I finally finished this green EPP ball, which had needed stuffing for quite awhile. I love these balls so much!
I wasn’t sure about the green, but made it because I hadn’t made a green one and had bins of green out for the Green Enigma. Seemed like a good plan.
Also, I want there to be some choice in my friend’s store. As mentioned, I have been leaning into pink lately and I know not everyone likes pink.
EPP Ball #12
I also think green is good for boys, though I know I am encouraging stereotyping. I did add a flower to encourage whoever gets this to have a little softness.
I can’t help taking pictures of Mt. Shasta. Despite the fact that I already have a million photos of the mountain, I still take more photos each time I drive by. It is a striking sight. Pictures just don’t do it justice. It looked particularly beautiful as we drove by this time.
When I don’t pick up my Mom, I can bypass about two hours of the drive. We arrived in Ashland just after 4pm not at all exhausted. DH was able to make a quick stop at the fly fishing store there. Sadly, Sew Creative was closed when I went there while he went to the fly fishing shop. How perfect is that, though? A quilt store and a fly fishing store two blocks apart?
On the first day of my vacation, I sent DH off at 9am to go fly fishing. DH had to drive another 2.5 hours into the wilderness to find his stream. Then MaryM and I headed upstairs to start sewing.
Setup in Mary’s Workroom
After setup in Mary’s workroom, I started sewing a couple of small projects. I was sad not to be using my new machine, but was happy that Mary had a second machine I could use so I didn’t have to haul a machine in our stuffed car.
Fairytale I Spy – finished
Before I left, I had prepped another Snap Tray. That project was ready to sew. I also had plans for an I Spy pouch for the Chaos templates.
This I Spy pouch did not adhere to the sizes Sara provides. I used her instructions, but worked with my own measurements. The process worked fine and I am really happy with my newest I Spy pouch.
Pink Poppy Snap Tray-finished
I got to work on the Snap Tray first. As mentioned, I wanted to use to organize the space next to my machine. I am pretty excited about how well it worked. Cleanup was a breeze as well. I took the small Snap Tray out of the rectangular Snap Tray and brushed all the schnibbles into the pet bed pile.
I also started cutting out the Sheffield on the first day. I was able to get everything ready so I could start to sew on Day Two. I am glad I did some prep before I left. I was really able to hit the ground running.
At the same time I was working on these projects, Mary got down to business with her Running with Scissors tote. I thought she had finished this bag a long time ago! We worked together on fabric choices and some other confusing aspects of the pattern**. Periodically, I stuck my oar in when Mary seemed to be struggling. Mostly, I encouraged and cajoled her to get on with it! By the time I left, she was assembling the whole project. Mary is very meticulous. I was super impressed with how she quilted her pieces. The pocket quilting matched up with the case body quilting. I would have never thought of it, but it looked amazing.
I have made this pattern and am pleased with how mine came out. However, I still find the naming of the pieces and the lack of a map of the project to be confusing in terms of what fabric goes where. We looked at the photos of my Arty Running with Scissors tote. A LOT.
The next day we went to Green’s (Anvil Sewing) and Stitched. Both are in Medford. I forgot thread beyond the Serafil I was using for bagmaking. I needed some Aurifil 2600 for EPP. I bought the thread, but never worked on the project. Green’s is a great place to buy bag hardware, patterns and supplies. I think they have all of the ByAnnie products. What a great resource for local bagmakers.
Then it was back to sewing. I continued to work on the Sheffield. In between, as leaders and enders, I worked on the Potato Chip blocks. I am glad I brought them since I was able to sew about 6.
At some point, I stopped working on the Sheffield, even though I really wanted to finish it. I decided to add a leash and an interior zipper pocket. I didn’t have the right hardware and didn’t want to compromise on a bag for me.
MaryM’s Book and Tool Folio
I started work on three bags that I want to use as gifts. I had decided, before I left to make the Aneela Hooey Book and Tool Folio (Stitched Sewing Organizers**, pg.55). I collected all of the supplies and fabrics for three of them. One reason I decided to make this was that I thought it would be a useful organizing tool. It is also one bag that uses 8 inch zippers, of which I have a lot and rarely use.
Aneela’s idea was to use it for sewing supplies, but I found that a pad, including a larger one I tried later, and a composition book both fit in the large pockets. Mary and I had a long discussion about the merits and then she suggested the Zip It Up Folio** by ByAnnie. I had most of the supplies I needed and Mary gave me a couple of zippers to use, so I was set to make them. I decided to make one first to get the lay of the land.
