Open Wide Zippered Pouches

I've had these pouches on my list of things to do ever since Anna from Noodlehead posted the tutorial on her blog.

Last night I made one and then this morning finished the other one. These are so quick to make and a lot easier than I thought.

Anna's tutorial shows you the measurements to make three different size pouches. The ones I chose to do were the medium size. I thought the small one would be too small but after making this one I've changed my mind. The large one must be huge and hold loads of things.

The one with the green zip is made from upholstery fabric and the one with the blue zip is upholstery fabric on the bottom section and quilting cotton on the top half. The fabric was very thin compared to the bottom half so I added a couple of layers of fusible interfacing.
As soon as I have some spare time I'm going to be making more of these and maybe even one in red just to keep my friend Liz happy.

I love how it opens up completely making it so easy to get into it.

As you can see there's loads of room for more.

Now I have to stop playing around and get back to more serious sewing. I'm nearly finished making a bag as part of a blog hop I'm taking part in and I'm also waiting on a test bag coming very soon. Today I was sent a bag pattern for testing by Janelle at Emmaline Bags.
This is the first time I'm testing for Janelle, she's such a sweet, kind lady and I can't wait to make the new bag she's designed.

Happy Sewing to all of you.

~ Maria ~

Look What I Won!!!!!!

Oh boy am I over the moon. I enter giveaways when I can but never imagine I would win so then forget about them until the next one.

Then suddenly today I received an email from Sara saying I'd won. Won what I thought. Then I saw the name 'Savannah Bag'. To be honest I thought it was spam because there was a link that wasn't highlighted so couldn't click on it. Anyway I googled the name of the bag and the site and nearly fell off my chair when I saw written in black and white that I had won this gorgeous bag pattern. Of course when I saw the photo of the bag it came to me.

Take a look, isn't it just adorable. The Savannah Bag is from Cozy Nest Design.
I know you're all drooling now and want one too so here's the link to the pattern.

I'm too excited to do any sewing now so I'm going to sit here and play on the internet for the rest of the evening.

Happy Sewing

~ Maria ~

Necessary Clutch Wallet #3

I'm back again with another Necessary Clutch Wallet. This is the third one I made. The last two were in upholstery fabric and I wanted to see how the wallet felt made up in quilting cotton. I was a bit worried it would be a bit flimsy and not have as much structure as the other two but I was really pleased with it and it was so much easier to sew than the other two. I was able to make this one solely on my domestic sewing machine.

I'd bought some of this fabric about 4 years ago and couldn't get hold of any more. The last thing I made was a wallet and makeup bag set that you can see on my blog header. Luckily my daughter found some again and bought me four meters.

My wallet still isn't perfect so I guess I'll just have to keep making more till I'm happy with it LOLL.

The magnetic button was too far down so it was tough sewing around it as you can see on the inner row of stitching.

 I missed those little threads when I was snipping. Why is it they only show up on photos LOL.

On this wallet I added fabric zipper tabs to reduce the bulk when sewing into the sides.

See what I mean about the magnetic button being too far down. Of course if you use the twist lock like in the pattern you won't have this problem.

Ok that's enough wallets for now. I need to make 5 bags. Luckily they're not needed all at the same time.

Happy Sewing to you all.

~ Maria ~

Three Great Offers

Just quickly popping in to tell you about a great offer by Christine W Designs.

Christine has designed an new gorgeous bag that will be out for testing shortly. I'm so lucky and you can be too becasue Christine is giving away a pattern and the hardware for the bag to the lucky person who names her new bag. All you have to do is leave the name you think best suits the look of this bag in her comments.

And something else......

Christine is looking for a couple of testers for this bag. Someone who is relatively new to bag making but has some sewing experience. Is that you, if so pop over to her blog and email Christine. If you want to test don't leave a comment make sure you email her.

And here's a sneak peak of the bag we'll be testing.

 Good Luck

~ Maria ~

My Red Necessary Clutch Wallet.

After having such a bad time sewing up my purple Necessary Clutch Wallet yesterday I decided to grab my mojo by the neck and drag her in to sit by me while I made a second Necessary Clutch wallet.

