What's up Wednesday!

Back to school sewing:  Me edition (just a little zip pouch to hold my phone and keys while carrying the baby in a carrier back and forth to the girls' school.)

Granny Square Sampler Along:  figuring out how to join all the squares together (similar to improv quilting!) 

(thinking I should have this done by New Year's - 2017!)

What else to do when you don't have a working sewing machine?  Why, crochet some hats - for everyone you know - of course!  I forgot how much I enjoy small crochet projects like this.

I should have a sewing machine by next week but for now I have no progress to report on any of my WIPs.

If you are looking for the giveaway from Christa Quilts or information about the blog hop, click here.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday and TGIFF.

What I'm Working On Wednesday: Back to School 2

Five more days until school starts and we are about half way done with our sewing list.

New this week - my oldest made this pencil case:

Ms. Middle Daughter and I finished her messenger bag:

She has a plan for that requested gray patch in the middle but she hasn't told me what it is yet!

We added lots of pockets to this one as well:

Other projects I/we have been working on:

And I also have been wanting to show you this:

I tested this cute pattern for Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade.  Click here to see all her patterns and to visit her etsy shop.

Linking to WIP Wednesday and TGIFF.

Paper Pieced Snack Bag

At the beginning of July, I wrote that one of my quilting plans for the month was to finally try paper piecing.  Bethany from Make Me a Quilt commented on my post that she was interested in trying it as well and we decided to make a pact!  Less than a week later, we both had paper pieced our first block!  

A few weeks later and a few paper pieced projects later, I was talking to Kristy who was organizing this paper piecing blog hop and I was very excited to join in on the fun (clearly, I'm a fan of blog hops!)  Actually, Kristy's tutorial for the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop was about paper piecing - that post plus seeing all the fun blocks she has created also inspired me to try it!

As I wrote last week, my daughters and I are in the midst of crazy back to school sewing.  One of the items on their list was a snack bag and so my middle daughter and I searched the web to find a fun paper pieced pattern to use.  One of the first we came upon was this juice glass block on Sew Mama Sew from Ayumi of Pink Penguin.  My daughter loved this block and wanted to use it (even though she never even brings juice with her snack!?!)  I also decided to add in the companion sprout block by Penny of sewtakeahike.  

For the reverse side, I really wanted to paper piece the word "snack."  I looked around the web for a pattern to use but since I needed a specific size, I decided to try to make my own.  I'm happy I tried it - it actually wasn't nearly as complicated as I had thought and I was able to make the letters the exact size I wanted them.  Once the girls are back to school, I'll write something up about how I made the letters but for now here is a pic:

The "S" needs some work and I didn't intend for the "C" to be so much larger than the rest of the letters but overall I'm happy with it.  And, more importantly, the recipient LOVES it!

To make the snack bag, I basically followed the same process I use for my quilted totes which you can find here.  But I wanted to make the opening a little smaller so after I was finished with the bag, I sewed up the top between the sides and the handles.  Oh, and can you tell that purple was a requested color???  Unfortunately, I didn't have any purple thread but I did have a very pretty blue Aurifil that I used for quilting the snack side.

The girls usually just make a knot with the handles to close the middle opening so I just left it like that.

There have been lots of great posts along the Practically Paper Pieced Blog Hop - I very much recommend visiting some or all!  The hop runs for the month of August and culminates with a link party from August 29-31 with lots of great prizes.  Visit Kristy's blog for all the information.  And here is this week's schedule:

20 Fiona from Finding Fifth  

21 Beth from Plum and June

22 Megan from Jaffa quilts

23 Juliet from Tartan Kiwi

24 Katy from The Littlest Thistle

25 Sat Tracey from the Peony Teacup

And if you are also a fan of blog hops OR if you are a new blogger OR if you like fabric giveaways, click here for more information on all of that (and a current giveaway!)

WIP Wednesday - getting ready for school!

Confession:  I have made absolutely no progress on any of the QALs.  Not even fabric selections.  I have been on the Flickr pages looking at how everyone else is doing so that counts, right?

But I have a good reason - we just got back from our summer visit/vacation and there are only two weeks left until school starts so the girls wanted to get right to it and gave me a list of everything they want to sew (with me) for school:

1.  They each want a messenger bag.  We finished the first one yesterday - this one has lots of pockets (including two zippered) and a custom flap drawn with fabric markers by my daughter.  We made up the pattern as we went along - when I make one with my other daughter, I'll take pictures of the process to post.

