Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I finally made a One Hour Basket that has been on my list for a long time.
I finally made it thinking I was making it for the multitude of remotes I have in my workroom. I am not going to use it for that, because I used fusible fleece and not Soft & Stable, so it wasn’t as stiff. I wanted a One Hour Basket that I could use to organize my various card decks. This one won’t work for the remotes, but it will work for the decks.
Last week I made myself a One Hour Basket. I needed something to corral some charm packs and mini-charm packs. I used The Dahlia print from the Classics Collection by Martha Negley (Rowan). This fabric was supposed to be a Schoolhouse tunic, but I didn’t quite have enough, so I will enjoy it this way – at least a bit of it.
I thought the glass brick fabric was a good companion to it.
I was very pleased to get these pre-cuts organized, then I found another stack. I have to stop. I really do. 😉
Don’t you love this photo? We went out to lunch for Julie’s birthday and I took this in the restaurant.
Friend Julie‘s birthday is December 1 and generally it sneaks up on me, but this year I was prepared! I got a jump on it. In the frenzy of fabric pressing before Thanksgiving, I found some fabric I had bought to make napkins. I picked out some purples to go on the back and started some napkins. I also decided that Julie needed a One Hour Basket, so I made one of those as well.
I bought her some books and things as well, but I do like to make things for people who appreciate them. Also, I feel like I am sewing in place, so a couple of finishes was great.
We had the BAMQG meeting yesterday. As is our habit, people made bags and others brought gifts with which to fill them for the officers as a thank you for their hard work. It was a great success.
I, however, could not get the Charity Girls out of my mind. Michelle and Peggy have done such an excellent job of shepherding the Charity project along that I felt some thank you was in order. I tried not to do it, but I ended up making two One Hour Baskets, one for each. They were quick and look nice and I think Peggy liked hers. I still have to give Michelle hers as she couldn’t make it to the meeting, but I may see her next week.
I wrote a lot last year about the awesomeness of the Charity Program. You can also check out the BAMQG blog to see more about the Charity Program.
As before, I put the handles on the sides to make them more useful (IMO). This time I used fusible fleece, (Last time I used Soft & Stable) as the pattern calls for. I think I would put the fusible fleece on both the lining and the exterior, if I used it again. I think Soft & Stable is a better choice for more rigid baskets. Also, I didn’t use ShapeFlex this time and I would go back to using it next time as I like my baskets more stiff.
The pattern for the One Hour Baskets is on Craftsy. It was designed by Hearts and Bees. She blogs at KelbySews. I noticed that the “advertising” photos show the baskets filled with fat quarters.
My sister left a comment on the post back in August after I made and wrote about the blue batik One Hour Basket. She wanted one. She offered to send fabric, but there is no fabric shortage here. Her comment gave me an idea for a Christmas gift.
During my travels back from taking the Y.M. to college I bought a couple of yards of Paris fabric with this project in mind. I sat down and made the baskets over Labor Day weekend while I recovered from food poisoning and DH was at the Native Sons. I really hadn’t been doing much sewing, so it killed me not to be able to post these right away, but I know my sister visits my blog, so I had to resist.
I used a slightly larger seam allowance for the interiors just to see if the interiors wouldn’t be so baggy. This worked and the interiors were slightly less baggy than my previous attempts, which was nice.
I also used different colored threads in the top and the bobbin to match the fabrics when I top stitched the top of the basket. I was pretty proud of myself for that!
These turned out well. I sent them off and with any luck, Lil Sissy had them in her hot little hands for Christmas.
I refuse to make promises about next year or commit to making 12 of anything right at the moment. If I were in that kind of mood, I would consider this project for those types of gifts.
I have some strips leftover from this project and was wondering what to do with them. It turns out Lil Sissy also wants a Sew Together Bag. I suppose that would be a good use of the strips.
I wanted to make some progress on something. I felt like I wasn’t making progress on anything, so I got out my To Do list and looked up what I felt like doing. The first thing I did was make progress on the Pinkalicious Journal Cover.
Once that project was well on its way, I made a second One Hour Basket. I don’t think it took me an hour, even if I subtract the time it took to sew pieces of Soft & Stable together. It didn’t take much longer, though. I was pleased to get something finished.
I had some weird pieces of Soft & table leftover that were on the small and thin side. I decided I had enough to use as stabilizer for this pattern. I sewed them together much like I would sew a piece of Frankenbatting together. I was able to use most of the leftover S&S, which pleased me.
The pattern is free on Craftsy, I think and the directions are fairly good. The weird part is that the pattern uses 3 different seam allowances for this one pattern. I think there is something off as the lining seems a bit baggy when the whole piece is finished. It is fine for my purposes, but if I were going to give it as a gift, I might use a slightly larger seam allowance for the lining. If I make more I’ll have to play around.
I am pleased that I got something done and have something I can cross of my list.