Half Moon Tote

This is the larger size of the Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote. I wanted to make a bag that worked with the Moda Half Moon fabric after the Mini Multi didn’t turn out as expected. I am pretty pleased how this one turned out.

Half Moon Tote - detail

I might be done with this pattern. I dug the Cruzer & Little Cru pattern out and may start working on that.

Blue Flower Tote

This is one of the totes that made over the past week or so. I think I bought the fabric when I was in Maryland a few years ago. I bought the fabric specifically for a tote bag. It has been in my tote bag fabric box for awhile. I started to wonder why I bought it and then I found a great use for it. I like the fabric, but it turns out not to be a fabric that I would carry around. I think I bought it at the beginning of my tote bag making mania when I didn’t have a lot of tote bag fabrics.

I used a tea pot fabric for the inside.

Blue Flower Tote Bag - detail

I was on a mission to start using some of the fabric I bought on my recent trips. I decided that after hauling the regular sized AMH MTT around for a couple of weeks that it was time to test out my mini version.

AMH Mini Mult-tasker Tote

Bottom line: I don’t like it. My basic problem is that it is handbag sized, not tote bag sized. What I really wanted was the AMH MTT in a slightly smaller tote bag size. I definitely did not want a handbag. I use leather handbags, because I am brutal on them. This bag looks fine, especially from this photo angle, but looks slightly out of proportion to my exacting eye.

It went together pretty well until I had to insert the lining into the exterior. I found out that the lining was much too big (did I forget to downsize?). I used tucks to make it work.

I used the pink straps instead of the straps I had originally made for this tote. I really liked the straps I made and only had a half yard of that fabric. When I decided I didn’t like this tote, I decided to save the straps for a different bag. I think the pink looks nice against the black and white. You’ll see the second version soon!

AMH Mini Mult-tasker Tote (detail)

The fabrics are fabulous and I have enough of the Moda Half Moon large dot to make another regular sized tote. I don’t have anymore of the lining fabric. It reminded me of a 1940s bathing suit fabric.

AMH Mini Multi-tasker tote (size comparison)

Above you can see the size comparison to the regular sized AMH MTT. I thought I only cut off 1″ on each size of the Mini MTT, but must have cut off more.

My mom had a good idea, which was to take the original pattern sheets to a copy place and have them reduce the size proportionally. It is a great idea and I wish I had thought of it sooner.

I have a bunch of other small projects that I have made and will post soon.

I met Faye on a list back in the dark ages of the Internet, when normal users couldn’t upload any photo they wanted and write in a blog.

She and her husband came to visit me when I was on maternity leave and took a shine to The Child. They became his unofficial New Zealand grandparents. Every year for his birthday, they send him a classic New Zealand children’s book and write him a nice note.

Faye and I have also kept in touch, sharing our recent quilt projects, bags and stories about our families. Faye had less time to sew during the past few years as she cared for ill husband. After he died, she went on a world tour to visit her family and has started to sew again.

Faye's Rose Bag

She calls these bags her Yin Yang bags. The pattern is by Jaime Kalvestran of Scrap Bags o Minnesota.

Faye's Rose Bag - back

Faye's Black & White Ying Yang Bag

Faye's Black & White Ying Yang Bag - back

Faye's Black, Brown & White Ying Yang Bag

This one reminds me of the fabric from Lonni Rossi that I used for Marilyn’s Multi-tasker tote.

Faye writes about these bags “I made several in the same Japanese fabrics; the blue and white ones were from unpicked antique kimonos. There are two inside pockets, suitable for a mobile phone and for keys, and the bag is deep enough for a wallet. Now I am “bagged-out” but may make more for gifts later.”

You might remember about a week ago I talked about selecting bag fabrics. I just couldn’t decide so, instead, I started on a different bag where the selections were already firm in my mind.

AMH MTT in Progress

I really enjoyed working with these fabrics. I loved the colors and the feel. I finished the bag on Saturday and took it out with me on Sunday. I have to admit that even if I give bags away, I try most of them out. I intend to keep this one, but tote bags flow through my life so quickly that who knows?

These are fabrics that I bought in Ferndale and the large flower print is by Martha Negley. I do love that color, a reddish pink tending towards salmon. It is a cheerful color.

This is the first time I have made the pocket panels the same color as the exterior of the bag. They are the pieces right under the dot fabric you can see peeking out of top left and right.

It made the fabric selection process a lot easier. The pocket panels aren’t highlighted at all; they look like part of the exterior. I don’t know yet if that bothers me. I did a lot of work on the bag and wonder if I need people to see the pocket panels? I’ll have to think about it and let you know.

