Saturday, January 23rd, Another bag....can't get enough of them!!

I have been very busy cutting projects for quilt retreat. We don't go until the 4th of February, but it is in the boonies, so a quick trip to the fabric store is not really possible. Also, so as not to take vacation time, I am working quite a bit before then. I am down to the last three cutting items and hope to have that wrapped up by Wednesday. I also have to get two projects to a certain level for "show and tell". With all of that to do, you'd think that what I made yesterday could have waited, but I decided to make it while I had the inspiration. This is the same little book bag that Diane made at our project day in November and then Celia made it very recently. When I saw Celia's and played with it a bit, I fell in love with it. The fabric was from a charm pack I bought on E-bay and the lining, handle and binding fabric came from my stash. It should have gone together very quickly, but I cut the charm pack down to 2 1/2 inch squares and then randomly pieced it.
I just love how it turned out, however, the "embellishment" on the pocket was to imitate the circles on one of the fabrics, but I think it looks more like the Target symbol. Oh well, I tried.
It is perfect for a trip to the library and for small group when I am carrying a Bible and a study book and my purse. My Bible fits absolutely perfect with two additional books.

Sunday, January 10th, Lots of little projects.

Thought I would share some of the little things I have made in the past few month, some for selling, some for gifts:
I made ten sets of these 4 season place mats for the guild boutique in September and not one of them sold. That just meant that I had Christmas/birthday/shower gifts! Curves also offered us to sell things there for over the holidays and I sold two sets there.
I made a dozen of these wine gift sacks for the boutique. Because they were fairly low in price, I did sell a couple of those and gave some as gifts and sold some at Curves.

My friend Kathy had this awesome pattern for a reusable shopping bag that I have made multiple times. I had a ton of fabric that I wasn't going to use for quilting that I used and made 6 of them and have 4 more ready to sew. I did sell a couple of these at Curves. But when I saw this fabric:
I knew I had to make one for each of the girls. They love reusable shopping bags rather than getting a plastic bag each time.The cool thing about these bags is that they fold up to go in your purse. (if you carry a big purse like is so popular right now)
This is the inside of Candice's bag, and Catie's is made opposite.
I have been making these decorative towels on a monthly basis since August. I make 4 at a time. They are really cute and I gave 5 of them to my sister-in-law for Christmas. I couldn't get the whole year done before Christmas. I am getting really good at the blanket stitch on my sewing machine.
This is my most recent project, a diaper bag for my nephew's baby that is due next month:The pattern is not marketed as a diaper bag, but when I saw it and the fabric that the shop sample was made in, I fell in love with it. The fabric is by a local designer, Jane Sassaman, who spoke at our guild. She took us through the entire designing process, which was fascinating.
I also made a card and got it in the mail before our big snow hit on Thursday. They actually got it in time for the shower yesterday

Monday, November 23rd, Finished for Tracy

When we had our "bag day", I started this big bag for Tracy. She brought me the fabric and I quilted it. The fern fabric is a heavier drapery fabric, so I had to adjust the tension. You probably can't see the detail in the picture, but I quilted the ferns with silver thread. It wasn't really difficult, but it was very time consuming. I finally finished it today.

Saturday, November 14th, Bunches O Bags

Today was our quarterly quilt group's project day. Because we have had so much inspiration from the bags we all tend to carry, we decided to make some today. The last time I hosted was a year ago, so I took my turn.
Of course, when we get together, it's all about the food.
I made a peach french toast casserole and a cream cheese coffee cake for breakfast.
Kathy brought Taco Soup for lunch.
and Celia brought dessert. We are usually so full, and today was no exception.

At least 4 of us in the group have spaces large enough to set up work tables, ironing boards and cutting tables. I am grateful for the creative space I have in the basement. The only thing is, it was a warmish day and the can lights produce a lot of heat, so we were all sweating!
Elaine made the ruler bag and the X bag. I didn't get a picture of either finished product.
Diane makes these adorable Library bags. I asked her if I could get a picture of her bag with her in it and this how she interpreted my request!!
Kathy made the ruler bag to match her "big bag" and wanted the straps to match the binding on the big bag. She had a rather frustrating day and didn't get to finish, but I declare the bag lovely, none the less!
Tracy doesn't do machine work, but is finishing a commissioned piece, so after finishing the hand quilting on it she set out to make the binding.
Celia also made the ruler bag and got into her bag!
Deb is working on a bag that the group made several years ago, prior to our joining. It is rather complicated and is like a making a mini quilt. I have made this bag, but because of the poor workmanship on it (I was a newbie) it is now relegated to being my workout bag. I am planning on making it again and I love the half square triangles. She bought all of these squares on E-bay.
What did I do, you ask? Well, Tracy has commissioned me to make her a big bag and she brought the material. I sandwiched it and started quilting it, but am using metallic thread, so it is very tedious. I have about 1/2 of it quilted and then took a break and made this little thread catcher for Celia. An early Christmas gift. I made a few mistakes, but now I know what not to do the next time I make one.
This was a great day with my friends, but man I am exhausted!

Friday, October 30th, Project day, a little early

November 14th is our fall quilt group project day. We are having a bag day with an assortment of bags being made. Stay tuned for the results. I was going to make the bag pictured above on that day, but instead I am going to make a "Big Bag" for Tracy, my neighbor. That will take the entire day as I have to quilt the fabric before actually cutting it out and sewing it. Therefore, I was itchy to make this ruler bag. I have had the materials for about two weeks. It was a snap and only took about 2 hours to make. I love the fact that I can carry my rulers and a mat safely to retreats, sew-ins, etc. The 24 inch ruler retails for about 20-25.00 and breaking one would put a total stop to any sewing.
On to more UFO's!! (unfinished objects for the uninformed!!)