quilting for travel!

I am doing some quilting for travel I have planned (world cruise!),
and am very pleased with the results! First, since I am taking some
quilting with me, I wanted a soft (squishable in suitcase) "box" for
my needle case, beeswax, some threaders, thread, scissors, thimbles,
thread, copy of pattern, etc. I couldn't find anything I liked for
sale, so I made one! It is 6" by 6" and 2" deep, with an 18" zipper
around 3 sides of the top. I used scrap fabric with a pattern
conducive to wholecloth quilting for the outside, and a complimentary
color for the insides, and made 6 very small quilted pieces -- two 6
by 6, and four 2 by 6 (top, bottom, and 4 sides). I used bias binding
around all pieces, stitched them together, and added the zipper. I
had scraps of batting, of course, and a bit of spare fabric, so I also
made a matching pin cushion. The case came out very nicely! The
other item I am making is a quilted tote bag, which will be about 14"
tall, 11" wide, and 4" front to back. I am also doing wholecloth
quilting for it, using some rather funny "northwoods" pattern fabric
printed to look like a quilt for the outside, and a coordinating color
for the inside. The "northwoods" fabric is excellent for wholecloth
quilting since the printed "quilting lines" are well-spaced, and it
looks great done with black thread. I have made two patches of that
fabric for pockets to be sewn to the inside of the tote bag after the
quilting is finished, and a separate little zipped bag to slip inside
the tote bag. Again, I will bind the pieces with navy blue bias
binding and stitch those together for the body of the tote bag. For
handles I am using a 1" wide navy webbing, and will make them plenty
long so it will be comfortable over the shoulder. I am very pleased,
and will be ready for some serious stitching with the other stitchers
on board!

What a clever idea! (Photo?) Does the "box" coordinate with the tote? This
sounds like the perfect gift for a lot of people I could think of.
Roberta in D

"Mary" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
ups.com...
I am doing some quilting for travel I have planned (world cruise!),
and am very pleased with the results! First, since I am taking some
quilting with me, I wanted a soft (squishable in suitcase) "box" for
my needle case, beeswax, some threaders, thread, scissors, thimbles,
thread, copy of pattern, etc. I couldn't find anything I liked for
sale, so I made one! It is 6" by 6" and 2" deep, with an 18" zipper
around 3 sides of the top. I used scrap fabric with a pattern
conducive to wholecloth quilting for the outside, and a complimentary
color for the insides, and made 6 very small quilted pieces -- two 6
by 6, and four 2 by 6 (top, bottom, and 4 sides). I used bias binding
around all pieces, stitched them together, and added the zipper. I
had scraps of batting, of course, and a bit of spare fabric, so I also
made a matching pin cushion. The case came out very nicely! The
other item I am making is a quilted tote bag, which will be about 14"
tall, 11" wide, and 4" front to back. I am also doing wholecloth
quilting for it, using some rather funny "northwoods" pattern fabric
printed to look like a quilt for the outside, and a coordinating color
for the inside. The "northwoods" fabric is excellent for wholecloth
quilting since the printed "quilting lines" are well-spaced, and it
looks great done with black thread. I have made two patches of that
fabric for pockets to be sewn to the inside of the tote bag after the
quilting is finished, and a separate little zipped bag to slip inside
the tote bag. Again, I will bind the pieces with navy blue bias
binding and stitch those together for the body of the tote bag. For
handles I am using a 1" wide navy webbing, and will make them plenty
long so it will be comfortable over the shoulder. I am very pleased,
and will be ready for some serious stitching with the other stitchers
on board!

On Aug 23, 12:34 pm, "Roberta Zollner" wrote:
What a clever idea! (Photo?) Does the "box" coordinate with the tote? This
sounds like the perfect gift for a lot of people I could think of.
Roberta in D


