Totality

In the summer of 2017 there was a solar eclipse that crossed large swaths of US, and my husband’s parents happen to live in an area where there were several minutes of totality. So we drove down, armed with eclipse glasses, to see this amazing sight.

To commemorate this experience, I decided to do it the only way I know ... by buying fabric and making a quilt. I went to Spoonflower and picked out a bunch of sun and star themed fabrics from a lot of different artists. Spoonflower, though expensive, is amazing for finding completely unique fabrics, and I figured this occasion is a great excuse.

I paired the fabric up with Amy Smart's Chain Links pattern. I had made the a quilt Phases of the Moon using that pattern a long time ago (incidentally, also with a Spoonflower bundle). It is such a great pattern for showing off prints.

I quilted the background with simple swirls. No pebbles, no paisleys, no leaves, I just wanted pure, simple swirls to add an elegant look to the space. There's no doubt about it, that swirls are my favorite filler, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of them.

I quilted the black frames with a combination of ribbon candies and straight lines, which are my other favorite designs next to swirls. Instead of using a black on black though, I opted for a thread color that shows in the form of a gray. I usually match my thread color to the fabric, but black is an exception.

Inside the printed squares, I quilted dot-to-dot designs, alternating between a straight line design and a flower design.

I think this is one of my favorite finishes. Everything about this quilt speaks to me, from the pattern, to the fabrics, to the theme, to the quilting.

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Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Cooking Up Quilts, Sew Can She, and Powered by Quilting

Minikins: Metro Double-Zip Pouch

In January, I decided to participate in the Minikins challenge run by Sew Sweetness. Last year I made a few minikins (and they turned out really well) at my own pace, but since the January challenge is the Metro Double-Zip Pouch, something I'd been wanting to make anyway, I decided to do it in time for the challenge.

And can I just say, yowza. That was really, really hard. But it wasn't the zippers that gave me trouble. Or the hardware. Or even thick layers this time. No. It was the fact that there were parts of this bag that required a super narrow foot (like a zipper foot) and mine wasn't working well. In the end, I had to hand-sew some of it.

I love the finished result, though. I used a canvas fabric which gave the pouch a nice texture, and found a light teal print for the lining that matched the exterior well. I love the double zippers and the wristlet, and how lucky that I found 2 zippers in my collection that matched the color of the fabric perfectly?

And then ... the next day I went online to find a new zipper foot for my machine, and discovered that I had been putting it on backwards all along, and that's why it didn't work! Oops.