Accordian Bag by Sew Sweetness

I have a customer that I have worked with on custom diaper bags and purses over the years and she contacted me recently to make her another custom purse. I sent her over to my friend Sara Lawson's  Sew Sweetness pattern shop and she picked out the Accordian Bag. I absolutely love the flap and think it's a great way to use up scraps as those pieces are 3x9. It would also be a great bag to showcase a new fabric line as 11 fabrics are used in the flap. Tone on tone and small patterned fabrics work well for the flap because you are folding the fabric. She also gives directions for a single fabric flap if you wanted that style instead. This is my first try at Sara's patterns and I'm happy to say they are easy to follow, downloadable with lots of pictures. I have found that this type of pattern works best for me as I am a visual learner. For this pattern, there are only 2 pieces you have to print out and the rest she gives you the dimensions so you could rotary cut them out. It's really the perfect, medium sized bag. I'm looking forward to making the Aeroplane bag next!

Happy Land preview

Midnight colorway includes navy, aqua, fuchsia, golden yellow & green

Hand quilted using Aurifil thread #2588

back

Ta Da!

I was super excited to win some of Jennifer Paganelli's soon to be released Happy Land fabric! It got shipped to me yesterday & I decided by the end of the day the first thing I would make is a purse for myself! It is my own pattern & I used fusible batting so I could hand quilt some details & machine quilt the rest. I have found that Aurifil #2588 is usually an awesome match for the fuchsia in Jennifer's fabrics. I used that so the quilting would stand out more. When ever I get her new fabric, I am itching to make something asap! :) It is supposed to be released Oct 1, but sometimes they are early. I know that Hawthorne Threads is planning to carry it. Next up is (of course) a baby blanket using Happy Land midnight and other previous JP lines.

A New Purse for Me!

 I started thinking about this purse when Anna Maria Horner released her Loulouthi line and I saw her fabulous pillow she embellished with hand quilting using the Summer Totem print. (I tried to find it in my favs on flickr, but it was too slow and I became impatient!) I was thinking it would be fun to use that print as a flap on a purse and hand quilt/embroider some details on it. I did that on the flap, sides and then just did a running stitch through the squares on the front and back. I am not a good hand quilter, and this was my first attempt at embroidery, but I love the results despite the imperfections. It is my own design using 4.5" squares, 4.5" sides. It will hold quite a bit for my summer travels. I decided against using a closure on the flap as I don't really like pulling the flap off each time. It's long enough to where things aren't going to fall out. I used the grapefruit color of the Summer Totem as I love the hint of pink and the colors Anna Maria chose to go with that light pink. I knew this would be a summer purse, so I focused on pulling out the lighter colors. I'm so glad to get this UFO off my list! :)

Flea Market Fancy Bag

Yesterday I got my Flea Market Fancy fabric in, super excited as I've never owned any and have always loved the Bouquet fabric! I went shopping with my daughter at Target and found these sparkly Converse in the clearance section and snapped them up! Today we are going to Manhattan Beach, so I thought I'd make a quick bag to match the shoes & thought of my new fabric! I used Tanya Whelan's Practical Bag pattern as its super fast, no interfacing! I added 2 inside pockets and am super happy with the outcome! The inside is a Rober Kaufman damask~ I think it's from the Pimatex Basics line. I'm off to have fun today!!

Quilted Patchwork Purse Gift

I get to have help sewing from Christina one evening a week and I have found out that she LOVES bicycle fabric, so I thought this Munki Munki fabric would be a great basis for a project. I decided to do a patchwork purse, so I pulled from my stash (l-r): more Heather Ross flowers, Lizzy House' Foliage and Pearl Bracelets from Outfoxed, Anna Maria Horner's Maybe from Innocent Crush, Wildfield from Valori Wells Wrenly & Loulouthi Hugs & Kisses. I lined it with Hugs & Kisses and inside pockets (not pictured) in Maybe. For the back I took a smaller portion of the stripwork and made a pocket. I enjoyed hand quilting a heart around the 'bicycles i've loved' words as well as down some of the strips. I used a rust colored embroidery thread from Anna Maria's thread collection. Hope she loves it!

Teardrop Bag in Patchwork

I had a custom order for the Teardrop bag from Amy Butler in patchwork and adding a flap and inside zippered pocket. I was up for the challenge! Nellie wanted purples, pinks and blues and so we decided on Heirloom & Ginseng by Joel Dewberry, Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner & Flower Power from Jennifer Paganelli.. I cut 4 1/4" squares for the body and 4 1/2" squares for the strap. The trim piece along the top as well as the 'hips' are all Wilflowers fabric. I had a flap pattern I use for my diaper/wipes case and it was the perfect size~ it just needed to be a little longer, so I went with that. I put a magnetic button in the middle of the front pleat and the flap for closure. Inside Nellie wanted a zippered pocket, so I used the Mail Sack pattern~ (one of my all time favorite bag patterns) to construct that. The other side is a patchwork pocket that is divided. I'm really happy with the way it came out & I hope Nellie is too! :)

Practical Bag

I made the Practical Bag by Tanya Whelan last week for Holly. She needed a beach bag to match her bathing suit for beach day at school. She chose Jennifer Paganelli's Queen Street fabrics & this pattern was so easy to sew together! This would be a great summer project to teach your kids to sew. There is no interfacing, buttons, or zippers. I would have liked a pocket, but you can definately add that easily. It takes a yard for the outside and a little less than a yard for the inside, so if you have a fabric stash you can easily make this on a whim. This may be the pattern for teacher gifts this year.