When my friend and fellow designer Abby Luchsinger told me she was writing a book, I was super excited for this new step in her Design journey. And now I am really excited to show you a project I made from the book.
And now it's here! Cozy Quilts for the Modern Home by Abby Luchsinger is available to purchase from bookstores, quilt stores, and Amazon. (I encourage you to shop your local independent stores first, but you can find it on Amazon here)
The book itself is incredible. Full of seasonal projects and quilt patterns to bring a modern cozy element to the home. Instructions are clear, the photos are beautiful, and it's offers some excellent tips for fabric selections and basic skills.
I started with a bright fabric pull. Using the print that I wanted to use for the interior and the binding, I pulled from my stash of Art Gallery Fabric Pure Solids for the pieced curves. I love bright saturated color. It's like a shot of joy when you spot it from across the room, so its no surprise that's where I went here. I happened to have a zipper and zipper pull that coordinated well too, so now we're off to the races.
There is a special kind of magic that happens when you piece curves. You take these two pieces that kind of look like they shouldn't quite go together, and yet, they do. This project had curves stacked on one another to make the rainbow. Using quarter circles really helped with the smallest of the curves too.
(If you are new to piecing curves, I have a tutorial here, or you can see my YouTube video here.)
After getting everything pieced, it was time for quilting. For small project like this one, I really enjoy experimenting with hand quilting. I did some scattered seed stiches in the center, then a combination of big stitch quilting with Xs around the rings. Using different colors of 12 wt Aurifil thread to add extra interest, because why not? If I’m going to go with something new, I tend to go big and try it all at once. (And as an added bonus, it matches my needlebook.)
After quilting, all that was left was a bit of binding and adding the zipper. Following the directions from the book make this step a breeze.
With a finished pouch, I've got a new place to keep my hand sewing project that opens up flat when I want to access my tools, but folds up when zipped to keep it compact and all together. I was also thinking it would be fun to add a strap and make it into a wristlet too. Hmmm, maybe my second Rainglow Pouch will become just that.
And there we have it! Rainglow pouch from the new book Cozy Quilts for the Modern Home. Do youself a favor and get a copy to add to your quilt books collection. You will love this one.
