Some Progress on the Heart Tote Bag

I've been working on this quilted heart tote bag for a few months now. Sewing time has been disrupted because of the renovation, getting sick and my things are still in boxes. I did set aside this project so I could work on it, but there's just been a lot of distraction. 

Sweetie and I exchanged places when the family room was finished. I'm now sitting at the far end of the family room. We switched since it makes more sense for him to be near the display cabinet. He does toy photography, so he has to access his collection often. I switched with him since I need more storage space for my sewing items. 

The boys set up my sewing table and I've since tried to put some time to sew. The only project I have accessible is the quilted tote bag I'm making for a friend. I made some progress! I sandwiched the top and quilted the heart by color. I scrambled to find thread since most of my materials are still in boxes. I made do with what I have and finished quilting yesterday. 

I thought I'd finish it by today, BUT, I can't find the roll of bag handle, haha. While looking for it I ended up fixing my gardening stuff and emptying a few bags. I hope to find it soon so I can finish this project and move on to a new one! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made a Tablet Case Out of Scrap Fabric

I decided to make a new case for my tablet since the last one I made has seen better days. I made it when I started quilting again in 2015. It was a practice piece and I told myself I'll make a proper one someday. "Someday" arrived and I wanted to make something useful for my last scrap fabric project (for now!). 

Since my last tablet case was pretty colorful, I decided to stick to black, red and white fabric. I went through a quilting magazine for inspiration. Chose a simple design that would fit the scraps I had on hand. I also used scrap wadding and binding to finish the project. 

Here's how I made the tablet case:

And how it turned out:

Side by side with my 2015 project :)

Measurements and other info available at: https://www.needleadventures.com/2023/10/scrap-fabric-project-diy-tablet-case.html

#BeKind #StaySafe

Retaso Project 5: Coaster from Tiny Scraps

The tiny triangle scrap fabric seemed bottomless. They came from making bias tape. Took me awhile to sort them and that made it easier to plan what to do. What I didn't anticipate was how small they were once pieced together. Each square was just 0.5" x 0.5" after piecing it together with others. Tried matching all the scraps and it didn't look nice. 

Then I asked myself, "What would Mom do?" Mom wouldn't have touched such tiny pieces, haha. I think should would have instead used it for her paper projects as accents. She'd probably turn them into a flower. I was bent on creating something from it. I was able to make a 3.5" x 3.5" square out of a set. The best thing to do with it is make a coaster.

One can never have enough coasters at home. They are like pens that magically disappear after some use. So I think that's what I'll do when I collect tiny triangles again or other smaller scraps. I haven't even done a crazy quilt yet. Maybe I'll do that for the other scraps. 

Turned out quite okay. The imperfections were masked by the black scrap fabric. The triangles weren't the same size, so it was really difficult to piece together. It was fun to do nonetheless. Hmm, I still have more tiny triangles. Let's see what I can come up with next week.

#BeKind #StaySafe

My New Blender Quilt Cover, Meow!

Started this project last May, but I finished two other quilt covers for my KitchenAid stand mixer and food processor. I saw on this project because I had to figure out how to make the tail and the bow tie. Took longer to finish than expected because I also had to rest my arm and exercise to keep the pain away. 

Told myself I have to finish this cat project first before I start another project. Surprised myself by finishing it in less than a week. Finally finished it and I like how it turned out. I realized though I still need to improve my sewing machine skills. It will save my arm from getting triggered. I still like hand quilting though, so many I'll just time myself whenever I sew. 

Here's how it turned out -

And how I made it -

Now that this is done, I can now check my list on what's next. Probably a bag I promised a good friend :)

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Creative Happy Tuesdays: New Quilt Cover for My Food Processor

After six weeks of working on it off and on, I finally finished the new cat quilt cover for my food processor. I adjusted a lot from the Pinterest pin inspiration. Made the cat face wider and I softened the face by making the eyes more pronounced. 

The Front

Decided to make another cat to form the back pocket. That's where I'll put the tools of the food processor (so it won't get lost!). I like how it turned out. I also like how the colors nicely merged together. 

The Back with pocket.

Here's how I assembled it -

Now, I have to finish the cover for the blender. It's going to be quirky!

#BeKind #StaySafe

It's Sew-Time!

Jumped out of bed when I woke up because I'm excited to work on my t-shirt memory quilt. I started working on it in 2019 during a break. It's my collection of Google shirts I used for 15 years. My shirt size leveled up through the years. I was an extra small when I started and that progressed haha. I was truly an achiever because I gained the Google 10 multiple times! They adjusted it to Google 15 after a few years because it's true, you'll really gain at least 10 pounds on your first year. 

I asked help from Miggy last weekend to arrange the cuttings for me. I normally go to him to make sure that the colors of my quilts are appropriate. He has an eye for it (skills honed from being an animator). Here's what he came up with:

Miggy agreed I should use maong-like fabric for the borders. I thought it would be nice to match the shirts with maong since that's what you wear with t-shirts. I look forward to finishing the quilt blanket since we really need a new blanket haha. Each shirt comes with many happy memories of trips and events, I never parted with any of it because it holds so many memories. Hope to finish it this quarter!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Making a T-shirt Quilt Blanket to Preserve Memories

Woke up with a slight fever again. Grrrrr! I don't feel unwell though, just warm. This means I need to adjust my day again. I was planning to start working on my tshirt quilt blanket. It's been waiting to be worked on for 3 years now! 

I started cutting shirts when I was on break in late 2019. Brought back the shirts in Singapore and thought I'd be able to work on it. Nope, got busy with work and then I focused on finishing other quilt projects first. Thought I'd be able to start working on it during quarantine, but I ended up just sleeping during the six days we were stuck in a hotel, haha. By now, the project has been through six "homes" - previous home in Paranaque, 2nd to the last flat in SG, last flat in SG, quarantine hotel, back to previous home in Paranaque and now new home. It's one well traveled project! 

Now the old tshirts I cut up are finally on my makeshift sewing table. I did some planning the other night with Miggy. I normally get his help to match colors. We decided to use denim for the borders since I'm using tshirts. It should make it look more cohesive that way. 

I collected all the shirts I got since 2006. They are all precious to me and hold so many memories. I could probably tell a story out of each tshirt. Most though don't fit me anymore. I'm only able to wear now the recent ones I got. I'm quite sentimental so I thought I'd preserve the shirts by making a blanket. I hope it turns out okay.

Not to worry about the retaso from the shirts. I gave it to my Mom and she's created stuff out of it. She's really more creative than me. It will take awhile to finish this quilt project since some additional steps have to be done to stabilize the fabric. I can go on and on about it, but I'll just make a video sa takdang panahon haha. I hope it doesn't take me two years to finish!

While the cats are away, the mouse will play! Haha. 

#BeKind #StayHome