SMS Giveaway Day!

Right before Labor Day, I began making clutches. There's nothing like a friend's request to jumpstart new projects, especially when the requests are doable in a short amount of time. For SMS Giveaway Day, I'm offering one (1) clutch to a random winner -- the choice of blue or pink is yours. It's also cool to enter to win it for a friend; the choice of color remains in your control, unless you'd prefer that I make a choice for a person I don't (think I) know.

Here's a little peek at the interiors, which showcase different fabrics, include a magnetic snap, and contain a divider (an invisible surprise!).

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post.

The fine print:
*One comment (entry) per person. Please make sure I can contact you by email.
*This giveaway is open to everyone, wherever you live in the world.
*The giveaway will remain open until Friday, December 7 at 8 pm EST (or thereabouts!).
*The winner will be selected randomly.

ETA: The giveaway is now closed, and random magic picked #145: CraftyGirl83.

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Clutch

It all started very simply. A friend asked me if I had a black clutch she could borrow for a wedding. Alas I have no black clutches in my possession. But why let that be an obstacle? Obviously there was a solution. I'd make her a clutch.

I sifted through clutch tutorials and ultimately drafted my own pattern. I needed to make it quickly, so simplicity was key, but I still wanted it to look interesting. Hence the curved edge on one side. Interest. Also good fabric selection, though I claim no credit for that. Katie did the picking. (The blue floral piece is a Marimekko scrap, the gray is something for which I have a selvage that I could look up if I weren't posting from the library.)

And why make just one? Another friend was about to rock her exams, so a celebratory clutch was in order. The clutches have magnetic snaps and dividers. I've made a few more, and I think they will be one of the items I sell at the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild Show and Sale. November 15. The Corner Brewery. Come! Let me know if you have any clutch color requests as my clutch-making factory is just starting up.

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Carry On

I will never be mistaken for a designer handbag aficionado. I couldn't identify one to save my life. And it seems that most of them are made of leather, so it's not going to happen. But since I still tote things around with me, I do need something in which to place it. Ideally that something will 1) hold my wallet (a sorry little rubber-banded item at the moment), phone, a book, and maybe a light sweater, 2) be versatile, and 3) make me happy. In case you're wondering, the latter results from a secret combination of size, functionality, and fabric.

For errand-running and multiple-book-toting, I find my Lickety Split bag super useful. But it's less than ideal for going out or simply carrying fewer items. Sarah has a great free tutorial for this purse, which I found through some combination of googling "purse, trapezoid, and pleats." I knew the shape I wanted, but didn't really want to work out all the details. The internet, and crafters who also work as engineers, are quite handy in this scenario. I've been waiting to use this print (Amy Butler's Water Bouquet in Midnight, from her Love collection) and found another use for the remnant of grey hexagon dots from this quilt. I modified the pockets to fit my wallet and phone, and added a slot for a pen (an effort to avoid ink splots all over the interior). If I made it again, I'd add more interfacing around the magnetic snap, but save that detail, this purse is perfectly sized and straightforward to make.

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Dog Days

Am I the only one who listens to new (to me) albums on repeat, for weeks on end? Maybe I'm just weird like that. Florence + the Machine tells me, about every 50 minutes or so, that the Dog Days Are Over, but I'm still stuck in sweltering DC. Summer in DC is supposed to be sweltering -- which is why I don't like it and try (not always successfully) to avoid it. But the end of May? It's not supposed to be this damn hot. But before it got too hot to move, much less wield an iron, I made a bag. Well, I made a few other things too, but we'll stick with the bag for this post.

At this point, I think I've trained my friends to not expect timely birthday presents. As per usual, I knew I wanted to make Claire a Lickety Split bag -- I find it to be one of the most versatile bags I've made and own. At a Del Ray Fabrics tent sale a few weeks ago, I snagged some fabric for it. When I last saw Claire, she mentioned surrounding herself with bright colors to make her black-clothes-base shine (and she rocks both bags and shoes). This is one of the few prints from Amy Butler's Lark collection that I liked, and I think it will play nicely with black clothes.

