Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Enlarged Clematis Bag in Patchwork

I made a scrappy patchwork Clematis bag that I enlarged and added an adjustable strap to as well. The original pattern is a smaller wristlet bag. The pattern is free from Blue Calla Designs. I like changing things on bags that I make, like making them larger or smaller, adding an adjustable strap so it can be worn across the body or on the shoulder and fit a variety of woman, and adding additional pockets too.


Inside the bag is a divided slip pocket with pen pockets and a zippered pocket too.

I quilted the bag in wavy lines.

Side view to show the depth of the bag.

The back of the bag

Closer look at the back side.

Another view inside showing the slip pocket and zippered pocket.
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Saturday, February 24, 2018

Nesting Baskets

Lisa of Around the Bobbin just released her set of 3 Nesting Baskets pattern. I was also a tester of these baskets. These baskets are easy to make once you get the hang of it and with 3 sizes to choose from you can make several for all your needs and they make great gifts too. Plus it is  great way to use up fat quarters of fabric! I made one of each size and will be making more of them when I get a chance.

Lisa's instructions are excellent and she chose the perfect interfacing to create these baskets. I did a bit of experimenting on mine, so I will mention what I did when I get to that basket photo. The pattern in on sale for a very short time, so grab it while you can and save 25% off the pattern price through Monday Feb. 26 by using the code NEST25

To give you more inspiration and see how these baskets look in different fabric, check out the testers versions here.

Here are my baskets~

This is the small size, which is still quite roomy inside.

Small basket.

Small basket from the side.



Small basket.

Small basket empty.

Medium basket.

Medium basket showing the side.


Using the stripe fabric made the folded sides automatically have mitered corners, which was a fun surprise.


The medium basket size holds 4 large cones of thread to give you an idea about size.


Inside the medium size.



Top view.

On the large basket I tried using one-sided fusible foam (Flex Foam). Even with a lot of pressing afterwards, it left a bit of wrinkles on the fabric. I would not recommend using the foam, at least not the fusible kind. It stands up nicely, but I prefer Lisa's interfacing choices instead.

Inside the large basket. This lining fabric is a fabric that was from my mom's quilt shop from the mid 1970's! My sister mailed it to me last year. I had some of this fabric in a blue colorway and had forgotten about this yellow/orange colorway.

Instead of adding fabric handles (which you can add to any of the basket sizes and are included in the instructions), I made a Kumihimo Handle instead of fabric. Kumihimo is Japanese braiding.

The side of the large basket.

I added rickrack and French knots around the top of the basket because either the thread I was trying to use to topstitch was not stitching well or my machine was starting to have some tension issues right at the end of making this basket, so I had to get creative, lol!

All 3 sizes nesting inside of one another.

Papa, Mama and Baby size baskets.


Don't forget you need to act quickly if you want to get 25% off the pattern price for the Nesting Basket pattern, using code Nest25. Discount good through February 26.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Cappuccino II Bags

I recently tested the Cappuccino II cross body bag from Lisa of Around the Bobbin. The bag went together quickly and the results are a great looking bag. I love how the bottom of the bag is sewn and it fits perfectly! After making the first bag, I knew I wanted to make another one where I could do an artsy flap. I am using the artsy flap bag for me. I will be making lots more of these bags.

Lisa's instructions are excellent and she has lots of diagrams too. This pattern has a choice of 2 flaps, I made the shorter flap on both of my bags. I actually made the first bag in a day. There are 2 kinds of interfacing used, but no fleece or foam. I hadn't made a bag without fleece or foam and I love how it feels. I did use fleece on the decorative stitched flap, but not in the body. While this bag may look like a lot of other bag patterns out there, the construction of the bottom is what makes this one stand out better than others I have made. The only thing I changed was instead of making 2 interior slip pockets, I made one slip pocket and one zippered pocket. I also added some rivets on the strap. The bag measures approximately 9" high x 11" wide x 3 1/2" deep.

Be sure and check out the tester's bags too! Discount of 25% off now through February 25: code is CAP25

Here are the two Cappuccino II's I made~


This print has a touch of metallic gold in it. The brown body and strap is cotton fabric.

There is a slip pocket under the flap on the front.

Back of the bag.

The front slip pocket. The bag closes with a magnetic snap as you can see.

Inside I added a slip pocket with a divided pen pocket on one side of the pocket and a zippered pocket, even though the instructions are for 2 slip pockets. The inside also has a top band (the brown fabric).

Zippered inside pocket.

Cappuccino Bag II with a decorative stitched flap~



I used decorative machine stitches, rickrack, and I added French knots by hand. I also added buttons and crystals for some added bling.

You can see the crystals up close and the French knots.


Back of the bag. This is a batik print.

The front slip pocket with snap closure.

Inside is the slip pocket and zippered pocket and the top band in the batik fabric.

Slip pocket, divided with a pen pocket on the right.

