WandaLandQuilts
Making Memories Through Quilts
Personal Post Monday
Purple Scrap Quilt – How leaders and enders become a quilt.
Anyone who does a lot of sewing knows that you really need a little piece of scrap fabric under the needle to start sewing before you put your “real” pieces to be sewn together through the machine. This prevents the threads from getting tangled up in the bobbin. This little piece of scrap fabric is called a leader. So, naturally the little scrap of fabric you sew through after your real fabric is sewn is called the ender. Leaders and enders. Pretty simple and every sewer has scraps laying around and all over the sewing room. Well, what if you were to be a little more organized and rather than use scrap fabric, use some squares and triangles instead? This is how all these blocks were created. The result is a whole bunch of 4-patches and half square triangles. Lay them out in a pleasing arrangement and sew them together.
So, you sew them together but you still have some blocks left. Add a little border and sew them on.
If the top is not quite big enough, add a couple of borders. What the heck? The light blue border is wider on the sides than the top and bottom because it was just too skinny.
What about another border? Does this dark blue look ok? Yep!
Looks good to me!
So that’s how a scrap quilt made from leaders and enders is made.
Think of it as a bonus quilt – a quilt being made at the same time you are making a real quilt. It’s all fun!
Be kind,
Wanda
T-shirt Quilt Tuesday
This t-shirt quilt was made for a young man who played football at the University of Indianapolis.
This quilt turned out beautifully! I really love the red, gray, and black combination of colors.
Be kind,
Wanda
Personal Post Monday
I may have posted this before, but I just love project bags. So many projects … so many project bags.
The front is clear plastic so you can see what’s inside and it has a zipper near the top to insert all your goodies. The back layers just need some simple quilting to hold them together.
I’ve made several of these bags and have varied the size of bag based on the supplies I had on hand or the size of a specific project. I’ve also added a handle at the top so it’s easier to carry.
Start a new project – make another project bag!
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post Monday
It all started with this tapestry. Although I can do this type of needlework, I admit I purchased this on eBay for just a few bucks. It’s a shame someone went to all this trouble to create this and it ends up on eBay.
My sister has a footstool that belonged to our grandmother and it need a new pad and cover. So, it was a perfect match! The skill required to reupholster furniture is not in my skill set, but I got the job done and it’s quite usable.
I believe the lady who created the tapestry and our grandmother should both be pleased with the outcome.
Be well.
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Personal Post – Fold Down Bag
This is one of those quick and easy projects. At a quilting retreat last fall someone had a bunch of those fabric sample books. I’m sure you know what I mean. Well, there were several fabrics that were quite heavy material, like upholstery fabrics. So one of those fabric samples and a bit of cotton fabric makes this cute fold down bag. These can be made in any size and out of any fabrics. If your fabric is not stiff enough you can easily add some iron on interfacing so it will stand up by itself. These are great catch-all bags to keep on the bathroom vanity or your dresser. So cute!
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Open Wide Bag
This bag pattern comes in 3 sizes. First I made the small size and even though it turned out really cute, it was kind of a pain to get it through the sewing machine.
Then I tried the large size. Wow! This is a large bag. And honestly, it’s almost too big. Is that even possible? I tried to use it as a cosmetic bag, but it got too heavy.  I might use it as a sewing project bag or a run around purse.  
I do think the medium size will be the perfect size to use as a cosmetic bag or toiletry bag or a purse. This pattern is interesting in the fact that the top zipper binding finishes the top edge and it makes a loop handle on one end. Pretty cool design. And I love the fact that it stands upright all the time and it opens wide enough so you can see everything inside. I can see me making several more of these for myself and maybe as gifts!
And then because I just can’t help myself, I made a smaller zipper bag with the scraps. I mean – what was I supposed to do with them?
Be well,
Wanda
On the Frame Friday
There is something so charming about a scrap quilt.
Personal Post – Hankie Pincushion
Uh oh! Look what happened – I made another pincushion. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.
This time I started with an embroidered hankie. It has my initial ‘W’ already embroidered and I added a few embroidery stitches myself. I also added a ribbon strip on one side to attach some clips. These clips come in handy when sewing and quilting. If you aren’t using these you should really give them a try. They are particularly useful when sewing with plastic and leather or if there are too many layers for a pin to go through. This pincushion is filled with crushed walnut shells. Not only does this give the pincushion some weight (which can also serve as a pattern weight) but it also sharpens your pins. How useful is that?
If you have some hankies or other linens and not sure what to do with them, consider using them for fun things like a pincushion, zipper pouch, or even in quilt blocks.
Be well,
Wanda
Athletes T-shirt Quilt
Here is a t-shirt quilt I made for a high school student. As you can see from this collection of t-shirts he’s quite an active young man. Swimming. Wrestling. Band. Traveling. Cross Country. This quilt holds so many memories for him.
Here is the front of the quilt:
And a picture of the back.
You may notice there are a couple blocks on the back. These are a couple childhood drawings that have been converted to be on fabric. After some discussion his mother we decided it would be best to put these on the back instead of the front. She wanted to keep the blocks, but a person could get beat up by a college roommate or teased mercilessly by a girlfriend if they were on the front of the quilt. So, they are on the back and it looks awesome!
