Elm Street Quilts - Drawstring Backpack Tutorial

This is a very fun and lightweight drawstring backpack with a twist - a hidden pocket in the side seam to keep your phone and wallet extra secure!  You can find the Drawstring Backpack tutorial as part of Elm Street Quilts Bag It series.

While your visiting make sure you take the time to enjoy all the other bag tutorials.  Make bags and share for a chance to win great prizes from the sponsors!



Happy Stitching!

Elm Street Quilts Bag It - Game Piece Bag tutorial

Get ready for family game night and make your own Game Piece bag with the fun tutorial as part of Elm Street Quilts Bag It.

While you're visiting, check out the other bag tutorials.  Make sure you make and share bags to earn entries into the wonderful giveaways!


Happy Stitching!

Elm Street Quilts Bag It - Sew Travel Bag Tutorial

Enjoy this great tutorial for a Sew Travel Bag as part of Elm Street Quilts Bag It.

While you're there, enjoy many other great bag tutorials.  Make and share a bag for a chance in the giveaways from the awesome sponsors!


Happy Stitching!

Elm Street Quilts Bag It - Lunch Sack tutorial

Check out the tutorial for a fun Lunch Sack on my Elm Street Quilts blog!

While you're there, make sure you see the other bag tutorials.  Make and share bags and earn a chance to win great prizes!

Happy Stitching!

Elm Street Quilts Bag It - Purse Pack tutorial

Visit Elm Street Quilts to see the tutorial for this super fun and easy Purse Pack as park of Elm Street Quilts Bag It.

While you're there, make sure you see the other bag tutorials.  Make and share bags and earn a chance to win great prizes!

Happy Stitching!

Mini bags

I used a mini charm pack for each of these bags.  24 squares in total for the bag, plus 2 for the handle and another 2 for the zipper tabs. I also used 2 layers of fusible batting.   To assemble, I used instructions from this tutorial and boxed my corners at 1 1/4".   I've made a bunch of these bags at different sizes - they are a lot of fun.  

They each finished at (roughly) 5" by 3" by 3".  The one of the left is a Fig Tree line and the right is Bonnie & Camille.

Happy Stitching!

More bags!

A few more bags to share that were made over the holidays.

These first three were gifted -

I actually made a second Downton Abbey one and gifted it to me!!

Then, one more boxy bag - this time to help store camera accessories.  I just love making these bags - as long as I do the boring straight line quilting ahead of time!  I also get the zippers ready to go so the final assembly speeds together.

I made of mosaic of most of the bags / boxes I made in 2014 - there sure were a lot of them!  This inventoried to 9 boxy bags, 5 small zip bags, 9 Pretty Trash Bags and a couple of ipad covers!

Happy Stitching!

Handmade holiday gifts

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas day!  Ours was really nice.  Started with brunch at 11 and the day finished with this yummy yule log my daughter made.

In between there were presents, plenty of cooking, a walk in a beautiful sunny afternoon and a settle down on the couch for the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

It was nice to have a family Christmas with all three kids at the house.  Plenty of laughs and hugs.

With the planning and wrapping all done and behind us, I wanted to share some of my handmade gifts.

I did several boxy bags (tutorial here) - one for my mom and one for my sister-in-law

Plus one each for the men in my house - husband is a runner and my son a math geek (his fabric is Elementary line).  (These were made from start to finish on Christmas eve.)

Each of my sister's got one of my Pretty Trash Bags - pattern in my Craftsy shop.

I also made one for my Dad - this fabric is from Spoonflower and created by taking a photo of his VW bug and some photo shop magic from my daughter.

Have a great day!


Happy Stitching!

Downton Abbey zip bag

Downton Abbey fans?

This comic was published back in February around the Superbowl.  Been saving it!



My mom requested a small zip bag for a friend.   Still have some of my fabric left.

Happy Stitching!

Downton Abbey

I just love Downton Abbey and can't wait for the start of the next season.   Last December, I bought a yard of Downton Abbey fabric and it has been sitting on my shelf awaiting a project.  

I have been reluctant to cut into the fabric - silly, I know - but I finally did cut off a LOF strip wide enough to get several complete fussy cuts of the house.   I used that to make a small zip bag - 7 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.  First picture is of the back of the bag - the house in all its glory.

The front of the bag is actually a sheet of plastic so you can actually see what is in the bag.   There is essentially half of a lining so you can see the house through the 'window'.

Perfect size for sewing supplies!

I designed this pattern as I went.  Framing the plastic on the front with strips worked really well.

As much as I wanted to keep this on for myself, I sent this fun bag off to my mom as a belated Happy Mother's Day!

Have you been following along with the American Made Brand blog tour to celebrate the launch of a new line of solids - farm to fabric all grown and made in the USA.   I was selected as the blogger to represent North Carolina can't wait to share my interpretation of a state license plate on Monday, May 26. The full tour list can be found here.  There are 2 states per day and there are fat quarter bundle giveaways at each stop.  

Happy Stitching!

Blue Boxy Bags

These boxy bags are very addicting!   I had so much fun making my first that I made two more!

First, from a fat quarter in my stash is this pretty blue dot with a bright orange zipper.   

Inside I used some French text fabric.  We've a French exchange student staying with in a few weeks and I wanted her to feel at home.  (Her favorite colors are blue and orange.)

I also made one for my daughter.  Same blue color scheme and she got the Eifel Tower fabric.  My daughter will go on her own exchange trip to France in May.