I make a couple modifications to the bag pattern -- I add some fabric ties in the center but make only 2 pockets. Usually the side with the pockets seems like the de facto "inside" but with this bag, I'm not so sure. Because these pockets, they are awesome.

See: awesome! Shiny, happy, awesome. Home-dec weight birds that pretty perfectly match the olive snail scallop print (from Tula Pink's Prince Charming collection). It's a good thing the pockets are on opposite sides because I think they're about an 1/8" different from one another, due to some winging it while fussy-cutting the bird. I'm quite certain it has no effect on its utility.

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Bandwagon: Jumped

A few weeks ago, I decided that the thing to do between research trips was make drawstring bags. I had seen plenty pop up all across the internetz, and most referenced Jeni's tutorial. So I jumped on the drawstring bag bandwagon, which seems to have retained its popularity for quite some time, and made a few. I've given most of them away, but kept the one on the left above for myself. It's proven quite helpful as I travel -- I stuff all my chargers in there (still waiting for that universal charger....) and their aesthetics improve muchly. I'm about to leave for another trip, and this time the bag holds chargers, my camera, and my sunglasses. Pretty sweet.

These bags are the perfect size for using up small-but-not-quite-scrap-sized pieces of fabric. I will say that these bags are fun, though midway through my assembly-line, I remembered that I find making multiple bags at a time somewhat tedious. Nevertheless, I soldiered on and made six of them. I admire those who make lots of the same item to sell because I don't have that in me. I can make quilt blocks for hours on end but with bags, I'm a one-and-done kind of gal. I'll return to patterns I like, but even when they don't take that long to assemble, I'm just not that interested in repeating steps over and over again.

In other news, I was honored to receive a Liebster Award from Charlotte, who blogs at Twelfth Zodiac. The award--whose origins are unknown, as best I can tell--is for small blogs and helps spread the word about them. In that vein, if you haven't checked out the following blogs,* you should.

Michelle's Musings: A big fan of Tula-Pink fabrics, Michelle should get the award for best blog commenter. Not only was she one of the first to start commenting here (which led to a lovely friendship -- we even met in real life in November!), but I swear that every time I get ready to comment somewhere else, she already has.

Kitty Kitty Crafts: Not only does Karissa make fabulous stuffed hippos, but she makes her own dresses, something I find amazing and intimidating.

WoollyKat: Anna is now a real-life, local, quilty friend. Choosing a local quilt friend was tricky, since I'm lucky enough to have quite a few, but I decided to go with the first live, local person I added to my reader and Anna was it. Also, we have very similar taste and tend to echo one another in favoriting and commenting on items in the FTLOS swap.

The Quilt Engineer: I don't think there is a single quilt Latifah has made that I don't like. She is more than a quilt engineer; she is a quilt genius. She makes brilliant, bold geometric quilts, and sews up matching clothes to boot (at least for the babies).

Little Olive Branch: I'm not sure how or when I first stumbled onto Ruth's blog, but it's got a little of everything -- sewing, cooking, knitting, traveling, and more. She moved to DC from New York as I was transitioning to New York from DC for research last year, so I guess I felt a little transitory kinship.

*I'm basing "small size" on the number of followers I can see, either on the blog or via Google Reader.

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Chevron and Out

I realized it's been 10 days since I last posted. Ten busy days, but ten days in which images sat on my camera because sometimes getting images from the camera to the computer feels like way more work than it actually is. Hooking up cords and pressing buttons is not actually hard and yet sometimes it's an obstacle. But I'm back in the archives this week which means I needed my camera for images of documents and all my sewing pictures had to vacate the premises, err memory card. I finished up my mini-quilt for the For the Love of Solids Quilts. I vacillate on which side is "up" and which side is "down." For now, I picked the image I liked the best, which had a lot more to do with low light on a gray day than anything else. I'm quite pleased with how it came together as well as the random, angular line quilting, which came to me in a burst of inspiration also known as "Must get this done. Make a decision."

