Thank you Carol from Just Let Me Quilt, for hosting the Time in a Bottle Blog Hop. I love all the projects I’ve seen thus far. Below is a throwback to when I participated in “An Hourglass a Day” challenge. I made my very first quilt coat back in late 2020 using all the hourglass blocks I made.
For the hop, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I knew it was going to be a scrappy project because hourglass blocks are a great way to use them up. My idea finally came to me when I was cleaning up my children’s toys to take to the basement. Their play space had been in the “dining” room but since my husband went to night shift, they can no longer play in there because our bedroom is right above that space and the noise carries.
For the hop I have created a drawstring play mat/bag.
Funny note about this project: After I finished making my play mat/bag I saw the cover of the Joann Fabrics Ad and they had the same project right on the cover. What a coincidence!
To make my play mat I started by making all my hourglass blocks. I did the 2 at a time method. I cut 5″ squares from all my scraps and made a total of 156 hourglass blocks. I then laid them out following the pattern below:
Next, I assembled my top and cut it into circle. I used my top circle as a template for the bottom circle. It just so happened that my top was the exact length of the backing fabric I was using so I didn’t need to piece the back. (WINNING!!) I then prepped the casing. Next, I layered the top, casing and backing, right sides together and stitched a 1/2″ seam to make sure I caught everything. I wanted to make sure it had a nice seam allowance since it was for the kids to play with. Once I stitched all the way around (except for the turning hole) I turned the piece to the correct side and stitched around the piece to close the turning space.
It was at this point that I could have just inserted the rope and be finished but I wanted to have a quilted look, so I stitched lines along the seams of the hourglass blocks. Finally, once I finished stitching, I inserted the rope, added fun beads so the rope wouldn’t get lost in the casing and it was FINISHED!
You can find a simplified video tutorial on my YouTube Channel Check it out!
Thanks for joining me today. Check out the other amazing bloggers featured today!
March 16
Inflorescence (You are here!)
You can check out all the other bloggers this week here!
Continuing to bloom by choosing JOY ~ Julia
Firstly, I love your coat! And secondly, I love the playmat too! The hourglasses give such a great look – colourful and fun.
What a great idea. I’ll bet the kids have fun looking at the many prints in their mat
I love the playmat, what a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Your play mat and jacket are both amazing! That’s a lot of hourglass blocks!
Awesome coat and fun playmat! Loads of ideas for hour glass blocks.
The coat is beautiful! The playmat is great and so useful. I like your heart backing fabric for it too.
Great project, Julia! And I LOVE the quilted coat! Great way to use those hourglass blocks! Thanks for sharing.
Very nice! I love your quilted coat; it looks so cozy. And the play mat will be put to good use, I’m sure. Thanks for sharing.
Your coat is awesome and what a neat idea for a quick way to pick up toys!
Half square triangles and blocks using them are such a fun way to use scraps. I love your coat!
Love your coat, and what a great idea for a play mat! Thanks so much for sharing!
Holy cow! What wonderful projects! You had me at the quilted coat. Just love the design. I have been tempted lately to do one as well. But your compactable one just shows what an accomplishment. So creative you are! Thanks for posting on my blog.
Cute project! So much color – love it.
what a neat idea!
That looks fantastic
That will certainly encourage the kids to keep their toys all in one place. Great idea.
How clever and cute. Wow! a 145 HR to make this. You put in a lot of work for this project. It was worth your time though.
This is not only useful but it’s also pretty! What a great way to use up scraps and meet the hourglass challenge. Love it! Thanks for sharing, Julia!
Your drawstring / play mat bag is a fantastic idea! And it looks great! 🙂
Love the playmat and oh my, the jacket is amazing!! Thanks for sharing the inspiration! xx
The playmat is wonderful, and I love the jacket! Very creative! Thanks for sharing these!
First your jacket is just wonderful.
Second, using those bright and cheery blocks for the mobile toy box is a great idea and great to look at too.
This is really cool! love all those scrappy hourglass blocks!
So clever, nice job
Julia your coat is stunning and the playmat is such a fun project.