The Dandy Workshop

I have been making bags since I started quilting 6 years ago.  I have made tote bags, grocery bags, travel bags, and purses.  One of the bags that I really like is the Dandy Bag.  I found it on the Internet in 2010 and have made somewhere between 6 and 10 of these bags.  I have re sized them to make them larger and in many different colourways.  This is a fun bag to make.  This is the bag that Lynda and I took when we travelled to Europe a few years ago, and called it our day bag.  We carried our water bottle, hat, umbrella, Kleenex, and anything else that wasn't valuable.

Because I have made so many bags the Guild asked me to put on a workshop and I chose the Dandy Bag from Dandelion Quilts.  I added pockets and a zipper because that is what the participants asked for.  We had a great time and as you can see everyone chose beautiful fabrics for their bag.  Five of the 8 gals finished their bag on Saturday.

I forgot to ask if they minded having

their faces out on the Internet so I cropped

the picture to display the beautiful bags.

Peggy.

  

Getting Ready for Washington DC

I have been busy sewing new things this week to take to Washington.  Lynda and I are leaving on Monday and I needed a couple of new purses and other things.  The first thing I made is what we call our "Day Bag".  Nothing of value goes in here when we travel.  Our daily essentials go in here like our umbrella, Kleenex, water bottle and anything else we might need for the day, since we only go back to the hotel at the end of the day.

This is another Dandy Bag.

I really like this bag pattern, it is 

easy to make and just

the right size.

A made a Rolynester to match.

I use it to put my sunglasses in

when we enter a building and 

then put my reading glasses in

it when we go outside.

Two small wallets from

Lazy Girl Designs.

One for me and one for Lynda.

We both bought Kobo's to take with us so I made covers for them.  I looked at the commercial ones and thought that they were over priced so we went with the quilted version.

I designed this myself and 

made them like a book cover.  

The Kobo is tucked inside.  

I made a buttonhole and then put a 

button on to make sure it stayed closed.

I don't like using Velcro, so I chose

the button instead.

I also made a small purse.

This is a Sew Sweet Satchel.

We wear these purses under our coats or blouses

so that our money and passports

are secure.  I gave Lynda

my other blue one so I needed

a new one.

I think I am all set. now all I have to do is start packing.  That will be my job for the week-end.

New Purses for Paris and London

This year my big trip is to Paris & London.  One of my sisters and I have been going to Europe every year for the past 4 years now.  The countdown is on as we leave on Saturday.  I will fly to Toronto and meet her there and then off to Paris for a week and then onto London for another week.

I really like clothes and accessories to match so I had to make 2 new purses to take with me on this trip.  Everything I am taking is either hunter green or an olive green so I had to make some new purses.

We wear our purses under our clothes and then carry what I call a day bag with an umbrella , a bottle of water, camera and small essentials for the day.  The only valuable thing in this bag is my camera and it usually ends up around my neck.

The fabric doesn't match because I made the Sew Sweet Satchel first and then decided that I needed a new day bag as well.  

The strap is long enough to go

across your body.

I have 2 zippers, one on the inside and

one on the back.

I really like this pattern that I found here for the Dandy Bag and I have made it many times with a few variations. It is an easy to follow tutorial and cute bag.

I have a small pouch hanging

off of this bag, it is for

my sunglasses, so that

they don't drop down too far

and get scratched.

I found the pattern for it at Studio Kat Designs

It is called a Roly-Nester.

I also put pockets and a zipper

into my Dandy Bag.

No purse is complete with pockets

and a zipper.

Peggy

Getting ready for New York

I made myself a new bag to take to New York.  This will be my day bag that will hold my hat, umbrella and water bottle.  My coat is beige so I had to have a new bag as my other ones are blue and bright red flowers.  The brown one I took to Ireland had too much turquoise in it. 

It is pretty light in colour, I just hope we don't have too much rain and it ends up getting dirty.  I have been putting zippers in my bags and also this one has 2 large pockets.  I made the pocket extra large so that my water bottle will stand up in it and not fall over and spill.

Peggy.

Four Dandy Bags

Today I finished my 4 Dandy bags that I was making for Christmas.  I changed the pattern a little by using only 2 fabrics instead of three and I added pockets and zippers.  My sister, daughter and I are going to New York City in March 2011 and I thought they would be good bags to carry our mitts and scarves in or anything else that we may need for a day out on the town.  We don't put valuables in them, they are in small bags that I make to wear under your coat. 

The black bag is a lot larger than the others, I just added a few inches to the main fabric to make it biggier.  Here is the link to the blog and the tutorial for these bags.  Dandelion Quilts.  Just click on the picture on the dandy bag on the front page and it will take you there.

I finished writing my Christmas letter today and bought some nice paper for half price at Michael's today.  You gotta love a sale.  Now all I have to do it get it printed and finish my Christmas cards and I am ready to go.

Peggy.

Dandy Bag

I made a new Dandy Bag today but I forgot to take a picture so I will have to ask Christine to take one when she gets it.  The fabric is Black & White & Current by Color Principle for Henry Glass.  It is black on white and white on black.  I do this all the time.... I got the parcel all put together and then remembered that I wanted to take a picture.  I am not taking the parcel apart so I will have to rely on Christine.

Peggy.

The Tote Bag Fiasco

Lynda and I are going to Ireland in 3 weeks and I wanted a tote bag that I would carry with me during the day that I could put my coat, scarf and umbrella in, in case of inclement weather.  I started out designing one in brown and turquoise to match the clothes that I am taking.  I thought I would try a "disappearing 9 patch".  The only problem was that I forgot to allow for the seam allowance.  I cut the squares at 4 inches instead of 4 1/2 so the purse was too small.    So, I decided to make another purse and made the blue one, but it didn't match my clothes so I made a third tote bag.  The last one is the right size and colour. 

Now have I two more tote bags that I don't really need.  All three have zippers and internal pockets.  I am getting quite a collection of tote bags as I have many others also that I made just for something new to try.  What to do, what to do.

Peggy

Tote bag and purse

I made these 2 bags yesterday, the Dandy bag is for my sister-in-law's birthday.  We are going to London, ON to help her celebrate her 60th birthday on June 26.  I also made her a tablerunner that matches the bag. 

The Sew Sweet Satchel is a new purse for me for travelling.  I like the colours in the paisley pattern.  I think it will go with a lot of different things because of the multi-colours in it.  The fabric was left over from the backing for the Bear River Quilt.  I always make my straps adjustable on shoulder purses or over the body purses so that they can be used by anyone.

Peggy

This new bag is called a dandy bag from Dandelion Quilts.  Her site is http://dandelionquilts.blogspot.com/  It is made a lot like the other tote bags that I make except that it has a nice band to separate the top band from the bottom of the bag.  I also put a few stitches in the bottom of the bag to hold the lining down so that it does not pull out of the bag.  It is a little tricky but it can be done with care.

Peggy