When last we checked on our hero :-), she had to sew the main zipper in. I was able to do it, and the binding. I worked on this project on and off all week. DH was out at meetings again. I took the time to sew since work is interfering with day time sewing.
Running with Scissors Tote: Main Zipper in
I sewed the main zipper in. There was a little bit of ripping, but I did it. I am not sure what to do with the end of the zipper. The pattern says what to do, but it doesn’t make sense to me.
I also sewed on the binding. I sewed it on to the zipper. I tried to machine sew the binding down from the front, but it looked awful, especially around the curves. I unsewed the awful parts and stitched the binding down by hand, for the most part. This took about 50 Wonder Clips!
A Thousand Wonder Clips
The photo shows the Sew Together Bag I made for myself. I keep that bag downstairs and use it to work on hand projects. I had nowhere to put the thousand Wonder Clips, so I put them on the edge of the zipper. This was a good place to hold them temporarily until I could put them away. Who knew?
The Running with Scissors Tote is nearly done in the picture.
After finishing Flying Around, I needed a little break from serious quilts. I didn’t want to start a new quilt yet, though I have some fabric lying around waiting for their time in the sun. I decided to work on some bags that were hanging around. I am almost finished with the Running with Scissors tote and the Poolside Tote is cut out.
The 4 Zip Organizer won out. The last time I worked on this project was with Gerre back in June. Then, I quilted the pieces I needed to quilt and put it away to concentrate on Flying Around.
Friday was the day. I started working on it and got excited about it again. This was one of the bonus projects for the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club. Ever since I started knitting the Lightweight Raglan Pullover, I have wanted to finish this bag, so I would have a carrier for my notions.
4 Zip Organizer: Long Handle
I decided to do some different things with this piece. I made a long handle put it all the way around the bag, so it would support the weight if I stuffed the bag full. It was kind of a hassle, because I forgot and sewed all the way to the edge. That meant I had to rip, but eventually I worked it out.
Since this handle worked, I have more of an incentive to finish adding the handle to the All Rolled Up Tote. I know! Yes, that bag is still hanging around waiting for me to deal with the handle. Perhaps soon, now that I am on a Bag Binge.
4 Zip Organizer: Thread Holder
I had to add a center facing anyway, so I added some thread holders. I learned how to do this by doing the same thing on the Running with Scissors tote. I thought it would make a good addition, especially since I had that seafoam elastic, thought I think it will only hold small Aurifil spools. I am able to also use that elastic feature for Wonder Clips.
In making this, I found that the large Wonder Clips came in handy. I have only ever used them to keep my design wall under control, but they were useful in putting this bag together.
I also added a pencil holder and a D-Ring to the bag instead of one of the pockets. I thought I would like to have a pen handy (and under control). Also, I think i mentioned, I am adding a D-Ring to all of my bags, so I can move the small vinyl bags around as I fill them with critical supplies. I first came across this with the All Rolled Up Tote.
I was able to get back to the Running with Scissors tote on Sunday. Not for long, though I planned for at least 4 hours of sewing, but was distracted by various things.
I sewed the two quilted pockets on. I had forgotten to do it, or skipped doing it, in the correct sequence. This worked, though, so I now have the full compliment of pockets.
The major step was to sew the main zipper to the bag. This zipper goes all the way around the bag.
In the photo, you can also see that I started to add the center facing. I caught the handle on the other side in my first attempt so there was some ripping involved. I may be able to finish it this week.
Sew Day for September was Saturday. I know I always say this, but I really enjoy seeing what other people make. I was focused on a couple of projects of my own, so I didn’t even really get a chance to see everything that people were working on.
Patti’s Class Project
Patti’s Project caught my attention right away. She had the pieces from the guild’s recent Latifah Safir class on her table and I loved the look of the block! I loved what she had done, because of the HRTs I have been playing with on and off over the past several months. I know the design is not original and came from a Latifah Safir pattern. It is cool and makes me wonder if I could do something like it with the Split Recs ruler by Studio 180 Designs.
The class must have been great, because a number of people had brought their pieces to work on. I haven’t seen that before at a Sew Day – or I hadn’t noticed.
Runs with Scissors Tote
I worked on cutting out pieces for the Running with Scissors tote. I had pulled all of the fabric on Friday after work, so I got the whole thing cut out except for one piece, which I will cut next weekend. I hope to work on this at the mini-retreat I am attending next weekend. I am thinking of making a couple of them as gifts depending on how the project goes.
So far, the directions are very clear. I have some experience with bag directions so I was pleased. I don’t think I have made a ByAnnie’s pattern before and perhaps the good directions are a sign of quality. There are a lot of aspects to this bag, so I was a little worried. I was surprised that there was less to cut out than I though.
Lee Anne’s donation quilt
Lee Anne is a major donation quilt maker and she was working on a really cool quilt at the retreat.
As you can see this is a lozenge quilt. I am not sure if she had the fabric or used fabric from the Community Quilts stash. It is a great looking design and wonderful quilt.
