friends + birthdays

This past weekend I had the pleasure of not only seeing one of my dearest friends who happens to live out of town, but seeing her on her birthday!  As I've gotten older, a lot of the "fringe friends" have fallen by the wayside, but the friends that I still keep in touch with are friends that will be around for the long haul.  Unfortunately many of them now live out of town, so its a rare treat to get to see each other more than once or twice a year!

I was excited beyond believe when I received a call that one of my friends (well call her K) and her family would be traveling through Pittsburgh on their way to a wedding and wanted to get together for lunch!  I of course blurted out "yes yes yes" and did a small happy dance.  When I looked at at the calendar, and realized it would also be her birthday, I decided a little birthday sewing was in order.  

We typically aren't ones to exchange gifts, being out of town and all, so something quick and little was just the ticket (and good thing, too, as Nora decided naps were for the birds that day), so I grabbed some EssexYarn dyed linen in steel and my favorite variegated thread and got to stitching.

I quilted the linen like I quilted my Sew Together Bag, as I have been dying to stitch these organic wavy lines in that pretty thread again.  It of course did not disappoint, and I am thinking I now need a little pouch like this for myself too!

This pouch measures about 6.5" x 5", I had planned for it to be a little smaller, but I'm actually glad it turned out a little larger, as its just perfect to store a cell phone, keys and a lip gloss, you know necessities just for mommy.

K is a mom to 2 little boys (and a baby on the way), so I hope she likes this little pouch that she can slide right in the diaper bag, to have a little corner of that bag all to herself!

It's always great to see and catch up with a friend, and it was incredibly precious to now watch our littles playing together!  

Patchwork Sew Together Bag

Today I have my very first Sew Together Bag that I shared at Ellison Lane as part of Jennifer's Patchwork Summer Series back in the beginning of July. I'm sure you've seen these all over the blogosphere and on Instagram, I know I sure had, and finally bit the bullet to make one of my own, and I'm very glad I did!



    I am completely smitten with this bag, I had planned on keeping it all for myself, but ultimately decided to gift it to my sister in law for her birthday and make myself a second one.  This bag has more pockets, and zipper pockets than anyone could ever completely fill, but I'm sure Amanda will find plenty of goodies to stash!  While I love the one I made for myself,  this one holds a special place in my heart.



My absolute favorite part of this bag of course is the outside.  What's great about this pattern is the outside can be a solid fabric, or quilted like this patchwork version.  I chose to use left over scraps from the pockets on the inside and added in extra scraps from my stash in pinks, yellows and greys.



I used 2" unfinished squares that finished at 1.5" and quilted 1/4" on the outside of each seam.  While I will never pass up an opportunity for some free motion quilting, there is something to be said for simple straight line quilting.  It always looks so clean, fresh and polished.



If you haven't tackled a Sew Together bag yet, I highly highly recommend it.  Don't let the zippers intimidate you, just think you'll be a pro at installing them by the end of this bag!  I will say the pattern itself left me a little puzzled at a few of the steps, but I followed along with The Quilt Barn's Sew Together Bag Sew Along and easily finished the pattern.  Heather's step by step instructions and pictures made easy work of a few parts that likely would have left me quite frustrated had I only the pattern to follow along with.

Sew Together Bag

This is my second Sew Together Bag I've made, and this one is all mine!  After picking up a few tips and tricks the first time around, I think this one came together much quicker than the first.  

I probably spent as much time  deciding what I wanted as the outer main fabric as  I did putting the whole thing together!  I ultimately decided on a little piecing, and then quilted a whole lot of loose organic lines using some variegated thread and my walking foot, and I am in love!  I love the texture this type of quilting added to the linen and the pretty soft pinks, peaches and purples in the thread are just the added pop of interest this bag needed.  I cannot wait for another small project to use this sort of quilting on.



