my friends are pattern geniuses

My friend Amy at During Quiet Time has been wowing me for ages with her impeccable quilting and hand-printed fabrics. Have you seen her latest Catherineholm-inspired tea towels? Amazing. And now she's entered into the world of pattern design with her Ruched Happy Bag pattern and the just-released Vintage Collection Tea Kettle quilt block pattern, which I had the pleasure of sewing up last night.

I'm a complete newbie to paper-piecing. Well, I did make a circle of geese block once upon a time, but that was a hot mess. Amy's pattern is so clear though that I was able to draw from my basic knowledge of how to place the fabrics and sew with a very teeny stitch length and complete my kettle with no issues. (Well, with no issues regarding the pattern. I was not so precise with my sewing so my block ended up a bit wonky. Next time I'll follow the rules better for perfect results.) A beginner could do a bit of googling to learn the basics of paper piecing too and complete this as a first pattern no problem. I plan to quilt my block up into a little mini over the next few days so I can practice Amy's cool steam technique. If you want to know more about Amy and her crafting, you can read more about her here on a recent feature at Noodlehead.

Coincidentally, Anna at Noodlehead created the pattern for the 241 tote bag, which I sewed up times two last week for friends.

I made one from some circle-print japanese fabric (just like the first 241 tote I sewed up) and paired it with Cloud9 leaf fabric and some natural Essex linen blend.

The second is made from my all-time favorite Japanese grey woven fabric, some aqua Moda crossweave, and Cake Rock Beach dots. I lined it with another great Cloud9 fabric, Clearing.

The red tote is going to my friend Tregei in Montana, and the blue one is going to my friend Bridget as a consolation bag. Not because the 241 tote isn't awesome, which it is, but because Bridget asked me to sew her up a new purse nearly a year ago and I still haven't done it. If anyone knows of a really great pattern for a fairly roomy, no-fuss purse/tote with a zippered closure, please pass it on. Because draft after draft of my own attempts show that I need to leave pattern designing up to my friends. Thank you Amy and Anna for doing it right!