The Smiley Bag

I finished my second entry for the Sew Sweetness Purse Palooza 2014 contest. I made the same bag as my last entry. It's my second attempt using the pattern I drafted myself, based on the Lizzy Bag by Vera Bradley. It's a little bigger than the Lizzy, and I again added a turn lock (this time a heart). I LOOOOOOVE how it turned out:)

The Smiley Bag

I used my beautiful daughter as a model. This purse really looks good on her!

As you can see we had a few laughs, as we always do;) She admitted to me that she wasn't crazy about the fabric when I started. But she said "I like it! If whoever that is for is stupid enough to not like it, I'll take it." That makes a mom feel good. She knows this one is not for her. She already picked out her fabric. Hers is coming. Hopefully I can crank out a few more(and hers of course) before Christmas!

I love this pocket!

I love this pocket! I think it's why I'm not getting board of making these:) Plus it's always fun to see how each fabric pattern will look. I have to admit, though, I got to know my seam ripper a little better with this one. I had sewn in magenta zippers. The color was way to off. 

Back side

The Black zippers look so much better. It was worth an extra day of work!

This is not the greatest interior photo. The are 2 pockets inside.

I'm having so much fun making this one. I'm highly considering making a pattern to sell, but it scares me to death if I'm going to be honest. I really don't know where to start :O I have made the bag 2 times and the pattern pieces seem to work, and I'm sure I could write instructions, but putting it in digital form is an enigma to me. Anyone willing to point me in the right direction would be appreciated! Oh ya, and if the name sucks (The Smiley Bag) I need ideas because that is as good as I could come up with. My friend suggested The Dani bag. It has a nice ring to it, lol!!

Lizzy remake

I have been on a sewing BREAK for the past few 5 months. There are many reasons. I've been pretty busy, but mainly, I just needed a break. I think it's because I dive in and just....don't stop. But the itch to get back has been there. I just needed a push. I couldn't resist Purse Palooza 2014 hosted by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness!

So here is my 2014 entry.

front view

back view

I recently purchased the Lizzy Bag by Vera Bradley. It's a smart little cross body bag with a handy slip pocket and flap pocket(2 pockets in one) on the front. i just loved the look. I don't know if they are discontinuing it, but there are no new patterns on the website. 

I normally don't go for such a small bag, but there are times I just don't want to carry all my crap that I usually feel the need to haul around, such as a fair, or shopping.

front slip/flap pocket

My bag is a wee bit bigger then the original Lizzy measuring 9X8. The pockets are made just a tad bigger as well to accommodate my IPhone 5. My phone will slide easily all the way down the slip pocket, or the flap pocket-even with my Otter box on.

hardware and piping detail

I changed the flap opting for this cute little turn lock I got from Janelle Mackay at Emmaline Bags. I LOVE HER HARDWARE! I think the right hardware really sets a handmade bag apart.

interior pockets

I added the interior pockets. The zipper pocket on the back of the bag had credit card slots which I didn't bother to add.  My decision for this was mainly because I was getting impatient to get it done! I have been working out this bag all week! I had to draft my own pattern(still learning that skill) and work out a few mistakes. Oh, and a couple of trips BACK to the fabric store to get more fabric. I quilted it using Soft and Stable for the batting. I have to say-WOW, I love how it quilted up! You do have to pull the fabric taught as you are quilting to avoid unsightly ripples. I was quilting on the bias, so I learned quick, pull it VERY taught. But no bigger then the piece I was quilting, it wasn't a problem. The payoff is great, though. The bag keeps its shape soooooooo well! It's very structured!

I so love this bag and now I have my first order for it- from my daughter, Ashley! She has already picked out her fabric which I already knew would be Waterfront Park half square triangle. She has been eyeballing that fabric in my stash for a while:)

My only question is what to call it? Is it proper to give it a name since I basically ripped  off the design from Vera? I don't feel bad about making it. You learn a lot about bag making by looking at and making a designer bag. But I'm at a loss as to what to call this entry. Any thoughts?

