A Pink Basket Finish

Grand-baby #5 is coming next month and her mom asked me a while ago if I'd make her a basket for the nursery. I made an Easter Basket for her big brother last year and it's been used in his room ever since.

I absolutely love it when the kids ask me to make them stuff and so I immediately started searching through my stash for the perfect pink fabrics (my daughter-in-law confirmed the nursery would be pink).

Last week was a little bit hectic, but I managed to make Ella's new basket.

I used the same tutorial as the ones I made for Easter last year except I didn't have any heavy interfacing so the handle is a little bit floppy.

The outside fabric is by Tamara Kate for Michael Miller (I believe it's from her Joy collection) and the lining is an Alison Glass print I had leftover from my Intertwined quilt.

The details:

• Pattern: Easter Basket Tutorial by Sew Lux Fabric 
• Fabrics: By Tamara Kate for Michael Miller (Joy Collection) and Alison Glass

Next up in my project queue is a baby quilt for little Ella. I'm hoping to be back next week with that finish.

My first pair of me-made pants!

Let me start by saying taking pictures of finished quilts is a lot easier than taking pictures of me wearing me-made clothes! I'm either going to buy myself a tripod and find somewhere to take pictures or I'll have to make sure someone is available to help when I finish something.

Anyhow, I made some pants! These are the Seamwork Moji.

I made them out of a very inexpensive double knit from Fabric.com. The colour is black and extremely difficult to photograph so I apologize for the lack of proper detailed photos.

The Moji pants are a relaxed kind of pant with a cuff at the bottom and a drawstring waist. These were a trial version so I decided to omit the drawstring and inserted elastic instead.

I didn't make any adjustments to this first pair but next time, I think I'll lengthen the back rise (the waist sits annoyingly low on the back). There is also a little too much fabric on the front so I think I'll research the cause of that extra puffiness so I can make that adjustment as well next time.

These pants were a super easy sew - I mean, the fit is extremely forgiving and the pattern is really, really clearly written. I think I picked a good one for my first pair of pants.

The details:

• Pattern: Moji pants by Seamwork
• Size: 22 with no adjustments 
• Fabrics: Black 100% polyester double knit from Fabric.com 

Intertwined Finish!

I'm noticing now that I've been on a Plus quilt kick lately - but the truth is I'm trying to make quilts from the books and patterns I already own and there are so many quilts I want to make from the Modern Plus Sign Quilts book by Cheryl Brickey and Page Alexander!

Intertwined is another one from the book that I finished and photographed last weekend.

I used my long-hoarded Alison Glass fabric along with some Kona White for the background. The Alison Glass prints are just gorgeous - the colours are so saturated!

I quilted it with wavy lines with my walking foot and some Aurifil 50 wt thread (#2000). The thread colour matches the background really well and just disappears on the coloured fabric.

The backing is a cute flannel print I had for a bit - cute little elephants. And the binding is a grey Alison print which goes perfectly with the front and the back.

The details:

• Pattern: Intertwined by Cheryl Brickey from the book Modern Plus Sign Quilts
• Size: 68.5" x 88.5" square 
• Fabrics: Alison Glass prints and Kona White 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2000 in 50 wt

Trellis Vines

I pieced this quilt top back in the Spring, got it basted a few weeks ago and then during my recent vacation, I finally got it quilted and bound. This is Trellis Vines from the 2019 Quilter's Planner Magazine.

I didn't take notes about the fabrics I used and it's been so long now I really don't remember. But they are all Kona solids in greens and a light grey for the background.

I once again went with flowers quilted with the FMQ foot on my Juki sewing machine. I really love this design - it's easy, it's quick and the texture is really awesome.

The backing is a black and white print I've had for a while and I used strips from the leftover green solids for the binding.

The details:

• Pattern: Trellis Vines by Megan Fisher of kBear Craft (available in the 2019 Quilter's Planner Magazine)
• Size: 67" square 
• Fabrics: Green and grey Kona solids 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove) in 50 wt

I'm working on another finish today so I should be back soon with something else to share!

New Cowl Top (M6963)

I made another garment and I really like it! I mean, I'm not very good at garment sewing yet so this is far from perfect, but it's definitely wearable and I'm learning so much.

Apologies for the vacation hair and lack of make-up!

The pattern is McCall's M6963. It's from the Palmer Pletsch line so there lots of fitting help within the instructions so that even a beginner can achieve a good fit. My measurements put me somewhere between a 20 and a 22 but I decided to go with a straight 20 because of the amount of stretch in my fabric.

The fit is pretty good across the bust and falls perfectly at the hips but it's a bit big at the shoulders so the next time I make this, I might make the shoulders a little narrower.

The fabric I used is an ITY I purchased from Fabric.com. I took these pictures on a really hot day and learned that polyester is definitely not something I'd want to be wearing on a hot summer day. This top will definitely be more of a layering piece for the Fall.

I sewed the entire thing on my regular sewing machine because I couldn't figure out the tension on my serger so the insides aren't super pretty. Also my machine kept wanting to eat this fabric which was a complete pain! I really need to fix this serger of mine!

