Sew Powerful Purse #182 (2024)

Another purse finished to donate to Sew Powerful. 

Mostly raw edge batik fabric scraps that I quilted heavily to hold the pieces together on the flap. Added bits of fuzzy yarn scraps and buttons too.

The body is a batik fabric and I made a strap in batik fabric with a ribbon in the center.

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Girlfriend Cross Body Bag with Decorative Stitches Flap

I wanted to make a bag with a flap and stitch decorative machine stitches and added rickrack and embellishments. I have made many flaps like this before, but thought I would make this one for myself as I am wanting to use smaller bags nowadays. 

This is the Girlfriend Bag by Imazz Patterns. I tested this bag years and years ago for Imazz. It can be made as a clutch, wristlet or cross body bag. At that time this bag was too small of a bag for what I carried then, but now I try not to carry too much, unless I am traveling or hiking and need more stuff with me. Imazz really liked the Girlfriend Bag that I tested and she even has photos of that test bag I made on her Etsy Store. Click the link above and see a few Girlfriend Bags, including mine.

This time I wanted to make a more shapely flap on this one, so I made the flap longer and shaped the bottom of the flap like the in the photo below. I love how the flap turned out!

This bag is so cute. It has a zippered compartment pocket under the flap, a slip pocket with a zippered pocket inside it and a secret little slip pocket between the other 2 pockets. I really loved how it all came out. Then I started adding my items into the bag and it started to bulge and at first it didn't look that good to me. I suppose to keep the cute flat shape the bag has, you cannot add anything with much dimension to it. So at first I was disappointed when I had my stuff inside the bag.  I used it anyway and the more I used it the more I really began to like the bag and I stopped thinking about the way it looked and more about how it performed. 

I love the separate places to put things inside, I love the flap (with or without the way I shaped it and decorated it), I love the lighter feel of this bag when I carry it as it doesn't put stress on my body (especially my shoulder) and I could removed the strap and either carry as a clutch or make a wrist strap and carry that way too on occasion. 

So I wanted to share the photos of this bag with you and point out when the bag was empty or had stuff inside, so you can see the way it looks each way. If you carry a ton with you, then this style might not work for you, but if you carry a few basics, then it would be a great bag for you to make and use or buy a custom made one from me or another bag maker, if you don't sew bags yourself. 

Here is the front of the bag when empty.

 

Here I added some things inside it and you can see it bulges out a bit.

Side view when empty is flat.

Side view when filled with stuff pushes the bag out a bit.

Back side of bag when empty.

Back side of bag when filled with items.

Flap up showing the front of the bag when empty.

Flap up showing the front of bag when filled with items.

Looking down inside of the empty bag. Here you see the front zippered pocket, the back slip pocket with a zippered pocket inside of it and the hidden center slip pocket is quite hidden in this photo.

Looking down inside the bag with a few items inside.

Looking down inside the empty bag with the zipper compartment pocket unzipped. The secret slip pocket is in between the zipper pocket in the front and the back slip pocket.

Looking into the bag with stuff filled inside it and you can see my car key in the hidden secret slip pocket in the middle.

To get a better look at that hidden secret slip pocket, I used my lip balm to keep the pocket opened up

 for the photo. Say "ahh". By the way that is great lip balm!!! Comes in lots of flavors too. I like the grapefruit flavor the best and this lime flavor a second best and it's made right here in New Mexico too, in Santa Fe! Yay!

So what do you think about how the bag looks when it has stuff inside? 

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Bee Kind Blog Hop (Sew Powerful Purse #181 for 2024)

Thanks to Joan of Moosestash Quilting for hosting this blog hop. 

Joan said:

"The Challenge: September is the time to remember that a little kindness goes a long way. Share your “kind” projects. Your favorite charity project, a free online pattern or anything that shows you spread a little kindness, everywhere you go. The Bee's are an important part of life as well, and we all need to be kind to them too! That makes this hop the perfect place to share your Bee Quilts"!