I don't know how to post a photo --- sorry! The "box" doesn't
coordinate with the tote bag. It is a quilt-like pattern in green and
white print with 1" squares in green pattern separated by 1/2" white
sashing pattern. Both the squares and sashing patterns are somewhat
busy, and the the green is a kelly green, which I thought was simply
too much for a tote. I put 9 squares centered on the top (3 x 3)
surrounded by sashing pattern -- same on the bottom -- and rows of 3
on the side pieces. I did the whole cloth quilting with kelly green
thread (outlined the squares), and used kelly green bias tape and
zipper. The fabric I used on the inside (and bottom of the pin
cusion) is a very busy tiny-flower print of navy flowers covering dark
mossy green. Quite frankly, if I had a quilting friend who liked to
take stitching with her, I think it would make a great gift,
particularly if I could find some good pins with plastic top knots
that matched the colors in the "box" and matching pin cushion. For a
gift I would probably also toss in a couple of threaders, a new
beeswax holder, a new seam ripper, and a retractable tape measure and/
or short ruler. For a really special friend I might also toss in a
fancy "stork" scissor. Other than the bias binding and zipper,
everything was made with scraps. I just happened to have the right
binding, zipper, and thread swimming around in my "miscellaneous" bag
in the closet, so this project has cost me exactly nothing! By the
way, it takes 2 packages of bias binding. It will squish in my
suitcase nicely, and with the sides things won't roll out onto the
floor. I'm very pleased with it.

For the tote bag, it, too, is using 2 packages of bias binding. I had
a fairly large scrap of the "northwoods" fabric for the outside, and 2
fat quarters of a very busy tiny-print fabric that goes well with the
outside. The 2 pockets I will attach, and the small zipper case to
tuck into the tote, are done inside and out with the "northwoods"
fabric. The small zipper case is built around a 6" zipper I had on
hand and turns out to be about the size of an open wallet. The
pockets to attach to the inside of the tote are one about 4" deep and
5" wide, and one about 8" deep and 5" wide I thought would be handy
for a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Yep, I'm a cheapskate! I occasionally find lovely totes, etc. for
sale, but the good ones and the ones I like are rather expensive, so I
prefer to give it all a bit of thought and then rummage around in the
scraps to see what I can make.

Cheapskates of the world unite! Thanks for the details, might have to give
this a try.
Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap

"Mary" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
ups.com...
On Aug 23, 12:34 pm, "Roberta Zollner" wrote:
What a clever idea! (Photo?) Does the "box" coordinate with the tote?
This
sounds like the perfect gift for a lot of people I could think of.
Roberta in D


I don't know how to post a photo --- sorry! The "box" doesn't
coordinate with the tote bag. It is a quilt-like pattern in green and
white print with 1" squares in green pattern separated by 1/2" white
sashing pattern. Both the squares and sashing patterns are somewhat
busy, and the the green is a kelly green, which I thought was simply
too much for a tote. I put 9 squares centered on the top (3 x 3)
surrounded by sashing pattern -- same on the bottom -- and rows of 3
on the side pieces. I did the whole cloth quilting with kelly green
thread (outlined the squares), and used kelly green bias tape and
zipper. The fabric I used on the inside (and bottom of the pin
cusion) is a very busy tiny-flower print of navy flowers covering dark
mossy green. Quite frankly, if I had a quilting friend who liked to
take stitching with her, I think it would make a great gift,
particularly if I could find some good pins with plastic top knots
that matched the colors in the "box" and matching pin cushion. For a
gift I would probably also toss in a couple of threaders, a new
beeswax holder, a new seam ripper, and a retractable tape measure and/
or short ruler. For a really special friend I might also toss in a
fancy "stork" scissor. Other than the bias binding and zipper,
everything was made with scraps. I just happened to have the right
binding, zipper, and thread swimming around in my "miscellaneous" bag
in the closet, so this project has cost me exactly nothing! By the
way, it takes 2 packages of bias binding. It will squish in my
suitcase nicely, and with the sides things won't roll out onto the
floor. I'm very pleased with it.

For the tote bag, it, too, is using 2 packages of bias binding. I had
a fairly large scrap of the "northwoods" fabric for the outside, and 2
fat quarters of a very busy tiny-print fabric that goes well with the
outside. The 2 pockets I will attach, and the small zipper case to
tuck into the tote, are done inside and out with the "northwoods"
fabric. The small zipper case is built around a 6" zipper I had on
hand and turns out to be about the size of an open wallet. The
pockets to attach to the inside of the tote are one about 4" deep and
5" wide, and one about 8" deep and 5" wide I thought would be handy
for a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Yep, I'm a cheapskate! I occasionally find lovely totes, etc. for
sale, but the good ones and the ones I like are rather expensive, so I
prefer to give it all a bit of thought and then rummage around in the
scraps to see what I can make.