January White Rabbit Challenge

 It's my turn today for the long-awaited:

When I signed up for this challenge, I was all

But when I actually sat down and tried to plan a project for this challenge, I was more like

When y'all say challenge, you mean CHALLENGE, don't you?  As in, fry my brain challenge. I tried to get started, I really did.  I pulled out some fabric.  And then some more.  I looked and looked through my stash, pulling out any prints I could find with rabbits on them.  And you know what I found?  A bunch of Easter fabric.  Everything looked Easter-ish.  Not what I wanted for January!  Now what???  Time to shop!  So I went to several quilt shops - now I had a real excuse to shop for fabric!!  I shopped.  And shopped.  And guess what?  I found NOTHING with rabbits.  NOTHING.  Except a couple little baby themed prints, and the rabbits weren't white, they were pink and blue. 

So back home.  And back to my stash.  Let's try S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G the theme.  I have to think outside the box, I told myself.  It was then I discovered that I don't think that well INSIDE the box, much less OUTSIDE the box.  Do I even know where the box is???  I don't think I do!  Enter, chocolate.  My last hope.  And miraculously, after only one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I got an idea.  Not a great one.  Not even a really good one.  But it was all I had, so I went with it.

I poked around my fabric one last time looking for a print with rabbits on it that could go with winter or snow and looked less Easter-y.  I decided maybe this would work.  I laid out my fabric:

YAY!  It could work!  At least, that's what I told myself.  Now what to do with it?  I pulled out several patterns for blocks.  Nothing looked good.  Then, I pulled out my pattern for a Weebraw Bag (did I mention I love to make bags?  Any kind of bags?  Every kind of bag? ) from Laura at Sweet Cinnamon Roses.  She makes the cutest bags, and her patterns are all so easy to follow (see paragraph above where I discuss thinking outside the box and my lack thereof).  

And I put together a reasonable facsimile of a good project for this month's theme!  I'm faking confidence here.

See the little bunnies inside?  On the lining?

My Bunnies in the Snow Drawstring Bag

I added a little snowflake to make it seem more wintery.  And the white fabric is falling snow, or more accurately falling snowballs.  So it's a January winter rabbit bag, right??  Right???? 

Whatever it is, it is really an adorable little drawstring bag!  I love the pink and white, I love the sweet little rabbits, and I have used it to carry my cross stitch projects back and forth from home to tennis practice.  Not my tennis practice, my granddaughter's.  I have to practice getting up out of a chair without using my hands.  Tennis at this point is a bit of a stretch.  Just like this project!!  :)

But wait!!!  There's MORE!!!  While I was making this bag, I kept looking at this funny little fat quarter with rabbits on it.  It was awfully cute.  I wished I had used it instead to make something.  But I only had a fat quarter.  Hmmm.   Maybe another piece of chocolate would help.  More chocolate + Fabric = PROJECT #2!!  

I looked up one of my favorite projects on You Tube from Yoan Sewing Studio.  It is called the Cellphone Pouch with Wristlet.  I have made dozens of these!  I make at least one every month that is themed for that month.  I use them all the time, and most of my friends have asked for them.  They are perfect for going shopping or going to sporting events when you don't want to take your entire purse.  It has 2 zipper pockets, one slip pocket, and a wristlet for carrying it.  I slip my phone in the biggest zipper pocket, gum, mints, and lens wipes in the slip pocket, and money and ID in the smaller zipper pocket.  

Here's the one I was currently using for January, until I finished my new one:

You can tell it's well loved.  I use it every day - I just throw it in my purse when I'm not using it by itself.  I always keep my phone in it, especially in my purse.  It keeps my phone cleaner and it doesn't get scratched.  

Now on with my new project.  Sorry.  I got sidetracked.

I found some coordinating fabric and got started:

These little pouches don't take much to make!  I usually cut them out in an evening, and sew them together the next afternoon.  I can make a couple in an afternoon.

Here's how it turned out:

Cute little rabbits sticking out from some red polka dots!  The red polka dots match the bow tie on the rabbit in the middle!  These COULD BE considered white rabbits, don't ya think?  At least they're almost white!  With little pink cheeks.  So sweet!  And now, I will carry this one for the rest of January and hopefully it will bring me some good luck.  I just love these little wristlet pouches!  

