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 am pretty excited about how well I matched the horizontal zipper tabs on this one. I also feel like this pouch has a delicate look to it.
Pink Echinacea I Spy – small
This pouch will house Purse Tab templates. Mary and I talked about these when we were riveting the other day. They could be used on the Oxbow Tote to reinforce the side, which was an area we decided would be detrimental to rivet, because it would cut the thread on the side seam.
Pink Echinacea I Spy – small – back
I also top stitched this one since I used the stick-on interfacing, like the other two.
I mentioned making multiple I Spy pouches when I talked about the Poppy I Spy the other day.
I made all three in assembly-line fashion, so they all got done at once and I made the same mistakes with all, which was forgetting the interfacing! 😉
Rose I Spy – medium
The lining fabric on this pouch is a Heather Bailey print. I only had a fat quarter, or only had a fat quarter left, and fussy cut it so the rose would show up when the bag was empty. The motif would also be a nice surprise when I take out the templates out of the bag.
Somehow the Echinacea print doesn’t clash too badly with the roses. At least I don’t think so. I like using different prints for the lining as it helps me associate a certain template with a certain pouch.
Rose I Spy – medium for the Newfoundland templates
This pouch will be used for the Newfoundland pouch templates. The Newfoundland is a little like the Sew Together Bag as it has an accordion section in the middle creating some organization. It has a similar feel.
I haven’t made the Newfoundland before. Now that I have been reminded that I have the templates, I will put it on my list to try.
I finally finished the green Enigma. I shouldn’t say ‘finally’, though it did take longer than expected. I felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong and I am not sure why. Still, it looks great and I am not embarrassed to give it as a gift.
I still want to rivet the handles, but that requires a little coordination with my “rivet press dealer”. LOL! And I can give it without the rivets if necessary.
Tim’s Enigma – open
I am still planning on making a few more of these this year. I want to get over the drama I felt making this one and the pink rose one that I still need to finish.
The lining fabric is one I have kind of been saving. I had it in a pink/orange colorway, but think I used it for something. I really like the blue/green colorway and was looking for a special project on which to use it. I didn’t really try to match up the squares, but they sort of ended up that way, which was nice.
Tim’s Enigma – back, closed
Sara of Sew Sweetness’ quarterly challenge has just been announced. The challenge is to use some aspect of quiltmaking in your bag or pouch. This bag requires quilting on the bottom, so it qualifies. I may enter it as my entry. I don’t expect to win, but it is fun to participate.
I cleared out a box of acrylic templates that had been in my fabric closet for awhile. I wanted to be reminded what was in there. I was surprised to find some smaller templates as well the large ones I knew were in there. I am sure I had a plan when I put the small templates in the box, but I didn’t remember the plan when I found them.
I still want to make a bag for large templates, but that is a project for another day. On that day, I decided to make 3 more I Spy pouches, one for each of the template sets.
I like to highlight a special fabric on the lining. I had very little of the Anna Maria Poppy (Bright Eyes??) left, so I decided to use one of them for this pouch. The last time I used this fabric was for the Andalusian pouch.
This large I Spy will be used for the Mustang Purse Organizer templates. I made a set of these for my Mom in 2021. I have a vivid memory of making them in my machine’s old location, which was before I redid the whole room.
Poppy I Spy – large, back
For some reason, I forgot to interface the pieces so I added a bit of the Sewfisticated 2mm stick on interfacing right before I closed the turning pocket. It was a little tricky to get the paper off the stick-on side of the interfacing, but I managed it in the end. This interfacing is much thicker than the SF101 called for in the pattern, but it worked.
The interfacing made the pouch very stiff. I top stitched around the whole edge. It made the pouch very structured and I kind of like the feel.
Poppy I Spy – large for Mustang templates
I am also using some tags I bought for another purpose to label the pouches. Thus far, I have been relying on post-it notes, which are unreliable in this context. All of the templates are engraved, but the words are hard to see sometimes.
