I have been wanting to try this pattern. I was thinking that a project bag might be a good gift for my bag recipients, but I wanted to try it before committing to another ByAnnie pattern. I think, in general, ByAnnie patterns seem overly complicated, but the projects usually turn out well.
I cut out the pieces at Super Sew Day, then finally sewed it together. I used one of the pieces of zipper I got for my birthday. I love it. It is so pretty. I also used more of the Philip Jacobs Chrysanthemum fabric like in the Without a Trace/Take a Stand bag and the APfE v.2.0. I am pleased with the binding, too.
The Diagonal Nine Patch is finished. I am really pleased with how it came out. Of course, Colleen’s quilting makes it, but my choice of the various white on black fabrics looks really good, too. Even though the blacks have little to no contrast, the variety of prints makes each square stand out well.
I am also pleased with the striped binding. Striped binding is the best and I am glad I am able to use some of the stripes I have been saving.
I really like this pattern. I think it has a lot of potential. I got an idea for one of the Niece-phews quilts I have been meaning to make from making this quilt.
Diagonal Nine Patch back – Finished
I do like the back. That large print on the left is really good. I am also pleased with my use of it. Some prints are great as they are – not cut up.
A number of these prints were leftover from the Cityscape (Black & Red Improv) quilt. I am glad I used them. They have been sitting around for awhile.
I finished the Diagonal Nine Patch just in time. The baby shower is this weekend. I may have just enough time to make a storage bag for the quilt. We’ll see.
I really like the way the zipper came out. It works as expected. I was a little disappointed in the zipper on the my Take a Stand bag. It just seems weird to use.
Sunset Project Bag: front panel
Sunset Project Bag: back panel
I fussy cut the front and back panels to take advantage of the beautiful roses. The yardage I have left now looks a bit like Swiss cheese, but I am more interested in a good looking bag than non-Swiss cheese fabric.
I would have preferred pink or light blue handles, but I don’t think the darker turquoise looks bad. The handles came from some cotton webbing I have had around for a long time. It was time to use it.
Sunset Project Bag: inside full
The inside came out particularly well. The True colors fabric I used looks great. I thought that I would want to save it for something special, but what? I don’t have a lot of it left, but I decided to use something that would make me happy when I opened the bag and now I am really glad I did. I need to remember to use the good fabric.
As you can see the bag opens flat. Vanessa from Crafty Gemini uses this bag for knitting (or maybe crochet?) projects. Opening flat provides good access to the contents. With balls of yarn, however, they might roll away if the bag was opened flat.
Sunset Project Bag: inside mesh pocket detail
The mesh pocket works well and will allow me to see what is inside. The pocket is a good size, I think. I wonder if there are other pockets I should have added, but I think just tossing in a pouch with additional supplies will work. What are pouches for anyway?
Sunset Project Bag: inside binding detail
The other side has no pocket, but you can see that I had to bind the raw edges on the inside to cover them. I machine sewed one side of the binding, then hand sewed the other. It wasn’t as much of a hassle to hand sew this bag’s binding as it was to sew the binding on my Take a Stand bag or my A Place for Everything v.2.0 bag. I still stabbed myself several times. One of the risks.
I am struggled with the finishing. I like to poke out the corners and make the bag nice and finished looking. In this case, I have rolled the seam joins, I have also pressed them and poked them out. Nothing I have tried will get them all the way out. I am not sure why, but maybe the binding since it is on the back of the joins.
I think it came out pretty well, though there are some things I would like to change.
I was able to finish the Andalusian Pouch over the weekend.
It went together amazingly well. I barely used my seam ripper at all.
Andalusian Pouch- open/side view
This pouch started because I had a fat quarter, cut a few pieces then put them away for later. I got more of the Anna Maria poppy fabric and decided to make the pouch for a friend who has been super helpful at work. I used one of the new True Colors fabrics for the accent fabric.
This pouch has rounded corners and those rounded corners made it so easy to put together! It was really a dream, which makes me want to make another one TODAY.
Andalusian Pouch- open/top view
The pattern is from the Minikins 3 series by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness. It comes out looking more like a man’s shaving kit when closed, but when open, it would be great to carry sewing supplies (one track mind, I know, I know!) to Sew Day.
The man’s shaving kit shape is a little weird, but I really like the open wide mouth that the frame provides. I like being able to see all of my stuff.
I am super proud of the way the zipper came out. Both ends of the zipper look like they are supposed to look.
Andalusian Pouch – zipper start
Andalusian Pouch – zipper end
The start of the zipper had the ends sewn at 90 degrees and it looks so finished. I really like it.
The end of the zipper required veering at the end. I think, after much practicing, I have finally gotten the hang of veering the zipper. I have to admit that I did watch that part of the video and followed the directions multiple times. I am still a little unclear on the exact purpose of veering the zipper. I plan to keep practicing so it will become second nature.
