Friday, September 19, 2014

Small projects

Hi all! I am feeling somewhat better today, although there was a lot of downtime this week. I even stayed home all day Wednesday and accomplished almost nothing all day. My pedometer says I had only 1855 steps for that day, when I usually have close to 10,000. I guess that's what happens when you take medicine and curl up on the couch reading quilting blogs instead of actually doing something.

I did manage to sew up two small projects this week, mainly so I could feel like I hadn't wasted all that time. The first involves the tote bag I showed you last time:


The hubs has a bad back and the seats they put in cars aren't really comfortable for him any more, even though they're advertised as having lumbar support. So we have driving pillows specifically sized and stuffed to fit behind him in the car so we can drive long distances in comfort. One of these met a tragic end a little while ago, involving the seat belt, the latches on the car door, and a person in a big hurry. So this fairly useless but cheerful tote bag has become our new car pillow.

This was a very simple project. I just turned the bag inside out and folded the bottom up to trace the curve at the top. Then I cut off the top and stitched just around the curves to hold the corners, leaving an opening for stuffing. Then I took a nap because that wore me out.


When I woke up, I stuffed it firmly, using almost the whole bag of fiberfill:


Stitched the opening closed and ta da! Finished back pillow.


Total time commitment, including hand stitching the opening closed: less than 45 minutes. (Sadly, not all in one sitting.)

I'm counting this as my orange project for the week, along with this similarly cheerful bright orange block (which  actually finished last week and forgot):


Gosh, orange is such a happy color. I should use it more.

The other thing I did this week was this little row quilt, which I plan to hang as a banner in a small space:


Hard to get a good picture of a long skinny quilt. It measures about 12 by 41. This was a row quilt pattern from a shop in Pennsylvania from 2013. I had made the components a little bit ago and finally put them together this week, then added the small borders to finish it off. Took about two Netflix episodes of Scandal to put it together. It's an unusual block, and I think it turned out well. I may quilt it up this weekend if I have some time.


That's it from here! Hope you all were feeling well and got a whole lot done this week. Enjoy your weekend!

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF, and SoScrappy. Stop by for some quilty inspiration!

11 comments:

PugMom said...

Glad to hear that you are starting to feel a little better. I love the fabric in your tote bag turned pillow! Rest up and you'll be back to full time quilting and 10,000 steps in no time!

Lorna McMahon said...

Your tote bag and pillow are great.... But I really love that runner. Such pretty things you managed to get done... including that bright and beautiful block!

Anonymous said...

10,000 steps? That's so admirable! Glad to hear you are feeling better. Even if you did have to nap half way between finishing the lumbar pillow! ;-)

Chantal said...

Love the recycled tote bag idea. If you don't use it one way, let's use it for something else. Gotta love that. Very lovely row quilt. Very well done.

Edith said...

Cute little pillow, I could use on of those, and I really like your orange block.

Nell's Quilts said...

Amazing how much you accomplished considering you were under the weather. Finding a comfortable driving position is so hard even with all the adjustments on the seat. That pillow looks like it should do the trick.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Glad you re feeling better ...and I agree about orange!

LA Paylor said...

omg, I know about car seats and bad backs. If my seat got moved I wouldn't be able to drive any more. I sit in the back seats of cars if riding as they are much better on the back. I have to be almost totally upright. Same with sofas and easy chairs. The fabric is so excitingly orangeish. LeeAnna at not afraid of color lapaylor.blogspot.com

scraphappy said...

Glad you got a bit of sewing time in. Everyone needs a bit of down time now and again though, to get back to full productivity again. Such sweet fabrics in your row quilt -- it will be a cheerful wall hanging.

Magpie Sue said...

Glad you're feeling better; hope the trend continues!

Good save with the tote bag turned pillow. :- )

Thanks for the packet of fabrics (from your giveaway)! They arrived safe and sound.

Sheila said...

I'm glad you are feeling better. Cute pillow from the tote. Congratulations on a UFO finish. Those always feel good.