I was determined to be able to sew another one with upholstery fabric but this time I had the right colour thread for my industrial sewing machine and I'm glad to say it worked perfectly.

My bloggy friend Liz left in her comment that it would also look nice in red which I know she's crazy about. She has red in her playroom, red in her sewing room and red in the rest of the house and she also likes to make the most adorable red bags LOLLL so just to please Liz I made this one in red upholstery fabric with a red and white polkadot quilting cotton for the lining. Hope you approve Liz.

After seeing Janelle's photos of her wallets I decided to do the front flap on this one like one of her other ones.

The inside of this one I did in just one colour. Is this enough red for you Liz.

A lady from one of my sewing groups asked me if this wallet is just for money, so I decided to throw in some different items to see how much it would hold and was surprised. It holds my basic make up, money and cards.

 
Or you can put you cell phone in the zipper compartment so its safe plus your money and still have room for other things like keys.

You can see the size better here with my cell phone in the largest compartment.
Can you believe it, I've sewn the zipper pocket in the wrong way round again. LOLL

So that's my wallet in upholstery fabrics again. This time no problems sewing it up on my industrial sewing machine. In fact it loved all the thick layers. Next one though will be in quilting cottons just to see how it feels.
You can find the pattern HERE and also a free tutorial on how to make a wrist strap and shoulder strap for the wallet. Also you can find the tutorial for installing a tongue/press lock onto your wallet or any other bag HERE

I feel so much better having succeeded this time. Today is cleaning day. I've neglected everywhere so badly that I fear my mojo has run away again.

Happy Sewing to you all.

~ Maria ~

The Necessary Clutch Wallet

Today is Friday again. The day I make something that I want to make rather than things I have to make but I was so excited to receive the Necessary Clutch Wallet pattern as a gift that I just had to make it a day earlier. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!

First of all let me tell you that since I made my fabric flowers on the last post I lost my mojo and just couldn't get it back. I thought making something I really wanted would solve the problem. Boy was I wrong!!!!!!!

First mistake was no mojo
Second mistake was I ignored the fact that this wallet should be made up in quilting cottons and decided to make it in upholstery fabric.
Third mistake was sewing it on my domestic sewing machine becasue I didn't have the right colour thread for my industrial machine.

You have no idea the amount of unpicking I did on this wallet not to mention the sweat and cursing LOLLLLL, that of course had nothing to do with the pattern itself just bad judgment on my part.  Anyway it's finished and I love it. Her she is, I deserve a pat on the back for finishing this one LOLLL

I love this colour. I'd had this fabric for some and thought it would be perfect for this wallet LOLL

The pattern is by Janelle at Emmaline Bags. Well written pattern with good instructions and photos. I definitely recommend you make one of these. You'll love it.

The sun was flooding into my room so took this close up to try to show you the specs of glitter in the floral fabric.
The top stitching on the floral piece I unpicked about three times. I originally did the stitching in the lilac colour of the fabric and it just showed up all my wonky stitches LOLL. Getting around the magnetic button was really difficult but doable. The pattern has a twist lock so it would be much easier to sew and prettier.

Here's something I hope you won't see again, EVER. I have never in my life done stitching as bad as this, not even close LOLLL. This is where I was trying to sew my zipper in. Can you see the holes. I'd already unpicked it once. I ended up sewing this four times before I got it right. I just know I'm ruining my reputation here LOLLL but thought I'd show it so you can all see what happens when you sew without your mojo.

 After finishing the wallet I noticed I'd put my zipper pouch in the wrong way round. Mine opens from right to left.
 

Sewing the sides with all the thickness I had was a nightmare. NOTE TO SELF, always make sure I have the correct colour thread so I can use my industrial sewing machine.

I love all the space and pockets in this wallet. Janelle also has a free tutorial on how to make a wrist strap and shoulder strap for this wallet HERE.

The conclusion is I'm head over heals in love with my new wallet and once I get my mojo back I'll make another. This time in quilting cottons or at least have the right thread so I can make one in upholstery fabrics on my industrial machine becasue I love the heavier feel of it.

