Koi Gatherer Crossbody bag

An amazing new (and free!) pattern by Anna @ Noodlehead designs is the Gatherer Crossbody bag.

I decided to use some Cloud 9 "It's a Plus" Koi canvas for this bag as the heavier weight of the canvas is just perfect for bags.

And I also happened to have some teal bias binding leftover from another project which was just the right colour for the piping.

I adapted the bag closure to use a magnetic snap rather than the leather flap from the original pattern.

And I also added in a zippered welt pocket to the lining for a secure place to keep my phone and purse, along with a little tab to attach my keys onto so I don't lose them! .

The hardware for the strap was repurposed from an old camera strap, although you can always just tie the straps onto the side tabs like in some of Annas examples of the bag.

As with all of Anna's designs, this pattern was easy to follow with very clear instructions so if you haven't tried to make a bag before, I can recommend trying either this one or her other free Trail Tote pattern which I have made here and here.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

This was on my FAL Q1 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.

Kirsten.

Thirty Shades of Fox quilt

Elizabeth Hartman released her Fancy Fox pattern a while ago now and I have already made some pillows and mini quilts using this pattern, but I really wanted to make a quilt using these very cute fox blocks.

After seeing a few of these fox quilts made in various shades of orange, I decided to do the same and found enough orange prints to make the blocks when I dug through my stash of fabrics.

There are fabrics from Denyse Schmidt, Emma Jean Jansen, Bonnie and Camille, Tula Pink, Lizzy House, Cotton & Steel, and Alison Glass to name a few!

Pre-cutting all of the fabrics made putting these blocks together very quick and easy .

I have made a 5 x 6 layout so only needed 30 foxy blocks.

Then I have added borders to make the quilt up to lap size of about 50 x 62".

I used the Serpentine stitch on my sewing machine to do the quilting down the length of the quilt.

And like the "Quick Brown Fox" pillow I made last year, my favourite is probably the Henna Garden fox, closely followed by the one made from the B&C Hello Darling strawberries.

The backing is a Cloud 9 "Scribbles in Orange" print by Ed Emberley, which I didn't quite have enough of so added a strip of the Ikea numbers fabric down the side.

And I found a B&W woodgrain print which I think was just perfect for the binding.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

This quilt was on my FAL Q1 list for this year so also linking up with the 2016 FAL team.

Kirsten.

Moda's ABC Birthday QAL

One quilt that has been on my "to-do" list for a while now is the "Spell it with Moda" quilt.

This year, the Moda Bakeshop is celebrating 7 years so they are having an ABC quilt-along on their blog. 

The photo is one I took of Camille Roskelly's lovely quilt when she was here for her trunk show back in 2014.

I am going to make a quilt similar to the original one using my B&C fabrics, along with some tone-on-tone white/cream prints for the background that are in my stash. 

Initially, my plan is to match a letter with the name of a B&C range as it makes choosing which fabrics to use much easier, then I can fill in the others later on:)

The first few letters have been made (Bliss, Daysail, and Miss Kate) and I hope to get a few more done soon, along with the filler blocks. 

All of the letters are printed out ready to make the blocks and I have done some precutting already, with the pieces stored in a plastic folder along with the corresponding letter instructions.

And I managed to pick up a couple of remnants of Vintage Modern (which I needed for the letter "V") when I went up to Fifis Fabricolgy recently - just waiting on Vintage Picnic (for letter "P") to be released soon and maybe even Little Ruby for "L"...

Kirsten.

Valentines "True Love" pillow

A few weeks ago, Megan from Canoe Ridge Creations posted a nice tutorial for a True Love mini quilt.

I decided to make one using some of the pretty red prints from my Bonnie and Camille fabrics as I already had them out for other projects.

The pattern requires making some hourglass blocks as well as some split quarter square triangle blocks for the points of the heart.

And for the background I used my favourite shot cotton in a charcoal colour which really makes the reds pop!

Once it was done I tossed up between quilting in a variegated red thread or a dark grey.... 

And I am so happy that I went with the red as it really stands out against the dark grey background! 

And like Megan did for her pink version of the mini, I used the Serpentine stitch on my machine again for the quilting - I have used this stitch for quilting before but not as densely as for this pillow and I love how it turned out.

The binding is a tiny red spot on cream and once again some of the Ikea Britten Nummers fabric for the pillow backing. 

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory.

This was on my FAL Q1 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team.
Kirsten.

Thimbleblossoms mini quilt swap

Last year I joined up for the Thimbleblossoms mini quilt swap round 2 (#tbmqs2 on IG) in which we were to use one of the many Thimbleblossoms designs to make a mini for our partner.

I was assigned to TB team Candy and when I got my partners details, I decided to make her a Swoon mini quilt as it was one of her favourites, along with floral fabrics.

The prints I chose were also from Bonnie and Camille , and as my partner also liked aqua I tried to include quite a bit of it for the mini.

For the background, I used a red on cream spot which matched in with the B&C fabrics perfectly.

The quilting was done on the diagonal with lines about 1/2" apart, and finished with a solid aqua binding

Along with the mini I also sent a fabric pouch made using a couple more Thimbleblossoms patterns - a mini Dwell and one of the spools.

And also a few extra items along with something for her little boy...

Thanks to Kristi @sugarndspice77 for organising the swap!

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Linking up with Fabric Tuesday @ Quiltstory. 

This was on my FAL Q1 list for this year so linking up with the 2016 FAL team
Kirsten.