Finally!   It's time for me to celebrate that I at least have SOMETHING to share today!  It may not be up to your usual January Challenge Expectations, but I tried!  At least I can get a Participation Award, right??

Okay, I'll settle for a smiley face. And a carrot cake latte.  Here I am celebrating:

Yes, I knit that sweater myself - in between January Challenge projects.  :)  Just kidding.

So that's a Bunny Wrap!  Time for all of us bunnies to go night-night!  I don't know about you, but I'm worn out!  This challenge got the best of me, that's for sure.  Maybe a little nap and some chocolate will revive me.  It may even give me some inspiration for my next project........we shall see!  :)  

Thanks for stopping by and following along on my bunny adventures for January! Every time I wear my bunny jammies, I'll think of this challenge and be glad I made it through!

Until next time,  Bunny Hugs from

The Turkey Trot Blog Hop - My Turn!

 

Welcome to my first Turkey Trot Blog Hop entry!

I can't believe this day is here already!  As if you can't tell, this is my first time sharing at this, or for that matter ANY, blog hop, and I am just a bit nervous and excited.  

I have been a long time admirer of both Joan's and Carol's blogs, and their amazing quilting skills. I've loved looking at all the beautiful work of past blog hop participants, wishing I had the nerve and the skills to make something like any of the projects I was looking at.

I have no idea what motivated me to email Joan last month and ask if I could participate in this month's hop.  I was just clicking through her blog, looking at all the wonderful things there, and on a whim decided to try it out.  She was gracious enough to let me join in, and so here I am!  An old lady who is a newbie at this!

I love to quilt, but I like smaller projects rather than big quilts, probably because I not a fast quilter.  An entire quilt would take me a year or more! I like to see a finished project, so I love making things like table runners, bags, placemats, and mug rugs.  And pincushions!

As I began planning my project for this turkey challenge, I was worried I wouldn't have enough fall or Thanksgiving fabric to choose from.  But I had more than I thought!  I love seasonal fabric and decorating for each season and holiday.  My husband will testify that I love buying fabric no matter what the season!  :)

I was debating between making a pillow or a bag, and decided on the bag! I'm sorry if you were expecting a quilt!  I didn't really have a plan, I just decided to wing it (no pun intended). 😁  I found a cute turkey to make as a focus for the front of the bag, so I fussy cut it out.  Then, I just proceeded to add fabric around it that I liked and fit the theme.  I'm not very complicated!

I just kept adding more pieces until I liked the size of it!

I added a bottom piece that matches the back, and decided it was big enough to start quilting. In the photo below,  the front of the bag is lying on top of the back of the bag.  I left the back of the bag just one solid piece of fabric.  It is brown, with little silvery leaves that have a bit of shine to them.  I'm sorry you can't really see that from the picture - it's just gorgeous in real life!

The photo above shows after I quilted it, and I had trimmed it up a bit.  I used a cross-hatch quilting stitch, because I love the wrinkly kind of look it gives, and it makes it feel soft and squishy.  

Then I sewed it together, using the pattern Anyone Can Make This Bag, by Laura at Sweet Cinnamon Roses.  I've made several of these bags before, and I just love them.  It's a basic tote, but oh, so sweet!  And you can make the fronts and backs as cute as you want to!  It's a very adaptable pattern, and allows me to improvise easily!

Here it is, all finished!

The back of the bag

Now, I'm not a great quilter, nor a great photographer, but I'm a happy one!  I love making things, and I just have so much fun doing it!  I had a ball going through all my fall fabric for this project, and piecing it all together.  I usually forget to take any pictures at all, so I was quite proud of myself for remembering to photograph a few of the stages!

Thank you so much for taking a look at my project, and for letting me participate in your blog hop this month!  I hope you enjoyed your visit here!  Please feel free to look around the rest of my blog, which is mostly my Weekly Menu Plans.  But this may just motivate me to share more of what I make!

If you'd like to see more projects from some amazingly talented quilters, you can find the list of participating bloggers here:

  The Turkey Trot Blog Hop

Take care, enjoy all the wonderful projects being shared, and I hope to see you again real soon!

2019 Finish Along - Finish #2

Here I am at finish #2.  I had intended to make these little gift bags for Christmas for friends of my granddaughter's at the bus stop.  I bought little pencils and pens, little Christmas notepads, little boxes of crayons, and some candies to put in each one.