Happy Sewing to you all and hope you're having better luck than me.

~ Maria ~

Keeping It In The Family

Some of you will know that my daughter graduated from University a while back as a Textile and Fashion Designer. She's finding it pretty hard to get her foot in the door of the design world so in the meantime she's enjoying sewing things for a craft fair and has even got a custom order for a single bed quilt. She's also teaching English as a foreign language in an institute and has a private student who is only 5 I think. His mum saw this zippy makeup bag and loved it. She asked my daughter to make a quilt for her son out of his old clothes.

Here's the pouch she made. Pretty good for her first effort I think. She didn't buy the fabrics especially for it, she just used what she had lying around to experiment.
All it is is strips of fabric cut out and woven together, ironed onto some interfacing and then a backing fabric used ready to top stitch the pouch in a decorative machine stitch. Simple and effective.
She's been talking about designing bags. Watch out Christine & Samantha, at the rate she's going we'll all be out of work LOLLLLLL

So there are no raw edges you could also fold them under before ironing and weaving.
This photo is the original one she sent me before doing the collage.

It's so nice to have someone in the family who shares my passion and it's great to be able to talk fabric and sewing with her too. I'm going to have to watch my back from now on.

~ Maria ~

Fabric Tulips & Boxes

Today is Friday so it's my day for making whatever I want. All orders get put to one side on Friday and this is what I chose to make.
Aren't they just so sweet.

I ran out of glue for my glue gun so didn't make the leaves for all of the tulips. I'll go buy some tomorrow. 
These are so incredibly easy and quick to make and would brighten up any miserable gloomy day. They'd also make a nice gift for a birthday or mothers day.

The fabric boxes I finished yesterday. They were a custom order for the lady that ordered the Uptown Girl bag and Lombard Street bag.
Hey Bethany does the boxes fabric look familiar. LOLL Bethany made a cute Patchwork Double Zip Wristlet and the fabric she used was the same as mine just a different colour. You can see it HERE.

I wasn't sure how to make the leaves but came up with this method and it worked perfectly. I sandwiched  a thin piece of wire between two pieces of fabric and zigzaged over it so I could give the leaf some shape by bending it slightly.
 

If you'd like to make some you can find the tutorial for the tulips HERE and the tutorial for the fabric boxes HERE.

Happy Sewing to you all and have a nice weekend.

~ Maria ~

The Lombard Street Bag With Patterns Giveaway Link

Finally my second custom order finished and I'm so pleased with this one. It's not a particularly difficult bag but there are loads of pockets as usual with Christine's designs LOLL so it's a bit time consuming but well worth the effort. The lady I made it for had seen the one I tested for Christine but wasn't keen on the velvety fabric so together we chose different fabric. She wanted a bag for her tablet and loved this design.

Christine is having a fabulous giveaway on her blog so make sure you go to the bottom of this post for the link and details.

Sorry for a photo heavy post. Just blame Christine for adding so many pockets to show you LOLLL

I used upholstery fabric for this bag and the alternative I have to soft and stable is a little firmer plus it's shower resistant so there's no worry of the tablet getting wet if it rains.

This is the pocket for the tablet.

Main zipper closure.

The other side of the bag has two slanted pockets and a hidden zipper pocket along with another pocket inside for a cell phone.

This is the hidden zipper pocket.

Inside the main bag there are another four slip pockets.

I put hubby's tablet in the front red pocket to show you how much space there is. Funny how you can only see the dust on it in photos. I'll have to show him.

This is the cell phone pocket.

That's alot of pockets!!!!! No excuse for being unorganized with this bag.

Before I rush off onto my next sewing project I want to tell you about a GIVEAWAY that Christine is having as part of the Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway. It's well worth entering becasue if you win you get to choose 3, yes thats right, 3 of any of her patterns from her pattern shop. Here's the link CHRISTINE'S PATTERN GIVEAWAY.
You have till May 16th at 5 pm PST to enter and international entries are welcome.

Best of luck to you.

~ Maria ~