Purple and Pink V and Co Tote Bag

Hello, Friends!

So...you know me pretty well,

after reading my posts and seeing photos of my projects, right?

How many times have I used purple?

Hmmm...have I ever used purple???

{Crickets...}

Do I even OWN any purple fabric?

There's a lilac print in this divided basket...maybe that counts.

I've been stitching with this junior layer cake

of Simply Colorful II by V and Co for Moda,

in the purple colorway.

{You can find lots of other colorways, too, over at Kimberly's Fabric Stash.}

There are shades of pink on the top layer,

but a lot of the fabrics inside are purple.

They are actually very purple indeed.

When I opened it, I could feel my heart racing...
uh-oh...I think I may have a touch of purplaphobia.

I have a bundle of the Ombre Basics, also by V and Co.

When I put them together with this layer cake,

I could see that the plum and magenta ombres 

went together just perfectly.

It calmed me considerably when I saw the potential!

I cut some squares from the ombres,

and some more squares from the purple and pink prints,

and I created a wild and crazy tote bag.

I really love the way it turned out.

There's plenty of room inside, with the bag

measuring about 11" wide by 10" tall.

It's a full 6" deep.

It would make a great travel tote bag.

I love the various solid shades of ombre,

interspersed with the bright prints.

Along the bottom of the bag,

I used a strip of the darkest ombre shade.

It's very difficult to photograph,

but I made a large patchwork of prints

and solids, to add interest to the interior.

I always use a large piece of yardage for the lining

of my bags, so this was another step out of my comfort zone.

Even the handles were patched from

three different layer cake prints. I love the look!

My mother doesn't read this blog...

shhhh...this tote bag is right up her alley!

Mom looks great in purple and really loves to accessorize.

I can't wait for Mother's Day, when I give it to her!

This project has been therapeutic for me.

Maybe next time I won't go into a purple panic,

when I see 50 shades of violet!

Do you have a color phobia, too?

Cathedral Window Pincushions - Spring 2016

Hello, Friends!

I'm getting ready for a fun spring craft fair,

so I've been making some new Cathedral Window pincushions.

{Have you seen glimpses of them on Instagram? My Instagram name is @eamylove.}

I always use a fantastic free tutorial from Kim at My Go-Go Life blog.

I've made lots of these sweet little pinnies.

 I kind of have it down to a science now.

I love to prepare the backgrounds for several pinnies, all at once.

There is a lot of pressing in the first steps,

and I can do the prep work even if I have no time for sewing.

Later comes the fun part...placing the fabrics.

If I have more than one background prepared,

I don't have to fret over selecting the PERFECT combination

of colors and prints.

Instead of stressing, I can actually experiment and play

with various combinations of prints and colors.

Here is a sweet set I made from

Happy Go Lucky prints by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

This dynamic duo was made with Strawberry Fields Revisited
by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.

I have a "thing" lately for that brown, yellow and green palette.
The final touch is the covered button.
They are really fun to create,
especially with a lovely tiny print like this one.

These pincushions look so adorable stacked up together.
They're just a wee bit pudgy...I call them pleasingly plump!

I also made this darling little white pincushion...

in my humble opinion, it's absolutely exquisite!

I will be making one to keep for myself.

The fabrics are Flower Sugar from Lucien.

You can never have too many, or make too many of these pincushions.

Also...you can never take too many photos of them, right?

I hope you don't mind this photo-heavy pincushion post!