Sew, Sew, Sew

I finished 10 drawstring bags for the craft show.  It's not a lot but with my daughters also making things, I feel like I don't have to kill myself.  Yay!  :o)

I found this adorable print at the discount fabric store.  This would make a cute lunch bag.  I used what I had bought, so of course, I had to go back and get a few more yards!!  lol  I think it would be cute to make a fabric sack with a boxed bottom.  This fabric is so cute, it would be a cute whatever.....apron, pot holders, table topper....


The green bag in the back was made at the retreat I was at in Indiana.  Since I got the first bag made and was out of projects to do, I asked one of the girls that headed back to the quilt shop to get me some fabric off the sale table.  Usually I over pack but this was a first!  lol  The bag in front has an adorable western print purchased at the same discount store.  I love the little "rope" drawstring.

And lastly, I got two different car prints.  Can't you just picture these full of little Hot Wheels?  One of the ladies at the retreat made a bag out of car fabric for her grandson so when I saw this fabric, I scooped it right up.

I only have three make-up bags from the last batch I made so back to the cutting table!  I'm burning through the zipper stash I had built up but that's why I bought a bulk lot on ebay.  I better make some money so I can stock back up.

Chugging along

Slow and steady wins the race, right? :o) I have been playing with my paper crafts and also doing some sewing. I thought I would share a gadget I've been using recently. I got these when I was on vacation in AZ last month. My sis and I found these Wonder Clips by Clover.

I had the chance to use them quite a bit recently on the bags I'm working on for my daughter's wedding. Yes, I'm still working on them!! lol But I'm making progress.
This bag has curved binding on the top edge so I sewed it on one side with the machine and then hand tacked it on the inside. That is where the clips came in handy. I can see using them for quilt binding too. They're sturdy little clips, like a sturdy clothespin, and the bent piece holds onto thick fabric hugging the binding just right. I'd give them two thumbs up! :o)

This is bag #6 that I finished tonight!! I'm not going to show the entire picture in case my daughter's friends read my blog. I doubt they do but better safe than sorry.

That's it for this check-in. I don't have any real plans this long holiday weekend so I'm hoping to finish up the bags and mark them off my list of things to do. I gave myself until the end of August to finish them and I have missed that deadline. Pooh! But I would be okay if I got them done by the end of the weekend. Have a good one and I hope you have some play-time too! :o)

Shock!!!! I sewed something! :o)

Finally got into my sewing room this past weekend. Shocking, right? Seems like forever since I'd sewn something. My sister is visiting so she hung out with me and helped iron down seams. You know, cheap (free) labor kind of stuff. :o) I'm making bags for all the bridesmaids in my daughter's wedding. And since time is flying by, I know November will be here before I know it so I have to put the pedal to metal......or foot to the pedal or something like that. lol

I couldn't get the lighting down on my camera so this picture will have to do. The pattern is from This and That by Sherri Falls. It is a thick bag with fusible fleece and a layer of batting but it's a nice bag and a good size. The bag on the left is for my oldest daughter and she asked for a thicker band of accent fabric so hers looks just a little different. She picked her own fabric and was over on Saturday when I finished this bag. She tried to take it home but I told her 'no way', that she had to wait for the rehearsal dinner. Yes, she pouted. lol

The pattern is called Swanky Bag and it was only $4.50. Ashley, the bride-to-be picked it out herself. Here is a picture of the bag from the pattern. I will just be using big buttons and not fabric covered ones because I have to make nine bags but I might add the yo-yo flower after I'm done with all of the bags. We'll see. I like the look of the flower but I'm not sure if I'll have that much time. I still have a mom-dress to buy and a list of things to do like Santa's so we'll see.

Other than Kelley's fabric and some black and white polka dot fabric, everything came from my stash. The black and white dots seemed to go with just about all the fabrics I had picked out so I got a few yards of it at Joann's. Boy, using that fabric with quilt shop quality is VERY different. I probably should've just gone to a quilt shop and bought good stuff. I hope it holds up.

Two down, seven to go.......

Last night, I pulled weeds in the backyard and can hardly move today. Argh.... Sewing tonight will be a nice thing to do while my glutes recover. LOL

Got the straps on!

Got the straps done on my daughter's bag. Woohoo!
I'm not sure if I got the straps done right. I suppose it will hold up but I've not made that many bags and have never done straps like this before. I have a question to the designer to see if I did it right or not. You know, sometimes my brain checks out when I'm reading patterns. :o)

In case you like this bag, which is a really nice size, it's called Swanky Bag. The pattern says Little Scraps from This & That original quilt patterns by Sherri K. Falls. I sound like an infomercial. hehe

Shoppin' and sewin'...

I got up this morning and went to Joann's to buy some fusible fleece for some bags I'm going to be making for the bridesmaids for my daughter's wedding. While there, I saw a couple things that caught my eye. I don't know if these bags are new or not but I love them. And the handles made to look like measuring tape is too cute! I didn't buy one because I saw them after I had checked out and went back to check a price on something. (Darn it!!)


And I thought this wall vinyl design was adorable but my poor sewing room hasn't got an inch of space available so I left it at the store. If you have room in your sewing room, they are $14.99 but with a coupon........ :o)

After leaving those goodies at the store and only leaving with what I went for (pat on the back and only a little white lie LOL), I got in my sewing room and started on the bag for my soon-bride-to-be daughter, Ashley. She picked out the pattern when we stopped at a quilt shop on a trip home from looking at bridesmaid dresses. I got the upper focus fabric from her friend Mailie. She's the girl who got married in January and I made make-up bags for her bridesmaids described here. She gave me two pieces of fabric. I used the black and white quilted fabric which was the color of her wedding and this was left over. I used it for Ashley's bag thinking if the bag was a flop, at least I was only out the free fabric but it's a cute bag. I just couldn't finish the straps because I didn't buy any cotton strapping, which I need to cover for the straps.

The bag measures about 14 x 20" so it's a nice size travel bag. This one will come in handy for appointments or honeymoon travels. :o)

One bag down, 9 more to go!