And Bag No. 2

Front

Back

Temple Bag No. 1 Finished

The front.

The back.  Pocket no. 1, zipper pocket.

The front, under the flap.  Pocket 2 and 3 under pocket no 4.

The inside.  Pocket 5, zipper pocket, pocket 6 large pocket on top of zipper pocket, and pockets 7 and 8 on the opposite side. 

Size comparison to a 12 by 18 mat.

RSC Quilt Finish from RSC 2013

I have my third quilt finish for 2014.  It was from the RSC 2013, and is 8 months worth of snowballs and 9 patches.  I made it for a wedding present for a very pleasant server, and I hope she likes it.  The quilting is even more mediocre of a mediocre meandering than usual, as I couldn't see half the time, the thread just didn't show up enough on some of the fabrics, especially the sashing.  All in all though, I think it is pretty if you just don't look too closely. 
To enjoy some beautiful 'blue' projects, visit Angela at Soscrappy here 

Finish No. 2

Celtic Solstice 2, second finish for the year.

Celtic Solstice 1 and 2.  At least they're done.   Just one more basted top to quilt and finish, but it'll have to wait a bit.  My brother is very ill and my husband and I will be going to visit this week, and as much as we can. 

First Finish of 2014

Not what it's supposed to look like, but not horrible.  One basted quilt-top down, two to go.

Next 2 Steps of Temple Bag

Five pockets each and straps.  Next step, assembly.  My Quilt Diet QAL here.

Same but Different - Both Unfortunate

I had these sewn together as one of the smaller size of Celtic Solstice, but I don't really like square quilts, and my color choices made me not want it as a bed quilt, so I took it apart and made it into two lap-sized quilts, they'll finish at about 63 by 82 each. 

My unfortunate substitution of grey for white-creams, made my pattern very very subtle, you have to almost know that it's there.  They're basted now, and being an optimist, I still hope that quilting will improve things a bit.  I still have one more quilt to baste, but I need to get another sheet for a backing (I have twins, but need a full), and after basting these two today, my sore fingers and back need a little rest.   I hope to have 3 finishes in a few days.  Not too bad of a start for 2014, even if my color choices were unfortunate, lol.   I do hope to make this one again, maybe not scrappy, and maybe with the alternate pattern that I've seen others use of turning the chevrons around and making stars.   And lots of contrast.

Almost Ready to Quilt

Celtic Solstice tops are finished.  The green large border fabric is just in two corners, the main border is the green and orange flowered fabric. My fabric choices were a big disappointment, I hope that when they are quilted, they'll look a bit better.

Ready to Sew

All stacked up and ready to sew.  Don't know how others do it, but I sew the three left side pieces together and then pin the 3 right side pieces to the last one.  I assembly line sew them and then cut them into 3 piece sets and go from there.  May not be normal, but it works for me.  I thought that I had made extras of everything, but I've come up a piece or two short, hoping to find them as I go along, if not, I'll be making more.

Another - Hope it Works Out In The End

I chose to go with greys in place of Bonnie's whites and creams, and I think that I don't have enough contrast between the blues and greys.  I tried swapping out some with the border blocks, and it lightens things up, but I think I'm still going to stick with the original and hope for the best.  Sometimes trying to use what you have just doesn't give enough contrast, or maybe it's just that I don't use good judgement.  Last years mystery I went with some that were too light, and lost some of the pattern, but I still like it, so I hope that I'll still like this one, too.  The pattern is a bit subtle, but it's still there, 'hope it works out in the end'. 

Temple Bag Zippered Pockets

Not the best job ever, but my linings now have zippered pockets.

So do the back exteriors.  I don't know if the less than stellar job is due to my lack of sleep, but I'm going to use it as an excuse.  My husband has had a little bit of a slow leak type of nose bleed for the past week or two, and last night about 1am or 2 am it changed to a semi gush.  When it hadn't stopped after 3 or 4 hours we sent to the ER.  They stopped it, and we were out of there about 7:00 am.  We stopped by the grocery store, and then came home and I opted to sew and wash, etc. instead of sleep.  I'm getting weary.  (We have to be careful with him, since he is on blood thinners.) 

