A Passionate Quilter: March 2012

Playing with Fabric Strings!

I’ve been playing with my “strings”, trying to come up with new combinations. What do you think…

So, I started with this set of strips.

Here were some of the different combinations I came up with.

I’ll show you more with the next post!

The New Denim Purse!

I’ve been working hard on a new pattern, this time it’s a purse pattern.

I had fun with the “Rag Bag” but I wanted something that more resembled a purse.

What do you think? I like it a lot and am going to also make a slightly smaller version.

What, Mom?

The other day our dog, Sam, came into the house with a leaf on his head. He did not seem to know it was there.

It was SOOOOO cute!

He’s a holy terror and puts the “terror” in terrier! But we love him!

Heather :)

Going Organic with 100% Organic Cotton

I added another pot holder to my Etsy Shop today! Lately, I’ve been making an effort to create pot holders using 100% organic cotton fabric.

LOVE this fabric!!! (by Nancy Mims/”Chick Chick”)

To me, it makes sense for my pot holders to be as eco-friendly as possible. After all, I’m giving new life to re-purposed denim jeans.

Staying with that line of reasoning (recycling and being kind to the planet), it just seemed to make sense to also use the most eco-friendly (yet fashionable) cotton fabric.

At this time, it is very difficult to find other sustainable types of fabric (hemp, soy or bamboo) that is

A. affordable enough to use in a project for resale and

B. are designed with fun, inviting prints that people would WANT to buy for their home

But what about the DYES, you ask? Just how “Green” are you being?

Although I’m able to find 100% Organic Cotton fabric, the industry is still working on Chemical Free Dyes. It is my understanding that companies using organic cotton are trying to use “low impact dyes”.

Hey, it wasn’t too terribly long ago that the idea of using 100% Organic Cotton fabric would have been inconceivable. We’ve come far!!

And the farming practices behind Organic Cotton are fabulous and VERY good for the environment!!

That being said…here is the latest Pot Holder in my shop using Re-Purposed Denim Jeans and 100% Organic Cotton fabric for the lining!

Have you tried the Dorito Tacos yet?

My husband was counting the days until the Dorito Taco from Taco Bell came out.

So we tried it.

I thought it was o-k-a-y but nothing spectacular. The shell seemed stale. Maybe it was too thin compared to a regular Dorito chip but for some reason it didn’t really remind me of a Dorito.

Oh well!

The Pot Holders are Finished!

The Pot Holder pattern is now for SALE!

If interested, please visit my Etsy Shop:

APassionateQuilter Etsy Shop

Here is the 100% Organic Cotton Fabric I bought for the new Denim Pocket Pot Holders for my Etsy Store.

So far so good…I’m liking these combinations.

Done! Check them out in my Etsy Store if you get a chance!

Heather :)

New Denim Pot Holders for the Store!

I’ve been busy making new pot holders for my Etsy site.

Keeping in line with the idea of recycling and making Eco-Friendly products, I decided to incorporate 100% Organic Cotton into the design.

I was excited to find some great fabric. But before I could get busy making the pot holders, I had to cut out (lots) of heat resistant batting (Insul-Brite).

I have a REALLY big roll stored in the garage now. I finally bought some wholesale after MANY repeated trips to the fabric store for 4x the price!

When you’re cutting in your living room, it’s not always easy to find the space!

So, more to come regarding the new pot holders!

Heather :)

Indian Summer Block- Paper Piecing

A while ago, I downloaded a free pattern from Quilt Magazine. It’s originally from the 2012 Dec/Jan issue of the magazine.

It’s called The Indian Summer Block and you can download it here from Quilt Magazine if you’re interested.

I don’t paper piece very often and in this case I only planned on making one block (not a whole quilt).

I recently purchased some fabric from Fabricworm and decided to use them in this block.

I started with this…

I messed up the first two blocks. Duh…oh well, like I said I don’t paper piece very often! :)

Here I am back on the right track!

I worked on all four pieces simultaneously, so in other words when I worked on piece #2, I completed piece #2 on all four pieces. This somehow seems less monotonous.