Splendid Ovum-Blogger's Quilt Festival

This post is loooooong overdue! I finished my Splendid Ovum(EGG) Quilt a week later than I had hoped. I was shooting for Easter, but better late then never!

Here are my two helpers for a quick snapshot. Drew was more interested in photo bombing then keeping the quilt straight.

The quilt measures 68X77. The biggest quilt i have made yet. And even with all of the negative space, it took me longer then I expected! I think I worked on it religiously for 2 months! All of those eggs were quite time consuming!

When I finally got-er-done,me and my husband had a serious conversation. It went something like this:

hubby: Is that quilt for me?
me: Do you want it?
hubby: Did you make it for someone?
me: No, nobody is getting this quilt, but I was going to enter it in a quilt show.
hubby: That's fine, I'll take it after that.

Well, that made me feel awesome! Haha! I think it may have had something to do with the fact that it's the biggest quilt I've made and the backing fabric I chose (Philip Jacobs-Foxglove) is soft as butter! He loved the weight of the quilt! It also made me feel a little guilty. I have been meaning to make him a quilt, but the right one hasn't hit me yet. Little does he know, I have fabric put back for him:) It's OK, he deserves 2 quilts!

Zoey even likes it!

I'm entering the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative side. I will be entering the Large Quilt Category. Mine is 290 in. around.

If you get a chance, go check out the many beautiful quilts at the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

I'm Eggstatic

I'm eggstatic how my eggs have turned out! Each one took sooooo much longer than I thought it would, but I think it has been worth it! I'm hoping this quilt will have a modern twist and not end up.....cheezy;)

I plan on getting my eggs together soon. I have to wait until next week to order my quilt backing fabric(which I have picked out). But that is ok,it will give me time to figure out how to quilt it. My goal is to have it done by easter! Check back soon! I have been doing regular updates on my FB page if you want to follow HERE. Maybe one day I will update my blog and put all of the fancy buttons on it :/ I will be posting again soon, I hope:)

Easter Egg quilt

I'm not usually in to themed quilts, especially holiday themes, but this one I just couldn't get out of my head. I am really excited to making this quilt and have high hopes that it turns out as beautiful as I have imagined.

This is my first completed egg. I'm loving the look! If you are wondering how I sewed this egg shape, check out THIS video. The piecing is small, so it's taking a bit of time. I have 5 more pieced pieces ready to make eggs. My plan is to make at least a dozen eggs, but  plans for a quilt usually change before completion, so we will see:)

I will be posting more eggs soon so check back!

Zoey's bed for RB/MQG Challenge

I finally finished my entry for The Basics Challenge with Riley Blake Designs for the 3rd annual MQG members fabric challenge.

I decided to make my little doggie, Zoey her own little bed so she can hang out with me in the sewing room.

I only used the yellow polka dots of the fat eighth quarters that were sent to me. I initially had an entirely different design in mind at the beginning of this challenge. I ended up taking a whole different approach. I think I was really inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's Dancing Queen quilt. The Dancing Queen quilt is the last quilt I made as a Christmas quilt for my Dad. I just expanded it a bit to make a brick wall.

I used exclusively Riley Blake polka dots for my print selections, and grey for the mortar. For the quilting I really wanted some graffiti. I have always loved graffiti art. I don't condone vandalism, but graffiti has it's own beauty.

I started out using some grey thread. Then I thought this was way to safe. Not very exciting. So ripping commenced. 

YES! Much better. Way more exciting!!!

The rest of the background I did an all over circuit board design. 

To gauge this micro-quilting, the mortar finished pieces are 1/2 an inch. That's some tiny quilting. My hands cramped up more than once:/

I guess I should show my little mishap.

This is the other side that I had a mishap marking my quilt! This is permanent marker! I managed to get most of it out but for some reason, what was on the red would not budge. Here is my solution....

I stuck my quilt label over the top of the mistake like a bumper sticker:)  I'm really liking the offset of the label! And Zoey prefers to get comfy on this side of the dog bed more than the pretty side which is a little stiff due to all the dense micro-quilting.

Yaaaaaa, I think she likes it.

Project completed! Now..........what to do next?!?!?