2.  Pencil cases - waiting for the zippers we ordered

3.  I can't tell you what the 3rd project is because I am using it for my stop on Kristy's Practically Paper Piecing Blog Hop .  My date is August 21st but I'll share a peek since we finished it a few minutes ago (yes, minutes - and I'm trying to get this post written before the baby wakes up from her nap!)

For this project, I had been on the lookout for foundation pieced letters but decided to try to make my own instead using paper and a pencil.  It really wasn't nearly as complicated as I would have imagined and it was great because I was able to make them the size I wanted.  I'll definitely be trying this again!

Their list also included lunch boxes, water bottle holders, journal covers, and new dresses!  Um, yeah - probably not going to happen!

And even though I haven't started on any of the QALs yet, they all look like a lot of fun and are being organized by super cool bloggers so you should check them out.  By the way, have I mentioned that I've never joined a QAL before so just decided to start by joining 4?!?  I think I'll be spacing these out throughout the next year - well, until another one of you decides to organize one!!!  

Vintage Holiday QAL at Fabric Mutt 
Totally Groovy QAL at Pile O' Fabric
How Far Will You Go QAL at The Elven Garden 
Sew Intertwined QAL at Sew Bittersweet Designs

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday which is being hosted by Cindy from Live a Colorful Life today and to TGIFF which is being hosted by Nicole from Mama Love Quilts on Friday.

Quilted Tote Tutorial and Fresh Sewing

I'm excited to let you all know that my tutorial on how I make my quilted tote bag is up today at Sew Mama Sew.  

I'm also working on a tutorial for a variation on the bag using a quilted pocket.  I'm going to try to get the tutorial written this weekend and I'll post it on my blog as soon as I do.

As for what I've been sewing during July:

I finally tried foundation paper piecing and love it!  Now I have to figure out what to do with these blocks.

I made more bags and pouches.

I finished a baby quilt for my littlest,  a quick picnic blanket for the whole family, and I just finished hand-quilting the quilt for my oldest.  My middle daughter and I have picked out the fabrics for her quilt  - we plan to make it together and hopefully, finish before school begins at the end of the month.

I'm excited to link up to Lily's Quilts for the July Fresh Sewing Day and see what everyone else has been up to for the month.

Wednesday - WIP and Wrap Up

What I'm working on and what I've recently finished:

Inspired by all the picnic blankets I've been seeing around like Svetlana's and Rachel's, I cut out 10 inch squares from most of the fabrics in my stash and used an old sheet for the backing and straps.  I had a good number of novelty fabrics that I added in so that I can use it for I spy when the baby gets a bit older and we are watching her sisters play soccer.

A little front zip pouch for me!  (I left off the straps but I basically used this technique again.)

Another one of Jeni's drawstring bags - this time big enough to fit several baby toys.

Getting ready for a hand-stitched hexagon project!

Testing a fun embroidery pattern for a blog friend - I'll be showing the finish later this month.  I'm also working very slowly on my needlepoint project every so often.



My school rules mini quilt was the featured tutorial on Sew Can She last Friday.  Caroline has links to lots of wonderful tutorials - if you are looking for some inspiration, you should check out her website.

And last, but so definitely not least - Kristy from Quiet Play has organized a great paper piecing blog hop (isn't that the cutest button?!?)  It starts tomorrow and my day is August 21st.  And it all culminates in a link party with some fab prizes.  Click here to find this week's schedule.

Debbie at A Quilter's Table started this fun link up at the beginning of July and all month, I've been telling her that I have this picnic blanket in the works that I'm going to add - well, it ends at midnight tonight so I am just in time!

I'm also linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

TGIFF and A "Precious" Front Zip Pouch

Wow - is it Friday already?  Okay, I'm actually writing this on Thursday night but seriously, I feel like I was just putting up the Monday Link Up and telling you all to come back to link up your finishes!
If you are new to TGIFF, it stands for Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday and it is a link party organized by M-R of Quilt Matters (who is participating in the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop) and Laura of Quokka Quilts.  M-R and Laura host on certain Fridays but the link party is hosted by other bloggers the rest of the month - if you are interested in hosting, click here for more information.
The hosting rules dictate that the host first show his/her finishes:

When I first started blogging, I rarely had any WIPs - I would just finish each project before starting a new one.  However, since becoming involved in this quilting/sewing blog-o-sphere, I've been trying so many new and challenging things and have gone from mainly making mini's and simple totes to larger, more complicated (at least for me) projects including quilts, bags, clothing, and pillow covers.  And why am I writing this?  Well, because now my WIP posts are getting longer and my finishes posts are getting well, you know . . .  


So, I was hoping I would have finished one of the WIPs I wrote about here but I just got further along on those projects - not actually finished.   Especially the picnic blanket - it is huge!  And I've been searching through the old, damaged sheets my daughters use to build forts to see if I can salvage enough material for the backing.  

