Two Bags and a Book

It was a productive week here at the Bugglet Quilts sewing cave. I managed to crank out 2 bags and a book for my sister to take with her on vacation to France. Remember this combo?

I made it into a modified Smarty Girl bag by Heather Bailey for my sister. I made it the same way I made DiscoJen's bag since she loves it so much and said it was fantastic for her worldly travels as well as every day use.

I made a flange instead of the 3 ruffles because I didn't think the material lent itself to ruffles and because my sister isn't a ruffley kind of girl. I made the handle long enough to wear it across you, which is better for safety and keeps your hands free to attempt to keep your two year old child under control.

There are pockets on the front and back for tickets, passports and other items that need to be kept safe, yet readily accessible. Too bad I didn't watch the pattern better when I cut the pocket out, I should have lined it up. It looks like you are seeing double on the back now!

I also installed a magnetic snap closure on this bag, just as a precaution.

This is hard to photograph, and my editing software seems to have disappeared during my last 'upgrade', but this is the quilted divider that I made inside so she can put her e-reader in there and have it protected from harm.

The other side of the divider is lined with pockets and features a key clip. I figured it would be good for hotel and rental apt keys while traveling. Or for your own keys so that you don't lose them in the bowels of the purse, the way we all do. I wasn't sure about the way the divider snaps itself against the back wall of the purse, but DiscoJen assures me that it's better that way because when she's not carrying her e-reader, it's out of the way and she can use the whole inside as her purse.

I also interfaced this one more than DiscoJen's, so it's less slouchy. I may have used different interfacing in DiscoJen's too. I'll have to check out her bag again and see if I can tell what I did differently. I should have taken better notes if I was going to alter a pattern so much. Ah well, lesson learned.

The book I made is from the Alfabeto Italiano Collezione by Micheal Miller Fabrics.  My sister is fluent in Italian, so I thought I should make it for her little guy so she can teach him Italian. I thought it would be good to travel with as well since it's soft and can be squished into a small bag. He's almost two years old now and we spent some time during our Father's Day dinner trying to get him to say 'Bonjour!' He just laughed at us.

 I put some batting in between, and sewed around the outside colored border and a quarter inch in from that to help hold the batting in place. Then I used a star/circley stitch on my sewing machine for the hole to put the ring through.

I only screwed up one, which was the very last one of course! I put the hole on the upper right side instead of the upper left, so now there's a superfluous hole in the 'Z'.

I made yet another 'Sweet Simple' bag by Late Bloomer. I really love this pattern. I can get them done quickly and it really showcases the fabric. This one is a chocolate bag for my sister's French friend, Natalie. She loves chocolate, and is really neutral in her clothing taste, so I was thrilled to find this 'Confections' chocolates fabric by Robert Kaufman.

I like the Moda dots for the gathered part, I think it looks like cream filling with chocolate on top!

Of course I lined it with pockets too. You can't have too many pockets. Ever.

That's all the projects from last week!

Happy Quilting,

Vicki

Quilting is a group sport.

I started this post 3 months ago and just got it finished. Pretty sad.
One of my projects over summer was a quilt challenge for the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild. We were to prepare a block and provide fat quarters of what we used in the block and then our blocks would be swapped with others.
I received the wonky house w/the number 5 in it's door, along with a Rural Jardin, white w/red polka dots, red w/white polka dots, some more numbers, and the newspaper Authentic print.

I must admit that I was totally confounded as to how to combine 1700's French reproduction fabric, newspaper print and red polka dots, but then that's the challenge part! Things like this really help you get the creativity flowing.
I started by slapping a Heather Ross gnome and mushrooms on it, but then didn't know where to go from there. I knew I wanted a garden and a tree, but that was it.

I worked on it at my lock in at Tammy Tadd's, and Dee, Michelle and Jennie all helped w/what else to put on it.  The clothes line was totally their idea. I thought the upper part needed something. I had quilted in a sun, but it wasn't very apparent. My friend Dori suggested a yoyo sun. That's my very first non-yoyo maker yoyo, which is why there's a button in the middle of it. If you don't like it, embellish it!

This is another of those Hemingway's cats things. Then the tree was too bare, so I found a piece of fabric I had w/a bird. Then the left was a little bare, so I added a Fairy Frost tire swing. The little quilt is 3d. I even quilted it. Someone asked me what the #5 was about, and I said I didn't really know, but then it occurred to me Harry Potter lived at #5 Privet Drive, so I decided to name it that.  However, I was mistaken, he lived at #4 Privet Drive, so I guess the gnome lives next to Harry Potter. Or would that be across the street?
I'm rather pleased with how it turned out.
I've also finished an Irish Chain quilt with the Anna Griffin Georgette Christmas line. I must say, this fabric challenges me. It's very subtle, and kind of mushy. I started w/the 'Peace' Irish Chain pattern by Late Bloomer Quilts. I got the blocks together and thought is was blah, w/a capital B.

