Kantha stitched zipper bag, Make Nine finish

Checking this UFO off the list! 

One of my Make Nine 2020 goals was to complete a UFO [unfinished object]... I had many to choose from, to be sure. Since the soothing, repetitive nature of hand stitching has become a mental salvation from the news grind about Covid-19, this kantha stitching project was easily revived from the UFO pile. 

So this is my seventh Make Nine 2020 UFO finish—a kantha and decorative stitched zipper bag.

Kantha and hand stitching zipper bag.

Kantha stitching and hand embroidery

This piece was started sometime in 2018 with the hand embroidered Sunshine Girl. My fabric of choice for hand stitching is a yarn-dyed woven from Diamond Textiles. Over the span of 2+ years, the kantha stitching slowly filled the background areas, using up random, single strands of colored embroidery floss. The needle effortlessly glided through this yarn-dyed fabric to create lines of multi-colored dashes and texture.

Filling the background with kantha hand stitching.

When Little Miss Sunshine was finally completed, I wasn't sure what to do with her... a pillow? a small table topper? a wall hanging?

Better yet, something more functional... for every day use: a zippered project bag. 

Complementing hand stitching with decorative machine stitching

Now, the Little Miss Sunshine bag needed a second side. For this, I took quilt blocks from last year's 100 Days 100 Blocks project and patchwork bits made with Diamond Textile's yarn-dyes and pieced them together. This patchwork was thread embellished by machine with 12 wt Spagetti thread from WonderFil Threads and the built-in decorative stitches on my sewing machine. It was fun to experiment with the decorative stitch patterns!

Auditioning decorative stitches and thread colors.

The pieces were then ready for bag assembly...

Pieces ready for bag assembly.

Inside lining with pockets

Pockets were included in the lining (a floral print from the Charleston collection from Art Gallery Fabrics)—with a 3-step zigzag stitch to coincide with the outside.

Pockets with decorative stitching in the bag's lining.

Zipper installation

The instructions from Sam Hunter's Chunky Wee Zippy Pouch pattern and a zipper pouch tutorial from Noodlehead helped with the zipper installation. 

12 wt Spagetti thread [WonderFil Threads] for decorative stitching.

The finished bag is approximately 12.5" x 13" and has a boxed bottom. 

Zipper bag: Kantha hand stitched side.

It's currently holding my English paper piecing hexagon project. 

Zipper bag: Machine pieced side with decorative machine stitching.

A completed UFO for a WIP [work in progress].

Check one more item off the (loooong) UFO list.

Orphan block Zippy Pouch: another Make Nine finish

This month, my guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, had a program about adopting and embracing orphan blocks and ideas for using them in projects. Orphan blocks—we all have them. They're tucked away in drawers, bags and boxes in the sewing room, they're the test blocks made before deciding to make a full quilt, the blocks from a class you took 5... 10... or 15 years ago, or maybe you rescued someone else's quilt blocks or vintage quilt top at a yard sale or e-Bay. Sadly, many of us have those lonesome misfits that never quite made it into a finished project.

One block Zippy Pouch made with an orphan quilt block.

As I have "collected" quite a number of miscellaneous quilt blocks and rescued and repurposed several abandoned quilt tops over the years, I offered to help with the program. While gathering my examples, this lonely block resurfaced. I decided to give the re-purposing process a go and make this orphan into a useful item—a zippered pouch. A zippered project bag also happens to be one of my Make Nine Challenge projects. Serendipity! I got twice the bang from this one block.

Repurposing an orphan block
The pattern I used was the Chunky Wee Zippy Pouch by Sam Hunter of Hunter's Design Studio. This is a great pattern as it not only has instructions for three sizes and shapes (see photo above), but provides a formula for making a custom size. (Visit your local quilt shop and ask for this pattern or support the indie pattern designer and purchase from her website.)

The size of my orphan block was 12.5" unfinished. Here is the quilted sandwich.

Quilted orphan block for zippered pouch.

The backing—which ends up being the inside of the pouch—was another random fabric bit from my stash.

Quilted block (inside). Examples of different free-motion fillers, a zigzag
and using rulers to stitch in the ditch can be seen.

A single fold binding was attached in preparation for sewing in the zipper.

Orphan block quilted, trimmed and ready for zipper insertion.

In addition to the orphan block, the materials used in the project were all scraps.

Finished zipper pouch.

Benefits of creating with orphan blocks 
As I worked through this project, I was reminded of several benefits to using these orphan UFOs [unfinished objects] in a project.

• you get a jump-start to making a project. Part of the work is already done! (by you or by someone)
• a small project offers an opportunity to practice free-motion quilting.
• it offers an opportunity to experiment with different FMQ designs. Try a different motif in each section of the patchwork.
• you can practice new quilting techniques: rulerwork, quilting in the ditch, walking-foot quilting, etc.
• this project gave me practice with inserting a zipper.
• a single orphan block can be combined with other orphan blocks, and/or combined with scraps from other projects.
• If your orphan is a rescue, it's fun to collaborate with other (anonymous) quilters.
• It's rewarding to recycle and give a new purpose and meaning to a languishing block or blocks.

Finished Zippy Pouch made from a single 12" quilt block.

It was fun to refashion an unused quilt block into something new and useful. Several guild members showed examples of pillows, tote bags, needle books, and the like that they created from orphan quilt blocks and fabric bits. Put on your thinking cap and you will be pleasantly surprised.