Finished: Lavender Dot Bluestem

Lavender Dot Bluestem - top
Lavender Dot Bluestem – top

I finished this Lavender Dot Bluestem several days ago, but am super busy and haven’t had time to post about it.  This was actually the second one I cut out; I just sewed the Chrysanthemum Bluestem together first.

The foam really makes this small pouch. There is something fun about this small very stiff pouch.

In this version I used some of the new zipper pulls I received and they are really great. They are not a set. I combined them myself.

Lavender Dot Bluestem - open
Lavender Dot Bluestem – open

The inside is a lighter version of the outside, I think. It is another cool fabric that I have been hoarding.

I remembered to put my label on. I did it before the piece was completely sewn together. I should make a note in the pattern as to when to add it.

I had to use dark purple doublefold elastic as the colors of that supply are limited.

I am super pleased with this pouch and will probably make others.

Finished Piebald #3

Piebald #3
Piebald #3

I finished the third Piebald in time to give it to my friend. This one looks quite fat and squat. I didn’t even plump it up for the photo. Isn’t it funny?

I was able to fussy cut the flap and front panel again, which makes the flap look good. I was able to get the fussy cutting the right way up on the front panel this time as well.

Piebald #3 flap & zipper
Piebald #3 flap & zipper

I am also really pleased with the zipper. I found some #3 rainbow zipper tape and some smaller zipper pulls. I used them to try adding a double zipper, which worked perfectly. I thought the white tape would look a little weird, but I think it looks fine. I just love those rainbow zipper teeth.

Piebald #3 lining
Piebald #3 lining

This time I understood the directions for completely attaching the lining. There is a part you have to glue the lining to the foam on the inside, which I did, but it didn’t work even though I let it dry as described in the video. Fourth time is the charm? We’ll see.

I hand stitched the lining to the front panel, which worked fine.

I didn’t have very much of the lining fabric, but I was able to cut all the pieces I needed with no problem. I also still have some left. I think I had most of a fat quarter or slightly over the FQ size from an original half yard. I don’t remember how much I originally bought.

Piebald #3 lining
Piebald #3 lining

I changed the way I assembled the lining as well. The directions say to start out with a quarter inch seam allowance then veer to 3/8s and then veer back to a quarter. I didn’t like the way that worked on Piebald #2, so I used a 3/8 inch seam allowance for the lining of this pouch. I think it fits much better.

As you can see from the various photos, the strap is much smaller. I measured exactly this time (21.5 inches) and added it as directed. When I make the Cal version I’ll make it somewhere in between the lengths I used on Piebald #2 and Piebald #3.

Measuring correctly made a difference in the way the various stitching lines lined up on the back. I don’t know why there is so much stitching on the back. Is it for strength or does it just look cool? I’ll measure the wristlet one so the stitching lines line up when the loop is longer.

Piebald #2 and Piebald #3
Piebald #2 and Piebald #3

Both Piebald #2 and #3 came out better than I expected. I wish I could do each bag perfectly the first time, but each pattern really takes more than one try to get it – or get it acceptable.

Perhaps I should make these for everyone I know! I think I will move on to another pattern! 😉

Started Piebald #3

Piebald #3 flap
Piebald #3 flap

I started another Piebald as a gift for a friend I am seeing on Wednesday.

Aside from the fact that you need to cut exterior, lining, Shapeflex** and Soft & Stable**, this pouch can be cut out very quickly.

I felt like I needed to work on the front again, so I made another one. There is one more I want to make, but I haven’t found where I put the fabric, so it will have to wait.

 

 

 

 

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.

Flowl I Spy Pouch

Flowl I Spy
Flowl I Spy

If you ever watch the TV show Ghosts, you will know Flower. I watched the beginning episode of the season and decided that some Tula owl fabric would be good for this latest I Spy.

Flowl I Spy with Vervain templates
Flowl I Spy with Vervain templates

I know I always say that I don’t want animals looking at me from my quilts, but these I Spy pouches seem to be immune. Anyway, the owls will most be covered by the Vervain templates that now live in this pouch.

I know I have said this before, but these pouches make me really happy.

Piebald Pouch in Process

Pink Piebald pouch (medium) in process
Pink Piebald pouch (medium) in process

I started sewing the newest Piebald pouch with a little trepidation. I remember finding the project hard when I made it before.