I did make an I Spy pouch with the poppy print before. I would say ‘great minds think alike’, but I don’t think one can say that when it is yourself! LOL!
After looking at all of the Enigmas, I decided to make more this year. I have been slowly working on two new Enigmas in between working on other projects. These are gifts, one of which will be sent off soon and the other is for later this year. I am ahead of the game to a certain extent. I think I plan to make 8 total this year, of which these are number 3 and 4.
When I sewed the Bone Enigma I followed the directions exactly with regard to rivets. The directions say to add rivets before assembly. The rivets can go anywhere, but I wanted to put them on the ends of the handle, just to reinforce it. It is at the stage of assembly shown in the photo where the directions say to add rivets.
Peony Enigma with rivets – full
This is great except for Enigma bags already completed. I decided I wanted rivets on my Enigma bag. The bag is already complete, so I consulted with Mary and we decided it could be done. We had to squish the top a little, but the overall procedure worked and my bag now has rivets on the handle.
Peony Enigma with rivets – detail
I wanted silver, but Mary thought a gunmetal finish would look better. I am pleased not to worry about ripping out the handle.
Megan’s Bone Enigma has been on my list for awhile. It doesn’t show up on any of my 26 Projects lists, because I hadn’t started cutting or sewing. It only shows up on my UFO Challenge list, because I have been wanting to make it for awhile and hadn’t quite gotten to it.
I could have waited to write the “All the Enigmas” post, but I will have to write another one as I am already cutting others out.
Megan’s Bone Enigma-interior
This bag goes with Megan’s Hand Bone Hackney. She said she liked this fabric and I hope that is true. I bought it for another purpose for which the fabric will not be used. I did make several projects from it, but still have at least 1.5 yards left.
One thing I did on the bottom, which are pieces that need to be quilted, was fuse the fabric, both lining and exterior, to the foam using MistyFuse**. I had forgotten to cut the lining and exterior larger before quilting and wanted to try and mitigate shrinkage. I think I could have left the bottom unquilted, because the MistyFuse really adhered well to the fabric. I was kind of surprised since the MistyFuse has been laying around my workroom for years.
I am pleased with how the center looks. I just feel like it came out really well. The fabric, a Birch Organic, looks really great.
Megan’s Bone Enigma-bottom
I tried really hard to line up the fabric so that the motifs were oriented in the right way.
In the photo of the bottom you can see how the motifs are oriented towards the top. See the handle? When the bag is closed the part of the bottom with the skull forms the back of the bag and that skull as well as the other motifs are right side up.
Megan’s Bone Enigma-bottom-> back – closed
Cool, huh? Sadly, I did not match up the motifs on the top piece with the back piece. I was pretty proud of myself for doing this much, though I don’t think anyone will notice. *I* notice and that is what is important!
Megan’s Bone Enigma-top closed
I am on the fence about the striped handle and pull tabs. I didn’t have any solid black at the time I cut those. The design works pretty well, but I think a solid black would have been better. Or maybe a black and grey stripe? Not sure, but I’ll have to think about it. I did use this same strip on the handle of Hand Bone Hackney, so that is something.
An unintended effect looking at the top is that the handle is enclosed by two hand bone motifs! It looks kind of cool.
I also used MaryC’s rivet press at Sew Day to put rivets on the handle. I am super excited about that!!
Megan’s Bone Enigma -side
Megan’s Bone Enigma -side
I still love the diagonal zipper. I thought the zipper tape I chose would be too large, but it worked out ok.
Well, even though that number hasn’t been picked in the UFO Challenge, I have finished it. I am giving it to Megan today, so needs must.
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I finished the Tadpole I made for Gerre’s International Women’s Day celebration. This is another Sew Sweetness pattern I bought and hadn’t yet made. I made this one at the same time I made Carrie’s.
Gerres’ Scissor Sheath
The fabric I used was the same used for another of Gerre’s bags, the Enigma Pouch. I am not a huge fan of this fabric as it looks a little too creepy for me. However, first, I am almost out, and second Gerre said she really likes it. I decided to use it up and then I can get back to the Alexander Henry Dia de los Muertos fabric I also use for her gifts. Yes, I have used a few different fabrics for her gifts. She was the first one, I think, for whom I started making sets of bags. It took me awhile to settle into the process.
