The last one

This will be the last bag for awhile. I made all the adjustments and I'm 90% happy with it, I'd change just one thing. This is the front of the sewing case.

The back.



I went a bit over the top but I like that sort of excess sometimes. The ribbon on the handle is a favourite part, it's very girlie.

 I wanted to make the lid sit right back so that one could work out of the bag without having to open the lid each time something was needed out of it.

 Another change was the pocket in the lid which is now a zippered one so that stuff doesn't fall out.

I'm back to quilty things now that I'm all bagged out for awhile, it was nice to have some finishes for a change.

I hope all our friends that copped Hurricane Irene are safe and well and not too many are doing without power. My thoughts are with you.

Janet

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

I've always believed that quilting is such a diverse art form that there was something for everyone that wanted to quilt. It's truer today than it was when I started quilting in the early nineties.

It's been exciting to be a quilter in these times and to have more fabric, more tools and techniques available.

The Modern Quilt Guild seems to be filling a gap for another group of quilters and that movement is spreading around the world.

Claire and Suzanne have decided to start a Sydney chapter which you can read all about on their blog and fill out a form to register your interest over here.

 ;

I'm not going to attempt to try and define what modern quilting is about, I think some others have defined it pretty well. I did read a good article in the August/September issue of the Quilters Newsletter and there is much to be read on the Modern Quilt Guild Blog.

I'm having a bagathon

I'm stuck in some sort of twilight zone where only sewing bags exist. I've turned into some sort of  bag maniac as I try variations on the same theme.

I'm still playing around with fine tuning to get the sewing case just the way I want it. This isn't it.

I thought I'd make it 10" x 8" to fit patchwork units but the downside is that I want to work with a 24" zip and it's just not working for me.

I had to bring the back gusset around the sides and that means that the lid won't open back nicely.

The pocket is not going to keep anything too secure being so wide and don't like the top lip above the zip.

I can fix all that by making a zippered pocket, doing away with that top lip on the lid and reducing the size of the bag to 10" x 7" not great for traditional patchwork blocks but I'll have to work around that.

After mulling it over for the last few days, my brain started to dry up and I was told working it that hard was like going for a five kilometer run, it gets tired.

I was browsing around for ideas on the Internet (as you do) and came across some pouches on etsy. I'm a bit scared I might get  a slap over the hand for being a copycat. I found some "oh so cute you could puke" (inside joke with DD) appliques using felts that I could incorporate on the bags.

Adorable! I drew the one below for the back.  The little girl is having a lovely time with her Panda outfit and her special friend in the spring sunshine.

If friend Chris O likes it, I'll be sending this one to her.

I've been such a bad blogger and very slack in visiting my friends. I've been involved with family so I know you'll relate to that and understand.

Until next time, Janet

Q.A.D.D.

Every so often I have a recurrence of this condition called Quilters Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is what it looks like when I'm in the throes of the affliction.

Fusing a fabric collage and attempting to  channel Laura Wasilowski.

English paper piecing

Hand piecing.

Embellishing with embroidery.

Needle turn applique, last block!

Hand quilting.

All fueled by an unhealthy dose of "death by chocolate", aka hubby's birthday cake.

In my defense, variety is the spice of life!
Happy stitching, in whatever form it is.
Janet

Winner and more bags

I used my alternate random generator this time to pick a winner for the little bag below. I asked David to pick a number randomly out of his head and he came up with #28.

So confetti falling on your head Chookyblue, because that happens to be you. Congratulations, send me your snail mail address and it'll be in the mail tomorrow along with extra goodies in the bag.

Thank you sooo much everyone for all the wonderful comments and helping me to celebrate. The only downside of giveaways is that there can only be one winner.

The bag bug hit me bad after making that one so I decided to make some time to play around with some variations of a sewing case. I made this one for my daughter using the sewing box tutorial listed on this page.I have made it before but decided to add some interfacing to give it more stability which in turn made it much harder to sew. There was some unpicking and teeth grinding going on.

I used a hair tie for the loop and a vintage shank button for the inside pocket. I loved using these colours which were perfectly funky.

The other bag I made from a Japanese linen I picked up in New Zealand on my last trip but it was looking a little bland so I added the polka dot to the handles and ..................................

 some stitchery to the sides in perle cotton.

I drew up my own pattern for this one but used the same lining technique as the giveaway bag. What I didn't like was hand sewing in the lining pieces and the depth inside could have been bigger.

I haven't finished yet, I think I'll make up another bag pattern using several different techniques to get a good shape and a lining and zip that's easier to put in.

Stay tuned, Janet

I'm celebrating

When I started blogging, I had no idea how it would affect my life or my sewing ventures. I didn't know who would find me and if they did, whether they would be interested in what I got up to with my needle and thread.

Fast forward to now and I have lots of bloggy friends that feel like pen friends, I've even met some of you in person. Most of all I didn't realise how much inspiration, sharing and generosity of spirit there was to be had in blog land.

I remember Julia visiting my blog in the early days and asking me where my follower button was so she could come back to visit. I didn't know about followers but put the link up on my side bar anyway and I've been watching the number climb until it hit over 1,000.

Well, hooley dooley I have to celebrate that biggie so I whipped up a little something to giveaway to one of you.

This sewing case is from Annie Downs book "Some Kind Of Wonderful" I made it from linen and scraps of my favourite colour, here's the front view.

The back view. I had fun doing some random stitching as you can tell.

And the inside lining is in another favourite fabric. I had some trouble putting in the lining piece at the inside back of the bag. I used peltex as a firm stabiliser instead of template plastic as the support, it was much easier. I'll also add a couple of little surprises to put inside the bag for the winner.

Leave me a comment and I'll draw the winner next Sunday morning Australian time. Make sure you have your email address in your profile or leave it for me otherwise you can't be included as I won't be able to contact you. I won't reply to comments this time or I could end up living on the computer.

Thanks for visiting, Janet