Sewed together the pieces of a basic cloth shopping bag, and pinned up the current column of The Restless Hands Of Sel which is moving verrrrrrry slowly.
Still musing on whether or not to enter the Sydney Quilt Show.
Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bags. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Monday, September 20, 2021
WIPS-B-GONE
Devoted Quilter is hosting a finishing challenge: WIPS-B-GONE! A 100 Day Challenge
I have WIPS all over the place in boxes, and I'd like to get a few done and out the door.
1. Mum's handbag (for Christmas)
2. Stepbro's wedding quilt (only the binding needed)
4. 3:10 to Mendocino (only the binding)
5. Rainbow Swerve (rainbow batiks in the 'placid curves' pattern from Modern Neutrals
6. Scrappy Bard of Avon
7. Rainbow Selvages
8. The Quilt Is Lava
9. Dark Drunkards Block
10. Scrappy Postage Stamp
11. Kitchen Curtains
12. Log Cabin:
...golly, that's a lot of WIPs...
Guess I'd better get started!
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Midweek Mod Squad [WIP Wednesday]
Let's see how long this goes for! I'm going to try posting a 'state of the WIP' regularly, even if it's just to say 'didn't do a single thing this week'.
My main sewing group is the Sydney Mod Squad, a bunch of women in their 30s and 40s in the northern part of Sydney who've become friends over sewing and quilting. Currently, we're doing zoom sewing meetings because of social distancing, but we're still enjoying ourselves and welcome the chance to talk with each other while working on our projects all at the same time.
I have been rather remiss about posting for a while, and I have many many WIPs over the last few years, but the three relevant to the moment:
Penny Patch On The Roof #3
Half sewn together now, have to sew the other half.
The Restless Hands Of Sel
Another few for Column #1: blue-purpoe, purple, purple-pink.
Mum's Alison Glass Bag
Sew Sweetness' Clydebank Tote in Alison Glass.
Possibly with a leather bottom and some leather sides, because the AG isn't sufficient for the bag...
I've just done some cleaning of my sewing room, and have realised just how much fabric I have, and how little of it I've used. I have a whole box for Heather Ross, Tula Pink, Kate Spain, and a half-a-box of Cotton+Steel, two boxes of leather, and innumerable fabrics that I bought for clothes, most of which are very impractical right now as the weather cools. Not to mention the many bags of scraps that I have lying around and which need dealing with.
My main sewing group is the Sydney Mod Squad, a bunch of women in their 30s and 40s in the northern part of Sydney who've become friends over sewing and quilting. Currently, we're doing zoom sewing meetings because of social distancing, but we're still enjoying ourselves and welcome the chance to talk with each other while working on our projects all at the same time.
I have been rather remiss about posting for a while, and I have many many WIPs over the last few years, but the three relevant to the moment:
Penny Patch On The Roof #3
Half sewn together now, have to sew the other half.
The Restless Hands Of Sel
Another few for Column #1: blue-purpoe, purple, purple-pink.
Mum's Alison Glass Bag
Sew Sweetness' Clydebank Tote in Alison Glass.
Possibly with a leather bottom and some leather sides, because the AG isn't sufficient for the bag...
I've just done some cleaning of my sewing room, and have realised just how much fabric I have, and how little of it I've used. I have a whole box for Heather Ross, Tula Pink, Kate Spain, and a half-a-box of Cotton+Steel, two boxes of leather, and innumerable fabrics that I bought for clothes, most of which are very impractical right now as the weather cools. Not to mention the many bags of scraps that I have lying around and which need dealing with.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Isolation Finishes and Flimsies by the dozen! [FINISHES]
For the first quarter of the year, I've done almost nothing so far as quilting goes. I tried to make dresses, failed rather significantly, and then went on holiday.
When I came back, my focus was on my garden rather than on sewing things. My sewing group managed one in-person meeting before COVID-19 hit Australia and we went into 'social distancing' mode. But I wasn't doing much; I drew up a plan for the Sydney Quilt Show entry, and then it got delayed because of the coronavirus.
