Whole Lot of Sewin' Goin' On...

Using scraps for a tote bag, I am testing out some vinyl covered fabric.  I used this vinyl previously but gave the bag away and I need to see how this product actually wears.

The pattern for this bag is the one I'm using for the bag above.  I made this bag before but created by own color palette.  And clearly this was before I discovered my deep and abiding love for Soft and Stable.  So this kit will allow me to make the bag properly.  Besides the kit was on sale.  Magic words...

This is a free download pattern for a cross-body purse.  Go to Sew Powerful.  This organization's goal is to provide purses for young African girls so that they don't have to miss a week of school each month.  What a great idea!  However, this purse pattern looks fiddly.  So I want to do one before I start to strongarm some of my fellow guildsters.  Here's a better picture of the final product.

Two totes from one set of sale fabric.  I made some modifications on the left one, including a too-short purse zipper, side pockets, and zipper tabs.  I like these bags, but the size is wrong - just a bit too small for what I was intending to make.

This kit is calling out to me gently.  Maybe Saturday...

Meanwhile I am sashiko-ing this quilt of Marcia Derse fabrics on the front and a fabulous Art Gallery backing AND - wait it get even better - wool batting.  Can you tell from the picture below that about 3/4's of the quilt has been quilted?

And of course the Molly Market tote.  I definitely want to crank a couple of these out.

The backing fabric came in for what's on the design wall.

And of course key wristlets.  

I blog for many reasons.  The prime one is usually just to get out of my head what I need to without annoying my husband.  He's good for listening but only for so long.  A great secondary reason is that I have a record of what I have done over the years.  But the most immediate reason today is that when I am in a frenetic sewing stage, getting projects down on e-paper helps me priortize and calms me down.

Much better.  We are heading to my aunt Marjorie Long's funeral.  She's the reason I went to college and into teaching.  What a great role model.  John and I would run into her at the Goodman Theatre until she stopped going, maybe 6 years ago.  And I just had a flashback of her reupholstering her furniture.  Like my parents' deaths, Marge's was peaceful.  I hope her children are as at peace as my sibs and I are.

Today's Observations About Totes, Duffels, Kits

I bought a kit to make this Cargo Duffle, designed by Noodlehead.  The kit came with some Robert Kaufman canvas.  In fact, it came with too much.  The black and white diamond fabric was the suggested lining.  However, I am going to make a second bag out of this.  This fabric is too pretty to use as a living.  And I'm not sure I'll follow the Noodlehead pattern again.  I like the Satchel shown here on the cover of Stitch - the one I made is in the background.  It's a bit larger and has some features, like hidden outer pockets,  that I like.  I tried to use the suggested snaps for the feature pockets, and that didn't go so well.  I wound up using magnets and hiding them with an additional tab.  The next bag will also have black fabric and not feature fabric for the bottom gusset.  This bag finishes nicely except...all seam allowances are visible on the interior and need to be covered with bias tape.  The suggested handle - at the bottom of this picture - just didn't feel right to me, so I went rogue and used the kind of handle I know works with a bag like this.  What started this particular bag is fellow guildster Debbie Pine.  She did a Sew Sweetness Tudor Bag using this fabric.  Luckily, Debbie is comfortable with my shameless copying of her fabric choices!   So, just to recap:  the next bag will be a bit bigger, have a dark bottom, pockets on the outside but not with snaps or flaps, pockets on the inside, and handles like I like to make.

Red and Black Batik Duffel Bag

Finally. I've completed something. With the exception of neatening the yellow interior up a bit, this duffel is complete. It's 21" long and 10" tall. Using Soft and Stable by byannie.com means this duffel holds its shape and is very lightweight. We're doing a jazz cruise the end of this month, and I am going to pilot this bag. The next tweak may be slightly less-wide straps. There are interior pockets at each end of this bag.