These last two are the interiors of the pockets.  You have to use your imagination.

Anyway, they're done, and they work.  I used what I had, which was 2 black, and 2 white 14" zippers.  The black zippers are on my bag, and the white ones on my friends.  If you want to go to the source of the QAL, visit My Quilt Diet.

Redo - 42 down, 58 to go

I gave the strip method a good try, and I think that it is a good way, but since I'm an old dog, I have trouble sometimes with new tricks, so I think I'm going to do the remaining 58 the old way.  The tutorial was very good, and the method sound, just not for my comfort level.

PS I cut and cut and sewed and sewed and ironed and ironed, and now I have 102 for my second go around.   They look distorted due to the pin holding groups of 10 together. 

Clue 2 - Second Time Around

Since my first batch were upside down or backwards, I opted to make another set rather than rip and resew.  I am trying this method from Stitching Circle blog, it seemed easier, and I'm hoping that is the case.  I have six done so far and enough strips cut and sewn together for a total of probably 42.   Oh well, I have almost a week until the next clue.

Celtic Solstice Clue 5, Temple Bag Interior, and Sad Family News

Celtic Solstice Clue 5 finished, but I think I'll probably try to redo Clue 2.  The original backwards ones would make a passable border, I think.

The interiors of my temple bags, light green and pink.  Ironing the interfacing was a bear, and I'm still not certain that all is stable with it.
On a sad family note my 91 year old aunt passed away yesterday.  She lived in Iowa and I live in Florida, but I saw her off and on over the years and I feel sadness.  She had a good life, but she'll be missed.   

Bah, Humbug!

I've been enjoying my morning, so far, looking at blogs and reading emails.  After looking at the Christmas preparations that others are making, I'm feeling rather like Scrooge, and think I need to turn over a leaf or something.  Tomorrow, I have to take my daughter and her husband for an early morning medical procedure, but after that, hopefully, I can do some last minute Christmas preparations.  I think I can, I know I can, I know I can.   It's definitely uphill.  

(Oh, oh, I just realized that the next step of the Temple Bag QAL comes out tomorrow, I'll have to stay strong and remember my quest.  It's Christmas!)
Candace

Part 4 Celtic Solstice

I scraped together 10 greens, but could only come up with 6 oranges, so a trip to Hobby Lobby was in order.  I got 4 oranges 1/4 yard of each.  Here are my 20 combinations from my oranges and greens, I wonder if I'll get the energy and discipline to actually sew them together tonight.  Maybe not, the TV and bed are sounding better and better.   I already have 27 4-patches, and I think here I have enough for 100 more.  That's 10 wof greens and 10 wof oranges, cut in half to give me the 20 combinations.  

PS    I got a second wind and finished the 100 4 patches, for a total of 127.  A few extra never hurts.

Step 4 Celtic Solstice Out and Started

Twenty-seven little four patches, sewn, pressed and twirled, only 93 more to go.  The ruler is one of my favorites, I use it constantly.

My Quilt Diet's Temple Bag aka Huge Messenger Bag QAL Flap

Bag flap number one.  I think this is mine since the center isn't matched so well.   Plus, I like purple better than green.

Bag flap number 2.  These are 15 x 18 inches. 

One of the inside flaps, they are both the same.  So far this has been fun, the only thing I'm dreading is the zippered pockets in the batted, heavily pelloned exteriors.  Hopefully, they'll be easier than I'm anticipating, but I know that quilting them I had more thread breakage than I ever have before, that pellon must be a bit of a bear to get through.   I sure hope that my friend likes scrappy.  I think I'm going to send her a picture before I send the actual bag.  If she already has a bag that she likes better, I'm sure I'll find another use for it.  I love scrappy, but I know that there are some who don't.