The back used remnants from the front. As usual, I changed my mind 3/4 of the way through and decided that the light gray line (Kona Ash, for those keeping track) should not go all the way across. This entailed some pretty precise sewing to get everything lined back up. And by precise sewing, I mean 4 seam-rippings and 5 tries later, it all worked out. Note: seams pressed open are your friends when precision on the millimeter level is necessary.

For the small gift (this swap requires a big item and a small one), I made a zip pouch. I based it on the size of the zip-lock I use to carry various chargers with me when I travel. I think its dimensions are great for chargers though I might switch the zipper to the long side on future iterations, even though I think it might work less well for bulky chargers. The pouch is stuffed with a rainbow of solid scraps that I hope my partner will enjoy using. Now I just need to find the closest post office to me in Cincinnati, ideally one open past 5 pm.

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New Bag for the New Year

I was lucky enough to be able to test Rae's new Showoff Bag pattern this weekend. This is super bag: big, roomy, fun, and straightforward to put together. This is the first time I've had the honor of testing a pattern and, I must say, it totally appeals to my sewer + editor side. Sometimes, when I'm not sewing or working on my own work, I do some freelance editing. And I really like it. Since pattern testing combines sewing and editing, I was a pretty content person this weekend.

This also gave me a chance to use this lovely piece of home dec weight fabric I've had in my stash for a while. It's from Joel Dewberry's Ginseng collection and I bought it on sale several years ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. Since the pattern uses a half-yard of fabric on the exterior, this was the time. I used dark denim for the top panels and handles, also from my stash.

For the interior, I opted for some coordinating Curio Grunge in Butternut (by Moda). I had enough fabric left over from the exterior to add a matching pocket, and I remembered to add my label before putting the bag together. (This might be an obvious step, but I tend to forget it). Rae will be making the pattern available, both for personal use and with a seller's license soon. If you'd like to try your hand at winning a copy of the pattern, head over to Emily's blog and enter here (and drool at her amazing cakes, so awesome!).

Edited to add: The bag pattern is now available here.

And with that, I'm off to cook some more...Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight. To those who celebrate it: shana tova u'metukah (a good & sweet new year). Or just pretend your new year starts tonight, and have a good & sweet new year as well (eat some apples and honey while you're at it).

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Late to the Party

But fashionably late, I think.

Anna posted a tutorial for a gathered clutch over a year and a half ago. I dutifully bookmarked it, and then shied away from it because of the zipper. Because zippers are supposed to be terrifying. But having finally conquered the zipper (it's really not that bad), I felt it was time to make one of these pretties.

Since it's a clutch and therefore small, it really doesn't require much fabric. And several of the Terrain scraps I received from Kate Spain were big enough to use. I wasn't sure how some of the more straight-edged geometric prints would fare if gathered (though now I think the answer is: ok) so  opted for the orange tone-on-tone as a pretty safe choice.

I added the credit card pockets but didn't include a divider. I think next time (and there will be a next time) I'll add the divider. I might also interface the lining. I think even a little lightweight fusible interfacing would make it a touch stronger and, actually, a little easier to sew together.

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A Little Zipper Action

It's true. Before today, I had never sewn a zipper. As I've been sewing more bags, I found this state of affairs more problematic and limiting. I read blogs and tutorials, half of which indicated zippers are hard and half of which suggested that zippers are pretty easy. All in all, I'd say the first time around went smoothly, and wasn't too difficult. Whew.

I made this pouch for my partner in the solids swap (it's stuffed with solid (+ a couple print) scraps). I used this tutorial from kelbysews, with a couple of modifications. I cut pieces 7" x 8.5" to make a slightly larger pouch. I used lightweight interfacing on the interior lining fabric and some slightly heavier interfacing on the exterior fabric (I didn't have any medium-weight at home, but this combo worked well for me). I like the addition of tabs for the zipper ends, but I would start with a wider piece of fabric to create a little more wiggle room when sewing everything together. I like the simple 2-fabric pouch I made, but if I make it again, I might add a little ric-rac or trim. All inall, a productive sewing morning.