Therapeutic Sewing

Monday was a phone day with my mother's medical people.  You know the drill:  you call, leave a message, wait for the office to call back.  I'm not complaining, just stating.  Tuesday was hanging out with my parents, which means driving around and listening to accordion music and having the same conversation with my mother again and again.   My poor mom just cannot grasp where she lives or who she lives with.  Or what day it is.  Or how old she is.  Or that my father doesn't drive anymore.  Or that she doesn't cook.

Wednesday I went to the studio, ostensibly to do some putting away, cleaning, sorting, and organizing.  But I got distracted by these three green materials and the duffel bag pattern that I've made once.  I decided to kind of wing this pattern and inadvertently made this duffel 27" wide instead of 21" wide.  But it still works nicely.

The studio may still be messy.  But I feel better.  

For the week...

 There's much to do in the next week, but I couldn't think of starting or continuing anything until I fixed my new duffel.  As I was making it, I knew the 1" handles weren't enough.  And as I used it this weekend to travel to the White/Johnson wedding in Mishawaka, my instincts were confirmed.  So I added 3.5" straps and am much happier.  Now on to other things...

I've finally settled on a palette for the Grand Canyon jacket.  My friend/client lives in Racine and wants this jacket for her October European river cruise. I haven't made Morninglory's Town and Country Jacket for a couple of years and am looking forward to this project, even though I have never mastered the collar technique.  Thank goodness for friends with skills!

 The June meeting of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild was devoted to applique techniques.  I demonstrated fusible raw-edge applique.  Here are three pieces that groups put together using this technique.  I said I would quilt these pieces and bring them in, but I was hoping no one heard me.  But someone did. And asked about these pieces at the last meeting.  So I do want to get these done for the August meeting.

 This one is an odd landscape.  Wonder if any quilting can help this...

 This one shares the same whimsy at the top piece.

When John and I were out west in May, he found these fabric scenes of Yellowstone and bought them.  This piece will hang in the studio bathroom, matching the colors of the walls and towels.  A nice reminder of a lovely trip and a beautiful part of our country.

Gotta go sew!

Focusing for August

August already?  Wow.  Time is flying.

These two hobo bags are complete.  I added a D-ring to the brown one to make the strap longer, which is what one of the moms wanted to do.  The blue one used the rest of a fabric that I have loved.  Both of these will be samples for future workshops.  The quilting is simple, and both bags are terrific.  So, enough about purses for the time being.

Let's move on to duffel bags.  I really love how this turned out.  It's big - 22" wide and 10" tall.  I used Soft and Stable byannie.com - such a great purse lining.  This pattern called for quilted material, and the bag would go together quickly if that was the starting point.  Since I quilted my own, I had to adapt the pattern directions.  Easy enough at this point.

The only thing I would change now is the straps.  For such a hefty bag, they should be wider.  Next time.

The inside of the bag has three pockets - the one here and then one on either end of the interior.  I like how the zipper goes all the way across the bag, giving easy access to all parts of the interior. 

The wedding quilt for this Saturday was quilted by Ebony and is now ready to bind - the binding fabric is in the bottom right corner.

A woman who was our our Great Parks of the West trip loved my quilted jacket and ordered one in "Grand Canyon" colors. This box of fabrics is the start of this palette, and now I just need to make some decisions and get busy.

Finally, a jazz friend of John's has some interesting t-shirts and wants a reversible lap quilt with his shirts. He's a graphic designer and knows precisely what he wants. It was good to work with someone who knew exactly what fabrics he wanted incorporated into his quilt. So far I've stabilized these shirts with a thin fusible interfacing - just something to stop the stretching so I could cut them accurately.

Here's to August and a continuation of the dog days of summer. I love my studio air conditioning.

22" Purple Zipper

This 22" purple zipper has been burning a hole in my studio pocket. And while I'm amassing quite a nice little collection of purse and bag patterns, none requires a 22" zipper. So I bought this little pattern and am making the duffel bag. The directions? I don't how they are written and I'm not sure I understand them. They are designed for pre-quilted fabric, which I'm not using. In creating my own quilted fabric, I'm having to follow my instincts, create a lining, and construct this bag the way I see it. I think it's going to work. We'll know by Sunday!