iPad cover

Mom wanted an iPad cover for mother's day. I used this tutorial, which was great. http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=1343

The fabric is Ariana by Benatex. Somehow I managed put my zipper in backwards, so typical. I'll keep this one and make one for mom that is right. P

Tote Along Tool Caddy by Sherrod Studios

Kim Sherrod is a personal blog buddy of mine and I was really proud of her when she entered MBS's Sliced competition. Kim designed this really cute bag for carrying all of your quilting tools and gadgets to classes. The bag is called Tote Along Tool Caddy. You can purchase her pattern at her Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sherrodstudio

She asked me if I would be willing to test her pattern and of course I jumped at the opportunity. Great pockets, great use of stabilizers, easy to follow directions, cute buckle embellishment. If you have been wanting to try a bag pattern this would be a great one for beginners too. I made this in one afternoon.

This bag has lots of gifting possibilities. This is going to be a Christmas present for buddy's teacher next year,and I know she will love it. I did add five inches to the strap, just as a personal preference as a teacher to have a longer shoulder strap when carrying a bunch of folders home. But Kim's original strap length was generous too.

Pinafore Bag- Strawbery Fields Edition

Friday night...I stayed up late and sewed this cute bag.  It is called Pinafore Bag by Me and My Sister.  I used Strawberry Fields.  I know some of you are scratching your heads....saying, I thought she used the last of her SF?  Well, what I said was I used the last of my charms.  I still have some yardage.  LOL.  I told you, I am a fabric hoarder.  I liked the darts int his bag, I liked the recommended quilting (notice the triple stripes of quilting), I liked the original pocket idea, and I really like the size...quite large for big bag queens like myself.  The turning of the handles, I am not going to lie to you gals....big pain.  I am hoping it is like the pain of labor and you forget it after awhile because I have the fabric to make myself one of these and I would like to.

This is a birthday present present so mums the word if you see my mom.  She doesn't hardly ever get  on here, so I figure I am safe to share it.  I hope the bag isn't too big for her.  It is pretty big. 

Pack and Go Bag

I used Sweetwater's Pack and Go pattern to make this bag.  The pattern was easy, but it was not lined and it had unfinished seams, which I didn't know when I bought it.  Well, I added a lining, but the seams were still unfinished.  I think I have thought of a way to fix that next time.  I am not a fan of unfinished seams.  Of course, the zipper is wonky and backwards....it was not going so well in the sewing room last night.  Next time, it will be better,  I do love the size of it. 

The Birthday Girl

So Buddy was invited to a birthday party for a little girl in his class.  I asked him if he and his friend who were invitied played with the little girl and her friends at recess.  He said, "Yes, we play dogs."  I'm not sure what that means.  When I asked, he rolled his eyes.  I didn't realize that parents could be so clueless to a 7 year old, but apparently, we are.  Anyway, this little girl likes Squinkies.  So, we bought her some squinkies and then I made a little birthday pouch to hold them in using some of my scraps.  I used this tutorial....

The bags that were sent to me

I did enjoy the swap, as well.  It is always great when someone sends you something spectacular in the mail, right???  I think I will definitely do this particular swap theme again sometime.  I really did enjoy seeing all the bags people came up with. 

I was lucky enough to have 2 partners this time, that is just how it worked out.  I needed 1 more person, and I thought it would just be easy to do it myself. 

LeAnn sent me this really cute bag in Bliss.  She also sent me a tasty treat and a cute notepad (did you know I am a sucker for notepads?  Yup, notepads, bags, boots, chapstick, travel mugs, little scissors....the list could go on and on.)  Sorry, I forgot to snap a shot of those (actually the candy bar was long gone....lol).  :)  But it was the perfect swap package, you will have to trust me.  I love the Ruby fabrics she used.  I love the color grey and of course, red is one of my favorites too.  My mom was here when I opened it and I remember saying to her, isn't this bag "so me"?  And, she agreed. 

Melinda sent me this cute laminate bag, which I was also quite tickled with.  I haven't worked much with laminated fabrics and I thought this was particularly cute.  It also has the snappy top, a pattern I have always wanted to try....but never have.  And, you can see she sent quite a few extra goodies, too.  Notice the scissors?  Did I already mention I am a sucker for cute little scissors??

Well, just writing about all this swap goodness makes me itch for another swap.  MAYBE it will be sooner than I think.  I have to get caught up on a few other projects around here first.

A bag for a friend...