Of course I chose to share a Sew Powerful Purse that I donate to this charity. September is also their annual Sew-A-Thon & Fundraiser, so if you would like to donate to this worthy cause, click the Sew Powerful link above and "bee kind" and donate a little or a lotta to this organization. It takes $10 to fill a purse with the monthly hygiene items the girls need. The $10 is the cost of the materials and the labor that they pay the women right there in Zambia to make the reusable pads, bar of laundry soap and they include 2 pair of underwear in each donated purse. Read more about the story of Sew Powerful by clicking on the link. Thank you for any amount that you can donate to them. The girls thank you too as now they can stay in school and get a good education which will lead to fewer babies being born and better jobs in their future.

Since my hobby and passion is sewing, especially making bags and quilts, I love to use my talents and expertise by making and donating purses to Sew Powerful. I also like donating quilts I make to Project Linus too. I can make more purses each year than I can quilts, so I prefer making the purses and I love experimenting by trying new techniques and ideas on the purse flaps. I am having so much fun doing this and to think that all my efforts are helping young women continue with their education really makes me smile and I feel great that I can help them too.

Not only did I choose to make a purse for this charity, but I chose to add an appliqué bee on the flap too. Some added buttons, crystals, rickrack, decorative stitches and shiny wing material for a little bling too. I just love appliqué!!! 🐝🍯

Under the flap you can see the lining and the front pocket of the purse.

The back of the purse I added another pocket.

Closer look at the bee appliqué. 🍯🐝. I used a sparkly Organza fabric for the wings, but it didn't photograph as realistic as it looks in person. 

Check out the other blog participants and spread some Bee Kind Love!!!🐝🍯

 

Monday Sept 23

MooseStashQuilting.com

Words & Stitches

Selina Qullts

Just  Sew  Quilter

Scrapdash

Tuesday Sept 24

Patchouli Moon Studio (me 🐝)

Quilted Snail

Quilt Schmilt

Quilted Delights

Hazels Daughter

Wednesday Sept 25

BeaQuilter

Karrin's Crazy World

That Fabric Feeling

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Quilting Between the Rails

Thursday Sept 26^th

Just Let Me Quilt

Ms P Designs USA

Quilting Gail

Songbird Designs

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Bee Kind Blog Hop Starts September 23-26

Here are the blog participants~ 🐝🍯

 

Monday Sept 23

MooseStashQuilting.com

Words & Stitches

Selina Qullts

Just  Sew  Quilter

Scrapdash

Tuesday Sept 24

Patchouli Moon Studio (me 🐝)

Quilted Snail

Quilt Schmilt

Quilted Delights

Hazels Daughter

Wednesday Sept 25

BeaQuilter

Karrin's Crazy World

That Fabric Feeling

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Quilting Between the Rails

Thursday Sept 26^th

Just Let Me Quilt

Ms P Designs USA

Quilting Gail

Songbird Designs

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Japanese Rice Bag ( Komebukuro) with Kumihimo Cording

I wanted to make another Komebukuro, or Japanese Rice Bag, but try making a larger size this time. I had enough of both the outer fabric and the lining fabric to make the sides of the bag, so I chose another fabric for the bag bottom. You can use all one fabric for the outer (or lining), or each side could be a different fabric or a different quilt block or embroidery or appliqué. I might try making another bag using appliqué or pieced blocks for each side. That might be a fun way to make this bag unique and use up scraps and try new quilt blocks too.

You can make this bag in any size that you want. The exterior is made up of 5 square blocks and so is the lining. So choose what size you want to cut or what fabric that you have enough of that you can cut 5 squares (or 4 as I did with a different bottom). You don't want to go too small or too large, so I would say 6" cut squares as the smallest up to 10" squares as the largest size. I suppose you could go larger, but it might result in a more floppy bag if you go too large? Adding interfacing or stabilizer might make it harder to close the drawstring? I am not positive, so experiment with size and materials to see what you prefer.

My bag was cut with 9" squares and is a nice size. I used 1/4" seam allowance. The lining I quilted to batting using a walking foot in straight lines. I did add a woven fusible interfacing to the exterior fabric pieces too, so it wouldn't be too floppy. It stands up nicely and is not too floppy or too rigid, so I like this combination of this structure. 

I made the drawstring cording with another Japanese method, called Kumihimo, which is a braided cord using a round disk and string or yarn. I used 4 different colors and 2 types of ribbon yarn that I had already. I used vinyl pieces for the little loops that the cording passes through for the drawstring.

This Sewing Theme fabric is fun as each side looks a little different.

I used this red and white check fabric for the exterior bottom.

