Lots of firsts...

Okay, let me dive right in.  You remember that quilt top I showed you last time?  I was making the quilt to donate to an auction for the youth group at my church.  Well, here is the finished quilt..

The youth group auction was on Saturday night & I was really curious to see how it would do.  I was surprised & pleased to see it sell for $150, thanks, in part to my sister, who kept driving up the price.  I am so glad to have been able to help contribute, especially since my two lovely nieces are in the youth group & my son will be too in a few months (unbelievable!).

I also had been wanting to up my bag making game since so far I've only made simple totes & drawstring bags.  When I saw the Messenger Bag Tutorial, I decided to tackle it.  I ordered 3 prints from Joel Dewberry's Heirloom Home Dec line which Hawthorne Threads has on sale right now for $9.95/yard.  I bought the rest of my supplies from Joann.  

I consider myself almost a complete rookie when it comes to bag-making, but this tutorial was fairly easy to follow.  I would have to attribute any difficulty or confusion on my part to my lack of knowledge and experience.  It was difficult to sew though, even using the walking foot & denim needles, as is recommended.   I used 2 layers of duck cotton to make it extra stable and it was quite a challenge to move that thickness through the machine.  There are many, many mistakes and imperfections in my construction, but I am really happy with the bag & my efforts.  Please admire my handiwork..

(That's me trying to look artsy by not looking at the camera)

I finally got in my low volume fabrics to cut into fat quarters for the Modern Low Volume Fat Quarter Swap hosted by Kelly over at Live. Love. Create..  I hope to have those shipped out by Tuesday at the latest.  These 2 prints are from Tasha Noel's Little Red Riding Hood for Riley Blake.  I purchased these from Pink Castle Fabrics, one of my favorite online stores.

I just started working on my first mini-quilt; nothing special, just patchwork squares using a Kaffe Fassett charm pack in blues.  

I need to work on my FMQ & think that this mini will be a good opportunity to try something new.  I plan to gift it to a friend who just got her own office at work for some wall decor.

This week I want to make myself an apron also.  My sister was sweet enough to get me A is for Apron a few months ago and there are some really cute choices in there.  

I guess that's it for now.  Have a great week!