tea towel challenge.....

I am calling it finished. My Iowa tea towel became a bag. A nice big bag.

It will be my quilt show bag. Lots of stuff will fit in there. I said to Karen that if i fill it, it could get to heavy to carry. She told me that we can always walk back to the car and unload.

Of course, why didn't I think of that?

I wavy stitched over everything. Nothing fancy or new there.

I was worried that doing that would obscure the towel, but it didn't. I was relieved about that. I used things I had on hand, like the little house blocks. Nothing new there.

So what thing would be new to me in putting this bag together?

Using selvage edges. 

I have never used them. I didn't even start saving them until recently. Most of mine have come from fat quarters. They were 18 inches. I needed to make them wider, so a column of the house blocks was added.

I stamped the words, Hey! Is this heaven? No it Iowa on some of the blank sections.

Then last night....

At the quilt guild meeting, a gal from New Ulm Minnesota came down to show us the buttons she makes. I bought the Minnesota themed button package and picked out the house one to use as a closure on the Iowa bag. Then I thought the house (kind of) went with the package and grabbed a flower instead.

My niece Amanda gave me her t-shirts over the weekend. I cut yesterday and have today yet to work on it. I have my doubts about it getting quilted before her graduation. But at least the top can be put on display at her party. Then sent off to be quilted.

mostly cards.......

Attic Window Quilt Shop posted THIS PICTURE!

 I knew right away I wanted to make cards based on it.

I made a bunch of these too.

So there wasn't much sewing going on.

Except for the latest block lotto blocks. 

(pattern and guidelines here)

my sister was here....

Jane was here last weekend. She brought along a cigar box she wanted to use as a treasure chest.

First some paint was added. Her favorite color is purple.

Based on a piece of paper, she wanted the paint added to recreate the look of the paper.

"light, medium, then dark" she said.

I didn't really notice this on the paper at first, but when you looked at it, that is what it was layered like. I learned from her that day....even though she thinks I am the one who knows everything.

HA! Not true.

We used stencils and stamps for embellishments.

She wanted mossy growth on it or.....Green paint applied with a sponge.

Paper was used on the lid and the inside.

It also needed to have an aged or old world look. So the whole thing was sealed up with mod podge and a few drops of brown paint mixed together. That seemed to do the trick.

She was SO happy with how it turned out! It is for a display at work to encourage people to sign up for some race/walk thing. I was too busy following her directions for paint and cutting paper that I never did quite understand what she talking about. 

In the middle of sewing the newest BLOCK LOTTO blocks. They are so spring like in color!

For the first time in a long time there is no mention of snow in the forecasts!!!

Maybe this is it, spring is here.