I like to make the inside of the bag a light color, so I can see what is hiding inside the bag. I really like that dot fabric! I got some a long time ago with a chartreuse-y / olive background. This colorway works very well for the inside of a bag.

I realize that this is another non-quilt project. Yes, I have quilt projects; I just don’t seem to be working on them. Two quilts, Chocolate Box and Passionate Purple are ready at the quilter and I haven’t gone to get them yet. I also finally called for a longarming date. I could have had March 26, but have to work that day, so FOTY 2009 will be quilted on April 23. Don’t give up! Some quilts are coming.

Every horizontal surface in my workroom is covered, mostly with fabric, but other stuff, too. I don’t have large enough horizontal surfaces, but that is no excuse. I have so many things going on. On the top of my list is sewing!

I am trying to pick out fabric for my latest Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker Tote. I’d like a new one for spring and it just isn’t going well. I tidied up a little after I got home from CQFA, but I still don’t have enough space to work.

I was looking for a red or a pink to bring out the middle of the flower, but am considering another green to encourage subtlety. I looked at pattern on the fabric as well as the color and I am not really sure any of them work. The above are some that I tried out to see if I liked them. I think I need a red with a little more pink.

Final Selection?

Perhaps you like the above?

No? I found more fabric choices in the pile behind the door. they caught my eye when I was wandering in and out. This area is like the Tollbooth in the Phantom Tollbooth and they haven’t been on my radar since my sister moved a bunch of stuff around in my workroom.

Option A

I definitely like the pink dot better. It is a lot of dots in the piece, however.

Option B

The small dot kept catching my eye as I looked at some of the other choices. It was on the top of my ironing board because I had just ironed it. I kind of like the lavender/pinkish color.

Option C

Stripes don’t work for me. Well, actually, the stripes work, but the color of the stripes doesn’t work. Too Pepto Bismally.

Option D

Too much green?

I really wanted to get going on that tote today. It has been too long since I sewed. Since I couldn’t decide on colors, I was stuck. NOT!

AMH MTT in Progress

I have plenty of fabric and had just come across the perfect green to make the straps for another AMH MTT, so I started in on that and got pretty far after I made the  straps.

The reddish pink fabric is a Martha Negley for Rowan fabric from the Variegated Garden collection will be used for the exterior. This particular print is MN-40 Dahlia.

That fun dot is the inside. As you can see I have the pockets pinned and ready to sew, but haven’t sewn them yet. I was tired.

I added a cell phone pocket, which is the smaller pocket also waiting to be sewed on.

Cell Phone Pocket in Progress

Sorry, this photo is bleary. I have been up and down the stairs (4 flights) at least 8 times to fix photos and I am not doing it again. This idea is from the Sweet Harmony bag. The dimensions of this  pocket are 4″x5″. I cut it 8″x5″, sew around the outside with right sides together, turn it and then sew it to the lining of the AMH MTT bag. The way I make it fit the cell phone is that I pin the bottom so that it measures only 3″, which makes a pleat.

Denim Bag

This is a denim bag I made out of of an old pair of jeans for my stepdad, The Big Guy. I made one of these in high school that I carried around and embellished. I am not really sure what happened to that bag or whether there are any photos of it anywhere. I stitched around the edges of the pockets with embroidery floss and embroidered flowers on my version.

I wanted to do something like that on this bag, but really ran out of time. I had a lot of gifts to make, as you know.

The shoulder strap is pretty wide. I made it that wide because of the seams and because I thought it might be a little more comfortable for him to carry. The straps will be a good opportunity for him to embellish.

I really had a hard time sewing through the denim and all of the layers in various places. The 9K did NOT like the denim. As a result, I couldn’t do as much topstitching as I normally do on bags. Both of the issues I ran into allowed me to go with the flow, though, and I billed it as a joint work in progress.

The Big Guy is VERY creative. He works in various media including leather. He has made leather slippers before, so I thought the bag might be a good canvas for him to stitch on. He loved the idea! I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

AKA Gift Post #6

I am pleased [with myself] to say that 2010 started out with a sewing bang. I finished the bag for my aunt (she never reads this blog as far as I know, so I don’t feel bad about posting it even though I haven’t sent it off yet).

Jeri's Bag

I started this bag way back in December 2009, but with one thing and another wasn’t able to finish it until Friday. I feel bad, because it was intended to be a Christmas gift. My aunt really loves purple, so I made this bag in purple for her. In terms of fabric selection I had a couple of things I wanted to accomplish and some limitations to deal with. First, I was limited in my fabric choices because of the size of the pieces of fabrics I had available. For a long time I have purchased half yards and FQs. These are fine for quilting, but I am finding that they are barely adequate for bag making. I intend to try the Mini-Multi (AMH’s pattern for the Multi-tasker tote that I resized)This limitation directed me to more plummy colored purples.

