Bag It: A New Bag from Sew Sweetness

I get a vicarious thrill from "test sewing" patterns for talented designers. One of my favorites is Sara Lawson of "Sew Sweetness."

Sara designs the best bags! My most recent "test sew" for Sara is the Tudor Bag.

This is a good-sized bag, about 13" by 15".  Sara included instructions for both regular handles and an adjustable shoulder strap. I found the perfect webbing for the straps at Snappy Quilts when I bought the Cotton + Steel canvas for the bag.

There is one zipper pocket on the outside, and four big pockets inside.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've made a bag with the recessed zipper on top. And of course, I installed the zipper upside-down! Rather than struggle to open the zipper from inside the bag, I removed the zipper panels and re-attached them. I'll pay more attention to the part that reads "with the zipper facing down" next time!

I failed to take a photo of the metal "feet" attached to the bottom of the bag. This little detail really makes a professional finish to a bag. I added a shoulder strap pad, copied from the Vera Bradley Weekender bag. I don't usually use a shoulder strap, but if the bag is filled to capacity it will be heavy. So the padded strap is a good idea, I think.

This is not my favorite of Sara's bags (that would be the adorable mini train case I made last summer!) but it will make the perfect winter knitting bag.

Go to Sew Sweetness to see the bags made by Sara's other testers.

Thank you, Sara, for allowing me to test sew this bag for you!

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TGIFF: Two Finishes and a Charity Quilt

It's getting to be that time of year when block party quilts are being finished. 

One I am especially glad to have complete is Sample This! from A Quilter's Dream.

This is no ordinary sampler quilt. Rather than 12 blocks in four rows of three, it's made in seemingly random sections. Choosing the fabrics for each section is the most challenging part. I made one quilt using the identical fabrics on the pattern photo. The "real" fabrics are much more attractive than they look in the photo:

And, well -- more attractive than in my photo!

I also found the same fabrics in a green colorway (much more green than they appear in my photo!):

I can't wait to see what Cornelia does with the quilting on these two. But that will have to wait until after her Christmas rush!

The Front Range Modern Quilt Guild made blocks for a charity quilt at their September retreat. Emily put them together, Mary quilted the quilt, and I did the binding. This is truly a group effort!

I think Emily's layout is so fun!

Linking up to TFIFF, this week at What a Hoot!

I'm going to a quilters pajama party tonight at Nana's Quilt Cottage. Report to follow this weekend!

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Word Verification On: Spam Out

I've resisted turning on the Word Verification feature since I launched this blog. But this week, I've received so many spam comments that I've decided to turn it on for a period, to see if that helps.

I apologize to those who legitimately comment. I hope I won't need to leave it on, or worse yet, go to comment verification.

I'm pretty sure my followers aren't buying G-ucci knock-off handbags!


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WIP Wednesday: One Win, One Fail

I'm binding quilts today. And I'm not even using Susie's Magic Binding!

I bound a charity quilt for Front Range Modern Quilt Guild, but I didn't have a fabric similar to what was used on the front. So I cut the binding at 2.5", stitched it to the front and wrapped it to the back and top stitched. Hey, if Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle can bind their quilts that way, so can I!

Before I show you the day's fail, how about the day's success? It's only a little peek, because this is a test-sew for my favorite bag designer, Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness.

I made a quilt from my son's roommate, who is a major San Francisco fan. I couldn't find the San Francisco fabric (I thought) was in the stash for the backing. So I ran to JoAnn and bought some 49ers fleece. I decided to experiment with leaving out the batting and just using the fleece as backing and batting combined. I loaded the quilt and fleece on my Viking Mega Quilter, and it stitched just fine. I thought!

When I trimmed the extra backing away, I noticed the quilting stitches were loose in several places.

[BTW, that nail polish is OPI's Red Fingers and Mistletoes, by Gwen Stafani.]

I don't know if the stitches didn't form because I didn't anchor them at the beginning of the row -- I started stitching on the backing, so I didn't anchor them. 

Anyway, I am re-quilting the "bad rows" on my Juki and I'll ask Vivian, the quilting expert at Ruth's, if she has an idea what went wrong.

Nic will love the quilt, even if it falls apart the first time he washes it. And I have enough fleece to make a blanket for his dog, Willy!

Have you had any experience using fleece as a quilt backing? Any hints for the next time?

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De-Stash is Back!

I'm starting to prep for next year's UFO Challenge. I found a half-finished kit to offer up to a traditionalist for this week's de-stash. Read on!

Stash

But first, this week's stash additions! One of my favorite shops, Sew-Ciety in Castle Rock, is moving to a new location. So they had a "pre-move" sale this week. Everything was "buy three, get one free." Friend Mary and I divided up some jelly rolls to take advantage.

