Earth Day and the UN-paper Towel

Yes, today is Earth Day. The day I'm supposed to do something good for Mother Earth. I almost forgot all about it.
After chatting with Triple-A on Facebook, I decided I had to do something. I've been meaning to make a few of these UN-paper towels for use in the kitchen. I finally got around to it.
I measured a paper towel from the rack (11" by 11"). I chopped up some flannel left over from making quilt backing. No one need think I'm wasteful when it comes to fabric. If it is bigger than 2" by 2" I most likely have it--and about a thousand of its friends--in a bin somewhere. I didn't dig too deep for fabric, so I only cut a few.
After a couple tries with the serger, I found an edge finish I liked. When I was done--in record time--I had eleven little towels that will take years to find the landfill. Yay for Mother Earth.

I also did one other thing today. I made sun tea. Nothing but pure, free, non-polluting sunshine as an energy source.

One, Two, Quilt!

I love it when a quilt comes together.
Now that all the blocks are finished, I laid them out. Just a little moving about of blocks until I was happy with the setting. I cut the setting blocks and got to sewing them into the quilt top.
The pale-pink, setting blocks really lighten up the quilt. I trimmed the little points off the edges and cut the border. True to form, I failed to follow the instructions. I cut the border a little narrower than the instructions indicated. The border print is very busy. This worried me a little when I was cutting. I like the overall effect, though.

I've got the backing (more pale pink but in flannel, because flannel backing makes for such a snuggly quilt), batting and quilt top all layered and pinned. I'm still considering my options for quilting the layers together.

Birthday Bag

A friend found a cute pattern for a bag that is basically a cube. I liked the idea and decided to give it a try for JB's birthday present.I went straight for the pink, Amy Butler fabrics.
This bag is about 10" on a side, making it a great size for all kinds of things. (Yes, it would also make a good knitting bag.)A few inside pockets to help you stay organized.The bag has a magnetic closure as well as a tie closure, making it versatile.The outer bag is lightly quilted.
Overall, I think it came out perfectly. More importantly, the birthday girl liked it.

Sampler Blocks: Complete!

I'm finally finished with all twelve of the blocks for the Thangles Sampler Quilt. It's time to press the remaining fabrics and cut the setting blocks, border and binding. I love it when a quilt really starts to come together.
The last three blocks.
This one is Maple Leaves. I really like this block.Ducks and Ducklings. A relatively simple block in wonderful blues.
This block is called Lost Ship. I'm not sure why the block is named that. It seems rather arbitrary to me. Perhaps I should do some homework on the name.