I was only able to sew a little during the week, but I made some progress. A few minutes here and there do add up. The Enigma bag is almost done. I have a few more steps before I can use it.
It might be good for some of my bagmaking tools like the KamSnap. We’ll see.
At the moment it is still inside out and I have not yet installed the pocket in the center. I am eager to finish it and start another! I know I have a million projects on the go and another million on my to do list, but I’d like to get this right.
I worked hard on the Enigma in an effort to add my week 4 sew-a-long effort to the other efforts.
Enigma Zipper Pouch
One of the features of this bag is the interior zipper pocket. It is one of the first sewing steps and I am pleased with how it came out. I am not sure how this will come out, but based on what I know about this type of construction, I am happy with how it came out. I think the pocket is well prepared to be inserted into the accordion pieces.
I started to put the whole pouch together and found the construction to be really interesting.
Side panel with zipper
I like the way the bag, at this point, is hanging off the zipper. I still have to install the bottom at this point.
The Enigma Bag is part of the Minikins Season 4 group of patterns. Sara is having a Sew-a-Long for this bag. I missed most of the opportunities to post my steps as part of the sew-a-long, but I still wanted to make the bag. I started it yesterday.
I used some of the fabric I had Colleen quilt onto foam. It was a little hard to cut, but much easier to work with than having to quilt something on the spot.
This is an interesting bag. It reminds me of the Sew Together Bag in terms of the way it opens.
Here is the last Cork I Spy pouch I made at Retreat. The lining fabric is one of my favorites and I just had a bit of it left. I had just enough for the large lining piece.
In general for the three pouches, I found the cork to be easy to sew, but not easy to turn. If (when?) I use cork again on an I Spy pouch, I will definitely round the corners. I think it will make the project much easier to turn.
All that being said, I thought the corners looked fine when I finally did get the pouch turned. I gave these to some work colleagues and they loved them.
In all of these cork I Spy projects, I used 12 inch zippers even though the pattern calls for shorter zippers. It is much easier to cut down a longer zipper after the zipper is installed.
I really like highlighting some good fabrics in the window of the pouch.
This will be a multi-part post on the recent Retreat I attended. I have to split it up, because I don’t have enough time to write a big long post right now.
I had a couple of specific goals in mind. I wanted to finish a Mother’s Day gift and I wanted to finish some gifts I am taking to my work colleagues later this week. Then, if time permitted, I planned to start a new quilt.
First, I was able to finish the Mother’s Day gift. It is small and you’ll have to read the post on May 14th to see what it is.
Three cork I Spy pouches
Second I finished the three I Spy pouches I started. I had some of the fabric cut, but not all. I cut the cork, yes cork, at the Retreat and sewed the pouches together. I cut quite a number of strips wrong, so will have to make some pouches out of odd sized strips.
In between, the top two projects, I worked on donation blocks. You saw some of these in the post a few days ago about donation blocks for April. I don’t think I mentioned that I used kits the guild team had prepared. The squares frayed a lot and made me quite crazy.
Scrappy Celebration – first blocks
After these, except the donation blocks, were finished, I started a new quilt. I had a fabric pull from a couple of years ago that I wanted to use. I had some options and finally decided on a plan. This quilt is from the American Patchwork and Quilting Sew-a-Long. It is designed by Lissa Alexander. Because I seem to be incapable of following directions as written, I resized the EQ8 project to include 12 inch blocks rather than 6 inch blocks. The straight nine patches are quite large, but they provide some space for viewers to rest their eyes. Also, the small squares in some of the blocks above are much easier to sew when the entire block is 12 inches finished.
I missed the Sew-a-Long, which started in February, but this project is super easy. The pieces are, mostly, standard sizes and easy to cut. I think even beginners looking for a second or third project could do it.
One of the things I wanted to do to start was to use all the fabrics I selected to see how they worked together. I didn’t quite succeed, but I was able to use a lot of them. So far, so good.
I bought some cork from Sew Hungry Hippie to make the YM a pouch. A lot of cork arrived, though I didn’t think I bought that much.
Cork I Spy – large #1
I had to make some gifts so I decided to use the cork. I cut the lining before I left on Retreat, but did everything else at the Retreat. I could have made more complicated pouches, but I needed to get these done. This one has a super cheerful lining.
Yes! Another Hackney. I still think I will get sick of this pattern, but I am not sick of it yet and I still want to try to make the finished product better.
This is another version of the large size. I still haven’t tried the small or medium yet, though now that I have cut out a small bag, it is time.
Amanda’s Hackney – top
She loves animals, but I didn’t have any animal fabric that I thought would suit, so I used the coneflowers. I wasn’t sure about the yellow zipper, but it makes the bag look really cheerful. The zipper is more of a sunshine, or orangey-yellow than a neon yellow and that helps a lot.
Amanda’s Hackney -handle
The zipper came out a little better this time. I used the washaway doublestick tape** for putting in the zipper on this one. I think I just have to use that tape each time.
On a note about tape, Sew Sweetness has the new ByAnnie washaway double stick tape. I bought some to try out, so stay tuned for a comment (maybe a review??) about that brand.
I had to add a handle. I think that is de rigeur now. It makes the bag more useful.
Amanda’s Hackney – lining
Amanda’s Hackney – lining
I made the inside cover a little different this time and I think I will like that option best. I used doublefold elastic to make tool or pen holders. I talked a little about how I sewed the tool holders to maximize the space available for storage in a previous post.
