Excited for a New Week!

Granny D here.  It's Make It Monday and I thought I'd share what I have going on in my head this morning.  Of course, it'll take me all week to get these all completed but, oh, the fun of creating.  Right.

I finished this cute little patcwork bag Saturday.  It can be made out of a 10" square so that gives you an idea of the size.

And last night I cut out the little Flower Power bag you see in the picture next to it.  I like that funky little flower and all of the different colors together

Even though the possibilities are endless, I get tired of making the same old boxy totes sometimes.  So I found another bag that I like.  It's softer and rounder.  Instead of the corners, it has darts to shape the bottom corners.









And I think I'm going to try something different by using interfacing in the top part and batting in the bottom part just to add to that soft, feminine, curvy look.  The fabric you see here is curtain fabric from that earlier fabric haul I spoke about.  Once I get this perfected, I'll probably use a pretty floral or something a little more dramatic to make it look a bit dressier.







Since purses and bags are mostly rectangles, I like to make my own patterns.  I have a big roll of paper.  Not sure if it's butcher paper or not but it's flexible enough to pin to fabric.  Here's a messenger bag pattern I cut out last night.
As you can see, it's not complicated at all and I did a little something with the strap.  It's 4" wide but I went ahead and cut the pattern 36" long.  Then I marked off like 22" and 29", you know, different lengths you'd use for different projects so I don't have to keep cutting out strap patterns.  Same goes for pockets.


That about does it for today.  Do you have any tips or tricks for cutting out your own patterns?  We'd love to know.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

Granny D here.  It's a dreary, rainy Monday here in Virginia.  Maybe that's why I focused in on this beautiful blue and sunny yellow combination.  As you can see, the front of the bag is already pieced.  The straps have been cut from the navy.  The back is going to be that navy Majestic fabric we have in the eBay store...I think...

As you can see, after a little contemplation, I'm still having an argument with myself.  Should I make the lining out of the navy and the back of the bag out of that yellow?  I'm thinking practical here.

 The yellow will show dirt quicker (these can be washed, by the way) but who wants to wash their bag every day or every week for that matter.  However, the interior might be even worse.  Lipstick comes open, pens leak.
Sigh.
As Jimelle posted earlier today, oh, the possibilities.  Well, at least between blue and yellow.
What do you think?
 

So Many Possibilities!

I don't know about you, but I spend my Sunday afternoons drinking coffee and deciding what kind of quilt I want to make this week. I choose simple quilts, partly because I'm new at this stuff, but also because I really, really need a sense of accomplishment by the end of the week. My other "job" is writing novels, and, as much as I hate to say it, I just can't finish a novel every week. So I turn to quilting to get my 'finished' vibe.

This week, as it turns out, is a pretty hard decision. I have loads of gorgeous fabric! I have apparently been collecting teals and blues to the point that my sewing room looks a lot like the ocean. I have a Lily & Loom layer cake for two kid quilts in purple and pink, but I'm just not feeling those candy colors this week. Also, thanks to Joann Fabrics BOGO sale last week, I have two new jelly rolls to play with. Sigh. Life is good.


I'm still fascinated with jelly roll strips, and I love the symmetry of coin quilts. So I picked out these:

and these:

I have a pattern in mind, something like a mix between a coin quilt and window squares, but I'm not going to bother posting it today because I know - FOR A FACT - that I will change my mind sometime during the piecing process. It's happened every single time I try to follow a pattern.

Do you follow patterns or make it up as you go along? Maybe a mixture of both?

Make It Monday - Patriotic Tote Bag

Granny D here.  I love, love, love making tote bags and purses.  You'll see some that I made in our eBay store soon.  But I thought it would be fun to show all of the piece parts that go into making one of these totes.  They're really simple, and I can't tell you about the pattern except that it's just ideas I've pulled from here and there and perfected after trial and error.  You know, I'd make one and then decide the straps were too short.  So, I'd adjust.  Then I'd decide it needed more pockets so I'd add those to the next one.  Sometimes I'll sew a piece of ribbon on the inside with a D ring attached so your keys will be available and not get buried in the bottom of the bag.  I use interfacing and batting to make them sturdy and yet soft.

So, here goes.

This first picture is the pieces of the outside of the bag, the pretty stuff everyone sees.  I love patriotic themes and colors, especially for summer and thought this would be fun.  So the front is pieced from a jolly bar (5"X10") pieces and 5" squares.  The back is just solid denim (Remember those curtains I posted about a little while back.  Yeah, it's a curtain but the denim is just heavy enough without being too much.)  The straps are from the same denim and that red dotted piece will be the flap that comes over the top to button the bag closed.  I'll probably use a silver button.

 The second picture is the lining.  It's a nice cotton fabric we found at a really good price.  It's a pretty navy (the pics don't do it justice) that pairs well with the denim and the outside of the bag.  The smaller rectangle near the top and to the right is a small pocket.  The piece to the left is another larger pocket that will run the full width of the bag, sewn in about 3 4" sections.  I think with this one, I'll sew a smaller section in the smaller pocket to hold a pen.  That would be handy.

And here are all the parts together, ready to sew.  You can see that it's really just rectangles of different sizes, doing different jobs to make this patriotic tote.  I've already filled a bobbin and threaded the machine with navy thread.  I can't wait to get started on this one.

What is your favorite thing to sew?  If you haven't tried making a tote like this, do it.  It's not really difficult at all and I like that they are practical and pretty at the same time.