And then I started cleaning up my quilting room and all the bags sitting around full of stuff.
I started with some charm squares that have been sitting around forever. I bought them back in 2009 when I first began quilting and before I learned there were modern colours and styles and patterns.
The original plan was to cut each charm square into hexagons and then sew them together prettily. Let's just say it never happened, and as the years went on, my desire to work with this fabric faded. So when I dug it out, I was quite ready to be done with it. I just picked whatever I had and sewed it into rows. Luckily, I'd sorted more or less by colour, so the shading works okay.
Next up were silk squares that I got from a sample book that I found in my grandmother's house, stocked away after my grandfather died. My granmda died in 2011. My grandfather died in 1995. I found the squares and always planned to make something. Exactly what? I didn't know. I still don't. But I sewed them together anyway, so they're a single piece, instead of bits lying around.
Actually, I think I'd like to make a dress out of those silk samples. Or a top. It would look weird and patchy, and it would need to be lined, but...it would be kind of interesting, I think!
There's been a lot of 'oh what the heck, let's just do this' in my sewing (in case you hadn't guessed from the previous two). This one was based off a design I saw which just seemed really simple, worked well with directional prints, but could be done 'interesting'. And I had all these colourful charm squares sitting around doing nothing...
I signed up for a small craft swap among the Sydney Spoolettes where we exchange a sewn gift - you had your choice of three to make, and they matched requests with makes, so if you wanted to make, say, the potholder, then you could make the potholder for someone who wanted the potholder.
I signed up to make and receive the Apertio pouch and just in case it didn't go right, I did a test run for a friend's 40th Birthday:
This is the pouch for sending out. I have to fill it with stuff and then send it. It's not going too far, just outside of the Sydney area.
It's a pretty neat and easy pouch to make; although I can't say I'm fond of how they decided to do the sewing the lining and outside together.
Then there were blocks I had leftover from other quilts I'd finished - you know, the ones that are made in excess, or the wrong style or not quite right? And they were just lying around, waiting to be sewn together. I have quite a lot of those.
This one is of leftovers from a quilt I made on commission for a friend to give to her daughter:
This one is leftover from the blocks and backings for 'Break Free or Build Upon?'
Speaking of which, I dug 'Break Free And Build Upon' and was thinking about cutting it in two, but I've entered it into the Sydney Quilt Show as a full size quilt, and my sister thinks it will go well on the sofa when it's done. So.
And now that I've sorted through a lot of stuff that was just left in bags, I'm having to look at my UFOs. I feel like I should make a list, but I'm scared that if I do, I'll never start becuase it'll just be too daunting. Then again, if I could do one block a day, that would be a good start. Just one block...
--
It's not strictly the 2020 finish-along because I don't think I signed up for either Q1 or Q2 - too much happening at the time. But I'm getting the tops done. Of course, once I get the tops done, the matter of getting the backings done and the whole thing quilted rears its ugly head...
Ah well. We sew on.
When I came back, my focus was on my garden rather than on sewing things. My sewing group managed one in-person meeting before COVID-19 hit Australia and we went into 'social distancing' mode. But I wasn't doing much; I drew up a plan for the Sydney Quilt Show entry, and then it got delayed because of the coronavirus.
And then I started cleaning up my quilting room and all the bags sitting around full of stuff.
I started with some charm squares that have been sitting around forever. I bought them back in 2009 when I first began quilting and before I learned there were modern colours and styles and patterns.
The original plan was to cut each charm square into hexagons and then sew them together prettily. Let's just say it never happened, and as the years went on, my desire to work with this fabric faded. So when I dug it out, I was quite ready to be done with it. I just picked whatever I had and sewed it into rows. Luckily, I'd sorted more or less by colour, so the shading works okay.
Next up were silk squares that I got from a sample book that I found in my grandmother's house, stocked away after my grandfather died. My granmda died in 2011. My grandfather died in 1995. I found the squares and always planned to make something. Exactly what? I didn't know. I still don't. But I sewed them together anyway, so they're a single piece, instead of bits lying around.
