2014 Block-of-the Month~Row-by-Row~Swap: Quilter's Garden

I just joined the BOM for the Quilter's Garden, which is not only a BOM, but a swap and a row-by-row quilt too, although you can make your quilt anyway that you want to so it doesn't have to be a row quilt. To find out more click on the icon below or on my side bar to find out all about it. The first block will be emailed to those who join on September 1st, but Deana is allowing late sign-ups, so hurry because you won't want to miss out on the fun blocks and the swap too.

Click for info about the BOM Swap 

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Weekend Link Party # 21

Welcome to Weekend Link Party #21. Link up anything you would like to share. And help spread the word by adding my button on your blog. Thank you! I encourage those of you who link up here to write a really good descriptive title so that we know what you are linking, since there are no thumbnail photos. If it is a quilt, please use quilt in the title. If it is a bag, use bag in the title and so on. That might help those who are looking to click on the titles that might interest them. Thank you so much! The Weekend Link Party is a new place to link up your creations to share. Starting on Friday each week you can link up your creations, old or new or show a work-in-progress. Share anything at all. Some weeks there will be a theme, but for now anything goes.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com" title="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/PatchouliMoonStudio/6fa4ed6c-636e-4287-adae-f51b08e9553a_zpsbac2a9c4.jpg" alt="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Dog Fire Hydrant & Other Things Around the Neighborhood

I was walking around the neighborhood near me and I finally remembered to bring my camera. I had seen this fire hydrant for years, but I kept forgetting my camera. So here it is. Isn't it cute? Not sure if the owner of the house where this fire hydrant sits painted it or who painted it, but I love it!

Dalmatian fire hydrant.

This is the largest Joshua tree that I had ever seen.

From this side you can see that is is taller than this house!

This starting growing in our yard. It looks like Queen Anne's Lace. When I lived in Washington state, Queen Anne's Lace grew wild, but I hadn't seen it here in New Mexico before.

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Hot Air Balloon Quilts

The first weekend in October is when the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta begins. It lasts for 9 days. I was playing one day and created four 8" x 10" wall quilts. I used crayon pastels and then painted them with a fabric medium and water to create these 4 small quilts.

This balloon is actually green, blue and purple. Purple is a hard color to photograph accurately,

Okay I must confess I goofed a bit on this balloon, so I did a bit of Zentangles on it to cover up my goof, LOL!!!

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Alphabet Quilt

I designed and created an Alphabet Quilt over 14 years ago (in 2000) and then with the encouragement of a friend created a pattern for it. I sold it as a paper pattern first and then along came Craftsy and I turned it into a pdf and started to sell the pattern on Craftsy a few years ago. In all the years that I have sold this pattern, I have never been contacted about this pattern with a question until a few months ago. Joanne Noyes emailed to ask me something and one thing lead to another and I asked her if she would send me a photo of the quilt when she finished the quilt. Joanne did a beautiful job! Joanne had the quilt quilted by a long arm quilter, Shirley York of Blue Moose Quilting in Rumford Maine, who also did a wonderful job. Joanne gave me permission to share her quilt on my blog. It is so thrilling for me to see the finished results from a pattern that I designed that someone else has made. (Now I know how some of those bag designers must feel when bag testers like myself test their bag patterns). Here is Joanne's Alphabet Quilt~

The quilt top. Joanne made some changes like adding the applique pig, block, and gingerbread boy, (instead of the flower, heart and star that are on the pattern) which are darling changes.

The finished quilt. See the quilting on the black border and the great quilting on the quilt. Nicely done Joanne and Shirley. Thanks for sharing your quilt with me Joanne (and now all of my followers and visitors too).

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Keshi Murasaki~Seed Stitch Knit Tank Top

I knit this seed stitch tank top in a variegated wool sport weight yarn. The pattern is from the book, Knit Kimono too: Simple Designs to Mix, Match, and Layer  by Vicki Square. The tank top is called, Keshi Murasaki in the book. I checked the book out from the Corrales Public Library.

This came out a bit large in the bust at the underarms, so I need to sew it so that it will fit me. Usually they turn out too small in the bust for me, lol!!! Like the gray shrug from yesterday's posting.

The back view.

The side view

The seed stitch.

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Gray Knit Shrug

I began knitting this shrug because I loved the look of the knit stitch. I thought I had enough yarn, but as I was beginning to run out of yarn, I found another gray yarn that I had and thought I would start knitting it in so it wasn't an abrupt change in yarns. When I tried this shrug on after it was finished, it wasn't large enough in the front to cover my bust area. I loved how it looks from the back though. Oh well it was hard to know from looking at the photo of the pattern how it would look on me. The arms look a bit weird on my dress form, lol!!! I figured that I may as well share some of my not-so-good projects with you too, lol!!! I don't even remember the name of this shrug or where I got the pattern from and can't seem to find the pattern anywhere now that I am posting this. Maybe I threw it out when it didn't work out for me? Who knows?