Currently I am using this bag to house all of my cross stitch supplies.  I skipped adding the optional felt needle holders, and I'm sort of regretting it, as I am just pinning my needles with leftover thread through the inside lining, and the lining will likely soon be paying the price.



There is more than enough room to house the two current projects I'm working on worth of thread (the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Once Upon a Time Sampler, and 12 Days of Christmas Sampler) along with scissors, extra thread bobbins, a sharpie to mark my bobbins and pattern and a whole host of other odds and ends, with room to spare.



I am certain this will not be my last Sew Together Bag, they make amazing gifts (so says my sister in law who received the first bag).  Kati had an genius idea, she cut the necessary fabric and interfacing ahead of time and stored it in baggies with the appropriate zippers, so when it was time to sew, she could get right to it!  What about you?  Do you have a go-to stitchy gift you're always ready to make??

iPad sleeve

So we're getting ready to leave for the beach in a few days, and while I should be pondering how to fit half of my house in a Nissan Rogue with a rooftop carrier, I instead headed down to my sewing  room, because my iPad needed a new travel case.  That's rational, right?  But seriously.  Anyone with the tips on how to fit my house in my car to take to the beach, would be much appreciated.  

While of course there are more pressing things I should be tackling right now, in my defense I did need a more protective carrying case for my iPad than the magnetic case that I use for every day use.  I knew I wanted something with a small pocket to store my charging cord, and something not super bulky, but padded enough that a little jostling wouldn't hurt anything.



I sketched up the design for this envelope style, and sort of blindly started cutting fabric, and by some stroke of luck, both the sewing gods and the two hour nap gods were smiling down on me at the same time, because just as I heard Nora waking up from her nap, my machine was taking its last few stitches to finish this guy up!



I'm happy my quick quilty math worked out, because this sleeve fits great even with my every day cover on my iPad, and I can store my charging cord, or a pen/pad of paper in the little envelop pocket and the top flap closes with no problems.



I'm planning on writing up a quick tutorial once we are back from vacation and time is a little more free, so be on the look out!  And if you want to say a quick prayer that the car ride and a week of pack n play sleeping go well,  that would be swell also!

Mustang Sidekick tote

If you were to ask my husband, he would be the first to tell you that I need a new bag like a need a hole in my head.  But what does he know about purses and bags anyways, because it's true, I really did need a new every day bag.  I had been on the look out for a purse/bag small enough that I could use it for every day things that a gal needs a purse for, but big enough that I could stash an extra diaper, travel wipes and spare binky for emergencies (you know, the important "keep baby from fussing" things) when Nora and I were out on a quick errand.  While I love my diaper bag, its a giant pain in the patoot to lug around.



Enter the Sidekick Tote.  I'm a big fan of Anna's patterns, the directions are easy to follow along, include lots of pictures and often include techniques that make me go "why didn't I think of that??".  I've made her Divided Basket and it gets used daily as it holds diapers and baby essentials that we use constantly.



My absolute favorite part of this bag is the pocket.  Yes I love it because it is HUGE, easily accessible and super functional for things that would get lost in the bottom of my bag, like my keys, but can we talk for a minute about the fabric??  Yes that is definitely what makes the pocket my favorite thing about this bag.

I sort of missed out on all the buzz back at fall Quilt Market when Cotton + Steel was revealed, you know with having a baby and all at the same time.  And not to trudge off topic here, but can we talk about how I missed out on fall Quilt Market in my hometown of Pittsburgh last fall??  Oh that Nora, its a good thing shes so darn cute :-)  I suppose I'll have to catch it on the next visit to the Burgh.



Now that Cotton + Steel is available for purchase, I immediately ordered a fat quarter bundle of Melody Miller's Mustang line.  Once it arrived and I was finished petting all that beautiful fabric, I decided the only way to make my Sidekick Tote even better, would be to use a few prints as accent fabrics.  I didn't even realize that alot of the Cotton + Steel prints had fun metallic accents, but that is by far my favorite part.  I used the Mint Sparkle Flower border print on the top flap and the Coral Arrows as the main pocket fabric, and made sure to get lots of that metallic goodness in each print.  (Bag main print is Essex yarn dyed linen in black).



