Nat’s Sloan Bag - Day 2

 

Today was a fiddly day and preparing the various parts.  All the straps are made, and so are all the pockets.  And the bottom of the bag is ready.  Each one of these items needs interfacing, and the straps additionally needed some visible fleece for body.  The side pockets have a snap closure - had  to get out the hammer for these snaps!  The front pocket has a zippered compartment and is also a slip pocket. The bottom piece looks simple but actually has four layers - the actual fabric, interfacing, a layer of Soft and Stable (the foam), and a layer of Peltex, something to add additional body and stiffness for the bag’s bottom.  

I’m thankful for all the fiddly bits - there’s no time to wratchafratch about Trump’s latest acts of idiocy or  the Bears’ loss last night.  And it’s fun to see the bag slowly come together.  Tomorrow? Topstitch and attach the straps,  cut out the lining, and add the lining side pockets and the lining’s two zippered pockets.  

Starting 2026 with a Sloan Travel Bag

Trying to keep to a schedule is hard but necessary.  Early January I completed my monthly commitment of a dozen purses for Sew Powerful.  And once those were done…

I resorted to an old safe sew, A Trip Around the World, in a color palette I don’t often work in.  It’s now hanging and ready for a backing, batting, and pin basting with no particular deadline.

And now?  It’s time for a luxury project - a Sloan Travel bag.  It’s one of my favorite Sew Sweetness patterns, and I make them only for very special people.  The next several several blog entries will be a daily journal of this bag’s process and progress.  The special person is my granddaughter Nat.  We met at Sew Modern Chicago in Arlington Heights and spent an hour touching and combining various fabrics.  And here’s what Nat has chosen.

Once I got home I couldn’t wait to get started.  The feature fabric is a woven cotton, and like with all cottons used for bag making, I interfaced it with SF 101.  This iron-on interfacing gives the cotton a bit of body and helps it to wear longer.  There’s a sample strip that is transparent.  Next to it is a strip of Soft and stable, a thin foam substrate that gives the bag shape.  There’s next task is now to actually machine quilt the feature fabric to the Soft and .stable foam.  After experimenting with a couple of different thread colors, I found one that works the best.  And there is a little sample of that to the right of these strips.   

When I was in the classroom and teaching research skills and papers, the kids often got overwhelmed by the task ahead.  And I assured them we would break it down and go step by step.  Bag making requires the same type of assurance.  Are there a lot of steps?  Yes.  But broken down and doing tasks one step at a time will result is a fabulous finished project.  

On the design wall there is an orange-ish grunge and “rum raisin” grunge.  These will be for the accents - the straps and the side and front pockets. Everything is atop the ombré lining which is just gorgeous.  I’ve found the necessary 1.5” rectangular rings.  And zippers?  I’ll decide on colors as I get more into the bag.  And something  wonderful happened as I was preparing what you see above: I’ve fallen in love with these fabrics.  I don’t have a handle on Nat’s taste and tried very hard to keep my personal taste out of it.  And I left the fabric store feeling ok about her selections.  But now?  I can’t wait to really get started.  

Today’s a busy day so no sewing.  But tomorrow and Tuesday are frigidly cold with nothing on the calendar.  Perfect for sewing! 

The Saddest March Ever…

My brother Doug was 15 years younger than me, and he died March 19.  He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in July 2020.  We knew his death would likely happen before the rest of us.  Still, the impact of his passing is profound. While sewing rhythm was disrupted with visits, it picked up speed during his final days while my brother and sister, along with Doug’s wife, daughter and friends, tended his bedside. The studio became a guest room.  For future reference, I am not very good bedside.  

I was thankful I had this project - a Sloan Travel Bag by Sew Sweetness - to work on for my granddaughter.  It's a complex bag with outer pockets, inner pockets, and a zippered top.  Preparation and assembly require total concentration, a good thing.   Nikki likes warm and light neutrals so this bag was a challenge and a departure from my cool highly-contrasting palette.  I’m very happy with it.

While there were many hospital and home visits and sibling sleepovers, nightly I returned to my hand-quilting project, Shuttle by Glad Hand Sews. My limited palette belies the beauty of this quilt pattern.  I should say that nightly I had to return to this project.  I get even twitchier if I don’t have another project for hand quilting in my queue.  I finished this one just before Doug died.  And immediately I moved on the next quilt.

My low-volume hexagon quilt was already pin-basted.  Starting with an off-center spiral pattern lets me work on automatic pilot. I started hand-quilting as my parents were dying,  after my mom’s death I found the rhythm of the stitching soothing.  I still do.  I will mourn Doug as I finish this quilt and will continue to mourn him in the next project.  And the next.  And these stitchings soothe my soul. 

Wrapping Up the Christmas Projects

 Grandson Sam Mo gets a quilt this year.  He's is Marquette MI at Northern Michigan State.  I thought this quilt was finished last January, but then I started to add some hand-quilting to it and couldn't stop.  I love these fabrics and of course this Trip Around the World design.  Sam's dad Mark has a similar quilt.  And you know what?  I'm not finished with these fabrics.  Here's what I have left - and whether I make another trip or do something else, I am eager to finish off this group of fabrics. And keep whatever I make!

This has also been the season of the Hampton Weeked Bag by V and Co. I love its over-the-shoulder or cross-body feature, thanks to the adjustable strap.  I just heard last night from niece Molly about how much she loves her.  And that's how I feel about mine.  The zippered pocket as well as the magnetic closures are great features, too.  I just have two more to complete before Christmas, and they are almost finished. 