I know, you've been wondering if I drowned in a pile of UFOs or scraps in my sewing room.  Nah, life has just been busy (I know you can relate).  Although, the state that my sewing room is in...I could have easily have fallen down and never been found again.  That is a project for another day.  Sometimes, when life gets like this....it does cross my mind to maybe stop blogging.  But, then I think about all my kind friends who always seem to be there when I get back at it.  I really do enjoy it.  And then I get a sweet comment like this...."I adore these darling bags. I guess I'm afraid of zippers, but you've inspired me to take the plunge and try one. Love your blog, visit daily." from a blogger, Dianne, who I have never heard from before...and that just makes my day.  I always see all the "hits" my blog gets and I always wonder who is stopping by for a visit.  I love hearing from you!  I also have been in "lurker" mode lately myself, so I get it.  Sometimes you just want to see what is going on.  I often have people leave me nice comments, but in their blogger profile, they have it set up on No Reply....so I cannot answer  your question or just say hi myself or if I am having a giveaway, I can't contact the winner.  Just something to keep in mind.

Well, the swap wrapped up.  I still need to do the drawing for the prizes.  I was very pleased with all the bags I saw.  If anyone had a less than good experience, I would hope that you would email me in private with your concerns so that I can make some adjustments next time.  All bags have been shipped.  All but 1 were on time, which is a fantastic statistic.  And, I did read all of your comments and suggestions on the last post.  Seems many of you are eager to get going on another swap.  We will have another....I just need a bit to catch my breath. 

Well, last Sunday I had to give myself a good kick in the pants to get a gift done for my girlfriend.  I needed it done by Monday.  Nothing like waiting to the last moment, right?  I had started it the week before, but wasn't happy with my fabric choices.  I made her this bag, which is actually the Libby Bag by Clover and Violet, but I opted to put a magnetic snap inside it and skip the binding and the flap.  Maybe next time.  This pattern did have a little typo, but I caught it.  It called for you to sew 7 rows of charms, when you actually needed 8.  Nothing big, just something to note if you intend to make one yourself.  The picture diagram showed 8.  I also think I did my own thing on the handles.  But, that is typical me. 

This bag is a great size.  I love big bags, and this has lots of room for a teacher to put folders in it, and it has great, great pockets, for Ipads or Nooks.  I'd darn near call it perfect, really.  I used the last of my Strawberry Fields charms on it.  A sad day!  LOL.  My friend loved it, so it was worth the stash sacrifice.  My apologies for the winter pictures.  I would love for the sun to come out again.

Gathered Clutch

So I made both my partners a gathered clutch.  I found my inspiration here at Clover and Violet.  They found the original directions here at Noodlehead.  I had actually made Noodlehead's original gathered clutch a while ago and loved it. 

I also used some scrap to make some more these fun fabric portfolios for my partners.  I found the original directions for the portfolios here at The Cottage Home.  Great fast and easy project!  Great directions. 

 This is a picture of the back.  I love these little labels from Sweetwater.  You can find them here.

I also made couple of mug mats.  I wish they were a bit more fun though. 

Stay tuned...I'll show you what my fabulous partner LeAnn sent me in my package!  It is BLISSFULLY sweet.  We have had 17 packages sent out as of to date. 

One last homemade present to share

Mom and I adopted a family for Christmas. The family had 2 girls, ages 10 and 12.  We had lots of fun buying girly clothes and other fun stuff.  I got right on the ball, and made 2 of these bags in some fun fabrics.  I also filled them with books and art supplies as both the girls loved to read and do crafts.  I used the Practical Bag by Grand Revival Designs.  I sure hope the girls liked them.

Just Sewing Along

So, I will admit I am starting to feel the pressure.  I need to get some of these gifts done.  Now.  LOL.  I finally sat down and finished the binding on this gorgeous mini quilt.  Love it.  Fabric:  Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree.  Hard to giveaway, frankly...just keeping it real, people.  LOL.

Then I had even more requests for coupon clutches after the last round, so I zipped up a few yesterday.  Should have been zippy at least, but I was slowed down by several stupid mistakes.  Uggh.  Ever have one of those days in the sewing room when you know you should just walk away?  Yes, that was me yesterday. 

Berry Sweet Bag (Fig Tree Quilts Pattern)

 So we have a little friend having a birthday soon, so I whipped up this Berry Sweet Bag by Fig Tree Quilts.  What a great pattern!  I sewed this up this morning.  Sorry, I don't remember the name of the fabrics  used, but I did think they worked well with the pattern.

Then I stopped over to Noodle-head and followed her fabulous tutorial for this quick little wallet. I thought it was the perfect size for this little purse.

New bag

I've wanted a new purse since about August.  Today I decided...today I am going to sew one.  I found this new pattern a couple of weeks ago (first time I have been to a quilting store in months).  It is called Paula's Slouchy Sack.  Great directions, easy to follow, a nice big bag like I like for hauling my coupon clutch, wallet, and such...not to mention Buddy's DS occassionally.

I haven't worked with elastic much.  I ran into Walmart to grab some the other night and all they had was the woven, which was a mistake.  I couldn't get it snaked into that tight spot.  I had some smaller, so I used that for now...next time I make it to Joann's I will replace it with a wider version for that more puckered look.