Actually, I think I'd like to make a dress out of those silk samples. Or a top. It would look weird and patchy, and it would need to be lined, but...it would be kind of interesting, I think!
There's been a lot of 'oh what the heck, let's just do this' in my sewing (in case you hadn't guessed from the previous two). This one was based off a design I saw which just seemed really simple, worked well with directional prints, but could be done 'interesting'. And I had all these colourful charm squares sitting around doing nothing...
I signed up for a small craft swap among the Sydney Spoolettes where we exchange a sewn gift - you had your choice of three to make, and they matched requests with makes, so if you wanted to make, say, the potholder, then you could make the potholder for someone who wanted the potholder.
I signed up to make and receive the Apertio pouch and just in case it didn't go right, I did a test run for a friend's 40th Birthday:
This is the pouch for sending out. I have to fill it with stuff and then send it. It's not going too far, just outside of the Sydney area.
It's a pretty neat and easy pouch to make; although I can't say I'm fond of how they decided to do the sewing the lining and outside together.
Then there were blocks I had leftover from other quilts I'd finished - you know, the ones that are made in excess, or the wrong style or not quite right? And they were just lying around, waiting to be sewn together. I have quite a lot of those.
This one is of leftovers from a quilt I made on commission for a friend to give to her daughter:
This one is leftover from the blocks and backings for 'Break Free or Build Upon?'
Speaking of which, I dug 'Break Free And Build Upon' and was thinking about cutting it in two, but I've entered it into the Sydney Quilt Show as a full size quilt, and my sister thinks it will go well on the sofa when it's done. So.
And now that I've sorted through a lot of stuff that was just left in bags, I'm having to look at my UFOs. I feel like I should make a list, but I'm scared that if I do, I'll never start becuase it'll just be too daunting. Then again, if I could do one block a day, that would be a good start. Just one block...
--
It's not strictly the 2020 finish-along because I don't think I signed up for either Q1 or Q2 - too much happening at the time. But I'm getting the tops done. Of course, once I get the tops done, the matter of getting the backings done and the whole thing quilted rears its ugly head...
Ah well. We sew on.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
The Star Trek Discovery Shiloh Satchel
In spite of my struggles with the Shiloh Satchel, I've made four of the damn things.
1. Oh Deer! It's Gots Pockets! (#ohdearpockets)
2. Mendocino Mermaid Satchel (#mermaidsatchel)
3. The Hulk Satchel (#hulksatchel)
and 4. The Disco Shiloh (#discoshiloh)
Blue Leather from Tandy Leather and Tula Pink True Colors fabric inside and out, with hardware from Pile o'Fabric and Studio Mio (or possibly Voodoo Rabbit - I'm really bad at remembering where I get specific items from).
Anyway, I have a love-hate relationship with leather; it's so pretty when you use it! But it's such a bother to sew!
The geeky side has a leather stitched logo, which I had to hand-stitch on, after pre-piercing the outline.
And the 'undercover' side has the sleeve-join detail from the Star Trek Discovery uniforms:
Although who's to say what's geeky and what's not these days, with Marvel movies in the box-office and Game of Thrones on the TV? Comic heroes, sci-fi, and fantasy are out in the open, even if they're not adopted by everyone.
1. Oh Deer! It's Gots Pockets! (#ohdearpockets)
2. Mendocino Mermaid Satchel (#mermaidsatchel)
3. The Hulk Satchel (#hulksatchel)
and 4. The Disco Shiloh (#discoshiloh)
Blue Leather from Tandy Leather and Tula Pink True Colors fabric inside and out, with hardware from Pile o'Fabric and Studio Mio (or possibly Voodoo Rabbit - I'm really bad at remembering where I get specific items from).
Anyway, I have a love-hate relationship with leather; it's so pretty when you use it! But it's such a bother to sew!
The geeky side has a leather stitched logo, which I had to hand-stitch on, after pre-piercing the outline.