Zip It Up #1
I think making one on its own was a good choice. I wanted to get familiar with the pattern and see where I might want to make changes.
Cutting takes awhile and is a good thing to do with a friend. All the pieces are now cut using the Philip Jacobs feather fabric as my inspiration.
I chose to make this bag with two vinyl pockets instead of a mesh pocket and a vinyl pocket. I cut the first vinyl pieces wrong, so those will become the new windows for future I Spy pouches. I am glad I brought a brand new roll of glitter vinyl. Mary has a lifetime supply of clear vinyl and she offered me some. It was a good backup in case I ran out.
I made good progress despite the need to quilt the fabric. I wanted to cover the top of the vinyl pockets below the zipper, so I brought the pieces home. Since I was ready to assemble the bag, I needed to stop, add the ribbon and then proceed. Another project to finish at home. Sigh.
It was a great trip. I felt super calm afterwards and can’t wait to do it again.
In the course of making all the snap trays, I decided to make one for Mom. She is sewing in a very small space and I thought it would help keep her organized.
I used the fabric from the robe Mary and I made her. It goes with her other gifts, too.
Mom’s Snap Tray – bottom
I used some of the new painting fabric I bought for future gifts. Normally I would use this fabric for the interior, but I wanted her to be able to see the paint tubes.
It is interesting how these snap trays show only one fabric unless you turn the piece over. Barring some complicated piecing, there is not way to have a little of interior fabric peek through.
Mom’s Snap Tray exterior
Mom’s Snap Tray interior
Mom also has a lot of bags she is not using, so I wanted to make sure I made her something she could use right away.
Don’t worry. I am not going to tell you about every single one of these I make. I am still in the experimental phase so you get to hear about some of my musings.
Like the Snap Trays, I am experimenting a bit with various parts of how to make this. In this version, I used batting as the interfacing instead of SF101. It works well, but the bag feels a bit floopier, which I think is interesting, though maybe not preferable. It works, but SF101 or, maybe, DecorBond might be better. I haven’t tried DecorBond yet.
I am using fabrics similar to those I used for the Snap Trays. I have a bin of Sorbet fabrics I was using for the Block-a-Long a million years ago. There is a lot of fabric in that bin, so even using some for these bags will leave plenty for me to pick up the Block-a-Long project again. They have a Mary Engelbreit-ish look to them.
One of the first projects I made on my vacation was another snap tray to use while sewing on the go.
My idea was to put the small Snap tray given to me by Lynette in a larger rectangular Snap Tray and use the leftover portion for schnibbles. I didn’t take a photo of it in use, but it worked really well! As long as I put my tools back in the smaller tray, I was able to find them easily. They also did not roll away or fall off the table while I was sewing.
I found that flat things like packs of hand sewing needles and post-its fit well between the two sides of the trays (bottom of photo).
If you want to make one of these, see the tutorial.
Pink Poppy Snap Tray flat
I chose cream snaps for the interior, mostly because I didn’t have enough of the pink snaps left.
Pink Poppy Snap Tray finished
I like these trays and think they are great for organizing small items.
The second session of the Chaos with a Twist class was interesting. I had already shown my design in the chat group, so I mostly looked at what other people showed and made comments.
Libs is very encouraging and upbeat. She works in a warehouse type space, which makes me envious. We could see parts of it during the sewing portion of the class.
Chaos: first quadrant in process
I sewed 6 blocks during class and then continued sewing additional blocks for the rest of the day. I really wanted to finish one of the quadrants, which is what she told us to work on first. I wanted to get a whole quadrant done before I left for vacation.
I almost succeeded. Minus one block, I was able to sew all the blocks for one quadrant together. I still have to sew the Rainbow block for the center. I did make a couple of extra blocks (all the corner HSTs needed and two more Hourglass blocks), so net I have enough for a quadrant.
My plan is to make all the Rainbow blocks for the center at one time to get them done.
If you would like to watch the (pre-recorded) intro about Libs’ work and process, you can view it on YouTube.
I finished the Warm Four Patch Fun top and back the other day. The top is a bit of an odd shape, but then I realized it would be great for a twin bed or a toddler bed.
I can’t decide if the scrappy nature of the design works. Still, I am happy that the top is done.
Warm Four Patch Fun back
The back looks great, too, IMO. I started with an Emily Van Hoff print I bought. There weren’t many colorways of the interwoven curve designs left when I found about her, so I bought a peach and gold print, which was kind of a mistake. However, it works well with the top and adds interest to the back.
