Buon Viaggio!

It's time for April Vacation here in New England and this year my daughter is taking off for Greece and Italy.  Of course a vacation is just another excuse for me to make stuff.  I paired up my precious Rifle Paper Co. Les Fleurs with Blossom Essex Linen to make her this travel set.

I started with this little laundry bag.  This is In Color Order's Lined Drawstring Bag in the project size, perfect for a week's worth of socks and undies.

Next I made a coordinating zipper pouch to hold her passport and travel documents.  My go to zipper bag is based on Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch.  I just skipped gathering the front panel.

And since I couldn't bear to waste a precious scrap of this fabulous Bon Voyage print I went ahead and made another Tiny Lined Drawstring bag for cords.  This are awfully fiddly to make but so cute.

Of course no adventure could go completely smoothly.  I was literally 2 inches from being done when I ran out of bobbin thread;-(  Hopefully this will be the only mishap.  Ciao Bella!

Blog hopping with this week's Brag About Your Beauties Pageant by Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty and a big thank you to her for including me on this week's highlights reel.

Octopus's Garden

I can't believe I still have friends who are having babies when mine is about to head off for college but I do and I needed a last minute baby gift.  I'm not going to lie, I completely stole this idea from schnigschnagquiltsandmore.  I loved hers and had all the same fabrics so it was a no-brainer.

I've used this Garden Fence pattern by Hyacinth Quilt Designs before for A Walk in the Park - Just as easy as I remembered.  Strip piecing the outer edges helps this go together so fast.

For the quilting I used big swirls.  I'm never pleased with the shape of my rings but it seemed perfect for this quilt.  I tried to let go of my inner perfectionist and just embrace the effect.

Gratuitous basting shot because I always like to document when I do my least favorite part of the process.

I've learned the hard way that it's always best to make a test block before I cut all my fabrics for a new pattern.  My BQF talked me in to joining her for the Shimmer block-a-long so I decided to use my scraps and make a companion pillow.

And here they are together ready to be delivered.

Sharing the love and keeping the blogging world going with this week's Brag About Your Beauties Pageant by Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 34" x 45"
Pattern: Garden Fence by Hyacinth Quilt Designs.
Fabrics: Coral Queen of the Sea by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50wt Aurifil in  Light Juniper (2845).

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 18" x 18"
Pattern: Shimmer by Cluck Cluck Sew.
Fabrics: Coral Queen of the Sea by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50wt Aurifil in  Light Juniper (2845).