First Friday Freebie #18 with Tutorial

Due to the renovations that were happening at our house last month, there was no FFF because I couldn’t get into my studio.  So, for this month’s First Friday Freebie, as an added bonus, I’m including a step-by-step tutorial of how to make my…

Colonial Sampler Sewing Caddy ©

 

Finished size folded in half is 12 1/2” x 10”

Inside view #1…

Finished size when open is 12 1/2” x 20”

Inside view #2…

So lets begin! 

Please read through all the directions first before starting.

Requirements:

Approximately1/2 yard of each of two coordinating fabrics, one for the outside top and back and the other for the inside lining and binding.

Two pieces of batting approximately 14” x 12”.

1 skein of Black DMC floss #310.

A piece of wool or felt approximately 8” x 3”.

Two, 6” pieces of thin black ribbon.

From the fabric that you’ve chosen to use for the outside top and back, cut one piece at 20” x 17”. This is the piece that you will use to complete the stitched design.  Set the rest aside. 

Using either a light box or  a window during daylight hours, lightly transfer the design with a black Pigma pen.  Complete the stitching using 2 strands of black DMC floss #310.  All stitching is done using the backstitch except for the broken lines which were completed in the running stitch.

After completing the stitching and using the outside stitched lines of the design as your guide, trim to 1 1/2” around the perimeter.  The piece should now measure approximately 12 1/2” x 10”.

Cut one other piece of the outside fabric and two pieces of the inside lining fabric at 12 1/2” x 10”.

Cut two pieces of batting at 12 1/2” x 10”.

To form the inside pockets, cut two pieces of the outside fabric at 7” x 12 1/2” and iron in half lengthwise.  If you wish your pockets to be deeper, then increase the 7” to either 10” or 12” and iron in half lengthwise as shown below.  Set aside.

Using a quilt basting spray…or whatever method that suits you…attach the  outside stitched front to one piece of batting and the outside back to the second piece of batting.  Hand or machine quilt as desired.

Note: Quilt using only the top stitched piece and the outside back piece and the individual pieces of  batting.  Do not include the inside lining fabric.  In other words, there will only be two layers when you quilt each of the outside top and back. 

I elected to hand quilt mine within the perimeter of each of the boxes and around the outside perimeter of the design on the front panel and a 1” spaced diagonal on the back panel. 

Note: This next photo showing the quilting is out of sequence but I’ve inserted it here so you can see how I hand quilted mine.

Pin the pockets to what will become the center fold of both pieces of the inside or lining fabric.  The cut edge is toward the center.

Then pin two small size zip lock baggies on top of the pockets approximately 1” in from the outside edges.  Note that the baggies are not sitting directly on top of each other but are staggered. 

Repeat for the other side as well.

Sew through all layers using a 1/4” seam allowance.

Sew another line 1/4” in from the first seam.

Using a rotary cutter, trim to just inside the first 1/4” stitching line.  This will ensure a clean, straight line, just in case the plastic bags shifted during the sewing.  Repeat for the other side.

With right sides facing, sew both sides together  using a 1/2” seam allowance.

After quilting and with right sides facing, sew the outside front and back together with a 1/2” seam allowance.  Iron the seam open. 

Inside view…

Outside view…

With wrong sides together, line up both the inside and outside layers and sew through all the layers down the inside center line .  

View of the outside spine after sewing down the center line…

Using a scrap piece of wool or felt, cut a 8” x 3” rectangle.  This will become the needle and pin keep.

Iron in half lengthwise.

Sew to the inside top layer only along the folded center seam line.  Do NOT sew through all layers.  Off set it to one side  approximately 1” down from the top edge and 1 1/2” in from the outside edge.

Using the fabric that you chose for the inside lining, bind the caddy as you would finish and bind a quilt.  I cut my binding strips at 2 1/4” wide.

Find the center point of the top and bottom and while you are attaching the binding, insert the ribbon.

Repeat on the other side.  These will be the ties to fasten the caddy closed.

And voila…your very own

Colonial Sampler Sewing Caddy ©.

Now comes the really fun part when you fill the baggies with some of your favorite sewing needfuls.

And don’t forget to add a few pins to the woolen pinkeep.

And there you have it!  Easy-peasy and oh so handy!

To download the PDF file which includes the colored photos and line drawing, please click HERE.

I hope you have as much fun making this as I did.

 

More Progress…Finally!

It seems as though I’ve been busy doing everything except unpacking. 

I scrapped the First Friday Freebie that I had started over a month ago and replaced it with a new design that will be released this coming Friday, the 1st of April.  If you recall, I had to postpone last month’s FFF because I couldn’t get into my studio! 

I also started to hook a new rug which is going to be done in a scrappy…better known as ‘hit-and-miss’ in the hooking world...log cabin style.

But finally, at 6 this morning, I threw caution to the wind and got busy.