There are more of these in my future!  The tutorial was here on Pinkxstitches blog.

Happy Stitching!

Boxy bag

The fabric is Sweetwater Hometown.  I lined it with blue solid.

I flipped it right side out before boxing the corners.  Looks like an interesting shape that way.

The tutorial was here on Pinkxstitches blog.  I did forget to leave a seam open in the bottom of the lining for turning.  Easy to fix but for a bit there I was thinking there was some kind of magic in the pattern on how this would get right side out!

A definite fun bag to make and there are more of these in my future - assembly line style!

Happy Stitching!

Keeping me organized!

I recently started using an open bag - instead of a zipped briefcase - to carry my stuff to and from work.  Everything fits really well but I decided I really needed a bag to keep all those small items contained and to prevent these items from falling out if the case tipped over.

The bag finished 9 by 12 inches.  I used fabric from Moda Tapestry and had fun making FMQ feathers.

I backed the FMQ with a orange solid that I purchased but didn't like.  It shows up my feather really well - too bad it gets hidden away by the lining!  (smile!)

All contained and ready to go!

This was a quick project Friday night.  I loved having a project start and finish in an evening!

Happy Stitching!

Kindle Cover

I love to read and find that 30 mins with a good book is a great way to end a day.  I love my public library and usually have a stack of books in my "to read" pile.   Carrying a stack of books while traveling isn't so much fun, however, so I broke down and bought me a Kindle.  I've used it for just a few days so far and I LOVE it.

So I made my new toy a new home.  This fabric is from a Sweetwater line Reunion (I think).  I did a basic envelope fold with velcro using two layers of batting. 

I love that the kindle will fit in my purse!

I have loved to read forever and still remember how I devored the Nancy Drew series when I was young.  So I am excited that the Nancy Drew Is the Clue blog hop starts today!

 The full schedule for all the other sleuths can be found here on Carol's blog Just Let Me Quilt.   Thanks for Mdmn Samm and Carol for organizing a fun hop!

My day is tomorrow - a (very unhelpful) clue of my project is below.

Now pick up your magnifying glass and go visit today's sleuths!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 

Michelle’s Romantic Tangle

Life in the Scrapatch

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Selina Quilts

Meadowbrook

Hilltop House Creative Works

My Sister Made Me Do It

Whims and Fancies

Pieced Brain

Just Let Me Quilt

Happy Stitching!

FNSI: Happy iPad

It is a cold and rainy Saturday morning here in NC but my iPad has a nice warm and cozy new home.  This type of bag assembles quite quickly - made this last night during FNSI.

I still need to attach the 2nd piece of velcro.  You'll see I made a little pocket for my stylus to also travel in style.





The Dr Who TARDIS fabric is from Spoonflower.  The lining is a gray flannel.  I used 2 layers of batting to give it extra thickness.

Hope the weather is nice and sunny and warm for you!  Me, I'm building an ark.

Happy Stitching!

TARDIS

My youngest daughter (14 years old) enjoys science fiction and keeps herself busy with dance classes in ballet, jazz and tap.  She does many, many things well except maybe one tiny little thing - a very small thing actually - she can't ever find anything including where she left those various dance shoes each week!

For her 14th birthday in August, I handed her a yard of fabric with an IOU for a  bag that combines two of the things she enjoys most - dance and Dr Who.

See how the shoes fit nicely inside with room for even a book - she always has one at her side.

This bag is completely my own design and finished 17" by 12" by 3".  I added handles on the side and a long shoulder strap.

I started with fabric I ordered from Spoonflower - Dr Who fans will recognize the TARDIS!

(BTW, this is her favorite Doctor.  And for those that don't watch - the TARDIS is a time traveling machine disguised as a Police Box.)

I did straight line quilting. Before I assembled the bag, I made a pocket pouch and then sewed it to the inside - sewing straight across on a quilt line at the top and bottom.  This leaves the pocket very accessible but it isn't flapping away inside.

The top zipper sites nicely inside a casing - my favorite way to do zippers with quilted bags.

My DD loves the bag and no more last minute scramble to find her shoes for class!

A few weeks ago I blogged about the pouch I made for my DH for his Nexus - he saw the fabric I had on my sewing space and asked for a pouch made from that fabric.  This is a first - my DH making a fabric selection!  Clearly he has good taste!

Linking up this finish at Such a Sew and Sew.

Happy Stitching!

Happy Birthday to my DH!

My DH treated himself recently to a Nexus 7 tablet that needed a new home.

I whipped this up to keep it nice and safe.

It looks nice and happy!

I used 2 layers of iron-on batting to give it some extra cushion.  Simple line quilting.

The fabric is a print I ordered from Spoonflower - Dr Who fans will recognize the TARDIS! His favorite color is orange so the inside was an easy fabric choice.

Happy Birthday DH!!!

I want to thank everyone for the WONDERFUL comments I received on my posting Tuesday and my entry in the Dots on Dots blog tour.  Everyone was so sweet and I was thrilled to see Mdm Samm had selected my mini Quilt on Quilt, Dots on Dots as the Honorable Mention for the day!!

And don't forget today's entries in dots on dots blog tour.

Cherry's Prairie Primitives

Quilts From My Crayon Box  

Sparrow in Flight 

The Slow Quilter
Petit Design Co. 

Geta Grama

Quilted Delights

Di of Snippets 'n' Scraps

Nunu's Quilt World

Linking up my finish at Such a Sew and Sew.

Happy Stitching!