And the 'undercover' side has the sleeve-join detail from the Star Trek Discovery uniforms:
Although who's to say what's geeky and what's not these days, with Marvel movies in the box-office and Game of Thrones on the TV? Comic heroes, sci-fi, and fantasy are out in the open, even if they're not adopted by everyone.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
The Parisville Bowl Bag!
You know when a really valuable fabric comes into your hands and you're stuck wondering what to do with it?
Well, that was my problem with the length of Tula Pink's Parisville Cameo that I bought in the last year. Yes, it was ridiculously expensive. Yes, I bought it anyway, because I liked the pattern. The colour wasn't quite right, though. A little too clashy for me to match with anything I had. So when one of those instagram quilty pay-it-forward kind of things turned up in late 2016, I asked if anyone was willing to swap me another colourway of the Parisville Cameo.
Enter myfabricobsession on Instagram, who was willing to swap her Cameo in Mist for mine in Pomegranate. ALL GOOD. And she was even willing to send me a little more than I had! (THANK YOU!)
And then I stashed it. (Because that's what you do with a fabric that you really like but which you're not entirely sure you have a plan to use just yet.)
I finally decided what to do with it - make a Fireside Bowl Bag (from the book 'Big City Bags' by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness) with the contrast of some beautiful royal blue leather. And as it turned out, she's running a bag making competition during April! What luck!
It took a while to complete - about two weeks on and off - but it's finally done!
There were complications - mostly in the form of cutting angst (measuring twice, cutting once), the grim terror of sewing expensive leather that you really don't want to mess up, adding external and internal pockets (because I don't need a billion pockets, but I do like a few inside and out), and the terror of pattern adjustments required when you cut a piece of 'gusset' a little too short and have to 'make up' the length...or else cut down the outer pattern.
I also added feet, so it wouldn't have to sit on the ground. Sadly, cafes in Sydney are not yet quite so sensible as to have a hook under the table for women to hang their handbags off so they don't have to sit on the floor, or else hang off the back of the chair and be in the way of the waiters.
I like at least one external pocket, suitable for stashing a phone, or a transport pass, so I don't have to fish around inside my bag for it. Unfortunately, the Fireside Bowl Bag pattern doesn't have any pockets, internal or external. So I just designed a external pocket and a couple of internal ones to suit my needs.
The external pocket doesn't work quite as perfectly as I hoped - the strap pulls the pocket open rather more than I like. But it's a pocket and I figure more people won't notice.
For the lining of the bag I used Bats In The Belfry and Tudor Windows from the Elizabeth collection since I started with just Bats and then realised I didn't have enough for all the lining and the pockets.
I made one zipper pocket and one internal slip pocket, utilising the pocket-making skills I learned while making the Shiloh Mermaids Bag. The 'slip pocket' is supposed to be large enough for my purse and my phone to sit there, but it will probably end up being my purse and my glasses case.
Yes, I know it says "This Quilt Was Made By Sel C" but I have dozens of these labels and a need to use them!
The strap gave me a great deal of trouble, because the bag instructions were for a cloth strap, not leather. And I discovered that doubling, then quadrupling the leather that you're sewing through is a sure-fire way to give even your industrial strength Juki TL-99P a headache! So instead I made the strap half-leather and half-fabric. And I figured I should use the selvage while I'm at it... I tend to throw the selvages out half the time - or sell them.
All in all, I'm actually pretty happy with the form on this bag - usually I find myself a little dissatisfied with the way everything fits together, but this one has a good shape and a good form. For the record, I used a very stiff, felt-like bag-making material which is pretty spectacular at holding its shape - but I don't know the name of it! I don't even remember where I bought it!
The last Fireside Bowl Bag I made was with Cotton+Steel and it was a lot more squishy than this one - and I like a solid, firm, keeping-it-shape bag.
As bags go, this one is sharp, stylish, and definitely a keeper!
Well, that was my problem with the length of Tula Pink's Parisville Cameo that I bought in the last year. Yes, it was ridiculously expensive. Yes, I bought it anyway, because I liked the pattern. The colour wasn't quite right, though. A little too clashy for me to match with anything I had. So when one of those instagram quilty pay-it-forward kind of things turned up in late 2016, I asked if anyone was willing to swap me another colourway of the Parisville Cameo.