One of the first projects I finished on my vacation was an I Spy pouch. I wanted to make one for the Chaos templates. There are a lot of them and I want them to be corralled.
The largest size of the I Spy pouch wasn’t large enough for the templates, so I decided to make a larger one.
I wanted to make the new pouch 12×12 inches-ish. I got confused using Mary’s ruler and the pouch ended up being about 10×12 inches.
Fairytale I Spy with templates
When I got home I found that the templates all fit, but the I Spy pouches are pretty flat, at least this one is, so the zipper doesn’t quite close. If I had made it with SF101 instead of the Sewfisive foam from Sewfisticated, it probably would have worked perfectly. I love that foam so much, though!
That fairytale fabric was in my pile of backing fabric. I have a few pieces of novelty fabric that have been hanging around for awhile. I thought about donating it, but decided to use it here. It’s fun and provides a good name for yet another I Spy!
As it is, it will do for now. I’ll make another larger one soon and use this one for something else.
I spent some time on Sunday playing around with making a bag I saw on Instagram. Kotobukisewing showed how to make a Mini One Handle Tote in a reel <insert eye roll here. and something about it appealed to me.
I succeeded! I had to plow through all the bits that IG glosses over, but despite those things, the bag came out very well. This is a relatively simple bag, but my experience with bag making helped a lot.
I had to watch the video about 355 times, because I don’t know how to stop and start IG videos. I was able to make this bag and it looks similar to the one shown on the video. I had to translate the metric measurements into Imperial/American inches and I am pleased to say the bag still looks balanced. One thing I learned is that there is a metric ruler printed on my new machine’s sewing table. Super helpful!
Yes, I did look at their shop, but didn’t see a pattern. They have a lot of other cute patterns.
After installing all the KamSnaps into my Snap Trays, I started sewing something easy: Four Patches that will become part of the Cool Four Patch Fun quilt.
I started sewing cool 2.5 inch squares together with white and low volume squares. I chose foreground fabrics that kind of matched each other.
First Cool 4 Patch Fun Four Patches
Once I got home, I matched the Four Patches I made with Four Patch Fun blocks I thought would look good together.
I have more to make but the design wall is emptying and the pile of blocks ready for the other design wall is growing. I’ll need design wall space soon to lay this out.
I finished the Book Pouch with only a little bit of fiddling. It has already arrived at its new home. I received a lot of nice compliments.
As mentioned, I used the Bristol Pouch pattern by Center Street Quilts as a guide. I am pleased that I was able to use more of the quilted book fabric. There is less of it for me to move around my workroom.
Book Pouch -open
I didn’t focus much on the other fabrics. The lining was the mish mash I used on the table leaf covers. I pulled from scraps and bits I had laying around to finish the pouch.
I didn’t just grab anything; I tried to find a binding that looked cheerful, but also went with the other fabrics. Brown and turquoise go together so I chose a turquoise binding.
Zipper tab
The zipper was also a leftover. The tail is a bit long, but still works. I was pleased that the zipper tab technique I found on Instagram worked pretty well. I had to practice a little trial and error, but it worked in the end.
I find out interesting things on Instagram, but some of the videos are too quick and they are hard to follow. This test worked out.
I found a fun zipper pull in the shape of a pair of glasses that I added.
I am slowly gearing up to make the Courtside Bag, a ByAnnie pattern. I do not play a racquet sport, but really like the look of the bag, especially the vertical zipper.
The first step was to quilt some fabric. I had Colleen quilt fabric on foam for me. That step is ready to go.
I think the next step is cutting out the pieces. I am not quite there yet. I need to decide if I will add the backpack straps or make this into a crossbody bag only. I don’t have a use for this bag at the moment, but I will think of something.
I finished and sent off this latest Enigma to friend who helped me with a project. It matches the Multi-Pocket Organizer that I gave to her last year.
Nykky’s Rose Enigma-top, open
Like the Green Enigma, I struggled with this Enigma. Many things went wrong and I felt like this project took longer than it should have. Still, I think it turned out well and I am pleased I was able to send it off.
The Tula Pink dots look so great on the inside. This line had some challenging colorways, but the pinky-purple is a favorite of mine.
It also lightens up the inside so it easy to find things.
Nykky’s Rose Enigma-back
I fussy cut various parts a little bit so the roses would be highlighted on the back.
The rose pink of the background looks very cheerful. The shapes and shading of the flowers are nice as well.
Nykky’s Enigma-riveted
This is one of the bags that I riveted. Riveting the handles adds to the strength of the bag.