All in all, I am pleased with this one and hope Amanda likes it, too.
**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.
I tend to make Carrie and Sue the same pouches with slight differences. They are good friends and I think that they were great students.
Color Wheel Hackney – Sue – interior
So, as I made a Hackney for Carrie, so I made a Hackney for Sue. In this case, the exterior fabric is the same, but cut a little different and the interior fabric, zippers and other detail parts are different. I made the interiors different, but still relating to being creative. I am excited about the interior. I also fussy cut it and am pleased with the fussy cutting. It is super fun.
Color Wheel Hackney – end (Sue)
This one also has a handle. As I said before, they are useful.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the way the handle and front panel interacted – the way the fabric motifs overlapped and interfered with each other, but I think fussy cutting the top draws the viewer’s attention to that space and you don’t see the mashup of motifs where the handle is attached.
The front of the front panel (which is a gusset) looks really good, I think. That little piece of color wheel is appealing.
Color Wheel Hackney – Sue
As I said with Carrie’s Hackney, Sue’s also goes with her Boxy Clear Pouch. You know I love to make sets of bags.
I finished my most recent class with my fabulous students, Sue and Carrie. I had planned to make them each a Hackney for Christmas with this great Carrie Bloomston fabric, but moved the gifts up to be ready for our end of class lunch last Sunday.
Color Wheel Hackney – Carrie
One of the reasons I chose this fabric is that it matches another pouch, the Boxy Clear Pouch, I made for them. the fabric is fun and cheerful despite the dark background. Because I can’t stop teaching, I also wanted a reminder to them to use their color wheel. 😉 Finally, this is great fabric. Doesn’t it look like an explosion of color?
Color Wheel Hackney – end (Carrie)
This Hackney is like all the others. I have added a handle to this one and think that is a standard addition I will make to all the others I make. Having a handle is useful. I am not sure why Sara didn’t include one in the original directions. Perhaps the pattern is intended to go into a suitcase or something? Regardless, I think a handle is useful.
Color Wheel Hackney – interior (Carrie)
I am particularly pleased with the fussy cutting I did on the inside bottom. Don’t those pencils look great? I measured very carefully to get the whole pencil on the bottom and am thrilled with how successful I was.
I am still not 100% happy with the mesh pocket. I think it is useful, that is not in dispute, but the construction doesn’t appeal. The zipper tabs end up being too thick. I made a vinyl pocket on the Sugar Skull Hackney. I think it came out ok, but I wasn’t concerned about the final topstitching. My next test will be making pencil loops on the top. I’ll see how those come out.
Color Wheel Hackney – filled interior (Carrie)
I have put a few things in the bag including some Adagio tea.
As soon as I finished the two Color Wheel Hackneys, I started another. I have decided to make a number of these as gifts. I have to say that this one went a lot quicker than the others. It is a clear indication that practice does make perfect.
I am pretty pleased with how the coneflowers look. I picked the zipper color to go with the yellow coneflower, but also because I wasn’t sure when I would use a yellow handbag zipper otherwise. I think it looks good so far.
Coneflower Hackney interior- in process
I talked about the Hackney lining hack a bit ago. It is for this one. The lining is a little saggy so far, which I have to figure out. Otherwise, I think the piece is looking good.
After writing the last I Spy post, I decided to take a look at the I Spy pouches I had made. I didn’t pull all of them as some are in project boxes with the supplies for projects I want to make.
I was surprised to find that most of them were made with the same coneflower colorway. I have other colorways. I thought I had used multiple colorways to make these, but I have stuck mostly to the one. Interesting.
Yes, I am making another Hackney pouch. I like the shape of this pouch/bag. It is fun and a bit unusual. The process of assembly is also providing me with a challenge even after making several of them.
Yes, it is another gift. I might make one for myself. We’ll see.
This time I am working on perfecting a version that is most useful and that I like. As I might have mentioned, I don’t like the mesh pocket, because I don’t like the way it comes out. Mostly, I don’t like the zipper tabs and how thick they are. They are hard to sew and thus the seams look wobbly.
I tried a vinyl pocket, which was ok. I haven’t heard how useful it is, but will ask next time I see the recipient.
Hackney lining tool holder
This time I used doublefold elastic to make a tool holder.
I cut the doublefold elastic the same width as the lining, then basted it to the top lining piece.
I marked the places where I wanted the recipient to be able to slide tools in. I used a half inch size for each pencil or pen or whatever. I put an inch between each set of marks. These had to be mirrored on the second strip of elastic. I also made the marks on the second set of elastic off from the first set so the tools (or pens or whatever) wouldn’t interfere with each other.
I quickly cut more pieces for another I Spy and finished it over the weekend. I think I have a sewing routine for this pattern down pat now.
One of the reasons I made this one is that I liked a piece of fabric I pulled for the Pink Strip donation quilt back. I decided to use it for the lining, which shows up nicely through the window. It is a good way to be able to see a fabric I enjoy.
I Spy with Pink Batik
This one will replace the one I gave as a gift. It will hold the Friesan Pouch acrylic templates. I’ll save the Grey Cross I Spy for something else. I kind of like having all of my acrylic templates in pouches that match.
I was pleased to see that I lined up the top strips around the zipper very well.
I Spy with Pink Batik back
I just love making these pouches, as I have said a million times.
