One of my online quilting heroes, Stephanie from Late Night Quilter, sold a Quilter’s planner last year. I will admit, I was initially skeptical that I would need/use such a thing. The more I followed the planning she put into the planner, the more intrigued I was. I am a paper calendar (DayTimer) girl, so I gave it a try. Now that I have been using it for several months, I have to say, I love it, and I will be a user for life, as long as Stephanie keeps selling them.
Along with the planner, Stephanie released a pattern for a cover. I have been dithering over a design for months – nothing felt perfect, I would like to do EPP but don’t have the focus/time for another slow project, etc, etc. My recent infatuation with denim, combined with a contest Stephanie is hosting involving planner covers, has inspired me today.
I love the look of my stained glass denim quilt. My favorite parts are the smaller pieces – I love the tiny 2″ squares of denim surrounded with sashing.
This is what I started with.
* My Quilter’s Planner
* Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover Pattern
— Both can be found at http://quiltersplanner.com/
* Stack of Denim strips
* Stack of 1″ black sashing strips
Here you can see my design assistant helping me with placement of my fabric strips.
I did alter the pattern a bit. Rather than make my cover piece 19.5″ x 11″ and then cut off a 2″ strip to go on the other side of the zipper, I made two pieces. The sashing strips are so narrow, they would disappear if cut again. I skipped adding a bookmark, as I couldn’t find a ribbon. I also skipped the business card pocket.
I’m very happy with the way my planner cover turned out. I was able to salvage some back pockets to make the interior pockets, and some belt loops were used as pen/pencil holders.
One thing I am noticing as I work with the stained glass effect is that my seam allowances are not as precise as they should be. Time to work on refining my skills. Again.