Enter myfabricobsession on Instagram, who was willing to swap her Cameo in Mist for mine in Pomegranate. ALL GOOD. And she was even willing to send me a little more than I had! (THANK YOU!)
And then I stashed it. (Because that's what you do with a fabric that you really like but which you're not entirely sure you have a plan to use just yet.)
I finally decided what to do with it - make a Fireside Bowl Bag (from the book 'Big City Bags' by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness) with the contrast of some beautiful royal blue leather. And as it turned out, she's running a bag making competition during April! What luck!
It took a while to complete - about two weeks on and off - but it's finally done!
There were complications - mostly in the form of cutting angst (measuring twice, cutting once), the grim terror of sewing expensive leather that you really don't want to mess up, adding external and internal pockets (because I don't need a billion pockets, but I do like a few inside and out), and the terror of pattern adjustments required when you cut a piece of 'gusset' a little too short and have to 'make up' the length...or else cut down the outer pattern.
I also added feet, so it wouldn't have to sit on the ground. Sadly, cafes in Sydney are not yet quite so sensible as to have a hook under the table for women to hang their handbags off so they don't have to sit on the floor, or else hang off the back of the chair and be in the way of the waiters.
I like at least one external pocket, suitable for stashing a phone, or a transport pass, so I don't have to fish around inside my bag for it. Unfortunately, the Fireside Bowl Bag pattern doesn't have any pockets, internal or external. So I just designed a external pocket and a couple of internal ones to suit my needs.
The external pocket doesn't work quite as perfectly as I hoped - the strap pulls the pocket open rather more than I like. But it's a pocket and I figure more people won't notice.
For the lining of the bag I used Bats In The Belfry and Tudor Windows from the Elizabeth collection since I started with just Bats and then realised I didn't have enough for all the lining and the pockets.
I made one zipper pocket and one internal slip pocket, utilising the pocket-making skills I learned while making the Shiloh Mermaids Bag. The 'slip pocket' is supposed to be large enough for my purse and my phone to sit there, but it will probably end up being my purse and my glasses case.
Yes, I know it says "This Quilt Was Made By Sel C" but I have dozens of these labels and a need to use them!
The strap gave me a great deal of trouble, because the bag instructions were for a cloth strap, not leather. And I discovered that doubling, then quadrupling the leather that you're sewing through is a sure-fire way to give even your industrial strength Juki TL-99P a headache! So instead I made the strap half-leather and half-fabric. And I figured I should use the selvage while I'm at it... I tend to throw the selvages out half the time - or sell them.
All in all, I'm actually pretty happy with the form on this bag - usually I find myself a little dissatisfied with the way everything fits together, but this one has a good shape and a good form. For the record, I used a very stiff, felt-like bag-making material which is pretty spectacular at holding its shape - but I don't know the name of it! I don't even remember where I bought it!
The last Fireside Bowl Bag I made was with Cotton+Steel and it was a lot more squishy than this one - and I like a solid, firm, keeping-it-shape bag.
As bags go, this one is sharp, stylish, and definitely a keeper!
Sunday, October 16, 2016
The Shiloh Satchel: Oh, Deer! It's Gotses Pocketses! [pattern test]
You know when you make an offer and discover you're in over your head?
I offered to test the Shiloh Satchel when Alyssa Lichner of Pile O'Fabric requested for pattern testers for her Shiloh Satchel. It was so pretty! And purse-y! And it had piping!
Four weeks later, a missing delivery, the *facepalm* that I didn't order enough leather, the realisation that the linen is loose-weave and probably not a good idea for delicate work, three broken leather needles, a flat-out 'are you effing kidding me?' from my Juki DX, a reluctant 'okay I can do this but it's going to take everything I've got' from my Juki TL98-P, and an almost-pulled shoulder and I have the first one done.
Whew!
