Charming Lil' Bag

Thanks to Anna's tutorial, I made this charming little make up bag. I even tackled the zipper, which was quite easy despite my phobia. I made my first bag for my mom, to show her how easy the zipper was. Thanks, Anna, for the great directions.

Also, here is a shot of my fabulous fabrics I ordered last week from Fashionable Fabrics. I love them!

Hop on over to Anna's blog, Around the Quilt Block for a birthday giveaway with lots of goodies.

Free Fabrics' Gift Certificate

Hop on over to the Sugar Shop where Dena is giving away a $75 gift certificate to her favorite shop. What a treat!

A Day of Quilting

Every year I join some wonderful quilters at a church for a day of sewing. My mom and friend join me. We leave my house at 7 am, drive an hour and sew until almost 11 pm. We all take a potluck dish to pass. This year I took my favorite tortellini salad. Here is the recipe:

Tortellini Salad

1 bag of dried cheese tortellini cooked

2 cups of mini penne cooked

1 bottle Italian dressing

2 TBSP McCormick's salad seasoning

1 tsp basil

1 green pepper, chopped

1 large cucumber, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

1 chopped carrot

Mix and refrigerate

This is the product of my day's work, a cowboy quilt for little buddy's twin bed. I just love the fabrics. I am going to send it to the quilter. The brown woven fabric I used for the sashing and inner border shredded just horribly, I was getting a bit frustrated. In the end, I was happy with the quilt.


I wish I had a shot of Mom's quilt and Judy's quilt...both were quite cute. Mom used 3 Sister's Peace on Earth to make a beautiful double irish chain. Judy made a cool quilt from a pattern called Five and Dime using Amy Butler fabrics. It was very neat.

I am back to work tomorrow. So, I hope you all will bear with me if my comments become a bit shorter or I take a bit longer between blogs. Happy sewing!

Our House is Very, Very Fine House

Editor's note: Head on over to Mid-Ohio Knitter for a 200 blog giveaway!
Don't these house blocks look like fun?





They whip together quite quickly actually. I have 12 of the 16 done already and hope to have the rest finished today or tomorrow. All the material is Fig Tree Quilts by Moda. I just combined a few of her different lines. I love FIG TREE QUILTS, and it is so hard not to buy all of Joanna's material, I find it that lovely!


We went on a fun over night stay to Great Wolf Lodge. We took our nephew along to keep buddy company. The boys had a lot of fun. The wolf den in our hotel room was a hit. It kept everyone happy. I could still stay up late to watch Michael Phelps swim.


We are just having a lazy morning here at DQ. Enjoying those few lazy moments of summer before our schedule and routine just pick up.


Editor's note: Hop on over to Conceived Without Regard of Reason or Reality for a chance to win fat quarters and a log cabin book celebrating the 200 post!

FABRIC MOVING SALE

Fashionable Fabrics is having a huge moving sale. I just bought a yard of Swell material for $2.95 and 4 yards of Ginger Blossoms for $5.95 each. Plus, their shipping rate is very reasonable. You should check it out, you might find some fabric you need.

Guess I am just a Bag Lady Lately

Editor's note: After you read about these cute bags, head on over to Polka Dots & Rick Rack for a blogaversory celebration!

I have been sewing up a storm around here. Literally the lint dust is still settling and I seem to be finding pieces of fabric and thread everywhere. That is probably due to cutting all of those pieces for my house quilt (FIG TREE QUILTS) that I am working on, but that is a story for another day.

Last Christmas my darling husband bought me this Amy Butler pattern, Frenchy Bags. It came in a kit. Okay, so maybe....I ordered it myself for the computer fearing husband, but it still counts, right? This is the shoulder bag that came from that kit.




My almost-no-sewing-rather-have-her-teeth-pulled-out friend, Meg, went to a quilt shop with me in the spring. I showed her the bag pattern I was going to make. She really liked it and she loved the Amy Butler fabrics at the shop. So, she picked out some for a handbag version that I promised to make her for her birthday.



So, seeing that her birthday is TODAY. . .I kicked it into gear this week to get these projects done. I wish there was a picture of the two bags side by side. The handbag is a lot smaller. In fact, I worry that it may be a bit small for the size of purse my gal pal normally carries.
PATTERN REVIEW

• Amy Butler writes simple patterns for just about any level of sewer to follow.


• She uses diagrams, which I love.


• The pattern is already printed on sturdy paper.


• My only suggestion would be to use fusible interfacing and save yourself all of those basting steps.


• I also chose to sew sections into the interior pockets because I thought they would be TOO big, and this would help keep your purse organized.


• I love the pockets now.


• I will definitely continue to purchase Amy Butler patterns. They are a snap to follow.

OKAY, now Anna hold onto your thimble...but I installed my very first magnetic snap, so I think I might be ready for a zipper now. LOL Just to jazz up my shoulder bag, I monogrammed my initials on the bottom. I thought it turned out quite nice!

Finally, here is a picture of my husband's 7th grade cousin's messenger bag she purchased at the Pottery Barn outlet. I monogrammed her initials on the front. She chose the colors and font. I think she made some great choices.

This post is getting quite long, but I want to say how neat I think it is that ALL of you have read the Elm Creek series. Thanks for sharing. Well, I am off to create a whirlwind of cleaning around the house. Buddy is having a friend over in a bit and I'd like to at least have a start at it before that happens.

A Book and a Bag

Summer seems to be sailing away quite quickly.

I read this Elm Creek Quilters book, The Winding Ways Quilt this past week. It was very good. If you are not familiar with this fictional series about a group of quilters, you should check it out. They always a have a good plot involving friendships, traditions, and quilting. I believe the first book is called The Quilter's Apprentice.

Mom was up and wanted to make a BIG tote to carry her clothes to and from curves or maybe have a bag she could pack on set of over night clothes. BIG she wanted, big she got.

I thought it turned out really nice. She did all of the sewing on this one and I just did the directing. We didn't even use a pattern this time. Don't mind the bottom there, it just has been pushed out in one corner. The bag still needed cardboard in the bottom.

I am in the progress of a couple of bags myself, hopefully I finish them soon.