My friend sent me a picture of her closet, which she recently had redone. In it I can see the bags I have made her on the shelf.
Nykky’s closet
The next Enigmas will be finished on the Elna, so hopefully, I won’t have as many problems.
I have a new sewing machine.It has been about 10 years since I got a new machine and that one was new to me, not brand new. In reading over the post, I realized that I am still seeking a machine that will go through a lot of layers. At that time, it was the Boxcar Tote that was giving me fits. This time it was the Pandora Charisma. It has been 30 years since I bought a new machine. Will this be my last machine? I hope so, but with electronics, you never know.
Elna in the shop
This is the Elna 792 Pro ex. I am assured that it is the same exact machine as the Janome M8, but with a lower cost. I like brand names, but couldn’t justify the added cost. Also, the Elna is white rather than grey and I am trying to keep my workroom to a limited color palette.
I was a little shocked when they brought the machine to the register on its side! The machine was well packed, so it was no problem.
Elna machine in the car
The people at The Sewing Machine Shop put the Elna in the car for me. I had to rearrange everything, which makes me anxious. I knew it was temporary. I couldn’t see out of the back window very well driving home and that also provoked a lot of anxiety.
I set aside a day last week to get to know it and because of other things going on in my life, I sewed, but didn’t work through the manual trying all the new features. That is still on the agenda.
Pandora Charisma #2 front panel detail
Part of the reason I bought a new sewing machine, as mentioned, was because of Sewfisticated and the Pandora Charisma. I was chasing the machine that will go through thick layers without a reduction in stitch quality without buying an industrial machine. I might do that when I win the lottery and rent a warehouse workspace. The test stitching I did ticked the boxes. I was surprised and pleased when I read the Sewing Machine Shop newsletter recently, which said “The design of 792 Pro takes a different approach. It’s built on a flatbed, all-metal frame— more like what you’d find in an industrial machine. … Inside, it uses a brushless servo motor, which is the type of motor often found in industrial setups. In real terms, that means:
• More consistent power through thick fabrics
• Smoother operation
• Less wear over time
You don’t feel like you’re “pushing” the machine. It’s equipped with a motor and frame built to handle fabrics of all types.”
The way I read this was I got the closest machine to an industrial without buying an industrial machine. Yay! I don’t want an industrial machine, because I zigzag and use decorative stitches. I also don’t really want to collect machines, as I have mentioned numerous times.
Big machine!
This is a big machine so it won’t be coming with me to Sew Day. I had to put the seats down in order to fit the machine in the box in my small SUV. The only reason I have had to do that in the past is because of quiltmaking – traveling with sewing machines, going on retreat and, now, buying a machine.
Unpacking the Elna
I had to take the machine out of the box in my front yard, because the box was too big for me to get out of the car on my own. It is a heavy machine and I could barely carry it up the stairs and into the house.
I went through everything that came in the box to make sure all the pieces and parts were included. That was kind of fun. There are soooo many feet! I have a lot to learn.
I have another Enigma cut out and I want to learn to use the HP2 foot on my own, without The Sewing Machine Shop hand holding, in order to finish it. I am going to read the manual and see how far I get. This is a slim foot similar to what I see when Sara shows how to make bags in her videos, but has a dual feed feature that squishes and holds the layers of a bag together. I tried it out and may never take it off the machine – as soon as I take the time to learn to use it.
Some of the weird substrates I have been using were purchased from Sewfisticated. Sewfisticated is pushing me to make more difficult and sophisticated bags. And there are a couple of their bags that I want to make using those substrates. I hope this machine will help me do that. I am already feeling ready to make the Pandora Allure. Maybe another gift for Lil Sissy?
I made more Potato Chip blocks during the last few weeks. They are leaders and enders and go quickly.
Potato Chip block #5
Potato Chip block #6
Potato Chip block #7
Potato Chip block #8
Potato Chip block #9
Potato Chip block #10
Potato Chip block #11
Potato Chip block #12
Potato Chip block #13
Potato Chip block #14
Potato Chip block #15
Potato Chip block #16
Potato Chip block #17
Potato Chip block #18
Potato Chip block #19
Potato Chip block #20
Potato Chip block #21
Potato Chip block #22
Potato Chip block #23
Potato Chip block #24
Potato Chip block #25
Potato Chip block #26
I was thinking about how big I would make the quilt. I think I will use up the rectangles I have made by making blocks, then I’ll see what to do with them. I don’t want to make a king sized quilt. I may have cut fewer than I think or, maybe, sewn into blocks, they make fewer blocks than I think they will.
