A Christmas Wrap-Up

You would think that since I am retired from the workforce (well kind of, I do have a part-time job at a quilt shop now) that the holidays would be less stressful. Well, they are not. Maybe it is because I pile on more things to do than I did before or maybe it is because I am getting older and I can't get things done as quickly and easily as I did when I was younger. It is most likely a little of both. 

I started decorating my house sooner than in years' past and I loved the ease of getting it done. The outside of my house looks pretty good and we didn't break our necks to get the lights on. 

We spent an evening decorating cookies with our daughter and granddaughters. Chloe is not pictured since she didn't last long with the decorating - she hates getting her hands dirty. Avery chose to color the frosting in deep, dark colors. 

We also spent an evening walking through Oak Creek's city square. It was beautifully decorated. Since we had just finished Christmas shopping with our granddaughters with a stop for a scoop of custard, the girls had lots of energy to run around the square.

One morning, Jeff saw a story on the local news where Wisconsin State Fair was selling their famous state fair cream puffs in a chocolate whipped cream version. So we ordered some online and he drove down to pick them up. They were a fantastic Christmas season treat.

We dabbled with making old fashioneds. They seem to be most famous at bars and supper clubs here in Wisconsin so we thought we would try to make them ourselves. Since the pandemic, we've regularly tried our hand at mixing our own cocktails. Some turn out better than others. I think we will have to try again with this one, I'm not so sure I did it right.

One of the last-minute gifts I made was this bag with fabric from the television show The Office. My sister commented that her son's girlfriend would LOVE a bag from the fabric and I really didn't plan on taking the "hint" but I caved the night before Christmas Eve. I used the bag to put my nephew's Christmas gift inside. My sister was quite surprised when she saw the bag.

And today, I mailed out my last Christmas package to my son. The Oak Creek post office was so far backlogged that my postman suggested I wait until after Christmas to send the package. The package was going to my son in Colorado and I already sent him the most important gift which should have gotten to him on December 19th but arrived on his doorstep on Christmas Eve. So I had him and his fiancé covered for the holiday for the most part. 

It felt so good mailing that package this morning, like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. 

Yesterday we picked up my leftover crafts from the pop-up shop at Hillside Coffee House, it was nice to discover that some things sold there. I also finished another holiday table topper yesterday. I still have a few more works-in-progress that will have to wait until next year. But this one is done and it will get packed away for the next year's craft fairs. 

I sorted, folded, stacked all my Christmas fabrics and unfinished holiday projects and put them back on the shelf for next year.  If it weren't for my new embroidery machine, my sewing room would look pretty uncluttered and clean right now. Oh well. It feels good to wrap things up and I am ready to celebrate the new year.

Football Tote Bags

A little over a week ago I made some Packer totes for a customer. She asked if I could make the same bag from Bears fabric. Since I work at a quilt shop close to the Illinois-Wisconsin border, we carry Bears fabric and Packers fabric. It amazing how many requests we get for Vikings fabric but the answer to that will always be no. So anyways...I could make the Bears tote bags.

I picked up some navy blue canvas strapping for the tote handles and they were completed in a jiffy. 

I will ship them out in the morning so the customer should have them by Saturday. 

The Office Tote Bag

 I made a few Green Bay Packer totes for a friend to give as gifts. Here they are finished. 

When making the small one, I ran out of webbing for the handles. So I went to the fabric store to pick up more. While I was there I found some crazy fabric. I was heading down the licensed fabric aisle to look at the available NFL fabrics, when I looked to the right. At first glimpse, I thought the fabric I was seeing was Harry Potter fabric. All I saw was a head with glasses. When I took a closer look, it turned out to be fabric from one of my all time favorite television shows - The Office! I was so shocked by what I was seeing that I checked the top of the bolt for the fabric label....and there it was - The Office. 

I had to have it. So once I finished up the Packer totes, I went right into making this tote for myself. 