I started knitting in the lighter gray into the ribbing to transition from the darker gray yarn since I was running out of the darker gray yarn.

Even on my dress form you can see it's not large enough in the bust area.

I do like the knit stitch here on the back.

Close-up of knit stitch.

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Weekend Link Party #20

Welcome to Weekend Link Party #20. Link up anything you would like to share. And help spread the word by adding my button on your blog. Thank you! I encourage those of you who link up here to write a really good descriptive title so that we know what you are linking, since there are no thumbnail photos. If it is a quilt, please use quilt in the title. If it is a bag, use bag in the title and so on. That might help those who are looking to click on the titles that might interest them. Thank you so much! The Weekend Link Party is a new place to link up your creations to share. Starting on Friday each week you can link up your creations, old or new or show a work-in-progress. Share anything at all. Some weeks there will be a theme, but for now anything goes.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com" title="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/PatchouliMoonStudio/6fa4ed6c-636e-4287-adae-f51b08e9553a_zpsbac2a9c4.jpg" alt="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Catch All Caddy

When I was in Oregon in July, I went to few quilt shops in the area. I saw a pattern for a caddy and knew I wanted to make it; it's The Catch All Caddy byAnnie. I bought the pattern and I made one caddy that I am now keeping my pigma pens, wax pastels, watercolor paints, etc. in. I love this caddy! I cut out more fabric to make one for my knitting tools and project, which I just finished and another for my sewing tools, which I am working on now. The pattern is from byAnnie design (she is the creator of Soft and Stable which is a great product for bag making). I was a bit confused at first by the inside bellowed "pockets" because I thought they were supposed to be pockets with the bottom sewn, but turns out they are dividers and they are open on the top and bottom. I worried that small things would fall into the bottom of the bag and it seemed  odd to have the bottom of these open. But as I thought about it more, I realized there are 7 pockets on the outside that can hold smaller items, and as I am using these bellowed dividers I really like them. Here is the first caddy I made (I am still sewing one for my sewing tools and will post it when I am finished).

I chose a fabric that I already had that has craft supplies on the fabric, like paint brushes, scissors, thread, paint, etc. I didn't have enough to make the outside pockets in that fabric too, so I chose to use a purple fabric for the pockets. This side has 3 divided pockets.

This side has 2 divided pockets that are quilted.

Looking down into the caddy you can see the bellowed dividers that are open on the top and the bottom.

This side has a slip pocket.

The other side has a zippered pocket. I added binding to both tops and bottom of the zipper because I thought it was easier to sew this way. The pattern shows adding only one binding strip above the zipper.

My art supplies fit perfectly inside the caddy,

Next is the caddy I made for my knitting tools and project. The cute sheep fabric was a birthday gift last year from my friend Tara. I knew I wanted to use this fabric for a knitting bag of some kind, so when I finished my first caddy, I decided to make this knitting one next. I added a couple of polka dot fabrics that I already had and I really love how this one came out.

FYI: I used the Soft and Stable byAnnie in the knitting caddy, and in the art supply caddy I used fusible fleece and lightweight interfacing. They both work, but the Soft and Stable really does hold it's shape nicely. Soft and Stable is like headliner foam only there is a thin fabric on both sides of the foam, whereas headliner foam has a thin fabric only on one side and just the foam on the other side. I have sewn bags with fusible fleece, headliner foam and now this caddy below with the Soft and Stable. Soft and Stable is a bit denser than headliner foam. The headliner foam is a tad cheaper per yard than Soft and Stable, and Soft and Stable is 58" wide versus 54" wide for headliner foam. After using both products, I really do like the Soft and Stable better. It bounces back better than headliner foam and if feels nicer too. Both quilt very easily and the hot iron hasn't bothered it one bit either. Neither are fusible though and I do like the ease of using a fusible fleece too. I suppose you would choose your stabilizer depending on what you are making and how you will use the item. For instance, if I make a camera bag or a bag to hold a tablet or laptop, etc. then I would want the cushioned protection of using Soft and Stable. If it's just a handbag, I might choose fusible fleece for it's ease of use and because it costs less. I sure hope Annie is planning to make a fusible version of Soft and Stable soon....hint, hint, lol!!! (I am not an affiliate and do not earn any money from anyone. This is strictly my own comments and opinions).

The Catch All Caddy holds my knitting tools and project. This side has 2 large divided slip-in pockets and the opposite side has 3 divided slip-in pockets. The hardest part to sew was the bias binding round the curves because it was rather thick and fiddly going around the curves. I sewed a lot of the bias binding by hand.

Looking down inside the caddy show the bellowed dividers.

Side pocket on this side and the opposite side has a zippered pocket.

My current knitting project and knitting tools inside.

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