Big day tomorrow!

As I mentioned in my very first post, I am part of an informal quilting group with some women I work with at Penn State.  Since last February, we've been working on a monthly block swap.  At the start of the swap, we put together a bag filled with several different fabrics.  Every month, each person receives a different person's bag and makes a 12" block using the fabric and whatever design she chooses.  Well, tomorrow is the big day in which we get our bags back.  I cannot wait! 

When this quilting group started, I must admit that I didn't want to do it.  I felt intimidated by the expert quilters and also felt rusty, as I had not quilted in years.  Well, in the past year since starting this swap, I have created my first quilt top, created numerous handbags (and zipper pouches!), and am working on Block 9 of my Kate Spain 12 Days of Christmas Block-of-the Month program.  And, of course, I bought my wonderful Bernina Aurora to replace my 10-year old inexpensive Singer, an investment that has really paid off.

I can't wait to see the beautiful quilts revealed tomorrow.  I will take a lot of pictures and share these on the blog.  In the meantime, I'm posting two of the blocks that I created for my fellow quilters' blocks.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't take a picture of all twelve that I made.  But at least I took pictures of the last couple!

This is a picture of my first attempt at pinwheels.  I am considering an all-pinwheel quilt for my next project.

The square above was inspired by Jen's recent post (at Miss Punkie Pie ) on the layer cake blocks.  I really liked her selection of fabrics and found the pattern at Moose on the Porch Quilts' "Layer Cake Quilt Along."  I did make a slight change to the order of the fabric in the squares with the rectangles.  I'd like to say it was intentional, but really, I just made a mistake and thought it looked pretty even if it doesn't exactly follow the pattern.  I'm curious to see if the recipient will like it! 

Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun...

Gussets and Zippers...Ugh...

I've been working diligently on my 6 (yes, 6!!!) Origami Bags from Amy Butler's Style Stitches book.  I guess I would say they're coming along.  Here's the fabric that I've been using:

And another one just because the fabric is so pretty:

I really like dandelions, so this fabric really called to me.  It was purchased quite inexpensively from Fabric.com.  I bought the lining fabric a little later, so it didn't make it into my picture.  It's pink with white polka dots. 

Anyhow, on this soul-searching Amy Butler purse journey, I've found that I've learned quite a bit about myself and my sewing likes and dislikes. 

I really enjoy the following:

• Making handles
• Top-stitching
• The big "reveal"

I do not like the following:

• Having to try to open a zipper when a bag is inside out as I missed the step where it says, "Leave the zipper half-way open in order to turn the bag right-side out. 
• Sewing gussets.  Before this experience.  I didn't even know what a gusset was.
• Sewing gussets on 6 bags because I am crazy enough to sew 6 bags at once.  (That includes 12 gussets on the exterior fabric and 12 on the lining for a grand total of 24 gussets!!!!  Ugh!)
• Having the use the seam ripper on 6 different bags because I sewed the tab onto both the exterior fabric and the lining, instead of just to the exterior (once again, as indicated in the instructions).
• Sewing gussets.  Really.  They're not a favorite of mine. 

So, my 6 bags are almost complete.  I have 5 done, with the 6th in progress.  They're coming out rather nice, in spite of my difficulties listed above.  I will say, zipper pouches are not the most exciting thing I've created.  I think I like sewing bags a bit more. 

Will post pictures soon!

Reversible Shopper - FINISHED!

I made it my goal to finish the Reversible Shopper from Amy Butler's Style Stitches this weekend.  I had already cut the fabric last weekend and ironed the fusible interfacing on last night.  So, all that was left was the sewing - my favorite part! 

After making the Cosmo bag, I was worried about the difficulty of the remaining bags.  Well, the Reversible Shopper was MUCH easier than the Cosmo bag.  Fewer curves, fewer pieces, and an easier method of turning the bag inside out.  It came together really quickly.  I think it's cute, although I must say, it is HUGE.  Much bigger than I thought it would be. 

Here are a few pictures!

Some topstitches on the pocket.

I find creating handles to be very satisfying!

The big reveal!

Here's one side of the reversible shopper.

And here's the other side.  So cute...

And so, you can get a perspective on size, here's me with the new bag!

The only thing I changed was to opt not to create the narrow portion of the handle.  I tried, but my sewing machine (which is a very good machine!) just did not want to go through that many layers.  Actually, it was the thickness of the fabric, which would barely fit under the foot.  Unless I did something wrong with creating the handles, I'm not sure what type of sewing machine would have been able to sew through that thickness. 

So, next month is the Origami Bags.  I already have some fabric lined up and am excited about it.  I'm not sure what size(s) I will make yet, but will figure it out.  One caveat...I've never done a zipper before...and I'm scared!

Fabric for Everyday Shopper

So, after my "oops" at buying fabric for the Everyday Shopper, I finally found some heavier weight home decor fabric to use.  The one with the multi-colored flowers is Amy Butler's Paradise Garden in Mint, from her Love collection.  I bought this from someone on Etsy.  The other fabric is also by Amy Butler and is called Twill Bali Gate in Turquoise.  I am now just debating which one will be the "exterior" fabric.  It doesn't seem to matter too much, since the bag is reversible.  I also am debating about making a few changes to the pattern.  We'll see...  Now I just need to find some time to start working on the bag!

Oops!

So, in my search for my home decor fabric for the next bag in the Amy Butler "Style Stitches" challenge, I have realized that my lack of knowledge about fabric types has caused me to make a great error.  I thought I was purchasing fabric of "home decor weight," as is often described on many sites.  Instead, I bought several yards of lightweight voile.  It's gorgeous fabric, but definitely not going to work in the totebag. 

So, my search is on again.  I need to figure out what to do with this fabric now!  I'll need to read more carefully next time.  This is the difficulty with buying fabric online.

Cold outside, sewing inside

So, January has never been my favorite month of the year.  The holidays are over and it seems like there's nothing to look forward to except snow, snow, and more snow.  Fortunately, here in central PA, we haven't had the kind of snow they're getting in the northeast.  In fact, according to our local weather station, out of the past 116 years in which weather records have been kept, this winter is only the 82nd snowiest. 

But it's still been cold.  And the cold weather is perfect for staying inside and doing crafts.  One of the things that I've been working on is the Mystery Block of the Month Club using Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas fabric, which is available at Fat Quarter Shop.  I started a couple months late, but have kept up with the months so far.  I always get excited to get the newest block of the month, to see what clever design it will be!  Up to now, I have 8 months done.  Here are the pictures.

Only four more blocks to go!  In the meantime, I'm working on some other projects, including my next bag in JemJem's challenge.  More on that in another post...

Until then, enjoy the snow!

January Bag - Done!

So, I decided to take the challenge of a fellow blogger and attempt to make one bag per month from Amy Butler's new book, Style Stitches.  Jemalia from JemJem, challenged her readers to make the Cosmo Bag for January.  I am quite proud of my bag, although I must admit that it was quite challenging for the very first, so-called "Easy" bag.  I'm not sure how I'll even be able to make it to the intermediate bags!

Anyway, here are my pictures of the bag.  I bought the exterior fabric from a Crate and Barrel outlet.  Believe it or not, it was only $5 a yard.  I should have bought more fabric from there.  The blue fabric was from my stash and the lining was from Joann's.  I am quite proud of myself, although I'm a bit tired out now!

We'll see about February...