This is Moda's "The Boat House." It's going in the "Quilts for Sailors" bin for the next Sailor to earn the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge.

This one, "Lakeside Gatherings" will be for the December Jelly Roll Party at Ruth's Stitchery.

Here is Cozy Quilt's photo of the pattern. Won't this jelly roll be perfect?

Elder Son says "It's OK to buy it just because you think it's pretty." So I did. Winterlude, by 3 Sisters for Moda, goes in the "undesignated jelly rolls" bin.

My friend Lori brought me this lovely birthday prezzie this week. I think I'll use it to stash the sand dollars and shells I picked up at the beach in September.

Inside were a yummy scented candle and soap (which is lending its fragrance to my yarn stash at the moment) and this cool lighted, magnifying seam ripper.  I'll report later how it works -- but what a great idea!

I found the little pink pincushion at the Creative Needle in Denver. It fits into the thread holder on the top of my Viking sewing machine. Clever, huh?

We made a second stop on the way home from Front Range Modern Quilt Guild yesterday, at High Prairie Quilts. I almost panicked when I didn't see this fabric where it had been displayed last time I was in the shop -- I need it to finish my Five is Fabulous sampler. Whew, the shop had just been re-arranged!

De-Stash

I took a bunch of patterns I decided "I will never sew this" to quilt guild yesterday. And I decided "I will never finish this quilt," so it becomes this week's "De-Stash" offering.

Sixteen of the LeMoyne Star blocks are finished, and most of the 100 HSTs. The printed setting triangles are included, but you'll need to add some more 30s repros for the center medallion. Knowing me, the background is Kona Snow.

If you haven't seen the 52 Quilts De-Stash before, here's how it works. If you'd like to add this quilt to your own stash, just:

1. Comment on this post with your PayPal email address and your zip code.
2. The first commenter who completes Step 1 wins the kit! (Sorry, payment must be by PayPal and if you don't include both your PayPal address and zip code, I'll have to go to the next commenter).
3. I will send you a PayPal invoice for the postage (it should be less than $10 this week).
4. When I receive your payment, I'll mail the kit to you!

In the meanwhile, have you started your "UFO List" for next year?

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Winter is Coming -- Knit Faster!

Although meteorologically, it's still Autumn, Zero degrees Fahrenheit sure feels like Winter to me!

Yesterday's low of zero, and high of nine degrees, means some colors in my Year in Temperature scarf I haven't used for, well, months!

I'm looking forward to unwinding the entire 10 feet of knitting to see how the colors flow through the year's knitting.

I'm frantically trying to finish this sweater to send to My Little Sailor for Christmas. Now that he's on a shore billet, I don't have to send everything priority mail. But will the box make it to Japan in time if I don't?

I think this Abuelita Worsted in "Mermaid Song" looks like the Navy's camouflage uniform. Some people call that uniform "blueberries." I hope MLS doesn't think this is too "bright!"

The Knitting Bee in Portland offered a free hat pattern with the purchase of Rowan Pure Wool Worsted. I picked the grey-brown for a Hats for Sailors hat, and the turquoise for me. Then I realized I had just bought several skeins of this yarn -- same color! -- at Ewe and Me here in Colorado Springs!

Pure Wool Worsted is an especially good yarn because it's washable -- needed for Hats for Sailors.

Here's the hat pattern -- isn't it a great one? I love how the cables cross at different places on different rows.

(Images from Knitting Bee)

Now I need to ask a favor. A friend is undergoing chemotherapy, and needs hats to withstand this cold Colorado weather. I found a terrific Chemo Cap pattern that calls for Cascade Fixation. I thought I had several skeins of that yarn, but must have given it away in a fit of "de-stashing."  Might one of you have some Fixation that you'd be willing to swap for another yarn? You know with my stash, you could pretty much name your price! If so, please send me a private message and maybe we can work something out.

Keep knitting and keep warm!


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WIP Wednesday: Block Parties

The end of the year is nearly upon us, and the completion of 2014 Block Parties at Ruth's Stitchery looms large.

I've completed two block party quilts (Sample This, both will be shown on TGIF Friday). I'm making progress on two more. First, "Five is Fabulous" from Marti Michell.

The two blocks with green checks are my setting blocks. I only have two more sampler blocks and four setting blocks to go!

My other "near finish" is "Quilty Fun" from Lori Holt. This row-by-row quilt is fun, but some of those blocks have a lot of pieces!

I still have two rows: the row of houses and the row of baskets. Plus 42 border blocks!

How are YOUR WIPs coming along?

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