Art and a Bag

I had no idea when I took this photo that it would be my granddaughters' last week of school - most likely for the entire school year. I took the photo last Wednesday. This week is supposed to be the week before spring break starts.  Instead school is planning for virtual learning for the rest of the year. The pandemic stopped everything normal. I am so proud of Avery especially since her sister is considered the artist of the family.

I volunteer at the grade school regularly. I expected to be back this week to make the popcorn for popcorn day. It's really hard to get a grip on all that's going on. I feel stressed all the time. And worried. Avery is a type 1 diabetic. She is especially vulnerable at this time.

My sewing finish for the week is Chloe's backpack. I made it using a hand-painted fabric panel and some matching modern fabric. I didn't use a pattern, just some common sense measurements. I took her laptop and measured it. The fabric panel was a little small so I bordered it. The bag is cushioned with lots of layers of fleece to protect her electronics. There's a zippered pocket inside and two large pockets on the back for the rest of her things.

Fall Church Craft Fair - Success!

Yesterday I did a craft fair at my church. The church has held this craft fair for more than 30 years in a row. It is very popular.

In the past, I've had some success at this fair. But I never thought it was that great.  I never took the time to figure out how to do better until after I retired from my full time job.  Now that I have more time to concentrate on my hobbies, I started researching how to do better.

One of the things I noticed in most articles I've read is not to have too many items. People get overwhelmed if there's too much to look at. Keeping it simple seems to be the way to go. I am working toward that goal by limiting my inventory to less things. I also sorted my inventory and display it differently so more like things are together.

I used some bins to display all my baby items. They are all in one place now.  I used my display rack to hold all my bags and pouches. Everything is viewable in one spot.

For a change, I brought along some quilts. I never expect to sell any since the price point is high. It seems most people attending our fair are looking for small, reasonably priced items.

An amazing thing happened this year....I sold more than double than I have ever sold before. My marketing strategy worked. The advice worked. How wonderful!

I also sold a quilt. What a happy unexpected surprise. For the first time in a long time, I am excited to enter the craft fair vending world. I will definitely look for more marketing tips before the next fair.

Some of the items I sold include:

• Baby Blankets
• Burp Cloths
• Boo-Boo Rice Bags
• Quilted Gift Bags
• Zipper Pouches
• Bowl Cozies (sold out)
• Hot Pads (sold out)
• Table Runners

Posy Pocket Tote - The Holiday Version

When I cleaned out my sewing room I came across a few unfinished projects. This was one of them.

I started this holiday tote last year thinking that once complete I would use it throughout the month of December.

The next thing I knew, it was packed away until I found it while cleaning. I had the outside put together but the inside needed to be completed.

Then I had to make the handles and just put it all together. It didn't take much time once I got going on it.

Now that it's done, I like it so much I want to make another. I love the size, the way it stands up - so sturdy, and the fun zipper pockets. It's going to be perfect for Christmas shopping.

The pattern I used is called the Posy Pocket Tote and the free tutorial can be found here.

Selvage Bag WIP

I've been prepping for my trip to Houston and at the last minute I decided to make a bag from selvage fabrics.

So today I started sewing selvages to some muslin to make some selvage panels.

The bag will hold my sewing supplies for the classes I am taking while I'm at the quilt festival. I hope I can finish it before my flight leaves, ha!

Box Bag - Peppa Pig Tote

I used this box bag tutorial to make a cute little Peppa Pig bag. The instructions were easy to follow however I did change how the lining is attached.

The instructions state to hand-sew the lining near the zipper but I chose to leave an opening between the contrasting fabrics and hand-stitch that opening.

I will make another bag like this and remember to take photos of how I did the lining for a clearer description.

Sewing Tote

I took the pattern I used for my Star Wars Weekender Tote and took off 1-inch from each of the length and width of the bag. After making those adjustments, I thought I would make a sewing tote for myself. The weekender bag is pretty large and I thought that cutting it down would make a more manageable sized bag.