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To the Metropole

In March, my friend Amanda came to visit me in DC (as did her husband, who handily took the above picture). She had just finished prelims (the big exams that separate coursework from dissertation work in grad school), and I had every intention of giving her a present, especially since I wasn't there to take her out for a drink or buy her a cupcake when she was done. I had promised her a scarf, after all. But, like usual, I was behind.

When I went to Michigan last weekend, I was determined to bring a belated gift, and the gift turned into gifts: a coordinating scarf and bag. When I saw the madras fabric above on sale, I knew exactly what I was going to do: make a linen and madras bag. Now I think these materials work well together as a summer-weight bag to begin with, but it also reflected Amanda's work. {nb: please indulge my inner total nerd for a moment.} She works on the British Empire, and linen (Ireland) and madras (India) represent two textiles the empire regularly imported from its colonies, near and far.  Moreover, she's off to the metropole, London, for research in about a month, so it seemed appropriate to give her a bag made from materials that tied the capital to its far-flung colonies, some of which she studies.

I also made her an infinity scarf from 2 madras prints. I don't regularly use madras but it was super easy to work with, and this scarf is a perfect spring/summer accessory. As it turns out, Amanda had wanted an infinity scarf -- she is far more fashionable with her clothes and accessories that I am, but I pay enough attention to the sewing world to coincidentally make something she wanted. A perfect pairing, I think.

One of the fun surprises of the madras was that it turned into stripes when I folded it for the bag handles. This is definitely my favorite photograph, and might even be my favorite part of the bag. I should mention that the linen cooperated with the madras. I know linen is notoriously difficult to sew with, but it was fine for a simple tote bag. I'm not sure it would have been as fine for a more complicated bag, but I have some left so I might try.

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Bag It

I had a whirlwind trip back to Michigan for a conference + seeing friends, returned last night for a day in the archives, and, since Passover starts tonight, I'm off to a seder in a couple of minutes. But I wanted to briefly post about this bag I made last week for a friend who a) loves bags, b) loves green, and c) helped plan the roundtable we organized. The picture is terribly blurry -- night, no flash, and poor overhead lighting will do that. But I sort of love the unintentional artsy blurriness; had I more time, I would have futzed around with the colors, exposure, and saturation to make it truly crazy. The bag does use some of the Marimekko fabric I picked up last week -- when I bought it, I knew this piece would be perfect for a Katie-bag. I made it by modifying this "wasp-bag" tutorial to work with the materials and sizes I had. There are some things I would change if I make it again, but I'm pleased with it overall.

And with that, chag sameach to those who celebrate Passover!

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Lickety Split

My bag-making adventures continue with Rae's Lickety Split bag. This is a great bag and a great pattern. I'm a sucky pattern reader so it of course took me several read-throughs to full get it (even after I watched several people make them a month or so ago under Rae's tutelage). But once I got it, I got it. This bag used an Alexander Henry print on the outside and Amy Butler dots on the inside. Although it's a little hard to see here, the AH print's repeat is perfect for the pattern as you get the blue flower with ovals in the same spot on both sides.

Because I am thoroughly incapable of just following directions and instead need to modify everything, I moved the pockets from the sides to the middle of the bag and only put them on the inside, here shown on the outside. I'm not a fan of outside pockets and don't use them so these stay ensconced on the inside and are quite useful. Indeed, this bag is marvelous. I made it right before I moved, and the morning I left town, I used it to throw in all the last-minute things that need a spot -- phone charger, ipod charger, phone, ipod, wallet, snacks, etc. Here in DC, I find it a great bag to accompany me around town -- I can toss a book, a water bottle, and an array of smaller items in it. The pockets hold my phone and wallet (at least when I remember to put them in the pockets) so I don't have to scramble to reach my phone when it rings. Who am I kidding? I almost always scramble to grab my phone since even with it's charmingly distinctive ring, I have to remember that that sound is indeed my phone.

I made another version of the bag for a friend. Here I used a combination of Art Gallery prints, with the more sedate whisps on the outside and louder Sugar print on the inside.

And a creamy pocket. I just liked the cream with the sugar. It's how I take my coffee, after all. Of course, she may decide to flip the "sides" or reverse it everyday or what have you. It's her call.

