Dawn, when i WAS GOING TO GO TO hOUSTON, i WAS ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE TEACHERS THROUGH THEIR WEBSITES TO ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS LIKE THIS ONE. tRY TO GET A HOLD OF HER/HIM THAT WAY. gOOD LUCK.

sorry for the caps, but in a hurry so won't undo. love anyways,

Lotti, the pot holders are beautiful! You really have some tiny strips in there, huh!?!?

Jen, love that bag! I had to laugh about your zipper comment! I made that same comment to a friend, and she just laughed at me, told me how simple they were, and I should be afraid of them. I still stear clear!

Purple Quilter, all of your Asian prints are very pretty! I'm sure anything you make with them, whether blended, matchy-matchy, or even "off" will be greatly appreciated, and keep him warm! Leave your worries and perfectionism at the door. Rosemary is right on!

QUESTION! I'm busy gathering up supplies for my Houston Festuval trip. I am taking a Noriko Endo Confetti Naturescapes class. She said to bring lots of scraps. I know I will be cutting these into confetti for my fabric "paint." Everything I have seen on-line shows her only using solids. I'm wondering if I can use my batik scraps. I don't think she ever has. Also, her scrap and my scraps are different. She shows, in one video that I found, a stack of about 6 layers of around 2" x 7" that she cuts all at once for her confetti. That's more than a scrap to me! My scraps are not stackable for cutting, due to all of the different sizes and shapes. Bottom line......I really don't want to run out and buy 10 solid fabrics, but on the other hand, I don't want to bring something to class that causes me to go too slow for the class. Help! Comments, please!

Dawn

I just saw your bag Jen. It is gorgeous!
Love the potholders Lotti. They are a perfect gift.

OH MY GOSH YOUR RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only are you right BUT yo also gave me a new idea!!!!!!!! Well kinda sorta like a new idea anyway!!! Ok time for me to get busy busy busy!!!!!!!! YESSSS and THANK you again!!!!!! LOL

Purple Quilter, I just went back over your posts about your current quilt and the things that stand out are

a) it is a rush order
b) trying to make it double sided, although possible and the idea is attractive, will take more time to sort out the details.

Because of a I would suggest that you go with the KISS school of making - Keep It Simple S****d - in other words keep to your original plans and proceed with all due speed and get it finished. Rush orders are not necessarily the best place to start experimenting, which I think is what is starting to happen here.

Lotti - your pot holders are beautiful! I would be afraid to use them as my pot holders frequently get scorched and stained. I'd hang them proudly in my kitchen as decoration instead!

Purple Quilter - I'm not sure what your original plan was, but could you use a neutral sashing strip to tie the two together, or a third fabric that has tones from each panel (but this might require another shopping trip)

~ Jen

Love the bag! It looks like you did a great job, so I wouldn't forego making another, if I were you. I love making bags and zippers continue to get easier as you work with them. There are a lot of easy techniques for putting zippers in bags, so trying different patterns can help you learn what works best for you and gives you the experience to be able to modify patters to make them more like what you like.

Well now my mind racing on what to do! Both fabrics are totally of 2 different colors but they both have gold metallic in them, its not very visible in the photos. I do have a good brown/dark tanish fabric I bought to go with the first top, it matches awesomely well with the panel of ladies. Yet that would take away from the original top plan. Then the next question left in my head is what to do with the all the yardage we bought for the backing of the original top

picture 1 is the red backing we chose, 2 is the brown/dark tannish that goes well with the ladies, and 3 I laid a scarp piece of original top fab that brown/tanish also goes well with.My brain flip flopping on as to how to make this work

Great looking bag, Jen. And congratulations on your first ever zipper experience I started off with clothes sewing and after always having trouble putting zips in I found that I would rather sew half a dozen hand button holes than one zip! (I've improved a bit since then )

Agree with Wendy, absolutely smashing bag!
Went to my friend Claudias this afternoon, combined brthday-, Baby welcome - and new home party... As she already received the baby-prezzie in hospital, b-day prezzie at the office, I made what every new home needs, a pair of pot holders... ( if they like them they can use & show them in the kitchen, and if they're not their style, they can be hidden in a drawer and taken out when needed )

I'm sewing beads on a quilt taking me ages, may get the glue out in a minute

smashing bag

Rosemary that is a nice bright quilt! I really like it

~ Jen