After much procrastination, I talked myself into unpacking some boxes which I’ve been putting off since the renovations.   I had definitely been avoiding the chore, simply because I could not come to grips with another mess after having lived with one for what seemed to be an eternity.

The blurry photo can be attributed to either the lack of caffeine at that early hour or me shaking because I was dreading the task at hand.  I can assure you that it wasn’t the former.  *wink* 

Of course, my assistant was there to supervise.

The actual unpacking was very easy.  It was finding a home for everything that took time.  As each box was unpacked, the piles started to grow…and grow.

Eight boxes and some pictures later, I did see some progress .

The left side of the front entry…

And the right side.

My Mom used to love to collect Royal Doulton figurines.  For several years, Mr. Painted Quilt and I gifted her with one on her birthday and after she passed away, they became ours to enjoy and remember her by.  Although they are not my style, I could never part with them nor the curio cabinet in which she had them displayed.

The still life that I painted on our grandmother clock pictured below is one of my favorites.  It now hangs on the wall in our sitting room.

By this time, Mac was tuckered out and had to have a little shut-eye.

More ‘treasures’ were added to the shelves in the sitting room.

Here’s a wider angle.

And from here, you can see into the living room.  It’s becoming more and more like home.

The sampler hooked rug commemorating 9/11 that I purchased on one of my travel teaching trips to Ohio back in 2003 is hanging in our dining room.

And the built-in china cabinet is now full…

And so are the pantry shelves.

All the boxes that were stored on our sunporch have now been unpacked.  Woo hoo!  All that remains to come indoors are the shelves which I have to find places for.  The rest is the furniture that will remain out there.

So, until the shelves are hung, the 8 boxes in the spare bedroom and the other 8 in the workshop will remain as is.  Tomorrow, I’m hoping that Mr. PQ will hang the remaining shelves so that I can at least unpack the boxes in the spare bedroom. 

The ones in the workshop…well…outta sight is outta mind…for a little while anyway.

What a day.  I think I’ll join Mac on the sofa.

The Reveal–Part 2

Things are slowing down a little at the Painted Quilt household now that the first stage of the renovations is over.  I still haven’t unpacked any more boxes but did hang a few pictures and managed to find new homes for some of the things that were piled on our dining room table. 

I’m somewhat hesitant to hang more ‘things’ until we’re certain that the furniture is going to remain where it is…for now.  Mr. PQ says that I’m always changing things around anyway so that really shouldn’t be a concern…and do you know what?  He’s right!    *wink*

Although he has a few things left to unpack and to find places for, Mr. PQ’s office is finished.  He is an avid reader and has a huge collection of books. Jody, our contractor, custom built this unit and it houses everything perfectly.  The two cabinets on the right are still empty!

Travelling in a clockwise direction around the room is another bookcase and a cart to hold miscellaneous items..

Here’s his computer station…

And the other window which overlooks the back yard.

Next is our bedroom which is pretty sparse at the moment.  I haven’t hung any of the pictures or decorative items as you can see.  Unfortunately in this picture you can’t see the new Scottish lace curtains on the windows.  They are going to look even prettier once we can open the windows which will allow the breezes coming in off the ocean to blow them across the room.

Next to the bed is the dresser which also acts as a bedside table.

Because of the slope of the ceiling on the opposite wall as well as the addition of the new closet we had built, this is the best place in the bedroom to accommodate the dresser.  The ugly light fixture will eventually be replaced with a ceiling fan.

Our bedroom is in the ‘new’ addition which was added to the house in 1917.  This next photo shows the original roof line which was incorporated into the construction of both this room and Mr. PQ’s office.  It is actually quite charming and certainly adds to the character of the house but does hinder the placement of furniture in that part of the room.

This next photo shows my new walk-in closet.  It is my best guess that this room was once a tiny bedroom back in the 1830’s, considering there is a full sized window in it.

We also had lift-top cupboards/seats built in under the sloped roof line which have come in very handy for additional storage.

The size of the room is 8’ x 10’ so you can see that I have waaaay too many clothes.

Next are a couple of ‘updated’ photos of my studio showing the curtains that I hung on both the window…

And the door to the new closet.  I chose not to have a door installed because the curtain provides easier access to my fabric and wool stash which is neatly stacked in clear bins behind the curtains.

This next photo shows the location of the closet which is on the wall to the right as you enter the room.

And the final picture for today shows the stair treads that we had to install because Mac, our Westie, was having an awful time trying to manoeuver the stairs since we removed the carpeting.  He was okay coming down the stairs without the carpeting but because he had nothing to grip onto when ascending, he slid down a couple of times which frightened both him and us.  Everything is now back to ‘normal’ and there hasn’t been an incident since these were added.

We’ve had some glorious weather over the last little while.  All the snow has melted and yesterday I saw several robins in our back yard.  We also heard the sounds from and then saw a pair of pheasants sneaking under an evergreen tree to nest in our back yard as well.  Although it is overcast and gloomy at the moment with rain in the forecast, I think that spring has indeed arrived in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.