A Fun Make!

This Friday when I head over the the Kirtland Library's Community Room for the Blow-off Black Friday Stitching event I've organized, this fun #undercovermakermat will be going along!

I'm a fan of @lillyellasworld on Instagram and this is one of her free patterns.

You can find it HERE.

During November, she has been hosting a "sew-along" on Instagram to make this and what fun I've had pulling it together.  I simplified it using only one pieced unit (the wonky bird) for the front pocket panel, but  her original version includes a paper pieced butterfly and selvedge pockets!

My color inspiration came from that fragment of Laurel Burch dogs and cats (second from the left).

That is literally all I have of it and rather than toss it into the scrap bag, I used it!!

Then of course, lots of bird stuff happened.  There's that wonky bird again

The black and white bird print wasn't quite enough for the width needed, so I used my new Small Flying Geese tool from Marti Michell to add a row of flying geese.

One of the benefits of cutting pieces with a template is that everything is the same size to begin and I never, ever, never have to trim triangles.

I know lots of you trim triangle units to "the perfect size" but I would have quit piecing a long time ago if that was necessary to get good results. 

The more 1/4" seams one stitches, the more accurate one becomes at it.

Truth!!

No points were harmed in the construction of this flock of geese!! 

It was fun to comb through my box of trims, looking for just the right touches.

Bonus -- I tidied the box up and culled a few things I'll never use at the same time!!

This six inch long piece of hand-loomed trim from South America has been malingering in that box for too long but I could never throw it away. 

Now it is a needle cushion on the front of one of the pocket sections -- since this will be a traveling mat, having a place to stick a self-threading needle for tie-offs is perfect!

And the green half pocket is just right for carrying along a few Clover clips!

I have a stash of machine quilting threads that my APQS George doesn't prefer. . . . . 

but since I did the quilting with the walking foot on my Bernina 1031, I got to use a happy multi-color thread!

The multi-color stripe is perfect for the binding and check out that ABC ribbon I used for the pocket divisions -- left over from when my kids were littles -- long time!

Since my "go-to" machine lives in a cabinet, the mat will be my travel companion.

It will keep all the most important supplies at my fingertips while creating a cheerful habitat when I'm away from my studio! 

The best part of this make (aside from the ease of construction) was the opportunity to let the fabric combination evolve as I went along -- being spontaneous is such a burst of joy!

If you live in Northeast Ohio and hate black Friday, think about joining us at the sew-in!

All the details of where and what to bring are in my post from last week -- just keep scrolling down.

And if you live too far away, grab a friend and have your own sew-in.

The pattern is a free download PDF -- if you haven't already grabbed it, here's the link again!

(If you can't get it to download and print, send me an e-mail -- maryhueyquilts at hotmail dot com -- and I'll send it directly to you).

Heck, grab the kids and get them involved!

It's an easy make and it will be appreciated by young parents in a difficult situation!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even if you aren't eating turkey Thursday!

Mary

If you don't follow Nicole at @lillyellasworld -- you should!!

There's a new charm size set of moth blocks coming this Friday!!