This fabric does provide some good fussy cutting opportunities. Since I don’t have much of it left, I am using all the bits.
Gerre’s Tadpole other front
This pouch is more 2 sided than Carries, because of the fussy cutting opportunities. It is interesting how different the two sides are. However, all the figures are skeleton mermaids or mermen. I mostly cut off the tail of them. I suppose I could have turned the fabric 90 degrees and included the tail. Considering the design of the pouch, that might be a better way to orient the fabric. I guess I’ll have to make another one to see. 😉
Gerre’s Tadpole interior
As mentioned, I followed the pattern exactly, which I might not do if I make this again.
I also put an interior zipper pocket on one side of the pouch. I think this pocket could be used for extra rotary cutter blades. They might not be obvious, but a reminder could be using this same side for a rotary cutter.
Gerre’s Tadpole – interior
I am paying closer attention to making sure the linings are not saggy baggy. I am pleased with the way the pockets came out.
Two Tadpoles – front
Two Tadpoles – other front
Both Tadpoles look good, I think. I need some practice to make them better, but this is a useful pouch.
The Tadpole is a pouch that I bought as part of a 4-pack with the Cosquilla pattern last June. I am glad to say that this isn’t the first time I have made a bag from this 4-pack.
Carrie’s Tadpole front
The Tadpole (weird name, I know) is a useful pouch with two pockets that can secure scissors, rotary cutters and other similar types of tools.
Tadpole with interior zipper
One pocket is on the top and the other is on the bottom so you have to kind of flip it around to get at both zippers.
One of the pockets includes a small internal zipper pocket. This pocket could be added to both of the larger zipper pockets. I am not sure what I would put in that interior zipper pocket, but I do think that, generally, the more pockets the better. In this case, that might not be true if I were to put something in there and then lose it or forget about it. I look forward to seeing what Carrie says.
Tadpole open with sheath (Carrie)
The pattern includes a scissor sheath. I bought Carrie a nice pair of scissors to go with the pouch and the sheath can be customized to fit the scissors. I wanted to do that, but I didn’t want to open a new pair of scissors. I am not 100% sure the sheath is very useful with sharp scissors. It is definitely cool to have a matching scissor adornment, but I am concerned that sharp scissors will cut through quilting cotton. I might make the scissor sheath out of cork or pleather scraps in the future. It wouldn’t match, but it might be useful.
I made this first one in the fabric I use for Carrie, the Carrie Bloomston Color Theory fabric. I was able to use some smaller pieces, which was nice.
I forgot to post about the lunch bag I made for Friend Julie for Christmas. This was a project from Minikins Season 1. Season 1 includes the I Spy pouch pattern, which is one of my favorites. The Cotton Candy pouch is another of which I have made several. I knew that I had this pattern when I decided to make her a lunch bag.
I noticed that she was carrying her lunch around in a plastic bag. There is nothing wrong with plastic bags, especially with messy food. I thought it was odd. I thought I would try this pattern and hope it was a useful bag.
Morsel Handle
The first thing I did was get some ripstop nylon in order to make the inside sort of water resistant. I was inspired by Lynette using it for her Oxbow. Hers came out flat and beautiful. Mine came out bubbly and lumpy despite using Lynette’s tips. I have a feeling the ripstop I used was lesser quality than what Lynette used.
Morsel lunchbag interior
The pattern had no interior pockets. I guess a person just tosses all their lunch items in and pockets aren’t really needed.I keep thinking of regular bags and pockets are always useful.
I decided, based on my lunch bag, that I needed to include an ice pack. I added a mesh pocket for an ice pack. I thought a mesh pocket would better for something that might sweat. I included an ice pack (not shown) before I wrapped the gift.
Morsel Lunchbag top
The bag is on the small side, so no 5 person picnics.
