Sewing for Friends

Last summer I got to meet Amy from amylouwhosews.  She has hosted Sew-n-Tell for a few years now, an online linky party to share what you make each week, and it was one of the motivating forces that got me to start sewing more often.  Without it the sewing machine might still be in the closet in the spare room instead of living on the dining room table and getting used almost everyday.  We met for real last summer, back when I had pink hair.  Anyway, a few months ago her husband deployed and she’s been home with their three children by herself.  I can’t imagine losing my husband for the better part of a year, and my heart goes out to her.  So, to celebrate the halfway home mark I made her a little present.  And amazingly, got myself to the post office before 6 more months had passed.  That’s the true miracle here…

I made this little pouch using Anna’s tutorial for the big mouth zippered pouch.  I am in love with this little bag, I think I made 5 of them in a week.  And then I got so excited about making zippered pouches in general that I maybe spent my entire allowance (a made up thing I give myself) on zippers… like, I bought 163 zippers at a great online sale. (This is where the crazy zipper lady comments will start I’m sure.)

I just pieced each side together willy nilly and then added the lightweight denim contrast bottom.  The lining for this little bag is also meaningful.  Last October when I met up with Amy for breakfast while she was in town we ducked inside a little quilt store in the middle of a wonderful snow storm and stumbled across Garden Henna in green.  This print is among our favorite fabrics ever, for both of us.  And since we bought it together I kind of decided that it needed to be involved in this project as well.  I’m emotional and sentimental that way I guess.

In April I made a lone Double Aster Block as a test  block for my quilting bee.  I had just recently finished making this quilt for myself and I used some of the scraps to make my test block. It turned out awesomely, but you know, was the wrong colors and fabrics for the actual bee block. And so since April this lone turquoise and green block has been waiting for me to do something awesome with it.  I finally decided to add a border and make it a mini quilt for Amy.  A few weeks ago the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild hosted a Sewing Day and I took the opportunity to finish up this project.  And I LOVE how it turned out.

So I’m not really a quilter, you know, the type that sews all three layers of a quilt together.  I’m great at sewing, seamstressing, piecing quilt tops, but actual quilting of three layers to make a snuggly blanket? I always hire that out.  I have made a few, but it’s not really my thing.  I did the quilting on this enormous quilt, and this tiny one, and then swore I would never do it again.  But, you know, I changed my mind.  Whatever.  I want to learn to quilt my own stuff because I’m a cheapskate.  So I put it on my list of things to do before I hit 30.  And in the past few weeks I’ve made three quilts start to finish myself.  Two small one’s, and a baby size quilt.  I still don’t love it, but, I am working on it.

I used the last little scraps of this pretty Heather Bailey paisley for the back (from the reprint of her Freshcut line), and after I took pictures but before I mailed this off I even got myself together enough to put a label on it.  I’ve only done one other label, I’m usually in too big of a hurry to have the thing done to label my work, but I’m going to work on that too.  It’s important I think.

Amy got her care package over the weekend, and amazingly it arrived on the exact halfway mark.  Which is pure luck.  Love you Amy! I hope these next months go quickly!