Cell Phone Bike Bag

I attended a family reunion this weekend and re-connected with about three dozen first cousins from my mother's side of the family. It was quite the crowd with my mother being the oldest of the four remaining siblings in her family. Three of her brothers also survive out of eight children. One of my cousins died tragically 20 years ago from a malignant brain tumor when his four children were quite small. His wife has saved pieces of his clothing all these many years in the hopes of finding someone to make small quilted pieces for each of his children.

When she heard I was a quilter, she asked if I knew anyone who could take on this project. She has called here and there and has been searching for several years, to no avail. She even took a quilting class at Jo-Ann's but quickly realized such a project was over her head. Of course, having known Bob, her husband, how could I do otherwise but to offer my services? We will get together soon to work on getting this project started.She described very small projects - almost just a table topper size. I will aim a bit higher and try to get lap sized quilts made for her. It will all depend on how much fabric is in the clothing she has saved.

Next up, my sister has gotten into bicycling rather energetically in her "old" age. She is looking great and has really built up her stamina to the 30+ mile range! She has an app for her phone, "Map My Ride", which keeps all kinds of statistics for her as she rides, plus it has GPS capabilities. She has been putting it in her pack on the back of her bike, but can't always hear it. So, I am making her a cell phone holder to go on the handlebars. Here it is.

I used a fun orange and turquoise plaid for the inside.

The black straps on the sides are Velcro to wrap around the center bar. The black ribbons at the top are to anchor it further and are meant to be tied onto the handlebar. I hope it works out for her.

Otherwise, I have been working on hand work at night and plugging away at the Judy Niemeyer paper piecing blocks for the "Stepping Stones" quilt. Here are the latest two, completed this evening during QuiltCam with Bonnie Hunter. The count is now up to about 20, with 36 needed to complete the quilt.

These are the "K" blocks and have the dark sashing strips sewn to one side. Yes, these blocks are angled a little, per the pattern. Grunge is the more or less solid fabric in both blocks and the prints are straight out of my stash. As you can see, I ascribe to Bonnie's philosophy that anything goes. A green 30s print in one and a gold metallic modern print in the other.