The top has a recessed zipper, so the contents are out of the way of the handles. It might have been useful to include a shoulder strap, but I didn’t think of it.
In general, I am pretty happy with how this bag came out. Julie has brought it to a couple of Sew Days and that is really nice to see. I am definitely happy that I was able to use another Minikins pattern.
This is my first finish of the year! Finally! The Enigma might be my bag of the year as I feel excited about this bag and am eager to make two more.
I started this, because I had another one on my to do list and thought making two at a time would be quick and efficient. I also thought (and really hoped) it would, maybe, be chosen as the UFO project for the first month of the guild UFO challenge. As mentioned, no such luck, so I held off making the one on the list and just worked on this one.
Diana’s Enigma – open, side view
I made this bag for the Angel Mother, and my birthday twin, Diana. I have made a Day Trip Wallet and two Dogwood pouches using the same fabric. I have no idea if she likes it, so I’ll just keep on making bags for her until I run out.
Diana’s Enigma bottom
I wanted to fussy cut the front so it looked a bit better than mine. I ended up fussy cutting the bottom, which ends up being one side. It looks good, but you can’t really see it.
I really like that big flower.
The more times I make this bag, the easier it becomes, but the more I like the construction. I watched part of the video and there were some helpful hints in it. The video is totally worth the purchase when you buy a Sew Sweetness pattern.
Of course, the Enigma is part of a 12 pattern bundle. While Minikins Season 3 is probably my favorite, I have also made several of the patterns from Season 4. See the various projects and decide which season you like best.
I quickly made this pouch for Tim as a gift. I usually make him a gift, but for some reason I didn’t plan ahead for him. I will in 2026.
I rounded the corners of this version as it was easier to sew. I also used some great hand-dyed fabric that Sonja made for me a long time ago. It is precious so I save it for special projects.
Green I Spy for Tim-back
Tim loves everything green and he uses the bags I give him, so I decided to use some of this precious fabric for him.
I finished the Cosquilla pretty quickly, considering I only started it a few days ago. In general, this pattern has only a few pieces, so is easy to cut out. The instructions are excellent and there was only one confusing part where I needed to watch the video to complete.
I was able to use one ByAnnie 30 inch double pull handbag zipper for both of the zippers needed in the project. The yellow of the zipper doesn’t go exactly with the fabric I chose, but I think it looks good. There are not as many zipper colors as fabric colors.
Beth’s Cosquilla: interior
This is the first time I have used the same fabric for both the exterior and interior. I don’t know why I never thought of it before (DUH!), but I think it worked really well. There wasn’t a lot of exterior and there were some focus type motifs that I fussy cut in order to make the parts interesting. I still wanted the whole pouch to read as yellow, so I kept that in mind.
Beth’s Cosquilla: zipper side
This pouch, as you can see, has a lot of vinyl. I recently replenished by supply of vinyl. Mostly I like the glitter vinyl, but this time I also bought some vinyl with stars printed on it. I like the glitter vinyl, because it doesn’t interfere with the pattern on the fabric. In this case, I used the star vinyl and I think it allows the fabric motifs to shine as well. The other thing I like about these two vinyl patterns is I can use every inch. I don’t have to worry about the motifs on the vinyl being in the wrong direction when the bag is finished.
Beth’s Cosquilla: side
The pattern had a really interesting piece for the bottom and the sides. It was a long oval piece that had to be quilted before cutting it out. There are fewer seams when one piece makes up the sides and bottom.
I really don’t know how Sara thinks of these bag designs, but I am constantly impressed. Having the sides wrap around the bottom/sides piece was really clever. I like the way it went together.
Sewing it together was no picnic, but it wasn’t as difficult as the Pearce Sling I made for Mom. They share that curved shape, but this pouch is much bigger and that curve was easier, though not easy to navigate.
Anyway, I got SIL#4 a couple of gifts off her list, but also made her this as a bonus. I like to receive things I want, so I always make sure I buy someone something off their list even if I make them something.
