The Scrap Happy Quilt is finished.

I was given a bunch of scraps from a friend and here is the finished quilt I made from some of them.

Here it is finally finished.  It is backed with pale yellow flannel and mom quilted it for me.

Here is a closeup of the quilting.

Shopping bags

I used the last of my striped canvas material that I have had for years to make shopping bags.

The striped ones were made first.

I looked at a paper shopping bag to get the size.  I measured the height and around the entire top of the open bag and the rectangle bottom.  The fabric I had wasn't going to make the same size bags, so I had to make my own size.

I wanted to make the best use of my fabric so I cut it into four equal pieces. The fabric in the picture is two layers thick.  It was a little longer than the paper bag and a little wider.  I had to cut off a section of the bottom of the fabric in the picture above to make the bottom of the bag.  I decided to cut off 5 inches.  I then measured what was left and came up with 32 1/2 inches.  Take away 1/2 inch for the seam allowance and I now had 32 inches for make a bag with.  Since the 5 inch strip was going to be used for the bottom of the bag I now needed to figure out the bag width.  Two bottom widths equals ten inches.  2 x 5 = 10.  32 - 10 = 22.  22 divided by 2 = 11.  Thus my bag bottom had to be 5 by 11.  Confusing I know.  I should have taken pictures.

I just turned the bag inside out and took this picture. The bottom of the bag is two layers thick.

I folded the top down one inch then down another inch and top stitched near the bottom fold. Then I cut straps 24 inches long and placed them where I thought they looked good and would be easy for carrying.  Hubby wanted them long, so the straps are longer than I was originally going to make them.  I folded the raw edges of the straps under before sewing and sewed them to the bag using a box shape with an X in the middle to secure it. I sewed the straps on and hemmed the top of the bag from the inside of the bag.  I used dark blue on top and off white in the bobbin when sewing, so I took the picture from the outside so it would show better.

The solid blue bags I made the same way as The Kid Tote bags which you can find here. I just made a wider bottom, cut off the extra fabric and did extra stitching to secure the corner edge.  This bag is 5 inches wide across the bottom. The straps are 27 inches long.

I wondered into Savers on Veteran's Day and found that most everything was half price.  There I found this 1 1/2 yard piece of fabric on sale for $1.50 and knew I had to get it for some wide bags to go with my newly made tall skinny bags.
 
I have enough fabric for one more bag, but not enough strapping for the handles.  I took what was left of the strapping and divided into 4 pieces for the handles.  Six pieces made the handles too short.

As soon as I go buy some more strapping I will have 7 shopping bags.  And I have used up sewing materials that have been sitting around for years.

Here are two other things I have made in the past from the striped fabric.  I am guessing they were both made at least 5 years ago.

This is a bag that hold the car DVD players.  The original was vinyl  and didn't last long.  I made a pattern off of it.

Here is the inside of the bag with the compartments.  I saved the cardboard in the old bag to put inside the dividers of the new bag.

Here is the front view.

Another item is my clothespin bag.  The hanger inside has broken on one side, but it still works.  There are pockets on both sides.  I made this bag from what I remembered my grandmothers bag looking like.
If anyone really wants to make one I can write out instructions.

This is the standard batting size.  I make my quilts as close to the size of the batting as possible.

Crib Quilt	45" x 60"
Twin Quilt	72" x 90"
Double Quilt	81" x 96"
Queen Quilt	90" x 108"
King Quilt	120" x 120"

This is the standard mattress size.  I use these measurements to determine how large I want my bedspreads to be.

Start with the mattress size and decide how much you want to tuck under the pillow (double that measurement).  Remember it is going under the pillow and back out again.  Then decide if it is going to go to the floor or where you want it to stop at on the sides and end of the bed.

Crib Quilt	27" x 50"
Twin Quilt	39" x 75"
Double Quilt	54" x 75"
Queen Quilt	60" x 80"
King Quilt	72" x 84"

Blooming Nine Patch Quilt - This one is for sale

Here is one of my favorite quilts.  I took forever it seems like to make.  The small squares are 1 1/4" and the large squares are 3 3/4".
My favorite quilts are the ones made from tiny pieces, but I don't like to take the time to make them.