But I do have a few bags to show that I've finished recently but haven't blogged about yet.  The top two are more versions of the quilted totes I love to make (the tutorial really is coming soon - more on that later!)


This last one was requested by my middle daughter - she searched through my fabric box and brought me a pile of fabrics and the cool rainbow strap.  It has been so long since I made one of these front-zip shoulder bags that I actually had to keep referring back to the tutorial I wrote a few months ago (much to my daughter's amusement!)  I made this one a bit bigger to fit a book and I boxed the bottom.  And not only did we use my Melody Miller typewriters and some Echino for this bag, I used the last of my precious Mendocino fabric (I have about a 8x4" piece left) so I'm linking this up at Kelby Sews for the My Precious QAL.  

Oh, and see that little bit of fabric on the strap? Lesson learned - if you let your 7 year old measure the strap for you, make sure you measure it again yourself BEFORE you finish the entire bag!  

Click here to enter this week's awesome fabric giveaway and to read a great advice post from Kerry of veryberrykerry.   And if you are new to my blog and want more information about the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop and all the accompanying series, click here.

Now it is your turn to show us your finishes! 

Contrast Zip Pockets for Bags Tutorial

I really like having a zippered pocket in my bags to keep "valuable" items like my wallet, keys, and phone easily accessible.  I thought it would be fun to add the pocket as a design element as well as a practical one.  This method can be used to add the pocket to the inside or outside of the tote (I'll write a tutorial for my patchwork totes next.) 

I'll include my measurements but this tutorial is easily adaptable to your preferred size.

Supplies:

You'll need 4 pieces of 10x10" fabrics.  You can use 4 of the same, 4 different, 2 of each, or any other combination of fabrics.  From these fabrics, decide which piece you want for the front of the pocket (A), the lining of the fabric (B) and (C), and the back of the pocket (D) which will be visible as a second lining.

1 zipper*  

Let's get started:

Take fabrics A and B and cut a 2 x 10" strip off the top of each and place aside for later. 

Place fabric A right side up on your table.  Take your zipper and place it right side down on top of the fabric.  Place fabric B right side down on top of the zipper.  

Using your zipper foot, stitch along the top of the zipper.  I like to place my zipper a little beneath the top edge of the fabrics (as shown above) - this way I know I'm catching both pieces of fabric in my stitches when using the zipper teeth as a guide for where to sew.

Flip both fabrics so that the right sides are facing out, pull the fabrics taut, and top stitch (when I'm making a pocket for the outside of a bag, I like to use a contrasting thread here.) 

 Place the small piece of Fabric A right side up, the zipper (already attached to the fabrics) right side down, and the small piece of Fabric B right side down on top of that.  

Repeat the last two steps above.

Take fabric C and place it right side down, then place fabric D right side up, then take the fabric with the zip already attached and place it right side down (so fabric A is facing down.)

Starting in the upper right corner (as shown below), stitch around three sides using 1/4" seam (or as I did for this bag, using a 1/2 seam and then trimming to 1/4").

At this point, you need to open the zipper halfway - I'll repeat that because it is very important - open the zipper halfway!  Then finish stitching all the way to where you started.   Clip the four corners but don't clip your stitches.

Using the zipper opening, turn the bag right side out.  Stitch across the top of the bag about 3/8"- 1/2" down from the top.  This will depend on your seam from the previous step.  The reason for this line of stitching is to enclose the raw edges on the inside of the bag so try to feel where the raw edges end and stitch right below there.

Decide whether you want your pocket on the inside or outside of the bag.  For this tutorial, I attached the pocket to the lining.  Place the pocket where you want it and starting and ending just under the zipper, stitch around the three sides as shown.

You can either make a needle down turn at the corners (as in the blue stripe pocket) or reinforce by going past the pocket (onto the lining, cut your thread, and then turn your fabric and start the next line of stitches from the lining (as shown on the green pocket.) 

Stitch down a bit on the diagonal on either side on top of the zippers using either method shown above. And that's it.  You have a contrasting zip pocket for your bag with an extra pocket behind it - so, basically, a double pocket.  

If you don't want the double pocket, just attach all four sides to the bag.  And to save a piece of fabric, just eliminate fabric D but you can keep everything else the same.

*Okay, let's talk zippers.  I have figured out a few tricks by trial and error - though, installing zippers is still definitely a work-in-progress for me.  So, um, you know, use my techniques at your own (and your stash's) risk!  Oh, and keep your needle away from those metal parts.  But I would LOVE to know your zipper tips - let me know in the comments!