And, finally, a gratuitous artsy shot of the strap. And the side edge of my brother's fancy bar stool chair.

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Early to Rise

I blame the 2 cups of coffee I decided to consume yesterday afternoon. I've long known that I can't drink coffee after about 2 pm if I want to sleep at night, but coffee was calling my name yesterday afternoon. And it was quite helpful in making me more alert and thus helping get some work done. I even fell asleep. But I also woke up at 6 am, which is much earlier than I need to be up. And I really prefer to be sleeping. But I'm not, so I figured it was time for a blog post.

I've been waiting to post about these bags until I had a tutorial written up. I devised these fun little bags earlier this fall and have been making prototypes gifts out of them. The one above, for example, made its way into my friend Amanda's hands for he birthday. I've learned a lot from the generosity of other people's tutorials and want to give back. Consider this post a preview of a tutorial to come.

I made the scarf for my friend Claire last spring. I intended to make a coordinating bag then too, but somehow did not. So she received a very late birthday present, but it had two components. I do love this Amy Butler print.

See that magenta and orange fabric sticking out in the back? That bag now lives in lovely Vermont, with my friend Leah. And that front bag? I made it for myself. I finally cut into my Laura Gunn fabric stash. I admit I've been hoarding it, afraid to apply the wonders of rotary cutting lest I mess up. But I waded in, and love the fabric, especially next to the deep blue denim.

The bag intentionally has 2 different size handles, thus allowing the longer one to feed through the shorter one and "close" the bag. I've been using it for a month or so now, and rather like this feature. Also the bag can swing from your wrist, which I find enticing.

Sew Mama Sew's Annual Giveaway Day is next week, Monday, December 13 to be precise. There might just be a bag waiting for you. Perhaps some fabric too. Stay tuned!

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Recovery: Bag-Making Style

I would say that I followed this tutorial except that following implies reading instructions well enough to actually, you know, do as they say. Which I, mostly unwittingly, did not. From the outset, I planned not to include the zippered divider pocket that the tutorial used. But aside from that, I planned to follow -- and until several hours in, thought I was following -- it. Except that I wasn't. If you click on the link, you'll notice, for example, that Kerri's bag is more square than mine. Mine is longer because I did not orient the front, back, and side panels correctly (in fact, I mistakenly picked up the bottom panel in place of the side panel).

But despite these errors and the sewing aggravation that ensued, I rather like the final product. I used denim that I had picked up at JoAnn's awhile back and combined it with a couple of Art Gallery fabrics. I made this bag for my friend Beth and there was something about the top yellow fabric that just made me think of her. So I planned the rest of the bag around that fabric.

I will say that I found the upper flap/handle-attachment process a little tricky. I want to try and make this bag again; however, I want to see if I can figure out how to assemble it the way I've assembled all the other totes I've made: by making the exterior and the lining separately and then bringing them together. This pattern requires making the bottom and top separately and I think I'm just more comfortable with the interior/exterior method. I think change will require making the sides differently as well. But I'm not sure....it's something to play around with and see what happens.

My favorite part of the bag may be these side pockets with just a touch of the lining fabric peeking out. I love the detail. I added the flower embellishment at the end: I had some extra pieces of fabric and thought the exterior could use some pop.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the final product. Even if the process was less than ideal, I learned a lot about bag assembly, different methods of piecing bags, and how to fix unexpected problems.

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Three More Bags

Today's post title won't win any titles for originality, but it is accurate. I've been experimenting with bag-making this summer, and these are the results. The bag above has pleats and a rounded body. I used fabric from Moda's Hello Betty line for the outside and a red bella solid (not sure what it's called) for the handles. It's interfaced, so it's pretty strong. The bag started out much longer but I didn't like the shape, so I trimmed the bottom and resized it. I based the top pleats on the Buttercup bag and made the rest up as I went along.

I wasn't sure what to line the bag with, but then realized that this Michael Miller dot fabric that I got as a remnant from JCaroline Creative when she closed much of her shop worked perfectly -- and was the exact size I needed. I gave this bag to a friend of mine who just moved away to Boston, and I hope the bag will accompany her on her new adventures there.