Bottom line: I think this is a success! I'm definitely going to be wearing this and my 21 year-old daughter actually wants one!

The details:

• Pattern: McCalls M6963
• Size: 20
• Fabric: ITY from Fabric.com 
• Modifications: None

Postage Plus Finish

After what feels like many, many months, I finally have a finish to share. I have to say - being able to sit down at my machine for any length of time and actually get stuff done feels really good.

Postage Plus is a pattern from the book Modern Plus Sign Quilts by Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander. This specific quilt was designed by Cheryl. I loved the book's version so much, I pretty much copied it - used blue scraps for the plus sign in the middle along with Kona solids for the bars (not sure which colours exactly).

This was so much fun to put together! I went with complete randomness for the middle section - I didn't want to overthink any of it and a few of the pieces probably would look better somewhere else, but overall, I'm quite pleased with the random.

Because I was really looking forward to sharing a finish, I went with a super fast flower FMQ motif with my favourite Aurifil thread -  Dove in a 50 wt.

I'm also trying to use up the fabric in my stash as much as possible and the only piece I had that matched and was big enough is a flannel with cats on it. :-)

For the binding, I had about a half yard on my cutting table of an aqua Kona solid (I think it's Jamaica) so went with that.

The details:

• Pattern: Postage Plus from the book Modern Plus Sign Quilts by Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander
• Size: 54.5" x 72.5" 
• Fabrics: Blue scraps and Kona solids 
• Thread: Pieced and quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove) in 50 wt

I really hope to be back here with more finishes soon!

2019 FAL - Q3 Proposed Finishes

Hello everyone! It is time for Quarter 3 of the Finish-A-Long (FAL)!

As you can see, a new quarter of the Finish-A-Long is starting today.  If you missed participating the first half of the year, you can join us now for a brand new start. Those of you who did join us for the first and second quarter, thank you and I do hope you finished some things and plan to continue on with us for Q3.

So let's get to it!

You can now link up your list of projects that you want to finish in Quarter 3 of 2019. We are hoping that the FAL community will inspire you to work on your unfinished projects this quarter, and to get them finished!

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Hosts

The 2019 FAL is hosted by a great community of bloggers. This year our hosts are:

• Sandra - Sew of Course - Ireland
• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA Louisiana
• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada
• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA Georgia
• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA California
• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA Maryland
• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada
• Sarah G - Sarah Goer Quilts - USA California
• Sarah Z - Cedar Fork Stitches - USA Montana
• Julie - That’s Sew Julie - USA Iowa
• Sharla - Thistle Thicket Studio - USA Kansas
• Nicole - Handwrought Quilts - Canada

For those of you who are new to the FAL, here is an explanation: The Finish-A-Long is a community aiming to motivate and encourage each other to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging around, sometimes for far too long. At the start of the quarter you post and link up a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months. Then, at the end of the quarter, you link up each successful finish from your original list.

Each linked up finish is an entry into the draw for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list as long or as short as you wish. The 2019 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent 2019 FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Sponsors

Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q3 of the Finish-A-Long. you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo. Please think about visiting them and saying thank you for their their support of the FAL.

Winner's Choice of 1 Large 12 Spool Collection

$80 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

1 Six Month Subscription

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Fabric Voucher

Make your Q3 List of Unfinished Projects

So now it is time to sort out the projects/UFOs/WIPs that you want to finish over the next three months. Take a photo of each one and make your list. If you like you can use our Finish-A-Long Planner to list your projects and keep track of progress. It also has all link-up dates for the year, and the hashtags that we would use. Or use any method that works for you. Please ensure that you have at least STARTED your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is considered a project started - and remember it is only a FINISHED project that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.

Post Your Q3 List

Post your list either on your blog, on Instagram, or on Flickr if you prefer. If posting on social media (Flickr, Instagram), it will be very helpful if you tag your list with #2019FALQ3yourname (where yourname is unique to you). Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing project progress or finishes helps the host to make the connection to your original list quickly and easily.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link up your finishes at the end of the quarter! We will be posting a reminder on the blog and on Instagram, but do keep an eye out...

Link-up Your Q3 List

The 2019 Q3 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below, on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on ONE host blog, and the link will show up on all the host blogs. If you are using Flickr or Instagram, post a mosaic of your projects and put your list in the description. Don't forget to include your unique hashtag.
If you need a little help, Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link up if you need it, and Marci has a post on how to link up from Instagram.

Join the FAL Community

We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too.

If you want you can follow us on Facebook: Finish-A-Long and/or on Instagram: @finishalong, too. We'll post encouragement during the quarter and reminders when the finishes link up opens at the end of the quarter.

When creating your list there is one thing to remember - No deductions for not completing something so - Aim High! Nothing to lose!! Well now, get that list together and get linked up.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Feel free to use and share the FAL button at the top and this one too:

Remember: you only need to link up at ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.

An InLinkz Link-up