Andalusian Pouch – side zipper
My careful fussy cutting didn’t work 100%. I have never made this bag before so that was part of the problem/issue. The accents covered up some of the flowers. I knew there were accents were part of the bag; I just couldn’t judge where the flowers would end up. Still, I think it looks nice. I hope that my friend likes it.
I think if I make this again (and I do have another frame) I would use a fabric with an all over pattern, then use cork or vinyl for the bottom accents and the bottom of the bag. Sara has some turquoise cork that I have had my eye on.
I finally finished all the Take a Stand /Without a Trace bags I was making. This one is mine and it matches my A Place for Everything bag. I don’t know how I am going to use this bag, but I am sure I can figure something out.
I am kind of happy to be finished with the ByAnnie bags. She has great shapes and useful patterns, but they seem so unnecessarily complicated.
Take a Stand Front pocket- inside
There are also things I don’t like about the bags. ByAnnie doesn’t always finish the inside of her pockets. It might seem stupid, but I don’t like any raw edges showing.
After seeing Tula Pink cover the zipper joins with ribbon, I now do that, which also covers some raw edges. You can see the with grey dots ribbon at the top of the inside of the front pocket. ByAnnie does say to seal some of the edges, so I did that with the bottom before I assembled the whole back. I don’t consider those raw edges to be completely covered, but they are ok.
Take a Stand inside
I didn’t do anything very special with the inside of this bag. I used some Zen chic fabric I consider to be a background fabric. I like it and I have used it for other bags I made for me.
The inside is light and airy and I will be able to see whatever I store in it.
This was a great pouch. I can’t say I didn’t rip, but it still went together really well.
In a number of the FB groups in which I share my pouches and drool over others’ pouches and bags, people tend to point out the flaws. I always tell them their work is great and not to point to the flaws. Now I know how hard that is. All I want to do is point out the flaws in my work. What is that about people? Is that a way to add to the life’s drama?
As I said before, one reason I made this particular pouch was to use the zippers Julie got me for my birthday. There are three different colors of zippers and two different kinds of zipper heads, so I tried to make the most of them.
Friesan Pouch center / inside
A lot of the fabric (maybe all) was purchased on my trip to Portland. I used two different fabrics for the outside to give myself a visual cue as to where something was. I also wanted to use my new fabrics right away.
I used book fabric (from Windham) for the lining as an homage to my librarian roots. It is hard to see, but I can see it when I use the pouch. The book fabric makes me happy.
I like the stiffness of the bag. The center has foam to help it stand up while the sides have foam** and Decovil**. The bag stands up really well. I want to try something with more Decovil**, but I haven’t found the right pattern yet.
Friesan Pouch – sides down
One thing that makes this an interesting pouch, is that the sides fold down. I was inspired to use the AGF solid pink after using it to good effect in Gerre’s Retreat pouch. I wouldn’t use a solid again on the inside pocket. It just looks too stark even though I like that fabric. A print would give the viewer something to look at.
Also, I would probably put something to hold pens – elastic or mesh – to make those folding down sides more useful. It is hard for me to see what might be better for me in the design when I make a pattern the first time. As I have said before, I like to make things a few times before I get the true hang of them.
Overall I feel like this pouch came out really well. I am pleased. I made it for me. I am not sure how I will use it, but I will find some way to use it, I am sure.
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I finished the Cha3 table runner pretty quickly. It is already on my buffet, replacing the Red Text table runner I made during the Journey to Nebula. I was getting sick of looking at it.
I realized that I really didn’t follow the directions very well. I explained a little about why in a previous post, but I also could have made the edges of the center a little more wonky. I have more of the squares from the charm pack and maybe I have enough to do that. We’ll see.
Cha Cha Cha Table Runner Finished-detail
I even quilted it myself. The quilting isn’t as good as Tim’s or Colleen’s, but I am happy with it.
I had to unbaste it, because my first attempt was terrible. The second time was better. Lesson: use masking tape not painter’s tape.
I made another scissor cozy the other day to give as a hostess gift. As I said when I made Maria’s and Gerre‘s, I like making these. I don’t know if they are useful, but they are kind of a unique gift and something not everyone makes.
For once I remembered to quilt the piece before cutting it out. It was quite a bit of quilting, but I think it looks nice.
I can’t quite decide how long to make the leash, so this one is pretty long.
I used some fabric I have had for ages, which turned out well.
I finished another Flapper apron over the weekend. I call this the Duck Bones apron because one side has rubber duckies and the other bones. This will be for the YM’s partner. She is on a pathology course and really liked it when I included the bones fabric in a bag I made for her for Christmas.
Duck Bones Apron
The bone fabric is a favorite of various recipients. I have an alert on a shop site so whenever it comes in I buy 3 yards and decide what to make. I have enough left to make more pillowcases, which is probably a good idea for my SIL. Who uses only two pillowcases?