I give a lot of baby gifts and wedding gifts. This spring I realized I need to be better about giving gifts to all of my friends, especially those without what my college alumni magazine calls MLEs, Major Life Events. Admittedly this decision came in conjunction with reflecting about my own upcoming 30th birthday (less than 2 weeks!) and thinking about what it means and how to celebrate a birthday when you're single and in the midst of crazy preparation for exams. While I haven't totally worked out the celebration part, I decided that I would make sure to send off more unexpected gifts to friends, especially those without obvious MLEs. There are a few friends with whom I always exchange birthday gifts -- they're awesome and I'm grateful for and to them. But it became time to expand the circle, and this linen tote made its way to a friend celebrating her 30th birthday in June.

I made this bag right after the Hello Betty bag above and opted for a few adjustments. Notably, this bag has sharp, triangular points at the bottom rather than a rounded bottom. I think the points work really nicely with linen. I didn't interface this bag, though in hindsight, I probably should have. The handles -- which I make by cutting a 5" strip, pressing it in half, pressing the open edges toward the middle, and sewing the edges of the now 1.25" strip -- are strong, and I think a slightly heavier bag would be best with them. It's lined with a Robert Kaufman print whose name I don't know. A lot of bag making patterns instruct one to leave a hole in the lining and then slip stitch it closed after the bag is finished. My slip-stitching is very poor and I lack the patience to work on it. I've found that leaving a gap at the top, between the handles, which I'm going to top-stitch anyways, works better for me.

Finally, here's my mom's belated Mother's Day present, which I gave her when I went home at the beginning of July. It's a tote made from denim, with the partial dresden plate to spice it up. Because the denim is heavier than quilting cotton, I didn't interface this bag though I usually interface tote bags. I had this in my mind and I'll confess that the finished version doesn't exactly match my mental version, but I like it nonetheless. I think I'd like to try it again with a wider bag. The dresden plate and lining are both from Heather Bailey's Pop Garden line.

My favorite part of this bag is actually the red contrast stitching on the handles and around the top of the bag (2 lines around the top). I love how the red stands out. My mom took this with her to a baseball game and said it was the perfect size for a sweater, book, and drink....or some combination of items that she told me but I can't recall exactly.

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Three Bags

I didn't mean to disappear for a week but it happened. I'm learning that my summer is filled with bursts of activity -- reading for school in big spurts, crafting in chunks of "time off," and taking care of errands once they've built up so as to be necessary (would anyone like to grocery shop for me?). Such is summer 2010.

Over the past couple of months, I've been working on my bag-making skills. I started with playing with tote bags, such as this one.

I had made a few totes before, but this is the first one I used canvas-weight fabric (that's Jessica Jones' Green Sprig fabric). The canvas gives the bag a nice weight without interfacing and works especially well for handles -- they're nice and sturdy. I lined this one with some Dazzling Wheels from Art Gallery's Sugar collection.

A friend asked me to make her a buttercup bag about 10 months ago. I regret that it took so long, but the time lag meant that I acquired this neat piece of vintage fabric from the SMS fat quarter swap.

I made some modifications to the bag pattern. I interfaced the lining and the strap to give it more heft and left out the tab/buttons. The last bag I made felt a little light so I hope this one will stand up to longer use. I lined it with some Night Glowing Daisies from Art Gallery's Sugar collection (notice a pattern here...).

Finally a birthday present tote bag for an amazing friend. Purple was the key color here and I used some purple seeds for the lining and a couple Anna Maria Horner prints for the exterior and straps. What does the whole bag look like?

I had the hardest time getting a good picture of the whole bag in good light, so ultimately I opted for the modeling shot, with my bed as the backdrop. I suppose the red sheet doesn't exactly let the bag stand out, but it was better than the other options. I love those big centerpiece flowers from the AMH's Garden Party line and wanted to highlight it accordingly. The white strip between the focus flower and the falling flowers (technically I think it's called "receiving line") came into being when I realized that the fabrics would work better if each got to bask in its own glow. I think the white separator helps do that.

More bags on the way...

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