Then I was brainstorming with my friends Ann and Bobbie at the store one day, and came up w/wool ornaments in the solid blocks.

Better, but not quite there yet. I took it to my quilt guild meeting and we decided it need a flange! Seriously, how did I not think of that? A flange makes everything better!

Then I took it to my guild retreat and it was still missing something. Then Carol said it, "How about another flange between the outer and middle border?" Eureka!!! A quilt designed by at least 10 people!

Then I quilted the snot out of it with metallic thread. I did the bows and ribbons on the ornament (Dori's idea) in silver, but you couldn't see them, so I requilted them in blue metallic. I used my no marking technique to quilt the designs in the ornaments. I used silver lame and fusible web for the tops of the ornaments. Tammy suggested 3D organza ribbons. I may do that after the holidays.

One Christmas quilt done! By the way, that teal flange is the Gees Bend fabric. Heed my warning, if you use that fabric, pretreat and prewash it! It runs like the dickens. I have a couple of spots to fix where it bled in my middle border. Boy was I not happy!

Bag central

It's been a productive couple of weeks, mostly thanks to my quilt guild retreat last weekend in Rockford.
I made yet another Late Bloomer Sweet Simple Tote for Ashley's birthday (which I gave to her that night, so I don't have a photo. I'll have to have her send one to me).
I love that pattern so much that I've been cranking them out. I love how beautifully it show cases larger print fabrics. I made two chocolate themed, a fantastic black/white/hot pink from the Michael Miller Dress Forms fabric and am in process of a purple glittery bag made from MM's Antiquity collection.

The inside pockets:

The inside w/pockets

 

I also finished 2 king size and one regular pillow case from some of the Moda Chocolat wovens, which are amazing. If you have never had the chance to pet the Moda wovens, I recommend doing so immediately! They are sooooo soft and silky. I just love them. I have a really poofy pillow, and the cases I made fit them so very much better. I can actually get them on and off with out a major wrestling match with my pillows!

I also finished a Terry Atkinson Happy Holidays table centerpiecehttp://www.atkinsondesigns.com/patterns/ which seriously only took me a total of two evenings, start to finish! I used a combo of Anna Griffin's Georgette Christmas, MM Fairy frost and a random paisley that we had at Tammy Tadds.  I quilted it with holly leaves and berries in metallic thread. Since I can't draw, I just blow up the fabric motif on the copier then use my handy dandy non-marking technique to quilt it. It's a sample for the shop as well as a Christmas present for Mom!

I've also spent some time working on the look of the blog, what does everyone think?

Project Diversity

I was looking for applique info when I came across the Applique Today blog. She has a couple of very nice tutorials on needle turn applique. She also talked about a free online quilting magazine that I had to share with everyone! It's called Cotton Spice and you can download the magazine to your computer! So it's ecological as well. What more can you ask for?
I've been busy the last couple of weeks. I finished up my version of the Peace quilt by Late Bloomer that I made with LakeHouse fabrics. Binding Guru Karen is, well binding it for me. It was my first time making prairie points. They were pretty easy. This is an in progress picture.

I also made the Camille Bag by Penny Sturges out of the fabulous new Darla line by Tanya Whelan of Grand Revival. I have to tell you, I love this bag. I had never made pintucks before, but they were totally easy. And CUTE! I made it as a sample for Tammy Tadd Designs, but I love it so much I think I'll need to make myself another to use while it's on display! And as a side note, I'm eagerly anticipating Tanya's upcoming line French Hatbox. It's absolutely gorgeous. I think I need a cottage (quilting cottage that is) nestled in some rolling hills to decorate with all these fabulous vintagy florals that Tanya designs.


I also started an actual embroidery project this week! It's not great, but it's start. And I think it's totally fun! I used the China Town pattern by Sublime Stitchery. It's going to be a pocket on a grocery bag using the Chopsticks Please fabric by Kaufman. The takeout fabric will be the main panels and the fortune cookies are the sides and bottom. They make me smile.

I don't know, do you think my taste is diverse enough?

I would wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day, but I have a Valentine's Day Curse, bad things happen to me on or around Valentine's Day. I have a theory that if I pretend it doesn't exist, nothing bad will happen. In light of The Curse, I'll just wish everyone a Happy Saturday!