Also, I wanted to try a bag where I didn’t use fabrics with a ton of contrast. I think Marilyn’s Multi-tasker was pretty successful. That one wasn’t boring to make. Thus, I wanted to try another interesting combination of fabrics that were also not wacky looking and my aunt wouldn’t feel bad about carrying around.

I am pretty happy with the way this bag turned out. It looks nice and does not look wacky. I made the pockets and straps at the beginning of the process even though AMH says to make the straps at the end of the process, right before I am supposed to attach them. I think my process worked better for me, because once I got past the tedious, fiddly parts, I was able to put the bag together relatively quickly. I like to get all the fiddly parts done, so I can move through the process quickly as I tend to get bored if I have to keep going back to the fiddly bits periodically throughout the process.

Jeri's Bag - detail 1

I think the combination of fabrics is a good one. The colors work well together and there is some interest in the combination. They are all older fabrics, so an added bonus is that I delved into the fabric closet and used some stuff that has been hanging around. I think Auntie would have preferred less plummy and more purply colors, but the bag is what it is.

Jeri's Bag - detail 2

AMH does not make her pockets fully lined. Another change that I have made is that I make them fully lined [by cutting a piece of fabric, folding it in half (right sides together), sewing around, turning] before sewing them on to the bag. I think this method makes a nicer finished product and doesn’t take much longer. I want to remember next time to add a label to the pocket. It seems like a good place to include a label.

Jeri's Bag - detail 3

I am still liking the cell phone pocket, which I learned to make from the Sweet Harmony bag, so I added one to this bag as well.

Cloth Napkins

I have bought some of the fruit and vegetable fabrics, that seem to be popular, recently. I had a joint project with my mom in mind, but decided I liked certain ones too much to give away, thus I made napkins. Perhaps I am making a series after taking a look at the raspberry napkin I made in 2009? The cake fabric and the pots and pans fabric is from my collection of fabric for backs. Those pieces are large, so I can make FQ napkins with no problem and no piecing. In general, I don’t really like making napkins. Turning the pieces and getting the seam crisp are really frustrating and I am generally not successful at it. I tried a couple of different methods this time and am progressing. I do enjoy using the new napkins! I also enjoy looking at the cake fabric. My sister wants a set, but I don’t know if I have it in me to make a SET. Perhaps I can make one a month for her, then give her a set of 12 for Christmas? We’ll see.

In a way I wanted to set a trend for 2010 of major league sewing. In 2010 I want to make major progress in the sewing-quiltmaking-bag making department. I think I did well last year. Still, I want to do better. Not necessarily in terms of numbers of projects completed, but improvement in my processes. Oh, and I would like to see major improvement in my organizational systems. I am not committing to anything on that front, but would like to see it. We’ll see about that.

I love my sister dearly, but she is hard to shop for. She buys what she wants, so I always have to think early and creatively. I found this Basic Grey fabric and just knew I had to use it for a gift for sissy. She is an invertate scrapbooker and LOVES Basic Grey paper. It started the whole thought process, actually.

Sweet Harmony - Full

On my week away, TFQ tempted me with doing a joint Sweet Harmony Bag by Amy Butler. My idea was that we would each make one at the same time. However, it turned out that we worked together on one bag.

This is probably the last time I will make an Amy Butler pattern.  I purposefully did not write the review right away, because I wanted to give the shock time to wear off and give the piece a fair hearing.

While the finished product turned out really well, the directions were overly complicated and the pattern promoted extreme wastefulness.

Here are some tips  and things to be aware of when making this pattern:

1. Trace the pattern pieces on tracing paper and keep the originals all together on the pattern sheets.
2. Trace the pattern pieces again, but smaller (approximately 3/4″ will work) for the fusible fleece and interfacing pieces. If you don’t do this, the pattern will tell you to cut them full size and then trim them down. Thus, this direction promoted a lot of waste in the interfacing, Peltex and fusible fleece.
3. Make a separate pattern piece for the inside pocket as well. This is a combined piece and it is just too confusing not to have a separate pattern piece.
4. Make a chart (Excel or the Google Docs Spreadsheet feature would work) of the pattern pattern pieces you will need and which fibers you need to cut them out of. I didn’t know to do this and ended up laying all the cut pieces out and reading the list over and over while counting pieces.
5. The designers seem to have a problem with naming pattern pieces consistently. In Step 4G, they ask you to do something to a Lining Panel. This was the first time I had ever heard of this piece.
6. This pattern and the directions don’t always make it clear which layer (fleece & interfacing or interfacing only) the designer wants you to work with.