The new tote is still pretty large, but it's just perfect for taking along projects and sewing notions to sew days. I can now get everything in one bag. I used to have a separate tote for my sewing machine notions and accessories and another for unfinished projects. This is so much easier now that I can take everything in one.

I love the purse zipper that closes nicely to keep from having everything fall out. I am pretty clutzy so I like the idea of the nice closure to keep it all together.

I added an interior pocket to this tote and an exterior one as well. I took some of the coordinating fabrics and made a patchwork piece to make the pocket. This fabric is so cute that I plan on making some zipper pouches to match the tote.

I can't wait to take this bag to my next sew date.

Star Wars Weekender Bag

I finished my Star Wars weekender bag today. Even though the pattern I used stated that the bag finishes 16" wide, 15 1/2" tall and 6 1/2" deep I'm never really that good when it comes to determining what makes for a good sized item without the visual. Once I had this bag completed I could see that this is definitely a good sized bag!

The pattern is recommended for an intermediate sewer but I thought it was pretty easy. I did add a zippered pocket to the inside of the lining that was not in the instructions so I made it more complicated than need be.

The pattern called for a 22" zipper and I used a 24" zipper because I had it on hand and it was not an issue. There was no need to cut off the extra 2 inches because the bag pieces on both sides of the zipper were long enough to accommodate the extra zipper length.

I made this bag thinking that maybe my granddaughter might want it but she wasn't that thrilled with it. She is currently into Pokemon so maybe if I made another in that fabric she might like it more. I did make this as a sort of prototype. I want to make another using some sewing-themed fabrics to use for sewing retreats and sewing classes and maybe even a summer-themed bag for taking to the beach.

I really like this pattern. It's free and it can be found here. Because it really can be used as a weekender bag, I might look for another pattern in something a little smaller. At least I now have a visual reference so I will know what size I'd like to make next. And another great thing about this bag is that it is on my list of goals to complete in 2017 - so I get to scratch it off of my to-do list - yay!

Tutto Sewing Tote For Sale

I want to sell my Tutto sewing tote. It is a very expensive item and I am hoping to get back half of what it is worth.

I bought it when I was taking my embroidery machine to sew days and classes. It is a big machine and it needed an extra-large tote.

The Tutto products are such high-quality totes that I absolutely love it. It has all the little nooks and crannies necessary to tote all my sewing needs besides the machine. The bag is even designed to keep the machine secure within the bag so if the bag gets jostled, there are no worries.

Now I have a second sewing machine I bought just for taking to classes and sew days. It is a small machine, the Janome Jem which weighs in at under 12 pounds. I really needed it since my back surgeries because I cannot lift or pull my big machine around anymore. So I really want to get a smaller Tutto sewing tote. I think about posting the bag on eBay but I fear the shipping costs will turn people off even though it does fold up flat.

Right now it's posted on CraigsList with no inquiries after a few days. I am hoping I get an offer soon!

Quilted 1 in a Minion Bag

I picked up some of the Minion fabric that our shop got in this week and decided to make a quilted mini-shopping bag for my granddaughter, Avery. I've been picking up Avery from day care when her mother has to work late and she is obsessed with carrying her mother's mini-shopping bag with her.

My daughter has mentioned that she misses her bag, she uses it to carry her lunch to work. And she didn't want to take it away from Avery since there's an assumption the two-year old would not understand why she should give it back to her mother.

So here comes the Minions fabric...and a grandma motivated to make a mini-shopping bag for her granddaughter! I took the measurements from the little bag and made my own version. It only took me an afternoon to completed this little bag from start to finish.

Recycled Jeans - A Book Bag

My sister gave me a stack of her son's old blue jeans.  They were in pretty good shape so I thought I would take my time to decide how to repurpose them. I didn't want to cut them up willy-nilly then discover that I should have cut them differently.

I knew I was making some sort of tote bag out of the legs. I liked that the bottom hems were not frayed so I wanted to use them as the bag opening. I cut the legs off at the knees (where they were worn out) to see how tall I could make the bag. Then I left the French seams intact and cut the leg pieces next to the opposite seams and sewed the two pieces together.