I don’t get to count the yardage in my 2022 spreadsheet, because I already counted it last year when I got it back from Colleen. I know I should have waited, but I have no self control.
Scrap Dash finished (back)
This will be a gift for one of my SILs. She doesn’t know yet, but I’ll tell her soon. There is a method to the madness of the back of the quilt. The bluer print fabrics on each side of the fish are shells. There is a small piece of red-violet sea urchin fabric at the bottom making this is an ocean themed back. Except for the batik and the tone-on-tone blue, all of the back fabrics are from the Kaffe Fassett Collective. SIL swims quite a bit so I thought having this type of themed back would be entertaining.
I decided I want to make this quilt again, so I am back to cutting super tiny pieces. Of course, I can use the leftovers I didn’t use from this version.
I haven’t gotten my act together for the BAM door prizes yet. I have a tote bag full of stuff ready to be sorted and nothing sorted. Part of the problem is that I only have canvas bags from a shop. I don’t have any handmade bags. I have several of the canvas bags and they are nice – thick and sturdy and great for something like the Farmer’s Market. I prefer not to give the same bag every month.
At the guild meeting the other week, Maria tempted me to take some canvas. The motif is a kind of Paris theme. I got out my Jane Market Tote pattern and this fabric and made some totes.
I didn’t use the exact pattern; mostly I just used the dimensions from the pattern. I didn’t want to line the tote, because the canvas was thick enough without a lining. That meant that I needed to sew French seams to make sure all of the raw edges were enclosed.
Canvas Jane Market Tote (innie)
With the first one, I enclosed all the seams on the inside of the bag. Enclosing the seams on the inside when very smoothly and the bag went together really fast.The bag came out a little smaller than the already small Jane Market Tote, but I think it is a cute size and different from many bags.
Canvas Jane Market Tote (outie)
After making the first one, I thought I would enclose the seams on the outside for the second one. I thought it would be an interesting design feature. This version also went together pretty well, but I had more trouble with the seams on the outside. I am not sure why. In this version, there is also a big lumpy seam on the outside of the bottom, which is not ideal.
So far I have made two and I think I have enough fabric to make at least one more. My sister might like one. The motif is up her alley. I think the size will work well for the door prizes.
After months of not sewing down the binding, Gelato is finally done. Catching up with La Pass really propelled my quiltmaking forward. I was able to finish a bunch of projects that need a bit of hand sewing and I got to work on the Half Hexie Star project.
I got this quilt back in the middle of last year, then I got a job and the giant puzzle and La Pass and my schedule went to hell in a handbasket. I enjoy stitching down the binding. It is very satisfying.
Gelato finished (back)
Now it is finished. Hooray! DH held it up for me so I could take some photographs. Writing about it here really makes it done in my mind.
I originally made this quilt for my niece, thus the Chrysanthemum back. I think I will give it to a friend who has recently had his leg amputated below the knee. He had an accident about 10 years ago. After multiple surgeries and infections, he decided (and is at peace with) on this course. He will appreciate the front and the thought, I think and won’t mind the flowers. We’ll see.
Sheesh! February already! January is never long enough for me.
2022 Blue Journal Cover #2 (front)
This is the second journal cover I made the other day when I just needed to sew.
Most of the details are the same as for 2022 Blue Journal Cover #1. Most of the fabric was already made. I had to piece the flannel, but in this case, I used batting tape to keep the pieces together. Yes, that is an unorthodox trick that I haven’t tried before, but seemed to work ok. The older journals (this one is from 2005) won’t get much use until long after I am dead, so I am not to worried about the batting tape failing.
I finally finished the A Place for Everything Bag. This bag is not for the faint of heart. If I had known what it would be like, I might not have made it, but I am glad I did.
I have a love-dislike relationship with ByAnnie patterns. There are a lot of them. Many of the bag shapes are interesting and useful. I can’t, however, wrap my mind around some of the directions. This is not a surprise to those of you who have been reading for a long time. My brain doesn’t work like others. Videos have been helpful. In this case, I found that Annie skips some steps that are considered very basic. After looking through the basics videos, I emailed them and they gave me some suggestions, but also said they don’t have enough resources to do full length videos for every project. Sigh. I blundered through.
I spent a couple of evenings hand sewing the binding down. I know that takes time, but I couldn’t stand the thought of cramming the bag through the machine. I had the time so I hand sewed the binding. I looks great.
APfE: pages strapped in
The strap that keeps the ‘pages‘ in place was WAY too long. Instead of trying to figure out what was going on, I just cut it off, resewed the velcro and moved on with my life.
Despite the problems, I am pleased with the way this came out. I spent a lot of time on the details and it shows. The bag isn’t perfect, but it will be great for when I take the project to Sew Day next week.
