Design Wall Monday

This post title is deceptive as I don't have a single thing on my design wall!  I don't know if that is good or bad.  I have a vast amount of projects cut and ready to go to my retreat Wednesday.  I don't usually go for 4 nights, usually just 3, so that is an extra day of sewing.  Next week I plan to show more projects!

First this week is my finished Row by Row Experience quilt.  I custom quilted it, letting each row speak to me.  I am not great at taking photos so I don't have quilting closeups.  I had two local quilt shops to pick from, awesome for a town of 3,000 people!  I chose to go in to Material Girls.  They were so delighted to have me there!

Idaho Travels with a little help from Washington and Oregon

For prizes they had a pack of 25 FQ's but said I could trade it in for what I wanted.  I looked around and one owner said how about this, do you like this?  It was this gorgeous quilt kit for Northern Cardinals using Winter Song fabrics by Holly Taylor.  I had seen the kit, but didn't purchase it and was thrilled to trade in for it, even though the value was way more, they didn't care.  Since I used their row they said I also got a gift certificate or any book I wanted.  I picked Here Comes Winter, it has a lot of cute, fun, little projects.

Northern Cardinal Kit by Holly Taylor - mine is cut and ready to sew at retreat!

book I received as a prize

The rows I used were from:  Material Girls - Orofino, ID, Stitches and Petals - Moscow, ID, Homegrown Quilts - Grangeville, ID, Cattle Country Quilts - Joseph, OR, Grammy G's - Palouse, WA, Quilt Treasures - Grangeville, ID, Rather Be's - Pomeroy, WA, Huckleberry Patches - McCall, ID, Wild Hare (split in two pieces) - Orofino, ID, Becky's Fabrics - Lewiston, ID and Palouse River Quilts - Colfax, WA.  It was fun going to all the different shops and I purchased all the kits to support the stores, even though I change a few fabrics here and there.  I pieced the back out of leftover chunks of fabric along with some yardage of flannel I had.

My friend Tamra sent me a pinterest link to an iron caddy.  I own one made by the organizer of a retreat I went to in Leavenworth, WA a few years ago.  I found instructions online here and made this caddy.  It unfolds to be an ironing mat.  I will be mailing it off as a surprise!

When I was at Cattle Country Quilts in Oregon in June I found this bag pattern, the Barbados Bag by Pink Sand Beach Designs.  I loved that is was tall enough for my Kindle and had outside pockets, one zippered on the front and one not and on the back there are two pockets as well as two pockets inside.  I made the bag this weekend and love it.  I still need to "move in" to it.  I ordered a new travel wallet that should arrive tomorrow.  I am hoping to keep my purse more organized!  I had to go rummage in my late MIL's sewing room looking for zippers.  The one on top is turquoise!

linking to Patchwork Times