the one where a bag ate my brain

So, guess what I've been working on?

Yup, the infamous weekender.  I'm making it for my sister.  And I say making it because it's not quite done.  I still need to make the lining, but I'm done for the day.  All sewed out.  This bag is a beast, and for today at least, it's eaten my brain.

Actually what has eaten my brain is those instructions.  Oy.  I guess I've assembled a little too much ikea in my lifetime because instructions with lots of words make me go crosseyed.  This bag has words coming out both ends. I basically gave up, looked at the photos and winged it.  Who knows, I might have even sewn it right.

I used the quilt as you go method that lots of people have been posting about, except without doing any patchwork.  Pellon products are really hard to find here so I couldn't get the peltex called for in the pattern, and don't even really know what it's like to find a substitute.  Oh, and I bought piping rather than making my own.  Because it is way cheaper.  I kind of hate the handles, but they're not as bad in person.  The pale blue is just so blah.  But I didn't have enough of anything else, so blue canvas it was. 

Anyway, glad I tackled it, don't think I'd do it again.  If I did I'd change the construction a bit.  It's almost impossible to fit the side panels onto the top/bottom piece without going mental.  Let's just say it's a good thing the husband is out of town today, because there were points in the sewing of this that if he'd tried talking to me, it wouldn't have been pretty!

joy and snowflakes,
c

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quilt as you go 241 totes (plus a giveaway)

When I met up with Ms KateyZ to head down to Portland I fell head over heels with her 241 tote. Literally grabbing it out of her hands when we got into her car! I've seen a lot of these around online, but this was the first quilt as you go version. QAYG makes this bag rock!

I've since made 3 and wanted to share a few tips I've come up with along the way.

My first tip involves the general quilt as you go process.  I've been noticing lately that the trend is to start with one scrap, quilt it down, then add another, quilt it down, etc (like my photo above).   I did one bag this way but quickly realized that while it looks great, it's really time consuming. 

Instead I reverted to the traditional quilt as you go method, which is to sew together a block  then quilt the block.  In this case I wasn't sewing a traditional quilt block but rather a whole bunch of scraps into a slab of fabric roughly the shape of the pattern piece.  Working this way is faster and can give a more random look.

Quilt as you go results in some shrinkage of you batting and fabric, so tip number 2 is cut everything that will be quilted a bit bigger than you need then trim it down after the quilting.

For this I used heavier cardstock pattern pieces that I'd cut out.  If you think you might make more than one of these totes, I can't recommend a cardstock pattern enough!

Remember when you're picking your colour scheme that it needs to go with your wardrobe!  I'm giving the brown version to my mum, who wears a lot of black, often with bits of brown.  The blue and grey hexie version is perfect for my wardrobe since they're the neutrals I wear most often (yes, blue is a neutral!  Jeans, right?).

This bag isn't very big, but it still can benefit from a bright liner.  Why?  So you can see things, of course!  I've never understood black linings for purses.  Everything gets lost.

So, after all that, do you think you can tackle one yourself?  If so, good news!  The gracious Anna from Noodlehead is offering a free pattern to one of my readers!  And to get you started I'm offering a pack of scraps in your choice of colours and 3 of the metallic snap closures called for in the pattern (you just need one but might want to make more than one bag).  To enter to win leave a comment letting me know what colours you'd like to use for the bag or who you'd make one for.  I'll draw a name on Friday evening.  International entries are awesome.  No guarantees of a pre-christmas delivery, though.

adios yo,
c

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