Do you have any idea what this is?

I’ll give you a hint. It measures about 19″ x 25″ and folds into a three dimensional object that is both functional and pretty.

Once I show you the other side, you’ll have a better idea:

That gray fabric is a treated heat resistant fabric commonly used on ironing board covers. Aha. So this is a portable ironing surface, right? Yes, but that’s not all. Look what it becomes when folded just so:

It’s an iron caddy. How cute is that? Not to mention practical. It’s great for transporting a still-warm iron that was used in a quilt class.

The pattern is by Sisters’ Common Thread. I made one for myself three years ago with a few modifications that I wrote about here. My good friend and fellow Quister (Quilt Sister) Vickie admired mine and asked if I might make one for her birthday this year. Why yes, I might!

Since Vickie’s favorite color is purple, I chose fabrics from the purple colorway of Benartex and Kanvas Studio’s Dance of the Dragonfly line.

I also made a little 4″ x 4″ fabric box to go with Vickie’s iron caddy:

Here is the matched set:

Don’t they look good together?

Later this week I’m celebrating Vickie’s birthday with my fellow Quisters. Sure hope she likes her present!

My quilt group, the Quisters, got together yesterday to celebrate Vivienne’s birthday. Her birthday is not until next month, but finding a day when all six Quisters are free can be a bit of a challenge. Happily, we found a day and yesterday was it. I made Viv an iron caddy:

The pattern is “Caddy Pad” from Sisters’ Common Thread. The caddy doubles as an ironing pad when opened up because the inside is covered with a heat-resistant lining.

The floral and dot print and the striped fabric on the inside of the handles are made from Mo Bedell’s Party Dress line for Blue Hill Fabrics. I’ve been saving this fabric for three years, waiting for just the right project. Here’s a close-up of the button and loop closure:

I found the vintage buttons (there’s one on the other side of the caddy, too) at the Button Emporium in downtown Portland. Oh my, what a lovely shop for button lovers!

The fabric for the bias binding was also from my stash. It’s from the Serendipity Sunflowers line by Debbie Beaves for RJR Fabrics. The date on the selvage is 2007, so I guess I’ve had it a while.

I made this pattern for the first time in March, when I was on a retreat with the Quisters. I made a few modifications to the pattern which you can read about here.

The Quisters had a wonderful time, all the more so because Deborah brought homemade strawberry shortcake and lots of whipped cream.

I’m at a quilt retreat in Central Oregon this week with three of my fellow Quisters (Quilt Sisters). Of course we all brought lots of projects to work on. Deborah was the first one to finish a project. She is embarking on a series of small Civil War quilts, and here is the first one:

The quilt, made of 4″ blocks set on point, measures 31″ x 37″ with borders. The block is called Crosses and Losses. I especially like this one:

Deborah found the design in Civil War Legacies: Quilt Patterns for Reproduction Fabrics by Carol Hopkins (That Patchwork Place, 2012). Carol Hopkins named her design “Grandpap’s Cards” because her grandfather kept his playing cards arranged in perfectly straight lines, much like the way the Crosses and Losses blocks are lined up across this quilt top.

The book is full of charming small quilts — the one Deborah chose is the largest one in the book — made with beautiful repro Civil War fabrics and sporting whimsical names such as “Mo’s Suspenders” and “Alexander’s Bean Pot.” I can’t wait to see which one Deborah chooses next!

My first finish of the week is this iron caddy, the perfect container to transport a still-hot iron after taking a quilt class:

The caddy doubles as an ironing pad because the inside is lined with a silvery heat-resistant fabric like the kind you find on ironing board covers. When the tote is opened up, you have a nice little ironing surface measuring about 19″ x 25″. The pattern, “Caddy Pad,” was designed by Sisters’ Common Thread (http://www.sisterscommonthread.com/caddy/).

I bought the main body fabric a couple of years ago. It’s Wildflowers IV by Sentimental Studios for Moda. If you look carefully you can see a companion fabric from the same line on the inside of the handles. The binding fabric is more recent; it’s from the Ainsley line by Northcott.

Here’s the outside of the caddy, laid out flat:

Here you can see the ironing surface on the inside:

I departed from the directions by 1) adding a different fabric to the inside of the handles, 2) inserting the handles in the seam allowance before adding the binding, 3) rounding off the angled corners, 4) applying bias binding instead of straight grain binding (because of the rounded corners), and 5) fusing the binding to the inside with Steam-a-Seam-2. I finished the caddy with vintage yellow buttons.

With four of us sewing and crafting, there’s going to be a lot of show and tell this week. I hope you’ll come back for a visit!