Tuesday, July 12, 2011

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!

11 comments:

Amy Friend said...

Oh, Krista, thank you so much. I love seeing your tea kettle and I am glad that you enjoyed (sort of!) sewing it. I bet the second one will be a breeze! Now I am super excited to see the mini quilt with steam!

Angela {fussycut} said...

I love those pretty totes. I just bought some fabric to make a couple. Did you use the interfacing that Anna recommended or something different?

Meg said...

I just got Amy's pattern! Glad to hear it went smoothly, as I have never paper pieced! Great bags too!

Ruth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruth said...

Oops - trying again!

I agree - your friends are pattern geniuses! The kettle block is pure genius, and the totes are gorgeous too! And yummy fabrics!

Jenny said...

you have such a knack with fabric choices Krista! i love your tote bags!
yes, great patterns!!

Tanya said...

Those bags are gorgeous!

Anna said...

love them krista, and you're too sweet! that paper pieced block is awesome! love those fabrics!!!

Elisabeth said...

If you are looking for good patterns for bags check out
http://www.u-handbag.com/
Lisa is a bag-making genius and her tutorials are easy to follow.
Love your kettle. Have never tried paper piecing but would love to.

Kirsten said...

Love your 241 bags - just wondering if you used interfacing or not?

Anonymous said...

I love the fabric combos.