Sweet Harmony Org System

7. Directions should have included a rotary kit (cutter, mat, ruler). The instructions do not include these tools, but they make the process much easier. I understand that the pattern isn’t necessarily targeted at quiltmakers, however I think many sewists now have rotary cutting kits as part of their tool arsenal. If you only sew garments and accessories (e.g. no quilts) and do not have a rotary cutting kit, I think you should go and buy one. What do you think?
8. Use tailor tacks to mark dots.
9. Handbag pattern includes a 20″ zipper in the list of supplies needed. Then the designer wants you to modify this zipper to make it about 8″ shorter. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how to modify a zipper. I also did not want to modify a zipper. I barely know how to put in a zipper. TFQ who has LOTS of garment sewing experience and she didn’t know how to modify a zipper with confidence either. This is another bit of waste. I ended up omitting the zipper (it’s for a an inside pocket), but I would recommend buying a 12″ zipper and not modifying anything. The pattern also gives the pattern pieces for a tote bag, which I did not make, and I believe that the 20″ zipper would work with the tote bag. I think they were trying to save space on the pattern by not listing two supplies.
10. The marks for the magnetic snaps are below and to the left of where they actually should go.
    

    Sewing piping to outside pocket

11. The pattern asks you to make much more piping than you actually need. You will really only need about 25″.
12. Finally, there are not enough pictures, despite the price of the pattern, so I would recommend giving yourself plenty of time and using nice fabric. You may never make it again, so you want to like it!

I think that making all the tote bags I have made really helped in understanding the pattern and how to follow the directions. The final product is really nice and looks very professional. I als learned how to make a pocket that has a little tuck so larger things will fit and you can actually pull it out.

Outside & cell phone pocket

Sweet Harmony Inside

Grama's Grab Bag

I mentioned that I am trying to make as many gifts as possible for the holidays. I am having fun doing it, but I wish that I had started earlier. I wasn’t sure what to make Grama since all she really likes to do is shop and play bingo. I decided to make her a ‘Grab Bag’ from the All People Quilt pattern.

She has started bringing bags back to the grocery, so I decided to make her this bag. I knew how to make it since I made it for a gift previously and could use a couple of FQs, if necessary.

Grama's Grab Bag in process

I found the older Jinny Beyer border print and a floral for the inside and think that it turned out well. I know she doesn’t read blogs, so I am not worried about ruining the surprise by posting this before Christmas.

Cherry in Tote

I was walking back from lunch the other day. I am always on the prowl for the perfect bag and saw a display of luggage I had never seen before. I looked closer and really couldn’t figure out the purpose of  these suitcases. Finally, I stepped back and looked at the store’s sign and found it was a pet store and these carriers were for pets! I was amazed at the complexity.

The other day my sister sent me this picture of her dog, Cherry in the tote I made. I never thought of using the Eco-Market totes as dog carriers, but I am sure it was much cheaper than one of the pieces of luggage I saw downtown. Doesn’t Cherry look cute and sweet? She is sweet, but only intermittently. My Sis saved her from a bad home and she has to contend with 3 other dogs, the smallest of whom is 3x her size!

I hope her little claws don’t rip through. The bag has already been back and forth a time or two.

Dotted Multi-Tasker Tote

Here is my latest Multi-tasker tote. As usual, I made it from the Anna Maria Horner pattern. The more MTTs I make, the easier this pattern gets. Will this be my new tote bag pattern of choice?

I bought the laminated cotton (oilcloth) at the Quilting Loft in Seattle on my week away. As I mentioned, it poured rain part of the time I was there and the regular cotton Julie MTT got wet. When I saw the  dotted laminated cotton, I thought it would be a great winter bag. I made it big, even though I still need to make the Mini Multi to see if it is a better size for my height and shape and the amount of space I usually have on public transport. I had a lot of stuff I was hauling around from cafe’ to cafe’ that week.

Dotty MTT, inside detail

Aside from the laminated cotton, the inside is an old, but still fun and fresh and bright Marimekko print, and the pocket panels are some random turquoise that I had. I am not happy with the outcome of this bag. I am not happy with the pocket panel fabric I chose (the turquoise). It goes well with the other fabrics, theoretically. Made up it just looks wrong. I wish I had used a stripe. I may make another one and use this one for a gift or something else. I have more of the dotted fabric.

