Super Tote Pattern by Noodlehead

I bought this fabric to make a bag to take with me to Quilt Market.  I knew I wanted some as soon as I saw those butterflies and it's even prettier in real life!  The question was, which bag to make?  I decided on trying this pattern after seeing so many cute versions online.  It's a brand new one called Super Tote and it's by Anna of Noodlehead.  It's a .pdf pattern too so no waiting when you want to start sewing after 8pm!  : )

The main fabric is a linen/cotton blend called Ghost Wing by Anna Maria Horner.  The dotty fabric on the side is an oldie but a goodie called County Fair by Denyse Schmidt.  You can still find it around online if you look for it.  I used Pellon SF101 on all of the exterior pieces as suggested in the pattern.

I forgot how long bags can take to make.  For some reason, they feel like a 1-2 hour project.  Not!  This one took me about six hours (with Mama/kid stuff inbetween). Maybe longer?  I started cutting and fusing last night and stitched all day today.  Normally this isn't a problem, but I've got packing to do!

LINKS:

Super Tote Pattern by Noodlehead

Field Study Linen by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit

County Fair by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit

Pellon SF101 Shape-Flex

Speaking of Quilt Market, I will be posting pictures onto Instgram and Facebook as I go.  You can find links on the top right hand side of the blog.

Sleeping Beauty Swoon Bag

I made this for my friend Colleen to use as a quilting project bag.  I don't know if the picture actually gives you a sense of the size... it's big!  Colleen loves patchwork, linen, and most especially Heather Ross fabric.  She's also a hand quilter and often brings a project to work on at our guild meeting/sew days.

To make this bag, I resized a Swoon block (pattern by Camille Roskelley) to fit the fussy cut sleeping beauty.  The outer fabric is a mix of Far, Far Away II by Heather Ross, Echino dots and natural linen.  It's lined with the faux patchwork print from Heather's most recent line, Nursery Versery. I used fusible batting to give it some structure and quilted along each of the seams.

I had so much fun making this and it was the perfect excuse to cut into my precious HR stash.  If anyone would love it as much as I do, it would be Colleen!  ; )

Zakka Style Sew Along: ZigZag Tote

Yay! I just finished up my Zigzag Tote from the book Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale. As you can see when it came to picking colors, I strayed from the natural linen example in the book. Robert Kaufman’s Essex Linen comes in so many beautiful colors and these were calling to me. Loudly. I used medium aqua, carrot, hot pink, grey and sunshine.



My bag making skills lie somewhere between novice and expert.  Intermediate maybe? I’ve got to say, the zigzag tote was hard for me.

For some reason, my patchwork piece came out bigger than it was supposed to and I ended up cutting off some of the triangles to make it fit. Sob! The lining was already cut, so I felt like I had to. Two sobs!


My finished bag is a lot more square shaped than the one in the book. I don’t know what I did wrong. Probably the cutting mentioned above. *ahem*


Eyeballing the triangles to line up was hit or miss.  Some rows turned out better than others. I wish I knew exactly where to measure and line them up properly. You can't tell from far away, but they are bothering me a teensy bit.


After I finished sewing the last stitch, I realized I sewed the front on upside down. D’oh. Oh well, the people at the library will never know it was supposed to go the other way. Shhh.  It will be our little secret.


I was inspired by Terri’s version to add some hand stitching. I wish mine looked a little less “my kid made this” and a little more “ooooh, nice”. I used Cosmo floss in yellow, hot pink and orange to coordinate with the front. It pops nicely off the gray linen doesn’t it?

My machine was not happy sewing through the bulk of the fusible fleece. The safety function on my sewing machine kept turning on when I was sewing down that last line of stitching along the top. I think it thought I was sewing through my finger or something. Eep!


Phew. It was a process and now that it’s done I like it.  A lot. The colors make me smile. The size is perfect for our trips to the library. Check out all the awesome zakka style projects in the flickr group. Lots of great looking totes in there! 

I hope to see you back next Monday when I share my Itty Bitty Quilt Block Magnets with you. : )


-A

Jane Market Bag

How was your weekend?!  Our three day weekend was spent...

Sewing and a Guild Meeting!!(Me)

House concert by Cindy Alexander.  Awesome!!

Arcade Day (the Boy)

Movie Night w/ Bambi II (the Girl)

Back, to back, to back episodes of Game of Thrones (the DH)

I love it when we each have time to do something we want to.  Most weekends we just can't fit it all in.  Two days is too short!

Fabric used: Damask, Sparrow and Woodgrain from Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2.

Peek-a-Boo Sparrow and Wood Grain handles.

What??  White out on the selvage?

I made two Jane Market Bags.  This is a great bag pattern!!  The lining, pockets and finished seams make for a very polished tote.  The pattern is well written and has lots of pictures for visual people (ME!).  I've made a few now and I find myself buying fabric with this bag in mind.  I love picking the contrasting sides and pockets.  For the handles I usually pick a dot or stripe.  This time I went with a wood grain print.  Ohlala!  Unlike the original bag, I attached the handles in between the inner and outer layers.

My friend Jaye has been making several of these and bringing them for Show & Tell at the guild meetings.  She is the bag making Queen!!  : )

LINKS:

1. Jane Market Bag Pattern by Alicia Paulson of Rosy Little Things
2. Alicia's Jane Market Bag Debut Post from April '09
3. One of my all time favorite versions by Christina of The Sometimes Crafter
4. Add fusible fleece like Jessica at Twin Fibers and it will stand on it's own!!
5. Jane Market Bag Flickr Group... all Jane bags... all the time!!