Aside from the awesome pocket, my second favorite part of this bag is the recessed zipper.  I had never made a bag with a recessed zipper and I'm 100% a fan.  I used more of that Mint Sparkle Flower print, and just used the "sparkle" part of the yardage for a fun recessed zipper surprise.  I think the only thing I would do differently next time would add a little interfacing to that inner top band fabric for added reinforcement.



The inside is extra roomy and perfect for daily essentials plus "extras" when necessary.  I made the pocket larger than Anna called for and added a zipper pocket on the other side of the lining.  If you can't tell, I like pockets.



Another new to me feature of this bag is the adjustable strap.  I've always skipped this step on previous bags and just done a straight forward strap, but I'm definitely happy I took the extra time, as it makes it easy for use as an over the shoulder bag, or cross body, which I'm becoming a fan of because it leaves more hands for carrying baby, and all her associated "things."  Secondly I think it really adds that "this is not homemade" stamp onto the bag.



If its not evident by my gushing, I'm a huge fan of this bag, and plan on using it religiously as my go to daily bag.  Not to mention I get to look at that pretty sparkly fabric every day, which is a total plus!

Speaking of that awesome Melody Miller Mustang fabric, stop back tomorrow where I will have a fat quarter bundle of Mustang to give away to one lucky reader, sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop!

handmade holidays

Happy Holidays!  Its getting down to the wire, and of course I just keep thinking of "one more thing" that I want to buy, make or send, but I suppose this is how it always is, and magically everything comes  together and is finished just in time.

I've been doing a good bit of sewing for a few handmade gifts, after I promised myself I'd go easy this year on the handmade stuff...3 pouches, 2 quilts and a slew of potholders (yet to be made)...that's going easy, right??

I purchased a few of these antique brass purse frames from bits and purses on Etsy, and had a few friends a family members who I think will adore these little clutches.  They really are quite simple to put together, I found Rebecca Lynn's tutorial for drafting a purse frame template incredibly helpful.  I chose to line the outer fabrics with fusible fleece, to help them hold their shape when filled with goodies and give them a nice body.

I used Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill in Primrose in Poppy, I just adore those large scale mod flowers!  I was sure to grab this print in every color way.

This one might be my favorite, and is going to my sister-in-law who I think will love the mustaches.  Fabric is Moustaches in black from Timeless Treasures.  I'm thinking a duplicate of this little pouch is in order for yours truly.

For this last pouch I dug into my Bloomsbury Gardens stash and used this Virginia Print in the blue color way.

I have two remaining purse frames, and I think I'll save those for a rainy day...or for two little clutches just for me :-)



In other little projects, my mom had commissioned me to make a few e-reader sleeves for friends of hers.  This sleeve is actually for the Nook Simple touch which is a good bit smaller than the standard Nook or Kindle.  I doctored my tutorial for the difference in size, and also have updated the tutorial to include measurements for this smaller e-reader size (appx 6.5" x 5").

In case I don't get back to post again this weekend, I hope everyone has a great holiday, and enjoys time spent with family, friends and loved ones!

WIP Wednesday {11.14.2012

Who can believe Thanksgiving is next week already?  I'm beginning to feel the crunch, I've inherited the hosting duties, and should really get cracking on the whole menu planning thing, and oh yeah, I guess getting a turkey sometime soon would be a good idea...

Any who, while I have not been planning my turkey day dinner, I have been stitching away!  Here's whats new:

Completed Projects

Scrappy Weekender bag

I'm still quite smitten with Mr. Scrappy, you can read more about him here.