One great thing about this project was that I was able to utilize a skill I learned during my week away to add a cell phone pocket to the inside. Apparently, cell phone pockets have a little pleat in them (do they all??). While I don’t know if I would put my cell phone in this bag, I might if my jacket pockets are full of other things. The pocket might also be useful for a Nano, or other small electronic devices. It is definitely a pocket I will use in other bags, mostly because it is cool to make and I feel proud of myself for learning to do it.

After I made this bag and looked at the seven (yes, SEVEN) hanging on my workroom door, I started to wonder if I was giving up quilts and moving on to other accessories? I don’t think so, but the speed with which I can churn out a bag is very attractive and very fulfilling. I will have to put some block making on my agenda for the rest of this long weekend.

Most of you have probably heard about oilcloth recently.  Anna Maria Horner has some as does Michael Miller and many other designers. While on my week away, I bought some dotted oilcloth designed/produced by Michael Miller from the Quilting Loft.

I don’t have a very strong garment sewing background and part of my tote bag adventure is learning to construct 3D objects. As a result, I have never used anything like oilcloth before, except for the tablecloth vinyl. Some issues I ran into were:

1. What scissors to use: if used my good sewing scissors, would the oilcloth dull the blades?
2. What foot do I use? Will I need the roller foot?
3. The directions I found said press on low heat. What is low heat? Testing required, I suppose.
4. What thread should I use?
5. Will the oilcloth play nicely with the regular cotton?

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As I may have mentioned I have wanted to try the oilcloth after carrying the Julie Bag around in the rain and trying to keep my stuff from getting soaked. The bag is complete, as you can see and here is what I found.

I used my medium scissors – not my good Ginghers, but not paper scissors either. They still seem sharp.

Using a regular foot was fine. The machine had no problems feeding the oilcloth.

Pressing the oilcloth was not an option. I used the very lowest setting on my machine and the oilcloth just curled up. After I found that out, I just finger pressed. Not as good as a nice crisp seam, but it worked. When I put the floor into the bag, I pressed from the lining side.

I used regular Aurifil thread and had no issues

The cotton and the oilcloth were nice to each other. The oilcloth was not too slippery. I think I sewed mostly with the flannel-ish side against the bed of the machine, which probably helped.

Chubby Charmer, full

Chubby Charmer, detail

This is the Chubby Charmer. Two of my friends, Maureen and Terri both had bags made from this pattern and I admired their shape and size. On my week away, I made one.

This is a BIG bag. I could fit my 3YO nephew in this bag! I didn’t realize the size in relation to my size until it was finished. I like it and will probably use it to carry stuff up and down the stairs in the house, or perhaps out to the car. I can imagine it would be useful for carrying packages out to the car to take to the post office.

I don’t think it will be great for carrying around on a general basis, because it might get really dirty and I am not sure about the washability. I also think that I could easily fill it up with 30 pounds of stuff. I’ll have to make an effort not to fill it with 30 pounds of stuff.

I used a Moda pack of charm squares from approximately 2007 called Recipe for Friendship by Mary Engelbreit to make the outside of the bag. There weren’t quite enough so TFQ threw in a few from the more recent Snippets collection. We agonized a bit, but not too much and then I began sewing them together.

Side one

Side two

One of the things I liked about this pattern is that it is specifically designed for the Moda Charm Packs. I don’t know if other companies make 5″ charm packs. I assume some do. It is very easy to cut your own 5″ squares out of your favorite fabrics. If I were going to use my own fabrics, I think I would collect 5″ squares as I cut fabrics for other projects.

I was putting away some other charm packs I have (Figgy Pudding and Pumpkins Gone Wild), I was thinking about what else I could make from these charm packs. I don’t need to have a specific charm pack pattern; I could just sew the squares together and then cut a pattern out of that new fabric.

I also used the red and white dotted fabric (by Susie Osborne, Emmalyne’s Day of the Week line) for the handles and TFQ gave me the red fabric (Mary Lou Weideman for In the Beginning Fabrics) for the inside.

I bought a pack of fusible fleece at the same time I bought the pattern at PIQF. I found, though, that that pack didn’t have enough of the fusible fleece and I had to get more. Both the  inside walls and outside walls take two layers of fusible fleece. I didn’t find that it stuck together very well afer pressing. As a result I think I would just use my leftover batting if I made this pattern again.

The pattern designer has a really cool trick for making the box bottom. The maker traces a square template (provided in pattern) on to each bottom corner. After some sewing gymnastics, which are well explained in the pattern, you end up with a line to sew across that makes the box bottom. Very easy and no box bottom guessing. TFQ came across a similar trick in the Jane Market tote by Posie Gets Cosy. We tried to find the ratios of squares to front panels so we could try it ourselves on our own designs, but haven’t yet been successful.