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I updated the Color Strips page with a new quilt.
Projects, Classes, Patterns, Techniques & Tutorials
Sara of Sew Sweetness has a tutorial on adding a waist strap to any bag on her March Live show. It is recorded and available to watch on YouTube. This is good, because the tutorial is straightforward and shows you how to take your favorite bag or pouch and add a waist strap. Also, the tutorial is complete, but pretty short, so you can get busy in a few minutes. As an added bonus, Sara comprehensively shows you how to add a parachute buckle and an adjustable slider to the strap. It’s totally worth your time.
I ended up joining the Bag of the Month club I discussed at the end of 2024. It hasn’t been stellar. The January offering was ok and I planned to make it, but was busy with my mom. February required a frame and I just wasn’t interested enough to make the effort to buy one. The latest Bag of the Month Club offering was actually almost worth me joining. I might not have ever seen the pattern otherwise. It is from the Sewfisticated Craft site and is called The Pandora Charisma. It is a cross body bag with outside zipper pockets that open at an angle, allowing access. You can watch a video of the bag in action. There are a number of interesting bags on the site, including the Pandora Allure and the Voyageur Cube. I am not sure how practical either would be, but I like the shapes.
Moni Malene has a lot of great videos on IG. One that I saw reminded me of my journal cover pattern. It is also a journal cover and I might buy it and adjust the sizes to fit my own journals.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions, Services & Supplies
I needed more SF101 and since Joann is out of business, I went to Wawak. I also went to Wawak, because their SF101 is 60 inches wide, which is my preference. To get free shipping, I also bought some zippers, but accidentally bought pink separating zippers. Oops. This is why I prefer shopping in person. I hope there will be a store that has a good selection of zippers. Wawak does, but I don’t know how I got onto separating zippers. I’ll have to find a project that requires separating zippers.
Remember last month when we talked about printing AO sized patterns? Needles Studio in Los Altos can also print your PDF patterns.
The Sewfisticated patterns above is from the same shop as offers the Sewfisive foam. I wonder how different it is from Soft and Stable? The Pandora Charisma calls for various thicknesses and I would like to try it. One interesting thing is that they have some self adhesive versions, which seem like they would be better than iron-on stabilizers or foam. Some of the options are out of stock and I’d like to get them all so they can all be shipped at once. I can’t seem to find it from any other suppliers.
Exhibits and Organizations
Women’s View 2025 is in progress at Twin Pines Art Center in Belmont for only a few more days. I hope you get to see it.
The San Mateo Office of Arts and Culture is pleased to support the annual Congressional Arts Competition for high school students in the 15th Congressional District. Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional Art Competition is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent throughout the country.
The winning artwork of our district’s competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. The exhibit will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork is also featured on the official House of Representatives website’s Congressional Art Competition page.
Submissions are due April 6, 2025. Learn more about rules, eligibility, and details on how to apply by visiting Rep. Kevin Mullin’s website.
Join our guild. We’d love to share sewing projects with you.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