Another member, who we call Baguette, and I are planning a Bag-a-Long for the guild. We had a meeting during Sew Day to organize ourselves for the next meeting. We will all make the same bag using the same pattern. Baguette and I will stay ahead of the others (or try to!) and offer clarifications and modifications to the pattern. The pattern is the Ultimate Carry All by Quiltessa Natalie. I wrote about it a little bit in my Quiltmaking Go Bag post a few weeks ago. I will definitely talk about this bag in future posts as we make it. The creator, however, has video tutorials, so I probably won’t do a Bag-a-Long on the blog.
I also had a meeting with Mary about the retreat this weekend. It will be held at the church so we had to coordinate.
The Mondo Bag that I started in March (yikes!) has been languishing. It hasn’t been out of my mind, but I haven’t had a chance to work on it. I took it with me to Sew Day on Saturday and finished laying out the squares on it.
Mondo Bag – halfMondo Bag – other half
I may move a few around or change some out, but mostly, the bag is ready to sew together.
This bag uses the same process as the Midi Bag I made in class with Julie. The next step is to iron the pieces down and then sew. I have to look at the lining and handle directions, but my goal is to work on the bag next weekend and get the thing put together.
Sewing at Gerre’s house was great. In addition to progress on the gift bags, the Lobster and another Flapper apron, I also made a minute amount of progress on the 4-Zip Organizer.
Outside of 4 Zip Organizer, quilted
My next step was to quilt it. Quilting is always a step that stalls me on a project. this was such a small amount of quilting that it shouldn’t have been a problem. It wasn’t a problem this time and I did the quilting at Gerre’s while chatting. It doesn’t look that different now – just quilted. I have to trim the quilted piece to its correct size, but that part is done.
I wanted to work on this project over the weekend, but I was absorbed by Flying Around. Also, DH and I went out to the movies. Still, I am thrilled that I have made some progress.
Solid Black and Dot Black Cell Phone Wallets – finished
I finished the two Cell Phone Wallets I was making. They came out pretty well and I am pleased to be able to cross them off my list.
The only thing I am not happy with are the rings. They work well, but they aren’t very nice looking. The good thing about them is that they stay in place. Some rectangular ones I have used never stay put.
Two more Cell Phone Wallets have been on my list for a long time. I got a new tunic 8 months or a year ago and I haven’t worn it as much as I want,because I didn’t have a pocket.
Solid Black and Dot Black Cell Phone Wallets in process
I have a number of projects going, but I am having a hard time focusing, because there are a few little projects cluttering up my mind. I decided to try and knock those off my list. Since I only had a little time to sew over the weekend, I decided to start with the Cell Phone Wallets.
Shockingly, this was much easier than I anticipated. Why I think these little totes are so difficult is another mystery. The pieces were already cut so I had to do a little sewing. I did the sewing. Now I have do a little interfacing, then I will be ready to assemble them. they should be ready to wear this week.
I finished the Good Fortune Chubby Charmer I started last week. I was able to take some time while DH was out the other night to finish the last bits. It was a little tricky, because I stashed the pattern somewhere safe….
I couldn’t find it, but, fortunately, I have made enough bags to know how they go together. I may not have done it exactly the way the directions suggested, but the bag is together, looks good and will work. Also, it is on time. SIL’s birthday is tomorrow and my nephew has it to put out with the other gifts I helped him buy.
Good Fortune Chubby Charmer – back
One thing I have to remember next time I make one of these is that the first square (top left) is on the side of the bag, so if I want to see a particular fabric, I need to put it in the second position.
The back (or other) side came out lighter than the front. I am not sure how that happened, but I should have mixed it up a bit more. There is always room for improvement in a project.
Good Fortune Chubby Charmer – lining
I also used a half inch seam allowance on the lining. This makes it lay really well on the inside of the bag. It was difficult to attach at the top. I wondered if I used a quarter inch seam allowance at the top and then graded the seam allowance out to half inch after about an inch, if that would solve two problems.
The pockets are large and a bit too floopy for me. Still they work really well for folders and large pieces of paper plus they fit a lot.
Good Fortune Chubby Charmer – lining with handles
I also plan to make the pockets on my batik Chubby Charmer a little different than this one. I am not 100% sure of the exact configuration yet. I want to think about what would be useful. I also have to make the lining! I might make a slip pocket, which I learned to make (really well) in the Cargo Duffel project and have also made a few times for the Petrillo bags. The slip pocket would be for one side of the linking. Perhaps some smaller pockets for the other side, like a pocket with dividers for pens.
I also want to add a D-ring somewhere. Remember when I talked about clipping smaller pouches to different bags (AKA the lobster clip plan)? Well, I want to make a habit of putting D-rings in bags so clipping small pouches to different bags is a real possibility for me. Putting pens in a pouch might a better plan than having pens in each bag.
Now I can cross this project off my list and add the yardage to my spreadsheet.