That zipper pocket on the front is pretty fabulous, too.  This is the "medium" bag.  I think it is perfect.  There are also measurements for a large bag, that is mostly just longer.  This bag called for 1 y for the outer bag and less than a yard for the lining, which is exactly what I had in my stash of this pretty fabric by Windham fabrics.  I do like fatter handles, so I add 1 more inch of fabric to them (which when folded the way the directions call for ended up being a 1/2 inch wider).  The only thing I would change next time, I would sew in a key fob on the inside, I like those.  That was an after thought though.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family.

Another way

I finished my second bag this weekend admist all of this back to school madness and mayhem.  I like this bag.  You can see that this time, instead of using 2.5 inch pieced strips, I just used a focal fabric and I think it is also very cute.  This bag is going to be a present for Buddy's teacher at Christmas.  This pattern is from the Moda Bake Shop book Sweet Treats.  Again, I did use my fancy stitches for the quilting on the pockets.

One done

Pattern from: Fresh Fabric Treats (the Moda Bakeshop Book)
Fabric: Bliss

This is a very nice pattern with good directions.  It give you an opportunity to use some of those fancy stitches on your machine.  Love the pockets.  You will notice that I did not use the loop and buttons on the side pockets, too, I just wanted those free for water bottles and such.  If you like handles for your shoulder, then you should also increase the length of these. 

I think it turned out super cute.  I am in the process of making a second, in a non-scrappy matter with a nice focal print for the pockets.  One of these is for Buddy's teacher for Christmas and the other will be for me when I head back to work later this week.

Another Camielle Bag finish

I forgot to share this finish!  Pattern:  Camielle Bag by Quilts Illustrated

Fabric:  Heather Bailey's Pop Garden

Another UFO bites the dust!

This was a birthday present for my dear friend, Megan.

A New Purse

So, I have had this bag cut out for over a year and finally got around to finishing it whipped up this bag the other day and gifted it to my mom for helping me get ready for the Bridal Brunch I was throwing.  She really liked it.  The fabric is from Urban Chicks 1974 fabric collection.  I wish they would come out with another collection similar to this one because I loved it.  The bag is by Quilts Illustrated and is called Camilles Bag.  I have made it before and you can see those color ways here. 

More details about the brunch, including recipes tomorrow. 

Also in the "must share" department, I did pick up some charms...

Sherbit Pips (How did I ever live without you?)

Ruby (Oh, I do think I will be buying a bit more of you, missy!) (Oh, and I picked them up at Emerald City Fabrics...but they only have 1 left.)

Finally, I want to thank LeAnn for this adorable bag pattern that I won.  Love it!  Can't believe I hadn't already picked this little gem up because it looks just like something I would "have to have".  Thanks, LeAnn.  If you haven't ever been to LeAnn's blog, you should head straight on over there for some beautiful quilts, inspiration, not to mention that LeAnn is a very sweet and sincere person to get to know.

Birthday Girl

I made a little birthday present for our sweet neighbor girl.  I used one of my Label Crew birthday labels on this cute popsicle pillowcase.  She really liked that touch.  And I also made a matching pouch.  I found these cute girly nailpolishes that looked like ice cream cones (sorry forgot to snap a photo of that).  She can store them in the pouch. 

Saturday doings

Well, I actually had a really successful day of sewing. 

First I'd like to report that I quilted and sewed my binding on my Sweat Pea Make Life Quilt.  Where's the picture you ask?  Well....I still have to hand tack the binding down.  But, just as soon as I do...I promise you a picture.

As if that was not enough for one day!  What now, you ask?  Well, I am throwing a little Bridal Brunch at my house in a couple of weeks for my gal pal.  She loves cherries.  So, I made this cute runner last night.  I thought I would have it out at the brunch, and gift it to her at the end.

Have you ever made this pattern?  It is a great one.  Quick.  Plus, no binding!  When you are done following the quilting instructions, you are done.  I made my dimensions different...it called for 8 X 8.  I did 3 X 6.  I have done it with a charm pack before.  Click here to see the different colorway.  Now I have to wash it a couple of times to give it that rag quilt effect that makes it super cute.  I want to get some Shout color catchers before I do that. 

While I am at all of this sharing, look at this fabulous giant pincushion that my friend Judy sent me for my sewing room!  It is 2 sided even.  I love Bliss.  Cannot wait for Ruby to be released.  Thanks, Judy!

Last week, I also made these pouches using a pattern by Amy Butler.  They were a snap to make, I just happen to think the other ones are cuter. 

In other news....it has been hot around here.  But, we've been beating the heat. 

Unfortunately, this is hard to see...but you can trust me that in this photo Buddy has a python wrapped around his neck and his friends shoulders.  I thought I would surely pass out watching it.