Echino linen, Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen in Indigo, Arizona Leather in Black (available from Pile O'Fabric), and Kate Spain for the linings and piping:
I fussy-cut the panels because Echino Linen designs are so gorgeous how can you possibly not try to incorporate them?
Essex Linen for the 'Exterior Accent' which includes Strap Connectors, the upper sides of the bag, and the pockets.
And then I realised that the linen was entirely too loose a weave to do the fiddly little bits of the smaller Exterior Accents, so I went and used a piece of leather for certain parts of the Exterior Accent - namely the Main Strap Connectors, and the Side Strap Connectors. Which I think gives it just a touch of professionalism!
So, the thing about this bag is that it has a LOT of pockets. A LOT. Pockets on the front, pockets on the back, pockets on the sides, pockets on the inside. The only place it doesn't have a pocket is on the strap and on the base, and I'm sure you could work something out if you really needed it, but frankly there are so many other pockets, I don't know why you would...
And then I added at least one pocket on the inside (and took one away). But more on that later.
This is the lining, with pockets:
This is the bag exterior, covering the lining and pockets, held by my sister:
And yes, that's a zipper pocket on the front.
It looks pretty stunning when you've fussy-cut your fabrics! And I thought it would look ever more stunning if (assuming you use a woven Exterior Accent fabric) you FMQ'd motifs into the fabric instead of just sewing straight lines. But my skill was not up to my ambition, so perhaps in future, but not this time...
There are a lot of pieces to this. Half the battle of this was in cutting everything out, working out what went where. The other major battle was sewing the exterior of the bag together; my 'dressmaking machine' (Juki DX) wasn't up to the task, so I went for the workhorse machine: Mako Mori, my Juki TL90-P, who struggled with some of the fabric thicknesses but slowly managed to get it all done....breaking three leatherwork needles in the process.
I'm going to have to get Mako serviced before the end of the year.
One of the issues is that at one point the needle is trying to go through about 8-9 layers of fabric and interfacing, including some serious craft stiffener because that was what I had, and I'd procrastinated enough in making this that I didn't want to keep going. I think next time I'll try the recommend Peltex 71F (when I manage to haul my ass out to Spotlight) I saw the needle actually bend in the shaft, trying to get it through, and often it required manual repunching (turning the handwheel) to get it through. So, it was a Herculanean effort to get this done.
Exterior on Saturday afternoon:
Finished at the #saturdaynightcraftalong (hosted by @barefootcrafter in the Eastern hemisphere and by...someone else in the Western hemisphere).
Pay no attention to the mess of my workspace. The cleaning lady was by just this morning and has vacuumed it so it's now beautifully clean. (She loves cleaning up my workroom; apparently it gives her a feeling of great satisfaction, and who am I to deny her that? ;D)
The front:
The back:
Now, as I said, this bag has SERIOUS POCKETS. But Alyssa designed it to have lots of space for baby things on the inside, and probably her notebooks/tablet/phone on the outside.
Me? I live in a city, I'm a single woman, and the biggest thing I'm carting around in my bag is my laptop. I don't want to give anyone with light fingers the opportunity to nick my stuff, so I tend to prefer my pockets on the inside - including a padded pocket for carrying a 15" laptop! I took out one of the two internal zippered pockets instead, because I don't need that many zippered spaces.
The next version I make will have more pockets on the inside, fewer on the outside. That should also cut down on the layers when trying to sew the bag exterior, and will give Mako (my Juki TL98-P) an easier time of it!
It doesn't look as professional as some of the other testers' bags (they look like they could be sold in a fancy shop for a couple hundred bucks), but I rather like it, and I'm thinking I'll gift it to a friend who's been having tooth issues all year and is struggling. Fill it with goodies, box it up, mail it off! All good.
And now to type up my notes on the pattern.
I offered to test the Shiloh Satchel when Alyssa Lichner of Pile O'Fabric requested for pattern testers for her Shiloh Satchel. It was so pretty! And purse-y! And it had piping!