I also made progress on the Batik Malka Dubrowsky Chubby Charmer. I am not as far along as finding suitable fabrics to go with the charm pack is challenging. I have made some progress, especially the quilting since I last spoke to you about this project.
I found another Malka Dubrowsky charm pack and used some of the squares for the missing pieces of fabric I needed to complete the bag. The second charm pack uses similar colors.
I did a few things differently on this bag. First, I remembered to put vinyl on the squares that will be the bottom. This is my small attempt to keep the bottom clean and dry.
As you know from my other sewing with vinyl efforts, I cover the vinyl along the seam line with tissue paper and sew. This time I had some problems, because I didn’t cover the entire area where my foot would touch the vinyl. The bit of the foot that touched the vinyl got caught up and made my stitches look icky. Fortunately, they are on the bottom, so they won’t be seen that much. Pulling them out is not an option, because the holes in the vinyl don’t heal. I would have to rip out the entire last row and remake the vinyl covered squares. I am going to live with a few tiny stitches.
I am making progress on both Chubby Charmers. I have made the most progress on this one.
After creating some new pieces of Soft & Stable, I spent most of the day on Sunday quilting. You might remember that I screwed up my shoulder quilting the Lights tablerunner, so I was extra careful about keeping my shoulder down. I tend to quilt with my shoulders up near my ears and that is a bad thing.
I have the inside pieces with pockets made as well as the handles. Now I just need to starting putting the bag together.
You know that I often like to make projects multiple times to get the hang of the process. The other day, avoiding FOTY 2017 and having some time at Craft Night, I started on the Mondo Bag. I bought the pattern at Golden State a few weeks ago when I was in San Jose.
I have been wanting to make the larger size of this bag since I took the Scruffy Quilts Midi Bag class. I like the Midi bag and wanted to cement the process in my head. Recently I was thinking that my, as yet unstarted, new knitting project would fit better in a larger bag. Thus the perfect opportunity presented itself.
Mondo Bag start
The process is that you press 2.5 inch squares on to an interfacing pattern, then fold and sew until you have a panel. Since I was at Craft Night, I pinned the squares to the interfacing. I did this for convenience, but also so I could contemplate the design before I pressed everything down permanently.
I am using Flow and Basic Mixology mini-charms. I had some packs from QuiltCon, I think, and they seem to go together well. Not perfectly, but well. So far, I am pleased with the results. The mini-charm packs have been hanging around for awhile. I was waiting for this project to come along so I could use them.
After completing the All Rolled Up Tote, I thought I would layout the massive number of projects in the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club that I have completed.
Crafty Gemini Organizer Club completions, February 2019Sewing Machine Mat from front
Four.
Yes, I have completed 4 projects. I still have 3 more projects to go to complete the club. I do want to make all of the projects since I did sign up and pay for them. I did not sign up for the subsequent clubs since I have not yet finished the three projects left in the club. Also, I have a lot of other bags and organizer type projects I want to make.
I also want to make another Roadtrip Bag that has a vinyl window rather than using vinyl all the way across the front. I realize that is not the design, but I want to try my design change in order to not have to turn the vinyl. I am not sure how I will use the Roadtrip bag, but I like the design.
Crafty Gemini Organizer Club completions, February 2019-open
You can still buy the club (no affiliation). Check out the video showing all the projects.
The All Rolled Up Tote is finally starting to look like something. It is amazing to me how I can sew and sew on a bag project and it looks like a bunch of disparate parts, then all of a sudden it looks like something. It’s like magic.
All Rolled Up Tote – pockets assembled
Just as I needed the sides, the fabric arrived from HipStitch and I had time to wash it. For once I cut the outside properly and was able to move forward.
As I said, it is similar in shape and use to the Sew Together Bag, but much larger. The finished size is 15in./L x 9in./W x 6in./H. I placed my rotary cutter in the photo above so you could get some idea of scale. This bag is much larger than the Sew Together Bag.
I am also finding the construction to be a little different. For example, the pockets are assembled separately unlike the Sew Together Bag. I am sure I will find some other differences when I get farther along.
I finished the pockets for the All Rolled Up tote. As mentioned, this is part of the Crafty Gemini 2018 Organizer Club. You can buy the stand-alone pattern on her site. Above three of the pockets are shown. I have decided to alternate where the zippers start to lessen bulk.
All Rolled Up Tote -pocket n.1 stitching detail
All Rolled Up Tote -pocket n.1
The first pocket, which will go in the front of the bag has elastic on it for writing implements, glue sticks, etc. the pattern calls for a 1/4″ piece of elastic placed horizontally all the way across. I thought a thicker elastic placed vertically would work better for me. I didn’t want tips of pens to be too close to the fabric in case they should open and stain. I am also not a fan of that 1/4in. elastic. I think it looks a little cheap. My fat turquoise elastic (I wish I could remember where I bought it in case I want to make another) looks super fun as well.