In Progress

Chicopee Quilt

Instagram is my new favorite way to post updates on ongoing projects!  Its super addicting, you can follow me here on IG.  I've finally taken the plunge and cut in my my fat quarter bundle of Chicopee.  I'm loving all the deep pretty jewel tones, and am using it to stitch up my very first pattern I'm planning on making available for purchase!  I may be in the market for some pattern testers in the next few weeks, if anyone would like to volunteer, keep an eye out!

Daisychain Sampler

In an effort to finish up some long standing WIPs, I've pulled out my Daisychain sampler that has been sitting around gathering far too much dust.  I'm in the home stretch now, and can't wait to finish this up, I have the perfect spot in my sewing room just waiting for it!

Chevron project

I started stitching up this little chevron piece last night, not exactly sure what it will become just yet, but I'm loving it!

That about sums up this weeks stitchy progress, be sure to head over to Freshly Pieced and add your WIP!

A weekender kind of weekend {take two}

This weekend we've had unseasonably warm temperatures, which gave me a chance to get outside and snap some pictures of my completed scrappy weekender!  It's definitely depressing knowing that outside photo shoots will have to be reserved for weekends now, as the sun has set by the time I'm home from work.  

Anyways, without further ado, may I present Mr. Scrappy Weekender!  No disrespect to my first weekender, but this one is my favorite.  Like favorite favorite, hands down favorite bag I've ever made, and can even compete with my favorite quilts I've made.  Come to think of it, I guess it is the perfect marriage between a quilt and a bag.

It also helps that because I used the quilt as you go method Elizabeth described in her post here, the only thing I had to buy to make this bag was the zipper and cording for the piping!  I had a bunch of left over canvas on hand from some tote bags I made awhile back, and fabric and batting scraps are certainly not hard to come by down in my sewing room.  Not that my first weekender wasn't worth it, but it became quite costly, after you buy 17 million yards of interfacing and all the fabric.

For the main panels, I dug through my blue, green, grey and yellow scrap bins for piecing, and used Essex Linen in Grey for the piping and handles.

I followed the pattern for the most part, but did make a few modifications that I picked up the last time.  First was to widen and lengthen the handles.  I added about 8" of length to each handle, which is the perfect "throw over your shoulder" handle length.  Last time I didn't widen the handles, but as this bag really can hold a lot and get quite heavy, I thought wider handles would make toting this bad boy around a little more comfortable.  To do this, I cut my handle width to 5" and then followed the instructions for construction as described in the pattern.  I also sewed my handles on a little differently, for a little more security, I actually sewed up each side of the handle to attach the entire handle to the bag, instead of just at 2 or 3 spots like the instructions describe.  Again, I think this will help with wear and tear over time.



I also tricked Mr. Scrappy out with lots and lots of inside pockets.  I added one zipper pocket using this tutorial on the inside lining of one of the outer pockets, which will be great for securing travel documents for easy access when traveling.



And one large zipper pocket on one of the inside lining panels, and then constructed a separated pocket on the other side of the lining panel.  As for the lining, I've had this grey and white houndstooth fabric from Joann's in my stash for forever, and thought this would be a perfect use!  I did use some Pellon Shapeflex iron on interfacing for the lining, as I wanted to be sure the cotton quilting weight fabric could hold up with all the pockets.



As far as construction goes, my only two real alterations were using stitch witchery to make the bias piping, and then machine stitching in my lining.  It's no secret I'm not a fan of hand sewing binding, so hand stitching in the lining to this big guy?  No thanks.  I did this on my first weekender, and it turned great, so I did it with this one as well.  I pinned my lining in place, and then machine stitched a line about 1/4" inch outside of the line of stitching which secures the zipper in place.  Especially with this scrappy stitchy version, I don' think it takes anything away from the finished look of the bag, and took a fraction of the time.



For now Mr. Scrappy is hanging out on the floor in our bedroom so I can admire him any chance I can, I keep not so subtly hinting to the hubs that we now have to take a trip somewhere so I can take him out for a test drive!