Four weeks later, a missing delivery, the *facepalm* that I didn't order enough leather, the realisation that the linen is loose-weave and probably not a good idea for delicate work, three broken leather needles, a flat-out 'are you effing kidding me?' from my Juki DX, a reluctant 'okay I can do this but it's going to take everything I've got' from my Juki TL98-P, and an almost-pulled shoulder and I have the first one done.
Whew!
Echino linen, Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen in Indigo, Arizona Leather in Black (available from Pile O'Fabric), and Kate Spain for the linings and piping:
I fussy-cut the panels because Echino Linen designs are so gorgeous how can you possibly not try to incorporate them?
Essex Linen for the 'Exterior Accent' which includes Strap Connectors, the upper sides of the bag, and the pockets.
And then I realised that the linen was entirely too loose a weave to do the fiddly little bits of the smaller Exterior Accents, so I went and used a piece of leather for certain parts of the Exterior Accent - namely the Main Strap Connectors, and the Side Strap Connectors. Which I think gives it just a touch of professionalism!
So, the thing about this bag is that it has a LOT of pockets. A LOT. Pockets on the front, pockets on the back, pockets on the sides, pockets on the inside. The only place it doesn't have a pocket is on the strap and on the base, and I'm sure you could work something out if you really needed it, but frankly there are so many other pockets, I don't know why you would...
And then I added at least one pocket on the inside (and took one away). But more on that later.
This is the lining, with pockets:
This is the bag exterior, covering the lining and pockets, held by my sister:
And yes, that's a zipper pocket on the front.
It looks pretty stunning when you've fussy-cut your fabrics! And I thought it would look ever more stunning if (assuming you use a woven Exterior Accent fabric) you FMQ'd motifs into the fabric instead of just sewing straight lines. But my skill was not up to my ambition, so perhaps in future, but not this time...
There are a lot of pieces to this. Half the battle of this was in cutting everything out, working out what went where. The other major battle was sewing the exterior of the bag together; my 'dressmaking machine' (Juki DX) wasn't up to the task, so I went for the workhorse machine: Mako Mori, my Juki TL90-P, who struggled with some of the fabric thicknesses but slowly managed to get it all done....breaking three leatherwork needles in the process.
I'm going to have to get Mako serviced before the end of the year.
One of the issues is that at one point the needle is trying to go through about 8-9 layers of fabric and interfacing, including some serious craft stiffener because that was what I had, and I'd procrastinated enough in making this that I didn't want to keep going. I think next time I'll try the recommend Peltex 71F (when I manage to haul my ass out to Spotlight) I saw the needle actually bend in the shaft, trying to get it through, and often it required manual repunching (turning the handwheel) to get it through. So, it was a Herculanean effort to get this done.
Exterior on Saturday afternoon:
Finished at the #saturdaynightcraftalong (hosted by @barefootcrafter in the Eastern hemisphere and by...someone else in the Western hemisphere).
Pay no attention to the mess of my workspace. The cleaning lady was by just this morning and has vacuumed it so it's now beautifully clean. (She loves cleaning up my workroom; apparently it gives her a feeling of great satisfaction, and who am I to deny her that? ;D)
The front:
The back:
Now, as I said, this bag has SERIOUS POCKETS. But Alyssa designed it to have lots of space for baby things on the inside, and probably her notebooks/tablet/phone on the outside.
Me? I live in a city, I'm a single woman, and the biggest thing I'm carting around in my bag is my laptop. I don't want to give anyone with light fingers the opportunity to nick my stuff, so I tend to prefer my pockets on the inside - including a padded pocket for carrying a 15" laptop! I took out one of the two internal zippered pockets instead, because I don't need that many zippered spaces.
The next version I make will have more pockets on the inside, fewer on the outside. That should also cut down on the layers when trying to sew the bag exterior, and will give Mako (my Juki TL98-P) an easier time of it!
It doesn't look as professional as some of the other testers' bags (they look like they could be sold in a fancy shop for a couple hundred bucks), but I rather like it, and I'm thinking I'll gift it to a friend who's been having tooth issues all year and is struggling. Fill it with goodies, box it up, mail it off! All good.
