Petite Stitched Purse

I'm a bag pattern collector! I have every intention of making every bag pattern I buy, but it doesn't always work out that way. Now that I own a fabric store it's even worse. I see a cute pattern and buy one "to try out for the shop." I have quite a collection going now.

Recently I decided that I really need to make a commitment to make up some of these patterns. I'll file the ones I don't like and order more for the shop of the ones I do like.

I picked the Petite Stitched Purse from my pattern stack to try out over the weekend.

It's a simple clutch style bag. There is suppose to be a small pocket inside, but I couldn't figure out the directions for it. There aren't any diagrams for the pocket and the written instructions just didn't make any sense to me. I started to try to wing it, but wasn't sure where the bottom of the pocket should be. So I just gave up on the pocket all together. I don't think it really needs a pocket inside. The bag isn't very big. The strap closure is pretty interesting and it has some hidden magnetic snaps too.

The idea for this bag is that you can customize it with a bunch of quilting or decorative stitching. The photo doesn't really show the simple quilting I did following the print of the fabric. I didn't want to do too much work on this one since I was just trying out the pattern. Despite not being able to figure out the pocket, I like the pattern. I'll need to figure the pocket out at some point. I think this would be a great pattern for featuring some of the many decorative stitches we all have on our sewing machines. The pattern gives good directions for how to mark your fabric for doing some decorative stitching. I'll try that on the next one and get that interior pocket figured out too!

About Time to Use This One!

How old is the oldest fabric in your stash? I mean yardage, not scraps. I didn't sort through my entire stash but I pulled this one out to use it for a project recently and noticed that it is from 1997!

And I had three yards of it! I only used about 1/2 yard for the project I was working on so I still have about 2 1/2 yards of this. Sheesh! I wonder what I bought this for?

I didn't start sewing until about 1995 so this must have been purchased early in my sewing life. I have no idea what I got this for but I think it is certainly safe to go ahead and use it. Not sure what I will do with the rest.

Festival of Stars :: A Finish

This was a block of month my shop did last year. I have a few kits left so I decided to finish the top before hanging it back up in the shop in hopes that the rest of the kits will sell.

I really enjoyed making this one. It finishes at 78" by 83.5". The quilting was not done by me. In my area there are several long arm quilters and we hand out business cards for three of them in my shop when folks ask. I had never had anything quilted by this lady so I wanted to see an example of her work. She did a fabulous job! Here are some detail shots:

This is not a fast project or one that I would recommend to a beginner. You need to cut and piece accurately! The pattern is well-written and easy to follow, but again, it's not a beginner level project. My favorite part is the vertical sashing that twists and turns around the blocks. It really sets off the beautiful blocks so nicely.

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*

Playing with Ruler Quilting

When I was at Fall Quilt Market I bought a set of quilting rulers to try out. I'm just now getting around to playing with them.

These blocks are only 6" which is a nice size to practice with. Right now I'm just playing. Eventually I will develop a project or use the one that comes with the rulers and teach this as a class in my shop.

These are done on a domestic machine, not a long arm. They intrigued me for this reason. Not many of my customers have a long arm, but they all have a regular sewing machine. You don't need any fancy equipment to be successful with these rulers!

Pinwheels & Sixteen Patches

My scrap group meets today. We are winding down one project so I'm thinking ahead to the next one. This is what I've been working on.

The pinwheel blocks are made from 5" squares and the sixteen patches are made from 2.5" by 11" strips. 

I have enough fabric to make another quilt this size (30 blocks) plus a third quilt that would use only 20 blocks and a border. Or I could sew all 80 blocks together to make a 64" by 80" quilt. I'm not sure exactly what I will do at this point. I'm still in the "just making blocks" phase of this project.

Wonder Clip Pin Cushion :: A Tutorial

My mom made one of these for me and took one as a door prize to my guild meeting. The lady that won it at the guild meeting asked for the pattern, but Mom didn't use a pattern. This weekend I made one and took pictures so I could write a little tutorial.

The one on the left is the one I made. The one on the right is the one my mom made. For the purposes of this tutorial I made mine a little smaller. You can easily adjust the pattern to add more (or less) clip strips. The finished size of mine is 4.5" by 6".

I used scraps to make mine and it took less than a fat quarter worth of fabric. You'll also need some sand or crushed walnut shells for the filling.

Here is what you need to cut:

(4) 2" by 4.5" rectangle for the clip strips
(3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles for the spacers between the clip strips
(2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles for the end pieces
(2) 4.5" by 5" rectangles for the back

To make the inner bag that you will fill with sand or crushed walnut shells you need (2) 4.75" by 6.25" rectangles of scrap fabric.

Step 1: Fold the 2" by 4.5" rectangles in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Sew both short ends. Clip the seam allowance a bit to reduce the bulk at the corner. Turn right side out and press.

Step 2: Layout your base pieces and put the clip strips on top of the appropriate pieces, aligning raw edges. Your base pieces are the (3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles and the (2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles. Notice that the clip strips are shorter than the base pieces. Just center them on the base piece as best you can.

Step 3: Sew the clip strips to their base pieces using and 1/8" seam allowance to hold them in place before sewing the pieces all together.

Step 4: Sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance. You will need to make sure you keep the unbasted edge of the clip strips out of the way.

Step 5: Press all your seams in one direction.

Step 6: Press one of the 5" sides of your back pieces over 1/4" twice, then topstitch the hem down. The piece on the left below is only pressed while the right hand piece is pressed and sewn. Notice that my fabric is directional. I made sure that the two edges I was working with in this step align the pattern on the fabric properly.

Step 7: Pin the two back pieces to the completed top piece, right sides together. The back pieces should overlap 1" to 1.5" along the hemmed edges.

Step 8: Sew all the way around the outer edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. I usually backstitch over the overlap section since this area will get some extra stress on it when it's time to put the inner bag inside.

Step 9: Turn it right side out through the opening in the back.

Step 10: To make the inner bag, place your (2) 4.75" by 6.25" pieces right sides together and sew all the way around the outer edge with a 1/4" seam leaving about a 2" opening in one of the shorter sides. You may want to shorten your seam allowance for this step since you will be filling this little bag with sand or crushed walnut shells. Clip the corners and turn it right side out then fill. I used crushed walnut shells for mine.

Step 11: Hand sew the opening closed. This does not have to be invisible since no one will ever see it once inside the cushion, but it does need to be securely sewn.

Step 12: Insert the inner bag into the cushion through the opening in the back. It may take some finessing to get the filler bag inside if you have filled it really full like I did. Just take your time.

That's it! Enjoy your Wonder Clip Pin Cushion!