 This quilt is 75" x 86".  It is a little wider and a little shorter than the standard twin bed size.

A closer look at this quilt.

The backing is hand dyed fabric.  This was the fabric that started this quilt.  I quilted this with an extra large stippling stitch.  I didn't want the quilting to take away from the design and it didn't.  I rolled the backing to the front for the binding and mitered the corners.  It is quilted in a peach colored thread.

I will take this quilt to my mom's house to sell at her fall craft fair.

Two More Twin Bed Quilts for Sale

There are more pictures of this quilt HERE.  This is a Lewis and Clark pattern also.  It is twin bed size in length, but wider.

You can see by the camera date how long ago I made this quilt.  All it does is sit in a tote with a bunch more.  I thought one of the grandsons would want it, but they are into hunting and this is fishing fabric.
This quilt has a tan backing with the backing rolled to the front to make the binding.

Here is another fishing quilt that is twin bed size.  Click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page to see more details.  It is on the same page as the one above.

The picture was taken the same day and they were both made around the same time.
This quilt has a forest green backing with the backing rolled to the front to make the binding.

Two more quilts for my mom's sale.

Yet Another Lewis and Clark Quilt - This one is for sale

Here is another Lewis and Clark quilt.  I have made five of these now.  Four queen size and one twin bed size.

This quilt is 84" x 94"  It is a little smaller than a queen size quilt.  I have two quilts from this pattern on my queen bed and they fit perfect.
 

A closeup.  I almost always roll the backing to the front to bind my quilts.

Closer.

The back is stippled with a large stipple stitch and no other design on the borders.  I did this one on my mom's quilting machine and it is the only stitch I know how to do.
This is stitched with blue thread on the back and a golden yellow thread on the front.

I will take this quilt to my mom's house to sell at her fall craft fair.

Another Lewis and Clark Quilt - This one is for sale

Here is another Lewis and Clark quilt.  It is my favorite quilt to make.  This quilt is 84" x 94"  It is a little smaller than a queen size quilt.  I have two quilts from this pattern on my queen bed and they fit perfect.

I don't use green very often in my quilts, but this one I do like.

 A closeup.  I almost always roll the backing to the front to bind my quilts.  This one has mitered corners.

Closer.

Here is the back.  The thread is pink.  My mom quilted this one on her quilting machine.

I cropped this picture from the one above so you can see the three different designs.  You have to look close to see them all.

I will take this quilt to my mom's house to sell at her fall craft fair.

Western Qult for Sale

Here is a wall hanging pattern that I turned into a quilt.  It is about 56 x 87".  A little smaller than the standard twin bed size.

I collected western prints when I found them.  I had the animal skin prints from a collection of fat quarters I bought several years ago. I almost always roll the backing to the front to bind my quilts.  This one is done that way.

Here is a closeup of one corner.  My mom stippled the quilt for me on her quilting machine.

Here is one of the boots.

A hat to match.

This is the only boot that doesn't have a matching hat in the quilt.  Because of the odd number of blocks one hat had to be left out.

 Here is the matching hat square.  Haven't decided what to do with it.  Pillow, quilt label?

This is the fabric on the quilt back.  It is not on the front of the quilt except as the binding edge.

I will take this quilt to my mom's house to sell at her fall craft fair.

Making Shorter Sleeves, Headband and Ponytail Holders

This shirt is 92% polyester and 8% spandex.

I love the shirt, but have never worn it, because I hate the sleeves.  I love 3/4 length sleeves, but they just don't look right on this shirt when it is on me.  I didn't try it on when I bought it. I was only about 3 or 4 dollars from a thrift store and I was sure it was perfect as it was.

I cut 5 1/2 inches off of each sleeve.  Then I used one cut off piece to practice a rolled edge hem on my serger until I got the same thread thickness and width as the original hem.

The sleeve length now ends just above my elbow.  I took the bottom of the original sleeves and cut them 1 1/2 inches inches wide and serged the new cut edge.  I cut another piece 2 1/2 inches wide for a headband.  I did not serge that piece.  Serging takes away some of the stretch, which is fine for the ponytail holders, but not for a headband that needs a lot of stretch when it is from a sleeve.

The finished hair accessories.  They have been tried on.  Because of the material they spring back into shape and the headband doesn't ravel.