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Pineapple Pincushion
I have a difficult time throwing out even the smallest fabric scraps. I tend to toss them into some kind of container – in this case it’s a small wooden container. I believe I picked this up from Goodwill some time back and as a “scrap catcher” it works pretty well.
These small scraps are perfect for foundation piecing. I happen to have a lot of these foundation paper blocks that I’ve collected over the years. I selected a pineapple block pattern and made a block. Notice – I made one block. That’s a lot of pieces. So what do you do with just one small block? Make a pincushion of course! As a quilter I can’t have enough pincushions.
Be well,
Wanda
Baseball T-shirt Quilt
This baseball t-shirt quilt was fun to make because there were just enough t-shirts for the front and a couple special shirts for the back.
It worked out that the blocks can all be cut to the same size. This doesn’t work for every t-shirt quilt. Sometimes the designs are quite large while others are quilt small. When doing the analysis, I try very hard to make sure none of the design is cut off.
One block was a photo transfer. How fun is that?!
Here is a close up of the quilting design. Personally, I love the border design!
The finished quilt. This quilt is really wonderful. I like the high color contrast between the blue and the bold. It really sets off the blocks.
The back has two additional blocks and a small pieced block strip to balance the design.
And just because I can’t help myself, I made a matching table topper. This would look nice on the nightstand next to the bed with the quilt.
Personal Post – Eye Glasses Cleaner
This is handier than a pocket on a shirt. This little pouch contains an eye glasses cleaning cloth. The fact that it has a loop makes it even better. It’s easy to attach to a purse strap or just tuck the whole thing in your pocket. It’s machine washable and dryable, too. This is so quick and easy you can make a dozen of these in no time. This would be a welcome gift for anyone who wears glasses.
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Back Off!
Need to show this off! My sister made this for me and I love it.
Some days this saying is more true than others.
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Gathered Drawstring Bag
Oh my goodness! Once you make one of these bags, more will follow, I guarantee it.
What gal in her right mind wouldn’t love one or more of these? Or maybe even kids. If it could help them keep their toys rounded up – I’m all for it. Especially legos. Those are the worst to step on in the middle of the night! Anyway, these would also make a great gifts with a special gift tucked inside.
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Lawn Chair Bag
This is summer and I love to be outside in a lawn chair in the shade. One problem is there no where to put stuff – you know like a book, magazine, or a phone. So I made a small bag to fit onto one of the arms of the chair. It works perfectly! Now, I need to make a few more for family and friends.
These can be made from a couple fat quarters of fabric or some scraps. Based on the kind of chair you have, you may need to make a bag with velcro straps or even ties.
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Dish Towel Apron
My grandmother wore an apron. My mom wore and apron. And I wear one, too.
This is a picture of my sister, Janet (on the left), and I wearing our aprons. These are made from dish towels so they are super simple to make.
I realize this is Christmas fabric, but I wanted to show how wonderful these would be as gifts. Just something to think about.
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Handled Baskets
Check out these baskets! My sister, Janet, makes a lot of these baskets and gives them to friends. I admit, I made several myself. They are so handy and can be made in different sizes. I use them all over the house to catch all those loose things that seem to clutter up the kitchen counter, the desk, and the coffee table. They can be made from scraps to hold scraps! How cool is that?
Be well,
Wanda
Personal Post – Bookmarks
Does anyone still read books? I mean a book book – as in like printed pages? I do. So in that case, I need bookmarks. These were made from pieces of wool with embroidery added. These are just too darn cute! I also have friends who read book books and have given away several bookmarks. These make great projects to take along on car trips and don’t require a lot of fabrics. So fun to make and share!
Personal Post – Hanging Bags
This is something I made for my mother-in-law, Luann. These bags, a set of four, hang from a dowel rod that we attached to the front of her bathroom sink. If she is sitting in her rolling walker or in the wheelchair, she is able to use them to store her cosmetics in. They are at just at the right height. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of them hanging with the cosmetics in them, but I do have these pictures.
The inside fabric is a jungle print (she loves giraffes) and the outside is blue jean material. The different sizes were also nice. I found the pattern online somewhere, so if you wanted to make some it should be pretty easy to find.
Be well,
Wanda
T-Shirt Quilt
Making t-shirt quilts is always an adventure. They are all different because everyone has a different selection of shirts to work with. Every once in awhile I get to make this style of t-shirt quilt – all the logos are about the same size so the blocks can all be cut to the same size.
This means the quilt goes together pretty quickly and then it’s onto the quilt frame to be quilted.
I do love the quilting on this t-shirt quilt. Just look at the back of this quilt.
To a non-quilter this picture probably doesn’t look like much, but I’m sewing on a hanging sleeve. You may be able to see it on the picture of the quilt back. So, rather than using this quilt on the bed it can be hung on the wall using a curtain rod. It’s a wonderful way to show off all those wonderful memories!
Be well,
Wanda