Needless to say, I didn't get them finished.  I finished 2 or 3 of them, but the granddaughter claimed the first one, and I got too busy with other projects to finish sewing the rest.

Here is the original FAL 2019 post that shows the stacks of bags ready to be sewn:
Unfinished Tote Bags  

But I finished them and they are ready for next Christmas!  I don't even have to buy little things to stuff inside them, because I have it already!  Here are the bags I finished:

They turned out so cute!  Each one has a pocket in the front for a candy cane.  And they were so easy to make!  I started an assembly line, and before I knew it they were all done.  It only took about 3 evenings.  I had everything cut out and placed in piles before I started the finish.

Here you can see them a little closer:

I am linking up my finishes here:

Dizzy Quilts  

One more finish to share after this!

2019 Finish Along

So here I am at the beginning of a new year, again, sitting with piles of unfinished sewing projects from last year.  I mean well.  I really do.  But things get in the way, you know?  If all I had to do was sit and sew and quilt all day, I …..oh, let's be honest.  Even if all I had to do was sew and quilt all day, I'd still have piles of unfinished stuff I just didn't get around to finishing.

This year, I am making a dedicated effort to finish those projects and use up a bunch of my fabric.  So I can go buy some more fabric!  There are so many new fabrics I want to buy, but I am having a hard time justifying it when I have a sewing room piled with fabric and stuff I haven't made yet.  And books.  And patterns.  And fat quarters are all over the place - on my table, on my ironing board, on the shelves, on the floor!  I think they multiply like rabbits!  Yet, when I go to make a bag or piece a new block, I never have what I want.  So I go buy more.  I need to be a better planner.

I start so many new projects, spontaneously.  I see something on Instagram, or Pinterest, or Facebook, and I immediately have to make one.  Quick - push aside what I am working on.  Start a new project.  I can do 2 things at once, right?  Or 3?  Or maybe I can knit in my spare time in the morning, cross stitch in the afternoon, and sew after dinner until bedtime.  I guess I forget that it takes me at least an hour to figure out where I left off, and what comes next, and by that time I'm ready to call it quits for the day.  

So wish me luck!  I'm challenging myself to do better this year.  I am participating in the 2019 Finish Along, and here are the projects I want to finish in the first quarter of 2019:

I have two of these snowman blocks (the second one is hidden underneath.  They are HUGE.  I have no idea why I made them, but I didn't do a good job on them and they are so old I can't remember when I made them.  It may have been in a previous life.   Did I mention they are HUGE?  The blocks are about 17 X 17 each.  Why did I keep them?  Why did I make them?  Who knows?  But they have been on the bottom of a pile on my ironing board and I am sick of them.  So, I am going to make them into a GIGANTIC SNOWMAN TOTE bag.  I want to cut a lining for them, make some handles, sew it together, and use it to carry my knitting in. 

These are going to be small bags.There are 8 of them cut out and ready to sew together.  I just have to fuse some batting onto them and sew them together.  I was supposed to give them as gifts to the kids at my granddaughter's bus stop at Christmas.  That didn't happen.  Maybe Christmas 2019?  I did finish a couple of them I used as gifts for kids, and I have one finished.  Eight more to go, and I will be all set to fill them with goodies!

And this is a cut out, half sewn, Dottie Angel apron I wanted to make in the fall.  The ties are sticking out from underneath, but that is where I stopped.  I have to make darts, attach the ties, and finish sewing it up.  

So there are the 3 things I want to finish up by the end of March.  Think I can do it?  I might surprise myself!  We shall see.....

Anybody want to join in on the fun?  

Another Mini Charm Basket

It seems I am addicted to these little baskets!  I will definitely be making the medium and large sizes after Christmas!

Here is the one I made yesterday:

So cute!  These are great for holding gifts and candies!  I cannot wait to make some more!

Hope you are having a productive week!

Small Charm Baskets

Hello!

I just finished three small charm baskets, using Moda mini charm packs and a fat quarter.  I have several more to make, but I finished these three last night.  They are gifts for some friends I won't see again until after Christmas, so I wanted to gift them today.

These are such cute baskets!  I made all three of them in an afternoon and evening.  The longest part of making these is fusing the fusible fleece onto the pattern pieces!

I stuffed each one with a Yankee candle and some chocolates.  So much fun to make!

I hope you are all having a merry week so far!  Take care!