May Catch Up - Quilt blocks, A New Tote, and a Few Penguins

5/30/2013 01:45:00 PM

I haven't blogged much in May, but it's been a busy month.  My husband was home from work for three weeks, so there was much family time and not so much sewing time.  I have a few things to share with you though.

I am working on a new tote pattern with some nice buckles and grommets on the handles.  I've been carrying this bag for a couple of weeks now to see what changes need to be made. I originally though it was too big, but I love carrying my packages to the post office in it.  I carried it to the zoo and with 3 water bottles in it, and the corduroy handles were really rubbing my shoulder so Mike had to carry it and he wasn't thrilled, but it looked fab on him!  It needs more pockets inside for sure. I admit that I loved smashing those eyelets a little too much, and some are a bit flat. Fabric: Ty Pennington Home Decor


I am hesitant to show you this quilt top because you may think the design is very odd, and it's a gift and I don't want it to be seen.... but I think I am safe, because I don't believe the recipient reads my blog.  Still, I won't mention any names. I love it! It's a wild move for me to do something asymmetrical.  My husband is very particular about symmetry so he is not a huge fan, but he likes the colors. I have the backing ready to go and when I do the quilting, I'll blog and share the cutting instructions for this very easy HST quilt top.  Fabric:  Comma by Zen Chic, Moda.


Yay!! I caught up on my Lucky Stars Blocks.  Here are March, April & May.   I am trying to keep the colours coordinating, but it is hard with so many pieces per block.  We'll see how I go, picking fabric is the hardest part of these blocks. Now I need to catch up with my Sister's Ten BOM.




We did have some family fun.  A trip to the Calgary Zoo.  The penguins are a fave in our family, and aren't they cute?


They have dinosaurs and cute little boys at the zoo..... I don't think they are real though.


Along with tons of work finishing the basement, putting up fence posts, and shelving the garage, Mike also picked up a screened sun shade for us from Rona, complete with canvas curtains.  It fit perfectly on our deck.  We spent the day putting it up together. He followed instructions very well. Mike also redid the deck rails, and moved the steps so they were centered in front of the screen zippers.   On his next trip home... GRASS and fence panels.  I miss grass!


I hope you all had a lovely May.  There has been a lot of heartache and pain around North America this month and I hope your families are safe and well.  Big Hugs!

I'd love to hear what you've been up to. Thank you for reading,

  Janelle

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10 comments

  1. Hi Janelle, How are you feeling? Still fighting my cold.
    You sure have been busy.. you do such beautiful work...love the colors ...love the screened sun shade...sure could use that today..the temps are in the 90's and we had terrible storms last night...tornados touched down close by..but we were lucky.
    .Just bought a Accuquilt Go fabric cutter and I'm looking forward to using it...cutting fabric is my least favorite thing to do...
    Have a great day..
    The Penguins are so cute..
    Regards, Phyllis

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  2. You have been creating again, I love the look of the new bag. The fabric, grommets the rest of the hardware.

    I hear you on the DH thing and the quilt, DH and I don't agree on that so I have never made us a quilt for out bed.

    Your lucky stars are amazing I really like the colours and fabric in them.

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  3. Janelle, your quilt is fabulous, love it so much. Love the grays and yellow. And those stars are quite amazing, all those pointy points, makes me shiver to think how hard it would be for me to get that straight!!! Congrats on it all.....

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lynne! This quilt is something I've been obsessing on doing for months and I was just hoping someone else would love the design as much as I do. I hope to have it done soon. Janelle

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  4. Hey there! Your quilt is awesome!! I love the color and the look and I bet the recipient will too. Matt doesn't understand why I am starting to quilt and piece, but understands how my crafty mind works. He doesn't comment much, only to sometimes say he doesn't like this fabric pattern or why don't you make a bag with this..... but I always listen :)

    Cindy

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  5. Lovely work on all Janelle! I love the grey/yellow combo. I have a mini charm pack of the same fabric line.. not sure what to make with it yet!

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  6. Wow, you have been busy! I'm into yellow and grays right now, so i'm really loving that quilt! Those blocks are great! Can't wait to see the new bag, beautiful fabric.

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  7. Wow, you have been busy! I'm into yellow and grays right now, so i'm really loving that quilt! Those blocks are great! Can't wait to see the new bag, beautiful fabric.

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  8. I really love the quilt you made! Those colors look great together. Love the sneak peek of the new tote bag too. Looking forward to the pattern. All of your bags have such nice touches on them, they really stand out from others. I made an Emmaline Bag for my mom, she has been carrying it for two weeks now and has gotten lots of compliments on it!

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The contents of this blog, including text, original photos and ideas are the sole property of the author. If you intend to use my text or images, please link back to this blog and give credit to Emmaline Bags & Patterns. A notification email would be greatly appreciated too! Please do not ever republish an entire post, any tutorials, or post photos of my family. Thank you, Janelle