Weekend Link Party #25

Welcome to Weekend Link Party #25. Link up anything you would like to share. And help spread the word by adding my button on your blog. Thank you! I encourage those of you who link up here to write a really good descriptive title so that we know what you are linking, since there are no thumbnail photos. If it is a quilt, please use quilt in the title. If it is a bag, use bag in the title and so on. That might help those who are looking to click on the titles that might interest them. Thank you so much! The Weekend Link Party is a new place to link up your creations to share. Starting on Friday each week you can link up your creations, old or new or show a work-in-progress. Share anything at all. Some weeks there will be a theme, but for now anything goes.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com" title="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/PatchouliMoonStudio/6fa4ed6c-636e-4287-adae-f51b08e9553a_zpsbac2a9c4.jpg" alt="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Pin It Now!

Hot Air Balloon Quilts

I made some more hot air balloon quilts. The annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be here in less than 2 weeks (October 4-12, 2014). I made a few quilts that I painted and quilted and am selling. I created a free tutorial on how to paint on fabric with pastel crayons. Click on the hot air balloon quilt on the Craftsy link on the side bar to get to the tutorial. You can download  the tutorial for free from Craftsy.

Pin It Now!

More Kumihimo Necklaces

I made several more Kumihimo (Japanese Braided) necklaces. I am selling these. If you are interested in purchasing one please leave a comment or email me.

The aqua one with the heart on the left has SOLD.

Pin It Now!

Fetch Your Sketch Portfolio

This is the 3rd item that I tested for Annie. It's a cute portfolio for your art supplies or for your child or grandchild, called Fetch your Sketch. When you open it one side is a chalkboard (using chalkboard fabric). Easy to make and would make a great gift for the artist in your life. It's another wonderful pattern!

I had this cute paint tube fabric that was perfect to use for this portfolio. The instructions have a longer strap too that you can clip onto rings with swivel hooks, but I didn't add the longer strap on mine because I wouldn't be carrying it across my body. The handles here I made wider because I was going to use wider hardware rings than what was called for in the instructions. Then I decided to omit the hardware on mine as I felt it wasn't that necessary for me. The flap closes the portfolio with a magnetic snap.

Opened up with the chalkboard fabric on one side and the pockets on the other side. There is a larger pocket under the chalkboard and another large pocket under the mesh/clear pockets to hold your sketch pad or book.

On the left side is a mesh pocket on the bottom and above the mesh pocket are 2 zippered pockets made with clear vinyl so you can see inside the pockets. While I used a purple polka dot lining fabric, you cannot see it because it's under the chalkboard pocket and the 3 pockets on the left side. So no need to use a fancy or expensive lining fabric on this. 

Pin It Now!

The Drawstring Sling Bag

I tested a bag for a new designer this month. The bag is called the Drawstring Sling. It's an easy to sew bag and it's large and roomy inside too. There were several of us testing the bag and as we tested and communicated, we experimented and found out some things. I used one layer of Craft Fuse interfacing rather than the 3 layers of interfacing that was called for in the pattern. I figured that one layer of what I had would about equal the 3 layers, but my bag came out stiffer than I expected it to. Of course I also used the Craft Fuse on the lining as well instead of another 3 layers of interfacing. I think I was the first tester who finished the bag, which can be good or bad. The other testers started to use other things. Since I didn't know what interfacing the designer had used before I began, (I should have asked before cutting anything), I thought what I used would work as the bag was supposed to stand up on it's own. My bag does stand up on it's own just fine, but something not so stiff would have allowed the drawstrings to pull easier. Well I suppose that is why there are several testers and after hearing what worked or didn't work for each tester, that's when the other testers tried different things. I would have opted to use fusible fleece or Soft and Stable instead of the interfacing if I was doing my own bag and not following the instructions. I added a casing instead of the eyelets that were called for. I should have used the eyelets. The casing along with the stiffer interfacing didn't work well for me. I just had such an awful time when I made a bag with grommets a couple of years ago because the grommets were not working and were falling out as I put them in. I was afraid of having a bag with 14 holes! I suppose I should have put in the eyelets and if they didn't work I could have then made a casing to cover the holes.

After everyone made this bag and gave their input, the pattern was reworked several times and now will be so much easier to make with the updated instructions. I know what I will need to do if I make another bag, LOL!!! You can go to the Fashion Clique page website to purchase this pattern if you would like to make your own Drawstring Sling and follow the updated and revised pattern, lol!!! I'm sure you will enjoy making this bag knowing the instructions are spot on now. It's not difficult to sew and goes together quickly too. Go here to see all the tester's bags. You can get the pattern with a 10% discount now too by using this code: 10off  Discount good until October 20, 2014.

Here is my version of the bag~

I used a home dec fabric and a piece of fabric that I had painted and stamped a couple of years ago as the bottom.

The flap of this bag is a great place to decorate using applique or hand or machine embroidery or fussy cut a pretty fabric piece like I did above on mine.

There is a magnetic snap closure for the flap and the drawstrings to cinch in the bag. I made a casing rather than the called for 14 eyelets around the bag. If my interfacing had not been so stiff, this would have worked fine.