Another Sewing Theme print for the lining. This print was depicting cards of buttons and snaps from long ago. I quilted the lining in straight lines.

Here is the bag closed with the drawstrings

Another lining view.

View inside the bag from the top. Pretty roomy bag.

Top view of bag drawstring closed.

Another side of the exterior.

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Garden of Quilts Show 2024 in Lehi, Utah

We drove to Utah & Arizona for a mini vacation last week. I had wanted to attend the Garden of Quilts show in Lehi, Utah for a few years now and we went exactly 2 months before my birthday this year. The show is in Ashton Gardens on Thanksgiving Point, which is a beautiful setting for a quilt show and lovely gardens to see too. 

I took over 300 photos of quilts and that is after I deleted some and got selective in what quilts I took photos of after a while. I took separate photos of flowers and sculptures without quilts that I will put into a separate album of photos when I get some time.

I would highly recommend seeing this quilt show! It's every September and sponsored by Riley Blake Fabrics.

Meanwhile, if you want to see the photos, check out my Shutterfly album here.

The first 3 quilts I saw as I walked the path in the garden.

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Sunflower Quilt Blocks I Donated

I just got back yesterday from a Southwest vacation of a few days. First stop was the Garden of Quilts Show in Lehi, Utah. I took a ton of photos that I need to sort through and add to a album on Shutterfly. That will take a few days to do. 

The day before we left, I looked up the vendors that will be at the show (in a Show Barn building away from the gardens) and there were several charities listed. One of them was Wrap the World with Quilts and on their website they were collecting 12" finished quilt blocks (12 1.2" unfinished size). So I made 2 quilt blocks to take with me to donate to them when I saw them at the vendor show. These were the blocks that I donated to them.

I used my "Love" die cut and a sunflower appliqué that I cut out by hand. All batik fabric.

For this block I used a large flower appliqué die cut and a circle appliqué die cut to create the flower, along with the "Hope" die cut too. Batik fabric on a hand dyed fabric background.

When I handed the blocks in at the booth, the woman loved them, especially the words. She had other block that were hung on a folding clothes drying rack and she clipped mine in the front. I took a photo of it.

I donated the 2 blocks that said "Love" and "Hope".

Please click on this website and go to the SUNFLOWER BLOCKS page (at the top heading) and read about this project and help out by making a block or 2 or 3 or more! You can mail your blocks to the address provided. 

#SUNFLOWERQUILTFOR
UKRAINE PROJECT

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Sew Powerful Purse #180 (2024)

Another purse made to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project . This is my first attempt at using the circular attachment I bought for stitching decorative stitches on my sewing machine. I stitched some decorative stitches out on a white canvas material. After I was finished the white background was just too stark white! So I got out the fabric paint and painted the background, which the paint ended up on the stitched thread too 😬😢!!! The paint color is pretty, but the thread colors don't stand out as well as I would like. A good learning experience so that I will know what to do next time (I did stitch up some more flaps, but they haven't been sewn into purses yet). All in all it turned out good enough to donate. 

Painted flap with circular decorative stitches. Kind of fun to use that circular stitch attachment.

The full flap.

Batik purse body and little pumpkins for the lining. It's pumpkin time of year now too.

 I also stitched the strap in batik fabric with a ribbon down the center.

Back with a slip pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purses #177-179 (2024)

3 more purses made with scraps of batik fabrics for the flaps and batik exterior purse bodies and even the straps are batik fabric with ribbon sewn down the center of the straps.

Donating these 3 beauties to Sew Powerful.

They look like they are raising their arms up 😂😄!!!

Back sides all have pockets.

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Sew Powerful Purse #176 (2024)

I love using scraps, especially batik fabric scraps to make the Sew Powerful Purses. Here is another batik purse I made using batik scraps for the flap. This purse will keep a young girl in school when it is filled with monthly hygiene supplies for her. It has been proven that girls before they had the monthly needs were 10% behind the boys in test scores and with the supplies that allows them to stay in school instead of missing school each month, they are testing the same as the boys or even better! Help to keep the girls in school by supporting SewPowerful.org and making a donation, and/or make a purse or more to donate. Together we are Sew Powerful!

Happy Scrappy Flappy 😄!!!

On the back of the purse I added a slip pocket.

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