Go Anywhere Bag

A lovely friend has just returned to Indonesia after a year away. As it was her birthday a few days ago I decided to ask her what she would like me to make for her as a gift. Thankfully she didn't choose a King-sized quilt! She asked for a tote bag. Simple right? I think it is just my state of mind at the moment, but I could not decide on a design or pattern. Half the problem is that most bags require some sort of interfacing, and that is not readily available here. So I have to check whether I have in my stash what the pattern requires, or whether I can improvise.

I finally decided on Noodlehead Designs 'Go Anywhere Bag'. Not your usual tote shape, but a large bag with lots of pockets, and not too complicated (I had seriously run out of time by this stage!). I chose some Dena designs linen blend fabric for the front and back pockets, and an open weave linen/cotton blend for the main section of the bag. I used a heavier weight interfacing for the pockets, and a medium weight interfacing for the main section (heavier weight would have been better for this but I had run out!). I skipped the magnetic snaps and just used some velcro on the large back pocket and left the main section of the bag open.

Once all the pieces had been cut and interfaced, this bag came together really quickly, and the pattern was very easy to follow. I love the polka dots I used for the lining, and even remembered to add my label to the inside pocket!

 

 The main thing I will watch out for next time round is to get the back and front pockets lined up better, but it is hardly noticeable, and my friend was really happy with it.

Linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Friday.

Scraptastic!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote myself a list of all the sewing that I wanted to get done in the next few weeks. What a bad idea! I felt completely overwhelmed and didn't know where to start!

I knew I wanted to sit down at my sewing machine though and just sew, so I pulled out my bundle of small scraps and strings that I had been collecting. 

I also pulled out my copy of 'Sunday Morning Quilts' to get some ideas for how to sew these together, and then I started sewing. 

At first I thought I would make this into a pillow/cushion for a friends birthday, but I love these scraps - they remind me of different projects I have worked on and different blogging/instagram friends who have sent them to me. I think I might keep going, making a range of different types of blocks and put them together into a lap quilt for me. What do you think?

Linking up with 

Holiday hand stitching

With summer holidays happening around here there hasn't been much time for sewing. 

But I have been working (very slowly it has to be said) on some hand piecing, which I have really been enjoying. There is something incredibly relaxing about tracing templates, cutting out the fabric with scissors and then hand sewing it together.

And partial seams are a whole lot simpler this way! 

The pattern I have been working on is found in Jen Kingwell's book 'Quilt Lovely' and is called 'Glitter'.  The fabric is Jen Kingwell's 'Gardenvale' collection. I was very lucky to win a layer cake of this from Rachael at Blue Mountain Daisy (if you haven't read her blog you really must - she is one of the most creative bloggers I know).

I am not sure how many of these blocks I will make, but my plan is to keep going over the next few months, maybe mixing them up with some other hand pieced blocks from the same book, and see where I get to. I will probably need to add in some other fabrics at some stage too. It is so nice to be working on a project without feeling under any pressure to get it finished. 

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