I had a nice, large piece of denim fabric with two French seams running through it. I then deconstructed the back pockets and the belt loops. I reattached the pockets over the French seams.

Then I took the thigh parts of the pants and cut them into 3 1/2-inch wide strips and sewed them together to make the bag strap. Since the fabric was so thick, I just turned in each long raw edge 1/4-inch and sewed them down. I then sewed 4 more rows of stitching to give the strap a finished look.

I then squared up the main bag piece and sewed it into a tube, then sewed the bottom shut. I also added a gusset 1 1/2 inches from the corners to form a bottom.  Then I measured the bag to make a lining the same size.  I then figured out that my strap was way too long so I cut off a piece to make the bag closure.

I added a few doily details and some decorative buttons and viola!....a new bag - no pattern necessary. I really like how it turned out.

Mini Treat Bag Sewing Marathon

I currently have 4 quilt tops ready for quilting.  It's like torture because I just cannot get to them.  I have too many little projects to finish first. All are promises to make things and I have to keep my promises first and foremost. It's really ok that the quilts have to wait but once in a while it makes me a little anxious. The anxiety will pass, it always does when I get in these situations.  So at least I can share this second finished promised project today.  That's 2 down and 2 to go! Yay!

So here is today's finished project.

36 Mini Treat Bags

The Aerika Purse

The featured Aerika Purse was originally made from fabric selvages and it is adorable.  Even though I have enough selvage fabric to make one like the original, I chose to whip some up using some whimsical fabrics. The designer's pattern was easy to follow with nicely written step-by-step instructions. You can get the pattern download here.

Here are my versions of this lovely pattern:

Aerika Purse

Sweet Retreat's Little Sister Tote

I picked up this tote bag kit from the Wisconsin Shop Hop this summer.  I love words and letters on fabrics and this fabric is very special since the words are all cities and towns in Wisconsin. Not to mention that it's in my favorite color combination, black and white. I just had to have it.

Since summer is officially over, it's time to stop staring at this kit like I have all summer long and actually make this tote! The pattern is from Whistleped Creek and it is called Sweet Retreat's Little Sister Tote.

It has very sturdy panels because of the fleece iron-on interfacing it contains. I love the clever way the multiple pockets are made and I learned a lot about careful pocket planning both inside and outside the bag. I will definitely use these techniques again.

The Cinch Bag

The Cinch Bag

I've had this adorable fabric since last summer. It's called Unforgettable for Quilting Treasures and is licensed by Desilu, LLC for I Love Lucy & CBS.  The thing about that is I don't understand the connection. The I Love Lucy Show was about the antics of a housewife married to a Cuban bandleader.  The fabric itself reminds me more of something from a television show of the same era called 77 Sunset Strip. 

The colors are beautiful and the fun map and road sign fabrics are so very cute that it seemed like a no-brainer to make it into a bag.  And I've been wanting to make 'The Cinch Bag' ever since I saw it on the Sew Can She blog.

The problem is that I didn't know what I wanted to do with the fabric when I got it on sale and I really love the teal stuff more than the road sign print so I only bought 1 yard of the teal and a half-yard of the coral print. The Cinch Bag needs 2/3 yard of fabric for the bag and 1 2/3 yards of fabric for contrast.  The tutorial for the bag had all the parts out of contrast except for the main bag.  So how was I ever going to make this work?

Since I liked the teal best, I cut the main bag out of that first. Then I knew the casing should be the highest contrast so I cut that out of the coral print.  With not much coral print left, I cut the handles out of it.  There were supposed to be 4 pieces cut of the same fabric (inside handle, outside handle times two) but I did not have enough coral so I cut the 2 outside handles from the coral and the inside of the handles from the teal.  The ties were cut from teal since that was all I had left.  So now I am down to a 7-inch strip of coral print.  I decided that it could line the inside - all I had to do was add some other fabric for the rest of the lining since it wouldn't be seen (except by me) anyway.  So I grabbed a chunk of Kona white for the bottom of the lining.


