Still quilting over here

I have a couple of small finishes to share, 

starting with this silk infinity scarf for a friend

who purchased a dress made from Liberty Art Fabrics on sale

but didn't wear it because it needed some alterations.

I used the sleeves, the front and the skirt panels to make 

a soft, drapey scarf which she loves.

Not sure what to do with the leftover polyester lining though.

I've also been on the road, and one recent stop was Toronto for Quilt Canada 2017,

where I saw M-R Charbonneau's Canada 150 display.

I saw her work on it via her blog and IG feed,

and I was pleased to see it in person.

I purchased a patchwork-y green knitted wool poncho/scarf

from Henrietta Park while visiting London last month

and saw a quilt or two at Dover Castle in England.

I know it's a recent make, but I love the strong colours

and improvisational piecing.

I also made some VW van pouches using a novelty print

sent by Heidi from Germany and fabric from the ripped canvas tent 

from our own VW camper van.

And another set of small finishes: seven luggage tags in bright colours

for the last trip and any future identification needs.

I'm linking up to other Friday finishers here and here.

International pouch exchange

I've lost count of how many of these VW van pouches I've made--

maybe 13 or 16?

But I do know that it is worth it.

I've made some great trades with these,

including this handwoven one from Beth in California.

Thanks so much, and yours is in the mail!

Zipping to the finish line

I've been zipping along in the finishing department lately,

putting together a whole bunch of zipper bags.

This is the second batch of VW bus bags

and everyone loves them. 

I only have two left

of the total of seven that I've made.

This time I used a transportation fabric for the back.

I've used fusible fleece inside of these 

and quilted around the bus in grey thread.

Remember my thrift shop purchases?

I bought this Leicester linen/cotton tea towel for 60 cents

and that bunch of new zippers for 10 cents each.

I cut apart the tea towel, fused some interfacing to the back

added a linen napkin also found at the thrift shop

and made six bags featuring the buildings of Leicester.

They are lined with a cotton scarf found at a second hand market in Iraq.

Here's the whole bunch, including the two in the bottom row made earlier.

I'm linking up to Sarah and TGIFF.

Splitty zippies

I love the iconic VW bus, with its split front windows

and V-shaped paint job.

I bought this bus fabric last summer

and decided it would make great zippy bags.

These are the fronts

And these are the backs.

The top two have vintage 1970s fashion fabric on the reverse side.

The bottom was intended to be guy-friendly,

so I put another bus on the back.

First finishes of the New Year!

I had a little fun constructing some VW buses last weekend.

This bus is called a splitty because of the split front window,

and it's often seen as the iconic VW bus.

I used some wild prints for the buses,

and fused the shapes on a white background.

I outlined the rest of the vehicle with freemotion stitching

and then did some dense quilting in the background

to make the buses pop.

The pillow measures 13 by 20 inches

and is backed by some decorator striped fabric

Mr. Scraps brought from France last year.

This is his special pillow for the couch.

Together, we own a newer (1985) VW camper,

but Mr. Scraps believes it is all his.

You should see the smile on his face when he drives it, lol.

 I also put the binding on this string quilt that's been in the works for years.
I put it together from blocks in my spare parts drawer, quilted it onto microfleece,
and then didn't bind it.
Since I needed a gift last weekend, and I needed a quick binding,
so I dug into the binding bag for leftover binding for this quilt.

Here's a shot of the various bindings in this quilt.

And the last little finishes:

three zippy bags with the Canadian maple leaf on them,

which flew to South Africa with my nephew on Tuesday.

I made them for him to give away to his hosts

while he's there on an adventure/college program.

I made similar ones for my son to take on

a high school trip, but that story had a different ending.

The bags got to the Middle East with him,

but were left behind at the hostel after the first night,

and never made it to their intended recipients.

I'm linking up with Amanda and Sarah and M-R over at TGIFF

pretty pain in the neck

I use heat on my neck or back nearly every day as I recover from whiplash (from an accident last year) and recently I got a new gel pack that I heat in the microwave. I needed a cover for it, so I found half a towel from another project (a baby bath towel) and a selvage strip from a Kaffe Fasset print (thanks again, Bumble Beans!) and I made myself a pretty cover for my neck pack. Meanwhile, I got inspired by the pattern in the Roman Glass print and I took it all one step further .......

Inspired by the layers of free-form ovals, I cut a few of my own from hand dyed fabric and hand appliqued the layers to each other for another flower in my minimalist applique quilt. At left is the front, not appliqued to the backing yet, and at right is the back, where I've cut the layers away one by one. I won't be cutting away the black though. Isn't it fun how one thing leads to another?

Can anyone help me with the name or designer orline of this fabric? I just have a sample size, and I'd like a little more of this because of the VW bus on it. I own a VW van, but not quite as cool as this one.