My doctor had her first baby almost 8 months ago,and her husband has fallen in love with the baby quilt I made for little Veer.  He asked her to ask me to make a second quilt, a bit bigger in greys, navy, and white (omg, I love this palette so much).  She told him I was sick and probably didn't have time.  But of course this is all part of the surprise as she commissioned this quilt and was delighted that I got it to her before the holidays. 

  What I have made the most of this year has been microwave cozies.  I made some at the Fall Retreat in Racine.  When I actually began to use the ones I made, I realized how very useful they are.  When I finally washed the ones I made, I realized they needed more quilting than I was doing.  So I have modified this pattern to suit my way of sewing and my way of using them.  Currently I am trying to modify this pattern to use for serving bowls and am also experimenting with using Insul-Brite instead of cotton or wool batting. 

No talk of future sewing plans today.  However, my studio floor is covered with piles of greys in all hues.  With one deep red added.  2018 hasn't been a blogging year, but it's been a sewing year.  I'm eager to lay out the various projects for 2019 and get busy on them.  And my table of  SewPowerful fabrics is begging for some attention.  But now?  It's time to enjoy the beauty of the season. 

Mid-August Pictures

This Sloan Travel Bag is for Jenny - she has had an Aeroplane bag of this fabric, and she was pretty thrilled that I was able to locate some more of this fabric to upgrade her 5-year old Aeroplane bag. 

This Sloan Travel Bag is for my stepdaughter Jen's 50th birthday.  The fabrics are a charm pack from Zen Chic Moda's Luster line. 

The reverse side

A SewPowerful purse that has the "option B" front flap.  Just something a bit different.

Key fobs - I just hadn't made any in a while

The best ever lemon cake

August So Far...

A Sloan Travel bag in process for a friend's mid-August birthday

The Sloan is my favorite travel bag.  Here is mine - well-used and holding up very well.

These 5" charms will also be a Sloan travel bag.  This one has no deadline - I just like touching these fabrics.

Here are the last two "period purses" from July.

And the design wall with the 7 from last winter and the 23 from July. 

Most of the purses are packed away in the duffel.  And now the design wall can feature the twenty 15" scrap blocks that are being hand-quilted.  The ones up are complete and ready for joining. 

Sloan Travel Bag - complete!

There's a zippered pocket on the front of the bag.

Each outer side has a pocket.

The bag zips shut.

Inside there are 2 zippered pockets and 2 side pockets.  

This Sloan Travel Bag is not an easy pattern.  But when the steps are broken down and taken one at a time, the end result is beautiful and pragmatic.  I have used the one I made myself on a half-dozen overseas trips - it's the ideal carry-on.  My friend Jenny has this bag now.  I was secretly hoping it might be too bright for her.  But she loves it. 

Finishing the Sloan means I can now start Molly's quilt - this is what I have after two hours.  Right now it's just a matter of making the blocks.  Layout will come much later. 

Lots o' Pictures

This cute little baby quilt is ready for gifting to a Benton Avenue grandchild.

Scraps were used for the back.  All from Zen Chic's Fragile collection.

 The Sloan Travel Bag, pattern by Sew Sweetness, is finished.  For each outer part, there is an inner part.  Pockets, straps, zippers, lining - preparation is sometimes laborious.  But I do love this pattern, and it is my travel bag of choice.

While it is a complicated bag, I do love Sara Lawson's patterns.  Her directions are thorough and illustrated with tons of pictures.  Fellow bag maker Sally said her secret is that she's good at following directions.  And that certainly has become a strength of mine.  At Patty's request I included a detachable cross-body strap.  This bag has one outer pocket, two small outer pockets on the sides with magnetic flap closures, a zippered top closure, two inner side pockets, and two inner zippered pockets. 

The finished Sloan Travel Bag

I spent a quick weekend in Santa Fe with some local quilters, and this project is what we worked on - Sugar Skull Art.  Mine turned into a self portrait at various stages of life - acne, braces, glasses, hair.  I'm still working on adding some fabric details.  I think perhaps some hand quilting before the machine quilting, too. 

My travel agent client - you'll never guess when and where she went to high school - wanted pillows from these two t-shirts.  One of for her - the other is a Christmas present for a classmate.  I used 16" pillow forms. 

Finishing up projects means I can put away patterns and pieces and various piles of fabrics.  And that's what I did.  But in between putting things away and vacuuming, this baby/napping quilt happened.  These fabrics were leftover from quilts I did for Virginia and my sister-in-law Pam.  It's going to be 55" x 70".  And despite the various unfinished hand projects, I think I want to hand quilt this one.  Just because. 

A Special Month - part 2

Last year I learned that the average age of  Nobel winner is 67.  A year ago that seemed such an optimistic fact.  Well, today I am 68.  So it goes.  No prize for me.  We are in San Francisco and coming home tomorrow.  We celebrated John's 78th birthday Thursday in northern California.  We may not be Nobel winners, but we are keenly aware that every day is big prize.  We are so thankful for our health and our mental acuity  ***knocking wood*** 

I'm doing a short demo on bag making at my guild meeting next Sunday.  And then I am making a Sloan Bag, one of my favorite patterns, for a friend.  She has chosen the feature fabric on the left of the above picture.  And then?  Back to SewPowerful purses.  I only sent in 6 for the October deadline.  The next deadline in February.  I hope to certainly double and perhaps triple that number.