The lining and the strap are the same fabric. In fact this fabric was some fabric that my mom had given to me last year that she still had that was from her quilt shop that she owned in California in the mid-1970's! I still have a few yards of this left.

Back of the bag.

Pin It Now!

Grab Some Grub Lunch Bag

On Thursday I posted about the Out to Lunch Bag that I tested for Annie of byAnnie.com Today is another lunch bag I tested called Grab Some Grub Lunch Bag. This one looks more like a lunch bag and also holds a lot inside. I didn't have the plastic release buckle so I used a swivel hook and D-ring to close the bag. Annie liked that idea so she added that closure option to the instructions of this bag as well. This bag was a little easier to make than the Out to Lunch Bag in case you are new to bag making. But Annie's instructions are great and she takes you through it step-by-step, so even the harder to make things aren't that hard when you sew them one step-at-a-time.

Because I added a swivel hook and D-ring closure to my bag instead of the plastic release buckle in the instructions, I didn't quite get the placement correct. Annie has worked it out on her instructions though . I need to adjust it so that the flap is lower on the bag, I just haven't got around to doing it yet. The flap can be made of fabric like mine or you can use a chalkboard fabric and write a message on the flap. Cute idea for packing your child a lunch with a sweet message written on the flap.

This is the back of the bag and there is a plastic pocket to place a name card and slip it inside.

Stitching on the sides of the bag allow it to fold flat when not in use.

Roomy inside and a mesh pocket to hold an ice pack.

Mesh pocket inside.

Pin It Now!

Weekend Link Party #24

Welcome to Weekend Link Party #24. Link up anything you would like to share. And help spread the word by adding my button on your blog. Thank you! I encourage those of you who link up here to write a really good descriptive title so that we know what you are linking, since there are no thumbnail photos. If it is a quilt, please use quilt in the title. If it is a bag, use bag in the title and so on. That might help those who are looking to click on the titles that might interest them. Thank you so much! The Weekend Link Party is a new place to link up your creations to share. Starting on Friday each week you can link up your creations, old or new or show a work-in-progress. Share anything at all. Some weeks there will be a theme, but for now anything goes.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com" title="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/PatchouliMoonStudio/6fa4ed6c-636e-4287-adae-f51b08e9553a_zpsbac2a9c4.jpg" alt="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Pin It Now!

Out to Lunch Bag

I recently tested 3 patterns for Annie (of byAnnie.com). 2 were lunch bags. This one is called the Out to Lunch Bag. I chose a vegetable fabric for this bag and used Soft and Stable, a stabilizer for bag making that makes the bag stand up nicely on it's own. Soft and Stable is a product created and sold at byAnnie.com and of course she uses this product in all of her patterns. The instructions are great and this bag looks stylish enough to use for more than lunch if you use a pretty fabric. I love this bag!

I quilted this on the diagonal. Soft and Stable is so easy to sew and quilt through. The binding and handles are royal purple, but that color tends to photograph bluer. There is a slip pocket on both the front and the back of the bag. Both sides look the same.

The pattern calls for using a double pull zipper, which makes sense, but I didn't have one on hand so I used what I had which was a white metal teeth zipper. Yes I said white. I however painted my zipper with purple watercolor paint and heat set it. It turned out just fine. I used a ribbon for the zipper pull even though the instructions have you make a fabric zipper pull. The problem was that the opening to my zipper was too small for the fabric to fit through and the ribbon was even a struggle to get it in the opening pull of the zipper.

Inside the bag are 2 mesh pockets which are perfect for holding one of those frozen packs to keep your lunch cold. Or you could also place a napkin in one of the mesh pockets too. The gussets bellow out and keep your lunch from tumbling out of the bag.

I stacked 4 small containers inside the bag to show the space inside. There is still plenty of room to add a few more items.

  Pin It Now!

Yellow Chrysanthemums

A neighbor of ours brought us over 2 huge gorgeous yellow mum plants as a thank you. My husband likes to help our neighbors doing some yard work for them when they aren't able to do it themselves. It's good exercise for hubby and he truly enjoys it. He never expects anything in return. Our neighbor brought these by our house in her car because they were so heavy she couldn't lift them. This was her way of thanking my hubby. How sweet of her. I love them! Chrysanthemums are my birth flower too!

You can barely see the second pot of mums behind this one. These are huge and beautiful!

  Pin It Now!

Weekend Link Party # 23

Welcome to Weekend Link Party #23. Link up anything you would like to share. And help spread the word by adding my button on your blog. Thank you! I encourage those of you who link up here to write a really good descriptive title so that we know what you are linking, since there are no thumbnail photos. If it is a quilt, please use quilt in the title. If it is a bag, use bag in the title and so on. That might help those who are looking to click on the titles that might interest them. Thank you so much!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com" title="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/PatchouliMoonStudio/6fa4ed6c-636e-4287-adae-f51b08e9553a_zpsbac2a9c4.jpg" alt="Patchouli Moon Studio's Weekend Link Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Pin It Now!