Project Bag and Fabric Buying

When I was at Fall Market I purchased a few bag patterns to test to see if I want to carry them in my shop. One of them was the Project Bag by Annie Unrein.

I've already ordered patterns for the shop as I love this one! It is easy to make and the pattern makes four sizes of bag - small, medium, large, and extra large. I chose to start with the medium size which finishes at 10" by 12". The large finishes at 13" by 13". The extra large finishes at 16" by 16 which would be a perfect size for storing completed blocks for a project. I can't remember the dimensions of the small size, maybe 8" by 10" but I'm not certain.

Fabric Buying:

I often get asked, "how do you choose which fabrics to order for the shop?" Well, the way I prefer to work is to have fabric reps visit me at the shop and show me samples of what they have available.

Recently my lovely Moda rep stopped by. In the photo above you see our classroom tables piled high with all of the things I could choose from! If only money and space were not a consideration! Seeing the samples in the shop allows me to see if the new fabrics will fill in or blend well with what I already have.

In a nutshell, I like to see everything available and I make mental notes of what I like. Then as we go back through I set aside everything I like. Finally I figure out from this smaller stack what the shop needs and what the shop can afford based on when the fabric will be shipped.

It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it. *wink, wink*