I started out with the fabric you see as the exterior. I wasn’t super happy with it, but couldn’t think what else to use. I didn’t want to use the pink dots again as I didn’t want to feel like I had to use them in every project. I am super happy I thought of the Flea Market Fancy from Denyse Schmidt for the exterior. It is working very well, especially because I wanted to fussy cut the flap and the front panel.

Pink Piebald pouch (medium) in process - exterior
Pink Piebald pouch (medium) in process – exterior

I am also happy that Sara uses the same size pieces for the lining and the exterior. I just switched the exterior fabric to the lining with no problem.

The sewing is going much better than I expected. Quickly I had the exterior standing up and ready for the lining.

One thing that was confusing was the handle. I think I measured correctly, but it came out much longer than the picture shows. I decided to keep it and call the extra length a wristlet.

 

 

My Bluestem

Chrysanthemum Bluestem
Chrysanthemum Bluestem

I finally made something for myself.

This is the Bluestem pouch pattern from Sew Sweetness. As mentioned when I made the pink one recently, it is part of Minikins Season 4.

I plan to use this pouch for my pens, post-its and other bits an pieces that I take to guild meetings and Sew Day.

Chrysanthemum Bluestem - end
Chrysanthemum Bluestem – end

I decided on the fabrics as part of the latest President’s Challenge at the guild. I have had some of the Chrysanthemum fabric for awhile, but I got another piece for my birthday. The goal of the President’s 2024 Challenge is to get people to ‘use the good stuff’. I have been trying to do that, but it is difficult. When I started this pouch, the day had come to do it.

Chrysanthemum Bluestem - open
Chrysanthemum Bluestem – open

I am taking the President’s 2024 Challenge a bit farther in that I am also using the fun zippers I have been buying. I really like those rainbow zippers. The new zipper pulls also look great.

I used the orange stitch fabric, because I like it. I have used some of it, but also tend to hoard that particular print. I decided I could enjoy looking at it as I used the pouch just as well as when I came across it in my fabric closet.

Chrysanthemum Bluestem - label
Chrysanthemum Bluestem – label

I remembered to put a label on the lining before I sewed the lining together, which makes me smile.

I am struggling a little with covering the inside raw edges. Still practice makes perfect, right?

New Piebald

Pink Piebald cut out
Pink Piebald cut out

Am I on fire? I don’t know. I just keep cutting out bags and sewing them together.

I am doing a series of pink bags and pouches for a project that I will tell you about later.

This one is the Piebald pouch. I made one for my friend before and have been wanting to make another. As I was combing through my I Spy pouches full of templates, I came across the Piebald templates and thought it was a sign.

I cut out most of the pieces at lunch one day this week, including some Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy in pink. DH was out on Wednesday night so I started sewing. The more Sew Sweetness bags I make, the easier the new ones are.

Finished Pink Dot Bluestem

Pink Dot Bluestem pouch
Pink Dot Bluestem pouch

I finished the first Bluestem. It is a small (pens would fit well), firm pouch with the opportunity to use fun zippers and zipper pulls.

 

Pink dot Bluestem - side view
Pink dot Bluestem – side view

I have the idea to make a group of pink bags for a fundraiser or raffle gift and this is the first of the possibilities.

This pouch doesn’t take very long to make. The main pattern piece is an odd shape and I couldn’t imagine how the bag would be put together. I had to watch the video and that helped a lot.

I have to say that, unlike other Sew Sweetness Squad members, I don’t watch the whole video before I make a bag. I just get started, then watch the parts that I need to watch when I am confused by the directions. Sometimes I feel bad about that, but it works for me.

Pink dot Bluestem - inside view
Pink dot Bluestem – inside view

The construction made me worry about raw edges at first, but Sara uses some doublefold (foldover) elastic** to cover the inside raw edges. I am not great at that part of the process, but I am getting better!

You can see the foldover elastic peeking out at the top of the photo, left.

I am pleased with that pale pink solid. It’s from Art Gallery and just looks perfect.

