initially wanted to incorporate are too large for my quilting space, and I still don't trust my ability to break them into sections and align them perfectly. My fear is some elements might turn out skewed, which would lead to an overall result I wouldn't be pleased with.

So today, I reworked the plan with more, smaller pantographs. In the end, I decided to go with Donna Kleinke's Genevieve line of pantographs. The finished plan looks like this.

It's now on the long arm, and I'm ready to get started, so this is likely how I'll be spending my weekend.

Linking up with Finished (or Not) Friday and Friday Foto Fun.

New Old Project

For my recent Friday Night With Friends project, I chose to work on this month's UFO, which is an Insulated Shopping Tote. For the majority of the project, I've followed these directions, although I made a few modifications: I swapped out the nylon lining for a canvas-type material, and decided to skip the interior pockets. I'm really just aiming for a sturdy bag suitable for carrying frozen goods when we go grocery shopping.

I think I started this project a couple years ago when Jeff asked me to make it for him. However, at the time, I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out the inset zipper panel so I set the project aside.

When I pulled out the project at the start of this month, I found the assembled canvas lining with the Insul-Fleece and the inset zipper unit.

After dedicating tonight to the project⏤mostly rereading the 17 page directions⏤I'm happy to report I've now also put together the exterior pouch fabric. I also began to disassemble my previous attempt at crafting the inset zipper unit, but then realized (again) it was an inch too short. Rather than continue trying to salvage it, I decided to order a new zipper from WAWAK (along with some new colors of serger thread for the long arm).

Having made a solid start, I feel pretty confident I'll be able to wrap up this project before the month is out.

Quick Quilted Panel

A while back I purchased a couple of panels intending to use them as backings for quilts I was hoping to make for my husband's niece's kids. However, after seeing photos of the kids over the weekend, I realized my window for crafting them "baby" quilts had already passed. It's funny how quickly they grow!

In an effort to avoid working on this month's UFO yesterday, I decided to put one of the panels on the long arm, quilt it, and donate it to Comfort Quilts. I'm pleased with the result and the fact it will now bring comfort to someone in need.

This particular panel is available from Marshall Dry Goods

I used a remnant of 100% poly batting I had lying around and orchid Maxi-Lock serger thread, primarily because I had some leftover bobbins from another project. The edge-to-edge design I utilized was Briar Rose Pearls from MyCreativeStitches.

Now that I'm done with this diversion, maybe I can loop back around and work on my insulated shopping bag. I'm sure once I get going it will go fairly quickly.

Tuesday ToDo #75

I skipped last week's post as I got sidetracked before I could finish it. However, I did manage to accomplish all the tasks on my list, and even a bit more. My Rose Lane quilt is now quilted and waiting to be bound; I shared about it in a previous post here.

At the moment, I'm contemplating what my next project should be. There are a couple of projects with impending deadlines, so my strategy is to list everything out and simply check them off as I tackle each one.

The tasks on my list include:

• Finishing the quilting on the Deco Elegance quilt, which needs to be done by the first week of August.
• Creating quilt labels for all the quilts.
• Binding my stack of quilts - six in total, including the Deco Elegance.
• Completing my insulated shopping tote, which is this month's UFO.

I'm eager to see how much I can get done and how each project turns out. It's going to be a busy, yet rewarding month!

Linking up with Tuesday ToDo.