My One Monthly Goal for April is to make two daisy-themed totebags. I have finished the applique and quilting -- just top and batting, no backing since the totes will be lined. They were floppier than I wanted so I sewed the front/back units to Peltex. Then I sewed the lining right-sides together and turned the sandwich right side out. Big mistake. The Peltex is too stiff. The lining rolls to the outside (reminding me of garment-sewing lessons about understitching). I can take it all apart or I can start over. Taking apart seems to be the better choice.
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| Red Rails #3, April, 2015 |
Red Rails #4 is this week's flimsy. The rails are 1.5 x 3.5, cut over several months from scraps, from "straightening up," from FQs. The other three Red Rails are set straight. This time I sewed the rail units into 4's (6.5" blocks) and set them diagonally. I knew I would not add a border, but I was sure I'd use cheddar for the setting triangles. It turned out I didn't have enough cheddar. I used blue-and-white ticking print that came from
Lillian's legacy. Lillian bought five four-yard pieces of the print from Montgomery Ward's for $1.75 per yard.
(I pieced the rails randomly. When I got the units up on the wall I found out that far too many were dark-red-dark. The effect was blobs of dark that suppressed the red. Rather than sew more units, I ripped out many of the dark rails and replaced them with lighter rails.)
I'm linking up at
Monday Making
Oh Scrap!
Design Wall Monday
Main Crush Monday
P.S. Saturday afternoon: staffing an information table at the annual Tech Savvy STEM conference at Oakton Community College. Funded by a grant from AAUW (national), more than 100 middle-school girls chose four out of twelve tech sessions (robotics, creating apps, solar cells, infrared astronomy, etc.) and a skill session (public speaking, stress, leadership, teamwork, etc.)
Your bags will be so cute! I love flex foam for my bags. Soft but firm. And sooo easy to sew through and turn.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how these little scraps add up to something so beautiful.
My oldest granddaughter would have been all over your infrared astronomy and sikar cells sessions. She is graduating college this year with her main focus being on astronomy. :) We are so very proud of her.
You had a very busy week.
Your bags will be so cute. I can see how Peltex was not the best choice for stiffening. Hope you get things ironed out (pardon the pun) in plenty of time.
ReplyDeleteLove your red rails quilt! Looking great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on my little medallions. To answer your question about the dimensions -- The half-square triangles are 1 1/4 inches finished to make the inter square 2 1/2 inches finished. Then, the border is 3/4" finished to make a 4" finished block. BTW, I love your red rails -- anything red and scrappy is high on my list! Sally from Q-Bits
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sally. I will definitely try them.
DeleteThose daisies are so happy! And I love your scrappy rails quilt. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!
ReplyDeleteLove your Red Rails - I like how even though there are many shades of red, the placement and repetition of them give the quilt unity. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really like those sunny daisies. Hope you get your construction problems worked out. Lots of scrappy fun in your Red Rails #4, it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCute daisies but bummer on the issues. I tried Peltex for a purse once and it was a disaster. You might want to try Headliner fabric. http://www.joann.com/foam-backed-headliner-fabric-grey/3496064.html here's a link to it a JoAnnes. There is also another product but I can't think of its name. Take a look at fusible fleece. JoAnnes also sells it. The product I can't think of is actually more like the car headliner but made for bag makers. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI think your daisy bags will be adorable, I love those appliqued flowers. It's disappointing to have to rip something apart, but you will feel better when the totes are the way you want them. My first tote was way too stiff also; I use a fusible fleece and then quilt the outside panels. This gives me structure but softness too. Good luck on finishing them, and thanks so much for linking to Main Crush Monday!
ReplyDeleteThe daisies are pretty. I really love the rain fences. I like that you used red in each rail. I might need to do this same thing with my scraps.
ReplyDelete