I'm Making Wallets - in my spare time

I'm making 8 wallets.   These along with a few others will be heading to Nova Scotia in 2 weeks.      I'm working on them in bits of my spare time.    Last week, just by working a bit in the mornings, I have the outside covers and flaps of the 8 wallets done.  

Today, I'm sewing the tabs on to the ends of the zippers.   If you have taken my wallet class, you'll recognize this step.    I thought this was a neat picture of my zippers.  It clearly shows the assembly line work.

Tomorrow I'll sew the zipper sections.  I would say it'll take me an hour and a bit to complete the 8 zipper sections....

With a quiet week ahead, I expect I'll have these wallets done by next weekend.

Presenting - My First Mini -

The great thing about doing a mini is that they're quick to finish. The name of this pattern is Sunshine and Shadows by Joyce Newman.   As you know, even though it was a jet lagged week, I took the class from Joyce.     She had such helpful techniques.    Since the fabric requirements are minimal, it was easy to pull colors from my stash...

I finished it off at home by adding borders and then machine quilting.  It was done just in time to take to our guilds show and tell.

I like it.  I'm planning on making another with different colors.

Making a Cake with Mitchell

Grandson Mitchell, now a teenager, was here yesterday after school.   I was helping him with his science project.   He had to make and decorate a cake that depicts a cell.    After some research Mitchell came up with a plan.  He needed a rectangle cake and many colors of icing.  Light, Medium and dark purple, pink, light and dark green, black, tan, orange, blue and yellow.  

See all those years of practice of decorating Christmas cookies has paid off.  (See as early as 2008 here, and then later on here and here).   He decorated this cake all buy himself.    It's a cell.   As you can see there are many parts.   Who knew!!

After the cake was done and we were all admiring the artistry, Grampie said he should have made a cake of his iPhone.  "That's a cell!! " he said.  Mitchell and I both thought that was hilarious.   Mitchell is known as a comedian at school but I'm afraid, he might not have a got a good mark for the science class if he brought an iPhone cake.

Sunshine and Shadows - Making a Mini

I took a mini quilt class this week with Joyce N.   It was called Sunshine and Shadows.   It's like a trip around the world quilt.   I've been wanting to make a mini quilt for some time now.  

I pulled colored strips from my stash and with Joyce's help, she helped me arrange the colors so I would get a dramatic effect.   As we sewed, Joyce gave tips on ironing and pinning and used a neat tool to arrange the blocks to transport from the ironing/cutting board to the sewing machine.   I really enjoyed this class and learning neat techniques from this master sewer.

This center part is only about 9" square.   I plan to put a small border and a larger border on it.  I'll finish it this weekend to bring to guild on Monday for Show and Tell.    I'll show you too on Monday.