Zippered pocket.
Pop over to Around the Bobbin to purchase your Cappuccino II Bag pdf pattern (don't forget the 25% off discount: CAP25) or any of Lisa's other great patterns.
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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Singer 301A Vintage sewing Machine FOR SALE

I am selling my Vintage Singer 301A sewing machine. She is a beauty and I hate to see her go, but I have 4 other machines and I don't sew much with her anymore. I mainly used her to take to quilt classes, but I mostly sew at home and I have 2 machines that I can take that aren't too heavy if I do take a class. So rather than take up space sitting there, I would love to see her go to a good home and be well loved and used.

The Singer 301A is a slant foot machine and this one has the longer bed too. It's the dark tan color. For the same reason that the vintage Featherweight machines are so loved, this machine is so similar to the Featherweight and produces the same great straight stitch. It is lightweight and portable like the Featherweight, just slightly heavier at 16 pounds. But in my opinion the Singer 301A is better than the Featherweight for several reasons that I will list here:

1. 301A has a retractable handle, which is so great to be able to lift the machine to carry. The Featherweight does not have a handle and after you have used the machine and need to lift it, you can literally burn your hand due to the heat from the light heating up the machine. I know I had a Featherweight at one time too.

2. The light is superior on the 301 also. There is a light switch which is nice and the light is better housed in the machine (see photo of light below).

3. Not all 301 machines for sale come with the zigzag attachment. That attachment alone can cost $35-$50 on Ebay. Plus included are several other cams to create different stitches besides just the zigzag stitch, so an even better deal these are all included with this machine.

4. The 301 uses the same bobbins as the Featherweight and I have included a lot of bobbins, 21 total bobbins!

5. I purchased the 1/4" foot for piecing quilt blocks, but even so there is also a  1/4" line on the plate. The Featherweight doesn't have that marking.

6. To wind the bobbin there is a separate thread pin to place the thread on to wind the bobbin, so you do not have to unthread your machine to wind your bobbin! The bobbin winder is superior to the Featherweight machine too.

7. With the longer 301 bed (not all 301's have the longer bed) it is nice to have the extra space.

8. The 301 is an all metal sewing machine and a workhorse that can sew through thick layers and even thick leather!

9. You can lube and oil your machine yourself and the instruction booklet shows you how and where to oil and lube. This will save you a lot of $ not having to take it to be serviced to be lubed.

10. It's a simple sewing machine that does one thing extremely well and that is to produce a beautiful straight stitch.

11. It comes with a hard suitcase like case that is very durable, but alas very heavy too. If you take this machine to class, you will want to carry it by the handle of the machine or put it in a rolling sewing machine cart to transport. That is one thing the Featherweight has is a nice small case.

12. This 301 comes with several feet too. including the standard narrow sewing foot, 3 roll hemmer feet, the 1/4" foot I purchased separately, a gathering foot,  adjustable hemmer, 2 multi-slotted binders, and the edge stitcher foot.

I could sell the feet, zigzag attachment with the cams, and case separately and make more money than selling it all together, but I would rather the buyer get all the extras to make his or her sewing experience a much nicer one. This is a great little machine and it's so true they don't make new machines as heavy duty or with as much attention to detail as this little machine. The instruction booklet is very informative and has so many detailed illustrations, making it so nice and easy to understand how to use a foot or sew a hem.

$200 is what I am selling this 301A Singer sewing Machine for. The shipping is $75 because it is very heavy. If you are local (Albuquerque, New Mexico area) then no shipping cost. Still, even with the shipping cost you are getting everything a vintage Singer Featherweight has and more features that I already listed above for a lot less money. Featherweights sell in the $500 range if they include the case and feet.

Here she is:

Vintage Singer 301A long bed sewing machine.

Retractable carrying handle. Pull it up to carry.

Handle is pushed down in this photo.

Side of the machine where it plugs in.

Back of the machine.

A few little dings at the back. Not too bad considering how old this girl is!

The bobbin case is located where the bed of the machine lifts up.

The bottom of the machine. You unscrew this to access inside the machine where you lube the machine. I will give you the remainder of my tube of lubricant too.

The Singer emblem.

This is the light unit, located under the Singer sign located on the front of the machine. The black knob on the right, is the light switch knob.

All of this is included with the machine.

Cams for 4 stitches to be used with the zigzag attachment.

Presser feet and lots of bobbins, 21 bobbins in total.

The instruction booklet. I taped it with acid-free tape to protect it. 

The zigzag attachment with 4 cams of stitches (plus the other 4 cams) for a total of 8 cams, although one cam is a repeat of the same stitch. 

2 slotted binding feet and an adjustable hemmer foot.

3 rolled hem feet, a gathering foot, edge stitcher foot and a 1/4" piecing foot.

The standard narrow foot.

Top of case.

Case that the machine and accessories fit inside of.


The foot pedal slips into the metal unit that holds it securely inside the case and the cord wraps around the metal unit above. Okay my wrapping the cord isn't as neat as it could be, lol!

Zigzag attachment and 4 cams.
Please email me if you have questions or would like to purchase this Singer 301A machine. $200 + $75 shipping (USA shipping only). I will email you an invoice to pay through PayPal. Local (Albuquerque, New Mexico area) can pay cash and no shipping. Thanks for looking.

The Singer 301A has SOLD! 
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