Hand Piecing.....Vintage Train Cases

How much do we love these 

vintage train cases...

I have just the perfect use for them...

I store my hand piecing projects in them...

They travel along with me wherever I go...

Everything I need 

is tucked away in this train case...

This case stores my mini dresden plate project.

I am paper piecing these.

I sew a lot while traveling...

I always wear a wrist pincushion and

scissors on a lanyard hooked to my shirt.

Mobile Quilting!

Yes, another vintage train case:

The Samsonite brand are some of my favorites!

How yummy is this 1970's avacado green!

The trays inside these train cases help keep all 

my hand piecing notions organized 

and accessible...

There is also room under the tray 

for my project storage.

This is an apple core quilt top 

I am currently piecing.

CLICK HERE: My Apple Core Tutorial

Because these train cases travel everywhere I go,

I get lots of hand piecing done along the way.

Again, each case has a wrist pincushion 

and clip-on scissors.

This is my newest train case...

a gift from the Cowboy:

How beautiful is this soft yellow case...

Just looking inside.....makes me happy!

I am using paper pieces 

to create a hexagon quilt top.

Check out the size of these HUGE hexagons!

To baste these big hexagons...

I baste them with washable glue......works great!

I am using Marcia Derse fabrics 

for this hexy quilt...

Hand Stitching on back side of quilt top...

Believe it or not...

I have only been working on this for a month.

I traveled a lot in November!

At this point, it is 6 feet square...

I think I will add a final border treatment.

As always, each train case has a 

wrist pincushion and scissor leash.

We have several pick up trucks, so each one is 

equipped with a train case, so no matter which 

vehicle we take to town...

I am ready to do some hand stitching!

CLICK HERE: My Hand Pieced Quilts

CLICK HERE to view my Take-A-Long Quilts

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn Kessi

Burst of Color......Hand Dyed Fabrics

Enjoy the BURST of COLOR

Hand Dyes.....Hot from the Dryer!

Lots of ironing to do!

Oh.....how yummy!

Chinese Lanterns growing on the patio:

CLICK HERE to view my hand dyed fabrics

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn Kessi

Zipper Bags.......with Fish Prints

Back in October I attended a

Quilting Retreat in Northern Idaho...

I created these fish prints on fabric

while at the retreat.

CLICK HERE: Gyotaku Replica Fish

When I returned to Oregon,

I made the fish prints into zipper bags...

I was quite pleased with my new fish bag...

Until I turned it around...

My poor fishy died and is floating upside down.

I was too busy chatting with friends and not

paying attention to what I was doing...

I sewed it on wrong.

I guess this bag will always give me a chuckle!

Here's another zipper bag:

Commercial Fabrics

Love these ponies!

I like to put a square bottom

on these zipper bags so they stand up.

CLICK HERE to view more of my bags

CLICK HERE: Quilted Zipper Bag Tutorial

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn Kessi

Ice Dyed......Snap Bag

I had a leftover hunk of ice dyed fabric

laying around for quite awhile...

I couldn't resist quilting a feather all over it.

Now....what to do with this little hunk

of quilted fabric?

I have been in a snap bag frenzy for months:

That little hunk of fabric was the perfect size

for this snap bag!

I might need to keep this one for myself.

CLICK HERE to view my quilted projects

CLICK HERE to view my free motion quilting

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn Kessi

Ice Dyeing...

Here are the results of my recent

Ice Dyeing session...

This started out as a natural colored

canvas tote bag...

These canvas tote bags have been stored away

in the cupboard for quite awhile...

I think I originally purchased them to do some

stenciling on them.

I threw them into a 5 gallon bucket with ice

and sprinkled fiber reactive dye powder on them.

I layered them like a parfait...

tote bag, ice, dye powder...

one on top of the other until 

the bucket was filled.

I let them batch for a couple of days.

I am delighted with the results!

The magic happens when they are

all pressed nice and flat...

These will make great holiday gifts.

I had a couple of aprons in the cupboard:

I threw them in the ice dyeing bucket too...

Yum, Yum, Yummy!

I also had a few t-shirts hanging around:

The T-shirts ended up 

in the ice dye bucket as well...

I also layered them like lasagna in the bucket...

Lots of ice dyeing FUN!

CLICK HERE to view more of my hand dyes

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn Kessi