Pink dot Bluestem -end
Pink dot Bluestem -end

I am also pleased with how the zipper and the foldover elastic came out together. I admit that I hand stitched one side of the elastic. I just wasn’t confident to stitch both sides at once on the machine. I plan to make more of these, so I’ll get there.

Pink dot Bluestem -label
Pink dot Bluestem -label

I also remembered to add a label!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**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.

New I Spy

Big Poppy I Spy
Big Poppy I Spy

I got some new templates this week, which means I needed a new I Spy pouch in which to store them.

I cut this pouch out after work on Monday and sewed it up during Craft Night. I only had to whip stitch the bottom closed and I could fill up the bag with my templates.

Big Poppy I Spy
Big Poppy I Spy

I made an effort to make the window (lining) fabric look good and used some fabric I received for Christmas. Normally, the fabric isn’t seen, but I wanted to make this super pretty.

I am planning to make another pouch for the other set of templates. I could have made two at a time, but I thought I would have to adjust the size and I didn’t want to worry about that on Monday. I just wanted to sew.

Hemingway Finished

Hemingway Pouch finished
Hemingway Pouch finished

This was a relatively easy project. As mentioned the other day, I didn’t use the exact dimensions, but it didn’t matter. You can make this pouch any size.

For me, it seemed best to make two at a time since you only use one side of a zipper. I didn’t want to have a random piece of zipper hanging around, so I made two.

I am going to try making one with some of the pre-quilted foam I got last year. I might make a bag for my lightbox.

Hemingway Start

Hemingway Pouch start
Hemingway Pouch start

Am I starting everything?

Yes.

I am also finishing some things, but you’ll have to wait for that news. I need to take photos.

The Hemingway pouch is a quilted pouch by Center Street Quilts. She has some very appealing videos on IG. She released this pattern recently and I have to admit I was taken in by the angled zipper. I also like this feature on the Enigma bag, so I think it is a ‘thing’ for me right now.

As you can see, I am making this bag with vinyl, because I wanted to finish it fast. I decided to use the vinyl that Carrie gave me. The roll is not as tall as the Sew Hungry Hippie glitter vinyl, so I didn’t use the directions in the pattern exactly, but it is working out.

I just have to put some binding on it and it should be done.

One thing I worry about is the triangle that gets cut off. I thought the zipper was sewed to both sides of the vinyl, but I was wrong. We’ll see if I can think of something to make with a random triangular piece of vinyl.

Finished: Disco Double Zip Pouch

Disco Double Zip Pouch - finished
Disco Double Zip Pouch – finished

I finished the Disco Double Zip Pouch, so I have another gift, not wrapped but, otherwise, ready for the holidays. It’s a nice firm pouch so my fix for the Frankenfoam worked well.

The pouch itself is quite large and with the extra Decor Bond, it is not very squishable. It would fit well into a Chubby Charmer to organize all the things someone needs to take somewhere.

Disco Double Zip Pouch - top
Disco Double Zip Pouch – top

If I were to make this pouch again, I might add some interior zipper pockets. I am not sure how useful they would be, but there is enough space and I think you can never have too many pockets. It would also be good to add some pen holders. As the pattern is written, you just toss things into the pouch. It would fit my Leuchtturm notebook, but then what? I just don’t know how I would use this pouch.

Disco Double Zip Pouch - handle
Disco Double Zip Pouch – handle

The handle is very useful, I think. One of the reasons I added a handle to the Hackney was that it made the bag more usable. I am glad the pattern included a handle for this pouch. The weird thing is that the zippers are behind the handle. I might add some zipper pulls.

This pouch is great if you want to fussy cut some special fabric, or use an embroidery design. The large size has a great space for a specific motif. Frankly, I am not sure how I would use this pouch, but I am glad I made it.

More Disco Double Zip Pouch

Disco Double Zip in process
Disco Double Zip in process

I made good progress on the disco Double Zip Pouch. This is an image of the pouch with the exterior completed.

Disco Double zip from top
Disco Double zip from top

 

 

The next step was to install the lining. I had to put the lining together. The instructions said to use washaway tape** to attach the lining to the inside of the exterior. I added the clips** to keep all the parts of the lining in place.

Now I have to sew it.

In general, I thought this was a pretty easy pouch to make. The drop-in lining is not a favorite, but I am determined to succeed.

 

 

 

 

 

**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.