Category Archives: Bags

Seems so long ago…

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In October 2013, our Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild chapter exchanged tote bags we made for another member of the guild. Mine was made by Leila, and she blogged about it here. I took pictures in October (2013) of the bag I made, and in January (2014) of the bag I received…BagFromLeila3The bag I’m carrying is the one Leila made me. It’s reversible, made with Echino linens… (grabbed this photo from Leila because my photo of this side didn’t turn out)

BagFromLeila5incorporates my love of Britain…BagFromLeila1

BagFromLeila2Love the triple zipper pocket…

BagFromLeila4And the bag I made was for Melissa; she likes Heather Ross and Lizzy House prints, orange and yellow and grey color combinations. I started with some fussy-cutting of Heather Ross fabrics…

ToteBagSwapA1which morphed into a front and back panel bordered with linen on each side…some big stitch quilting…

ToteSwap1

ToteSwap3The lining is from Lizzy House’s Red Letter Day collection…

ToteSwap2And the finished front and back:

ToteFinal1

ToteFinal2Blogged over a year late, but better late than never…

Happy Sewing,

Doris

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Lil’ Dumplings

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I posted this to Facebook after finishing it on Sunday–and I included a Sharpie marker in the pic I posted, to show the scale.  This bag is TINY–it measures about 3.5″ x 2″ at the base, and not quite 3″ high!

Since then, I have made seven more dumpling bags… just one in a slightly larger size (the one on the left with the purple flower/purple zipper is bigger than the rest):

Using lots of fun fabric from my stash and scrap boxes:

I’m hoping to sell these at our Church Bazaar this weekend… not sure about price, maybe around $8.00 each.

They are fairly easy to whip up, made from Keyka Lou’s free pattern and tutorial…

 
 

A lot lower fat than edible dumplings, and a whole lot cuter, too!

You can find Keyka Lou’s tutorial here.

They only other sewing I’ve done this week is one 12.5″ purple star block for an exchange:

I realized when pulling fabrics for this block, that the one color I buy very little of, is purple!  Do you have a color like that in your stash (or missing from your stash)?

Bird Brained

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Picked my mail up on the way off to retreat this weekend, and there was Carla’s One Block Over package (GREAT timing!) so the first thing I did once I got set up at retreat was make these two cute blocks… love the quilt idea, adore the birdie print!!!

The rest of retreat was spent creating bags…

Note the red sequins on the Ruby Slipper bags!
…and more bags…
I really like the way this MOMO fabric from Moda quilted up!
 
 

 …and a few more bags…

Love the Joel Dewberry fabric I used for lining on the birdie wristlet (sadly, it’s one of my last scraps of it!):

I’ve sewn three more of these wristlets since this weekend (more pics to come), to get ready to vend at a craft boutique this weekend.   Feeling bird-brained (pun intended) from doing the same thing over and over… I’m not much for mass-producing, or assembly-lining items, so, to me this seems like an unpleasant way to make a living, but I’m committed to two craft boutiques, so…

The best thing about all of these bags–and Carla’s blocks?  Almost everyone was made from fabric in my scrap bins!  I really didn’t cut into too much new fabric.

Have a favorite of my bags?

Ever done any vending yourself?  Or made many of something to sell?

One BIG bag

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I finished this bag last night, and I’m working on a tutorial for the blog on how to make one.  It’s intended to serve as an oversize tote for carrying things to guild meetings or retreats, like show-and-tell quilts, your cutting mat, supplies, etc.  It’s HUGE.  The bottom insert measures 9″ x 24″, and the sides are approximately 12″ high.  I used a stripe from Kate Spain’s Central Park for the lining, and the exterior is an upholstery weight fabric from Hancock Fabrics.   I added the pocket to the outside to hold a pen/pencil and notebook/iPad/cell phone.

Tutorial coming soon. 

I also finished up my Modern Quilt Guild Habitat Challenge quilt this week, the big reveal is at tomorrow’s meeting, so just a sneak peek today:

Oh, and that chocolate cake?  Made for a co-workers birthday, with the best chocolate frosting recipe (from the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook) and made healthier by substituting plain Greek yogurt for the oil, eggs, and water.  Seriously.  It works.  …and it tastes fabulous.  (I’ve used the applesauce substitute before, and the Diet Coke substitute.  This is better.)

Happy sewing,
Doris

Visa Versa

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My first finished project of 2011!  Actually finished just before New Year’s Day (but I’m counting it in 2011!)… the Vice Versa bag by Black Cat Creations:
                                  
This bag is misleading; the cover photo on the pattern would lead one to believe it would be an average size, hobo style shoulder bag…

Not so, it is actually much larger, each of those outside quadrants (the grey dot, the large floral, the black floral, and the turquoise geometric) are full 18″ squares.  It’s called Vice Versa, because it is made with 10 fat quarters to be fully reversible.  here’s a pic of the interior (or other side):

Most of the fabrics are from Riley Blake.  Here’s a shot to give you a better idea of the scale…that’s a 13 pound cat inside the bag (actually struggling desperately to get out…He puts up with more from me than he should have to!):

If you are a big bag person, or know someone who is, they would love this bag.  I’m going to downsize the pattern next time I make it, because I’m really not a big bag person.

I made few blocks for a group quilt a local quilter is putting together, made with Atkinson Designs Four Square Farmhouse pattern:

This is a fabulous pattern.  These two blocks (15″ square) are made out of two fat quarters (there is very little waste), and the pattern includes size requirements for many different quilt sizes.  Anyone that has used one of Terry Atkinson’s patterns knows they are well-written and no-nonsense.   I could see me making scrap quilts, baby quilts, and gifts from this pattern…

I’ll be back soon with updates on other sewing I’ve been up to, as well as wedding planning updates.  My month long blog break was un-intentional, but as it turned out, necessary and useful.  It’s always good to regroup at the start of a new year, anyway, don’t you think?