Soft and Stable is a foam underlining of a purse or bag that needs structure. It's what makes a bag able to stand on its own. I have bought bolts of this stuff when I was deep into bag making. I kind of tapered off. But now? I've been bag making non stop. For whom you may ask. And I may answer I don't know. All I know is that I have to keep making. The two bags above are Noodlehead's Super Tote. It's a great pattern and may be made with a recessed top zipper. One side of the bag has a huge pocket. The picture below shows a pleat in the side of the bag. This is a great pattern. And having a supply of Soft and Stable is a lot like having an open bag of M and M's: they cannot be ignored or forgotten!
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My other favorite tote bag pattern is also by Noodlehead - the Fika Tote. The Fika is a bit bigger than the Super Tote. One side of the bag has those wonderful pockets. The other side has a recessed zip pocket, the kind you can put a file folder in. And of course there are interior zip pockets. Both of these bags go together so nicely and require lots of interacting and Soft and Stable.
But every so often I venture into something new like this backpack below. It's the Chickadee from Sara Lawson Sew Sweetness. This pattern uses metal frames so that the bag opens wide and can also zip shut. It has two side pockets and interior zip pockets.
There is a pretty nifty front pocket which zips open to reveal yet more pockets and a zippered net pocket.
While Ive been playing with all things Soft and Stable in the studio, evenings I've been hand quilting this piece which has some glorious hand-dyed Cherrywood fabric. This is a very gentle quilt and has a wonderful feel.
This past weekend I joined about 40 of my guild mates at a local three-day retreat. Its hard to describe what a nice group we had and how much fun it was to work together. Seeing what and how others create is always just the best. And we have several new young members! I used my time to learn how to make pillowcases, work on enlarging a quilt for my sister, developing relationships, and starting this quilt above. So far I have 20 blocks and will make another 20ish more. Each block is 12 x 12. This pattern is Jelly Roll Sizzle, a free download from the Fate Quarter Shop.
My studio overflows with projects - the nearly finished, the in-progress ones, and the ones I want to start. Good times! And I love my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild!
