Friday, June 28, 2019

B.E.S.T Easy Shopping Tote

This B.E.S.T Shopping Tote is a free pdf from Moments Designs. It is a fast and easy sew and you have a useful tote when you are done. You can make it in vinyl, oil cloth, home dec fabric, canvas or whatever is sturdy. It's not lined, so it's quick to sew. All you need is your choice of fabric and some thread.

I had a piece of plain vinyl that I was about to donate because I am not a big fan of sewing with vinyl. In fact I had it ready to take to a thrift shop that day when Liz had posted this pdf on her Facebook page! So I grabbed the vinyl and decided to make this tote.  Vinyl sews easily enough, but it also stretches which I don't like and I cannot press it. I am a cotton fabric sewing kind of gal. But this was a perfect use for the vinyl. It's a rather plain looking bag, but probably suitable for a man who shops.



The other side of this vinyl is a flannel material. So it looks lined,  but it's not lined.


I was given this large piece of oil cloth and was waiting to find the right bag to make. Along came BEST Shopping Tote, which was the perfect use of this oil cloth, so I made this one too. I liked the oil cloth much better for sewing and it's prettier too! I have a large scrap left from making this bag, so I will make a smaller version to use it all up.



I had to piece the bottom piece to make it large enough, but that was easy to do.


The vinyl bag was Donated to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022.
The floral bag SOLD.

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Thursday, June 27, 2019

Diamond Pouch Size Small

I needed to finish up several projects I had started before I got this pdf from Moments Designs, but I kept seeing so many cute Diamond pouches on Liz's Facebook group that it was too hard to resist making one of these pouches. On Tuesday morning I did cut out the quilt blocks I needed for a baby quilt I am making and while I was already cutting stuff out, I decided to cut out the fabric and interfacing needed for all 3 sizes of Diamond Pouches.

Did I start sewing the baby quilt together you might ask? Well no, because the Diamond Pouch was calling me, lol!!! So yes Liz I caved!!! This is the small size Diamond Pouch I made yesterday. The pdf comes with 3 sizes: small, medium and large. The next question will be, will I make the other 2 sizes before sewing the baby quilt? Maybe is all I will say on that. I might just sew a little on the quilt and then start the medium pouch next.

The Diamond Pouch is a great shape and Liz always has something in her patterns that I learn that is new to me. I love this pouch and will be making more after I make the medium and large to see if I prefer one of those sizes best. The nice thing is these pouches can be made with fat quarters or scraps that are large enough. I cut this small one out of scraps I had and it didn't take much fabric for the small size. The large one I cut out of larger odd shaped scraps from another project. So after making some larger bags, the scraps might be perfect for making some Diamonds.

Some of the ladies on the FB group made these Diamonds into cross body bags by adding strap tabs, rings and a strap. Another added wings to the sides and a strap and made a waist pack (aka fanny pack...remember those?).  I see making a selvage one in my future. I love a bag that you can make your own.

Since Craftsy became Bluprint and deleted most of Liz's pdf patterns (and she can't add new ones), she is selling from her FB page through PayPal. Her FB group is a closed group, but you can join it by clicking on this link. If you want to purchase this pdf and you are not on FB, you can contact me and I will contact Liz letting her know you want her Diamonds pdf and then she can contact you directly. You can also leave me a comment, but if you don't hear back from me, you could be a no-reply meaning I do not have your email address. Or you can join the Moments FB page yourself.


The pouch opens nice and wide and doesn't need any frame.

Inside the small is a zippered pocket. The other sizes have zippered pocket and a slip pocket. Since this is small, it doesn't need a slip pocket. 
Did you notice my zipper closure? I didn't have the right color zipper in the length that I needed, so I grabbed some fabric paint and painted the outside of my zipper! Yep, that is why the zipper from the inside looks paler. Hey when in need, do what you can. I think it looks better than a white zipper, which is what I had. In fact, I also painted the medium and large zippers too. That's one way to use up white zippers, lol!!!
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Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Clydesbank Tote Large Size

I made the Clydesbank Tote, a free Sew Sweetness pdf and video, in the large size. I didn't care for the handles on the pattern, so I added rings and rivets to make the handles instead. The large is quite a large bag and would be great for a knitting or crochet bag or anything you need a large tote for.

I used this denim bling fabric and a linen like fabric for the sides of the bag. The bag stands up nicely because of the foam stabilizer used in the bag, however there is no foam on the sides of the bag. I am thinking it would have been more bulk or more difficult to sew if foam had been added to the sides? I am not sure exactly, but followed the instructions of using interfacing on the sides only.

It's a cute bag and very roomy. The bag measures large 13” wide x 21-1/4” tall x 5” deep.

I think this fabric would be a perfect choice for a teen aged girl or anyone who loves blue jeans.


You can see how wide the bag is here.