Again, since it would only be seen by me, I did not change the thread color when I put the inside zipper pocket in.  So the blue thread really shows against the white. The tutorial for this is from Sweet Verbena and you can find it on her blog.  Here is the link.

The Lickety Split Bag

In my search for the perfect bag, I ended up ordering this pattern from Made By Rae. I attempted my own version of a bag but I do like this one better. It's deeper and squarer than the one I created.  I used some cute fabric to make this one as a sort of prototype.  That way if I didn't like the bag, I can give it away and I didn't use the fabric that I want for my bag. 

The bad thing about that is if I like the bag, now I have to make another one. I think that's what will happen with this one. I do like it.  However, I will test it out by carrying a few things around in it for a few hours before I get out my special fabric I've been saving. 

While working on this, I decided I needed a new place to photograph bags.  It's raining outside today so any outdoor shots were out of the question. I wasn't sure where to start when I literally tripped over my old dress form.  This dress form is very very old.  It was my husband's mother's and she has been gone since he was 14 years old.  So it has tons of sentimental value to him. 

The problem is that it is metal with a felt-like fabric attached that is wearing away.  It really doesn't look great. For some reason, I had this piece of ripped bedsheet folded neatly in my fabric remnants. Don't know where it came from or why it's in my sewing stuff but it gave me an idea. What a great cover it would make! It has to have a thread count of at least 600, it is so sturdy and thick I could hardly get pins through it to cover the dress form.  With some of the leftover sheet, I ripped a piece to tie around the waist and neck to show off it's nice shape. I think my husband will be pleasantly surprised when he sees it.

The Love Bag

I took a shot at designing my own bag. I used the handle pieces of a McCall's pattern in order to get the right length for the shoulder strap and I just measured up the approximate size I thought I would like.  I added some pockets and lining too.


I used it over the weekend to carry my camera and GPS on our trip to Cincinnati and I discovered I didn't quite like the size.  I loved the strap, it was just right.  And the tie is cool since it could be adjusted shorter as necessary but I liked it long. The bag part was a little too shallow for me.  I need it to be deeper.  So I will try again.  I do like the cute fabric.

Oilcloth and Pet Screen Tote and ReUsable Snack Bags

At this month's Quilts for Kids meeting, Patty, one of the volunteers brought along this bag she made.  I just loved it and I asked her if I could take a photo of it and draw out some instructions.  So I measured and wrote down everything as best as I could.  Since we met at Bigsby's, I headed into the store to purchase the canvas to make it when she told me she bought a roll of pet screen from the hardware store.  You got more and it was so much cheaper. 

Since it is a good idea to support the people who allow us to meet here, I bought a yard of oilcloth for the bag instead.  The oilcloth was from a fabric line called "Man Caves".  It reminded me of something that would be fun to have at a tailgate party at Miller Park or up at Lambeau, with all the cool beer bottles on the fabric.

On my next trip to the Menard's, I picked up the pet screen and the lady from the QFK meeting was so very right.  A 36" x 84" roll was $13.99 as opposed to $21/yard at the fabric store. 

Following my little drawing, I measured out the pet screen and cut one large piece; then I cut two pieces of oilcloth and two pieces of kona cotton, 1-inch larger than the oilcloth.  I sewed the top and bottom, right sides together.  When turning the pieces right-side out, you can see that it formed a yellow strip across the top since the yellow piece was larger. 

I sewed the straps down which automatically formed pockets on the bag.  Then I sewed in the side seams and finished them with a strip of oilcloth so when reaching into the bag, I wouldn't snag anything. Then I made gussets in the bottom to make the bad sit squarely on the table.  Once completed, I had more than a half-yard of oilcloth left.  So I purchased some nylon and made a large and medium-sized snack bag with zipper closures.  I envision using one for buns or snack chips and the other for sliced limes and celery for Bloody Marys. 

Let the tailgating begin!