And now to type up my notes on the pattern.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
WIP: the one with a nearly-completed bag!
Bags are not my bag, baby, so this is pretty exciting. Plus, my first bag from this book of patterns!
WIPs
Fireside Bowl Bag
Saturday night, I had the pieces all cut out:
I spent most of Monday fitting it all together - it's not too difficult, although I probably need to change a few things up.
Nearly done! Just waiting for the swivel hooks to arrive - I had the wrong size and the wrong type.
I'd like to do this again, but with leather as the 'contrast' fabric. Pattern is by Sew Sweetness, from her book 'Big City Bags'. And it's certainly a pretty damn big bag - very roomy inside!
Plain Jane Passcaglia
Another rosette centre is done:
I've kind of decided to go off the pattern; I'm not going to follow her structure, just going to fit my own together and finish it up. I don't think I have the staying power to complete it that way.
TO DO:
1. baby quilts for twins
2. baby quilts for sibling brothers (one was born just this morning - and mum and baby are all good - yay!)
3. Scrappy Log Cabins
WIPs
Fireside Bowl Bag
Saturday night, I had the pieces all cut out:
I spent most of Monday fitting it all together - it's not too difficult, although I probably need to change a few things up.
Nearly done! Just waiting for the swivel hooks to arrive - I had the wrong size and the wrong type.
I'd like to do this again, but with leather as the 'contrast' fabric. Pattern is by Sew Sweetness, from her book 'Big City Bags'. And it's certainly a pretty damn big bag - very roomy inside!
Plain Jane Passcaglia
Another rosette centre is done:
I've kind of decided to go off the pattern; I'm not going to follow her structure, just going to fit my own together and finish it up. I don't think I have the staying power to complete it that way.
TO DO:
1. baby quilts for twins
2. baby quilts for sibling brothers (one was born just this morning - and mum and baby are all good - yay!)
3. Scrappy Log Cabins
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Bag Supplies in Australia - links
Studio Mio (West Chatswood) leather and vinyl bag handles
Tall Poppy Craft (New York and Sydney, apparently!): leather and vinyl bag handles
Voodoo Rabbit (Brisbane): like their silver O-rings
Tall Poppy Craft (New York and Sydney, apparently!): leather and vinyl bag handles
Voodoo Rabbit (Brisbane): like their silver O-rings
Monday, February 24, 2014
Is it a block? Is it a quilt? No! It's SUPER-TOTE!
This is my bag, baby!
*does the opening scene dance from Austin Powers*
Because whatever I think of the rest of the series, I really adore that opening sequence. :D
So, my 'baby bag' for Simone is late (her son is just coming up to a month old), but it's been so difficult to persuade myself to actually get moving on this - partly because of unfamiliarity with the pattern, partly because I had a gajillion and one other things to finish off!
But it's done!
The pattern is Super-Tote by noodlehead, although I made some modifications.
No front pocket for starters. Mostly because it would have been a shame to cover up the beautiful Echino fabric pattern on the front, but also because I didn't want to complicate things too much to start with.
I also skipped the inside elasticised pocket, opting for two pockets - one larger, one smaller. I'm not sure how useful they'll be, but they were certainly easier to put together!
It's really quite a neat bag, all up! I just hope its useful.
The 'baby change cones' I'm making, on the other hand, will be useful, since her son has already peed on the curtains during a change!
The pattern is from Little Birdie Secrets, and while the blogger laughed at the name, I can't quite bring myself to call them "Pee-pee Teepees" - the phrase 'pee-pee' just seems so...twee.
I'm putting half a dozen of those in with the bag - along with some nice chocolate. I'd send her a bottle of a wine we both like, but, yeah, breastfeeding. Fortunately, there's no law against nice chocolate while you're breastfeeding! (If they ever declare chocolate off-limits during breastfeeding, there will definitely be a revolt.)
And that's another finish for this week!
Now, for my next trick...my quilt show quilt for 2014!
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