While visiting my mom there was a little sneaky action going on. Her husband, Rex owned the local small town feed store for many years. He has many of the Purina shirts and patches. I have never seen him wear any of them. I think they hold a sentimental value more than anything. My Mom gave me a few of the shirts to make into a quilt for him. Here are the pieces I have to work with. I bought the red and white flannel to add into it and also to do a red and white checkboard for the backing.
This is the tote I came up with.
D is for Debbie. This is the 2nd ever attempt at applique. I think I will use a different stitch next time but it turned out OK. The pink polka dot is also the lining of the bag.
Button came from my Mom's stash when I was visiting her.
And a coordinating pouch bag. Of course had to use another one of the craigslist zippers. 
Photo on the left is this morning, on the right is yesterday. Proof I did actually clean. I made it through most of stuff brought home from Mom's.
I did have a weak moment yesterday and bought some fabric. Not because I needed it, I just wanted it. Enough to make bags or bibs and burp cloths. Just haven't decided yet. 
Snaps that look like buttons and the red with dots are just gorgeous. I wish I had bought more of them. These will look great on baby bibs.
Made it home from my Moms and everything just got dumped on the table. Have plans with a friend to come over and sew on Saturday. My sewing maching is somewhere behind that box. I might just have to give this some attention soon. 
Mason (my son), My Mom, and Valerie (my sister)
I am off to visit my Mom in Iowa for the weekend. My sister is also coming down from Minnesota to visit at the same time. There was a special request for peaches. A few decided not to make the trip. I have to admit these are some of the best peaches I have ever had.
It looks like a giant padded envelope.
That actually stores a laptop. Laptop sleeve to be exact. It is definitely custom made. Snug fit but that is exactly how I wanted it. Mom already has a laptop but it has been giving her problems so I am taking my old one to her. Can't deliver a plain boring laptop. 
And I lucked out even more when fat quarters were on sale. Buy two, get one free, plus I got 20% off. I needed pink and green fabric for a swap project. Got red fat quarters for Mom's surprise. I am trying to buy more variety in smaller quantities. And I am trying to trust my instincts for fabric color choices.
It is about 40x40 inches. I doubled the batting to give it a little more loft. Can't even tell I doubled the batting. It is quilted on the diagonals to accent the diamond pattern. 
A little peak at the back. The blue is brighter than I normally would have chosen but it works great knowing I didn't buy anything for this quilt. If weather turns better today I will try to get a photo outside. 
Zippered pouch bag. These are so simple you can make them while sleeping, and I think I actually have.
Zippered triangle bag. I have no idea what I would put into this. I would make it much bigger next time.
Mini zippered bag. I made two at the same time. Nice size lined bag. I made the strap thinner on one of them. I will definetely do that modification again. 
After sorting, tossing, untangling, winding and winding I finally got yards and yards of trim sorted. I was very realistic when I went through this. If it was stained it was tossed. If it was frayed it was tossed. If it was just too out of date it was tossed. Now the fun part starts. I get to use all of it. 
Lovely Japanese fat quarter from a swap. Isn't that sweet. I will have to find some place special to use this.
I did a little fat quarter shopping last week. They were on sale and I had a % off coupon for my whole puchase. Ended up paying about 80 cents a piece for these. I am working on restocking some brights into my collection. And now with the zippers I guess I will be finding some new projects to work on. 
Huge bag of zippers. Many still in original packaging. All new. Seller said 75. I would guess more than that. Should I sort by color or by size?
Good size garbage bag of trims. I will get better photos tonight if I can sneak all of this in the house. The bigger question is where am I going to hide it all once I get it in the house. Two huge bags are gonna get noticed. 
This stuff is super tiny. You can see a little hint of the pink gingham inside the bag so pink baby ric rac was the perfect choice for this bag. Yes I do use alot of trims. So I have about 90% convinced myself to get the trims from craigslist when I get the zippers. Cash in my wallet. I agree it is expensive and I may just have to share the wealth with those that have convinced me to buy it.
Horrible photo, I was in a hurry. It looks much better in person.
I think I have a plan to finish the values quilt. Navy blue for the binding. Left over squares pieced on the backing with navy and a lighter blue. Funny thing is all the squares are from fabric swapped on swapbot. The navy blue is something my mother sent me and the lighter blue is from my craigslist purchase. I haven't actually purchased any fabric for this quilt. I like the choice of the navy blue. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day and I can work with sharp objects again. 
Good news is I did get six tote bags finished over the weekend. There were many times I wanted to quit but fought my way through it and got them done. Nice to have a sense of accomplishment. 
Made a few boxy pouches.
I can get three out of a fat quarter. Made one for my swap partner. Just need to get some coordinating thread and I can send it.
The values quilt top is finished. I guess I didn't think this through too much. What do you use for a binding and backin for something so scrappy. Gonna have to think about it.
My little sun lover was even enjoying the day.
And six tote bags are ready to be sewn. Why on earth I went down that path today is anyones guess. There was fabric just begging to be touched. How could I deny it. 
A couple of the rows are not attached yet. And a couple more need to be sewn together. So far I like it. There are a couple darks that were probably more of a medium/light but it still works. I love Diane's idea of making a baby quilt like this. One of the ladies that works for me has her first grand daughter due in November. I might just have to steal the baby quilt idea.
When you take away the color from the photo you can see the pattern even better. If ever in doubt about what is light or dark looking at it without color shows the value quite well. David won't be home until late Friday, I should get a chance to finish this. Funny thing is none of this fabric is anything I purchased. All of it is swapped charms from Swap-bot. 