I added a slip pocket inside and made 2 pen pockets on the left. Or use it for a crochet hook or short knitting needle?

A zippered pocket is inside the bag too. In fact the directions call for 2 zippered pockets, but I prefer to add one zippered pocket and one slip pocket for variety.

You can see the magnetic snap at the top and that is how this bag closes. The directions are actually for adding a recessed zippered closure to the bag, but I didn't have the right size or color zipper, so I did a magnetic snap instead.

The bottom of the bag is the same material as the bag sides and purse feet were added.
This bag was DONATED to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022.


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Monday, June 24, 2019

The Allure Bag (reduced size) in Turquoise-Green-Gold Print

This is my 4th Allure bag in a reduced size (5th Allure total). I just love this style bag! The reduced size, the shape, the flap, the accent of Uncorked fabric that I use, the phone pocket, the cross body adjustable strap, slip pocket and zippered pocket all equal a gorgeous bag! Thanks to designer Christine of ChrisW Designs for designing such a great bag and I will give myself  pat on the back for figuring out how to use Uncorked fabric instead of real cork, vinyl or leather.

I am making a lot of these to stock up for the shows I will be selling at in the fall. I may list a few to sell on Etsy too. I only list my items once on Etsy. If they don't sell within the 4 months of the listing fee I pay, then I do not relist them. So if you ever see something in my Etsy shop you like, you had better buy it because it won't be there again. I will sell locally instead of relisting items on Etsy. I know it's hard to find me on Etsy, even when people do a search for an item and list the same keywords I list, I might be hundreds of pages away, so my stuff doesn't get seen often. I have to be a top seller for my things to show up in the first few pages and by the time that happens, if it ever happens, I will probably be retired from making and selling my bags. So get them while you can, lol!!!

Okay back to my latest Allure bag. I used a turquoise, green and blue print with metallic gold highlights. I accented the bag with natural Uncorked fabric. I used bronze hardware.



I added my strap tabs this way instead of riveting them to the side of the bag. That was the hardest part of making this bag was fiddling with riveting the straps on the side of the bag. Mostly because I was dealing with the finished bag which has shape and  thickness and it was difficult to line it all up and press the rivets. So I decided to change this to make my life easier. It stills looks great this way.



Phone pocket is on the top back of the bag.

Back side of the bag.

A slip pocket with a pen division.

A zippered pocket inside too.
I am going to try making another Allure this size without a flap and add a zippered closure to see how that looks. I love the look of the flap, but a lot of women like zippered closures, so I will give it a go and see what happens.

(This bag has SOLD).
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Friday, June 21, 2019

Hand Knit Socks

I knit these socks for my husband. He will be all set when the cold weather returns in the fall.


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Wednesday, June 19, 2019

The Allure Bag (reduced size) in Paris Print

I made another Allure Bag (ChrisW Design) that I reduced in size to 85% and used Uncorked black fabric accents and a different Paris fabric print from the full size Allure bag that I tested. This bag continues to be my favorite bag to date.




The back of the bag.


Christine's signature phone pocket for easy access is located on the top back of the bag.
Ooh la la the red roses fabric for the lining is a lovely surprise as you open the bag.
Zippered pocket inside on one side.

A slip pocket inside on the other side. I like to divide my pockets with a pen pocket.
This bag has SOLD.
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Large Bag for Knitting

I made this large bag with the intention of having it for a knitting bag. I had a cute printed fabric of an owl knitting and thought it would make a great pocket for the front of the bag. I added a zippered pocket on the back of the bag and slip pocket inside the bag. This bag is my own design as I made it all up, using a few ideas from other bags I have sewn. I didn't write a pattern for it, but will make more if someone wants one in colors of their choosing. Since this bag is very large and costly to make, I won't make more unless I get orders to do so. I will use this bag to show anyone wanting a large knitting bag. Of course if this bag sells, I do have these photos to show them for taking orders.



Wide depth of bag. 

Back of bag has a nice big zippered pocket. Best to put zippered pockets on the outside of knitting bags, instead of inside the bag so yarn doesn't get caught on it. Inside there are only slip pockets.

Added button to zipper tabs.

The back side of the bag.

The bottom of the bag has purse feet.

Cute print of owl knitting made a great pocket for the front of the bag.

I normally don't use double zipper pulls, but since I had this zipper with the double pulls already, I used it. I make my beaded zipper pulls with charms, and I love the skein of yarn charm! So perfect for this bag.
Open wide, extremely wide! Lots of room in this baby. Pockets on both sides, one large pocket and across from it divided pockets.
One large slip pocket is large enough to fit an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper or a pattern booklet that size.
I will be taking this to show at my knitting group and see if anyone wants this one or to order one. Otherwise it will be for sale at a craft show later this year. I could try and sell on Etsy, but it's so large that shipping will be costly.
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