In The Bag

Reject? Perhaps . .

I often look through old sewing books and magazines ever on the lookout for ideas and inspiration.  A few weeks ago I came across a bag construction technique that I hadn't used in ages. Basically, the idea is to create a bag in one piece and sew up the sides. I thought if I created a one-piece bottom and then added a front and back panel it would give me new design and construction opportunities as well as experimenting with different interfacing options.

Because this is basically "backwards" from my normal way of designing, it took me forever to work out the maths.

When it was all said and done, I didn't like one single thing about it. Well, I still liked the fabric but the design was nothing like I had in mind. I turned off the machine and walked away, more than a little irritated that I had wasted a whole day on a flop (not to mention the *good* fabric). Usually I'll make a muslin first but I felt pretty over-confident and went straight for the good stuff.

It's now a week later and after looking over the thing maybe it isn't that bad. It's still not in proportion to what I had wanted, but maybe it doesn't looks so awful.  I just can't decide.

What do you think?

Tote For Summer

The second class I will be teaching at the quilt shop is a Summer Tote class. The idea is to take a basic tote pattern and create your own custom tote using fabrics and embellishments.

Here is a shop sample I made.  Love that bright, summery fabric.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger

Loved this show as a kid. Was it because I, too, wanted a robot who would follow me around and protect me, or was it because I had a secret crush on Will Robinson . . . .

But speaking of robots . . . .I've had this robot pattern by Wee Wonderfuls (scroll down) forever but until recently had no reason to make it.

A robot-loving 4-yr-old was having a birthday and I decided this would be the perfect gift.  Orange is his favorite color so I used lots of orange scraps (a Kaffee Fasset robot??  Designer all the way).  I made a little suede pocket on the front pocket since the birthday boy loves to carry around secret bits of this and that.

This is the first time I've made a softie where you make the front and back including limbs and then sew them together.  In other designs I have always made and stuffed the limbs and then put together the body.  It was an interesting construction technique and I can see why this is the way it was done.  It would not have been possible to maintain his shape if the limbs were stuffed first.

Just before wrapping, the husband, son and daughter all tried to lay claim to the robot.  Now if I had known they would cherish a robot I could have used the pattern ages ago instead of waiting!  I've got to make the space boy, too.  Wonder who will claim it?

Bag and A Class

During March I was asked by my local quilt shop owner if I would like to teach some bag-making classes using one of my designs. I was thrilled to be asked, but did not know if I would be able to design a pattern, create shop samples and the necessary paperwork by the deadline given.  It had been eons since I had even been near the sewing machine. The owner said she understood and if I wanted to wait until the next newsletter that was okay, too. Her newsletters are only sent out quarterly which means it would be mid-summer before I had this opportunity again.

With much encouragement from my mother, I got out my sketch pad and headed back to the cutting table and sewing machine.

I designed the bag for an Advanced Beginner on up. Design contains a little bit of everything - fabric coordinating, quilting, pocket-making, straps, magnetic snap enclosure and other design options.

Another take -- same pattern, totally different fabric.

I made the deadlines! The bags are in the shop, newsletter printed and sent and customers have signed up for the class which will be taught in May.

An "Atta-Girl" to myself for pulling this one off!

Blue

February and March were some pretty lousy months here in the Land of Bags and left everyone feeling blue.

(The photo above is of my 9-year-old male Australian Shepherd. Photographed and Photoshopped by my son.

He really does have those very expressive eyes - even when he's regular dog colored.  That look right there -- that's the one that says "What?  Get Off the bed?  Me?"  It doesn't matter, though, because now that he's 9 he does whatever he wants anyway including not getting off the bed and getting in the trash EVEN while I AM LOOKING.) 

For The Birds

How can you not just *love* the bird pattern from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts?

A Valentine bird:

My favorite bird - made from wool and fabric:

Can you find all the birds?

Where are the birds now?  I gave them all away.  But I do see alot more birds in my future!

Valentine's -- Belated

Some fabric Valentine's I made for some buddies at work laying on the Valentine table runner that I just packed away.  Love that Sandy Gervais Flirtations fabric.  It's not *too* Valentine-y.  I think it can be used all year -- the fabric, not the table runner.

Note To Self:  Back and bind your table runners for crying out loud!

It's Almost Embarrassing . . ..

. . . . to admit how long it took to finally finish this tote bag.  But it's done at last and I'm pleased.

Inside with double pleated pocket.

Something

It has been so long since I've updated my blog that I couldn't remember my sign on and password to even get in . . . .

I could go on and on about how tiring a month December was for me, or how I have accomplished January projects just nothing worth blogging about, or the ones I've started and aren't finished yet or, or . . . . .OR

I could just post about this exciting thing I did this past Monday.

My friend

and I took a long arm quilting class.

and I loved it!  So much so that I wish I was operating the long arm this morning instead of heading off to work in the rain.

The quilt store offers classes and once you've mastered the class you can rent a machine for $50 for the day and quilt as many quilts as you can quilt in that time.  We had a great instructor, learned so much and now I just want to practice, practice, practice.  Probably the hardest thing for me to master was to let go of the machine and not death grip it.

But instead I guess I'll be a responsible adult and head off to work ..... in the rain......

Here's to Oh Eight

Happy New Year!

The weather forecasters were right -- it's COLD out there!  How cold? Well, when I took the dogs out at 6:00 this AM it was 34 degrees with 27 mph winds.  I spent over half my life up north - I know that's not that cold, but we are so unprepared for it down here.  Like taking the dogs out in the 34 degree morning temperatures in my bare feet.  My native-born tropical kids are both wrapped up like mummies.

New Year's Resolutions?  Naahh - I feel that I didn't live so terribly awful last year that I need to resolve to make major changes.  Sure, I could do the lose weight/eat better/exercise thing but why set myself up for an immediate failure.  I'm just not comfortable in a gym and I'll think of ANY excuse not to have to go. Instead I do try to keep active all day and that works for me. . . . . .enough of that (I already had a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast . . . . but only one and I didn't make any treats - cookies, cupcakes, etc. - over the holidays).

I do like how Becky at Artsy Crafty Babe set some goals and then went back and reviewed them to see what she had accomplished.  So on that note my goals for 2008 are:

• Learn a new skill.  Easy. Already signed up for a long-arm quilting class on 1/21.  I CAN'T WAIT!
• Knit something from my stash yarn.
• Do more applique.  I love it - why don't I do more of it?
• Actually list some things in the Etsy shop I opened two months ago.
• Become more proficient with the BSR feature of my sewing machine.
• Find someone to fix the light bulb issue on my serger.
• Stop getting myself so worked up over WHAT to make for dinner??? which leads to STOP spending so much time at Publix.
• Create a detailed pattern of one of my designs that someone else could follow.
• Develop and fine tune a recipe for pan-seared Mahi with a white wine sauce.
• Spend more time learning Photoshop and it's features.
• And oh, yeah, that diet/exercise thing.

I did a major cleaning/purging of the cutting table/fabric/sewing area. It's such a pleasure to start new projects in a new cleaned up work area.

No pictures. The Boy Child took off with my camera and I'm not sure where he is.

Probably buried under a pile of blankets somewhere.