Bye Bye Love Bag

Hello Everyone!  I know I've been missing.  I have several blog posts in various stages of being done.  I've been busy sewing, sewing, sewing!  Whoo Hoo!  As a result, I haven't taken much time to write blog posts. 

I was outside taking pictures today and it was actually too cold to be standing out there.  I am SHOCKED as it's not normally this cold where I live.  This winter has been interesting to say the least.  My kids have even had snow days this year.

Sara from Sew Sweetness designed this wonderful Bye Bye Love Bag. It's from the Bag of the Month Club.  I bought a membership as a gift to myself.  :)  I am so glad I did!  

Bye-Bye Love Bag front with flower

Bye-Bye Love Bag front without flower

I decided to play around a little bit.  I added that purple panel on the top front of the bag.  I could have added it to the back of the bag, but as you see below I decided not to--at the last minute. 

The back with AWESOME zipper pocket. 

 

Inside

This is a LARGE flower!

I was in the mood to make a BIG flower.  So, I made a BIG flower!  LOL!  I added a pin on the back to that it can be removed or moved.  What do you think with flower or without?

I actually just finished this bag last night and made the flower today.  I can't wait to get started on February's Bag of the Month Bag!  I LOVE this bag, too! 

It Ain't Easy Being Green!

 

 My daughter LOVES frogs!  I knew when I saw this pattern I had to make it for my Daughter's Birthday. 

I luckily found a remnant of fabric that is a tweed--it 's actually greener that it looks in this picture.  It had some kind of thick rubber backing on it--PERFECT for this project.  I didn't have to add any additional interfacing, although it was very thick to sew through in many spots.   I also used a faux leather for the trim and handles.  This bag looks store bought.  I wouldn't guess that it was homemade--if I hadn't made it myself.  :) 

The instructions in this pattern are easy to follow.  The bag sews together fairly quickly.  It does have a lot of pieces to cut-out and precise cutting and sewing is required to make this bag.  I recommend marking sewing lines for the fingers and toes. This frog bag is made from Vogue Pattern  #8942.  Included in the pattern are instructions and pattern pieces to make an owl bag, too.   

Have a great day!

Beatnik Waist Bag from Sew Sweetness

Hello!  Yes, I have severely neglected my blog lately.  Sorry about that! I had a family emergency of sorts right before Christmas and I am finally getting myself together.  All is well again. 

 

I have been busy catching up on projects so, I should have several new blog posts coming soon.

 

I am very late in posting this great pattern from Sew Sweetness. 

 

This bag is a handy dandy waist bag.  It is the Beatnik Waist Bag Pattern from Sew Sweetness.  It has an adjustable strap to fit most waist sizes.  There are two flap pockets on the front, a zipper pocket on the back and two slip pockets on the inside providing lots of organized hands-free goodness.  I was thinking that maybe this waist bag would be great to use on long runs?  Sporting goods stores sell waist bags to hold water bottles, gels, etc...for long runs.  I know this is a little too flat to hold a water bottle...but it would hold a flask or two!  HAAAAAAA!  That's one way to get through a long run.  :)   CHEERS!

 

Just this week I received an e-mail from a "brand name" bag designer that released a line of bags that look almost exactly like this pattern!  However, I do believe that this pattern is better.  This pattern has more pockets.

 

I bought the fabric from a store that went out of business and had a final clearance.  There were lots of home décor fabric bolts going for waaay cheap!  I have several yards of this fabric....so, I'm sure you'll see more of it.  :)  If you have any suggestions for projects that would look great with this fabric PLEASE let me know.   I was thinking of maybe making the cute Honeymooner Suitcase from Sarah Lawson's (from Sew Sweetness) great new bag book Big-City Bags: Sew Handbags with Style, Sass and Sophistication. 

 

inside with slip pockets

back with zipper pocket

  

the back zipper pocket open

Have a great day!

Rhine Valley Bag Pattern By Charmed Liebling

Sorry, I am so late in getting my pictures of this bag posted.  It's been one of THOSE months, you know? 

I was allowed the wonderful opportunity to test this bag for Anna at Charmed Liebling. 

This is the Rhine Valley Bag--click to go buy this pattern.

 

I decided to go a little on the wild side with the fabric....looks similar to the pilgrim hat huh? :)  I got this fabric at a big discount.  A local store was going out of business and selling bolts of home décor fabric for next to nothing! 

 

The only slight change I made while making this bag was the handles.  I made these myself and added them a little differently than the instructions.  I attached the handles as one of the last steps.  After assembling the front/back and lining together. 

This is the view of the top of the bag....it has a zipper closure.  Zippers may scare away some, but the instructions are clear and easy to follow.  I like to have a zipper closure in the bags I use. 

This is the inside of the bag. There are two huge dimensional  pockets on one side of the inside of the bag. 

This is the back of the bag. 

 

This is such a great bag!  It is on the larger side.  I don't know about you but I like to take larger bags when I travel.  There just seems to be so much more that I need to stuff in my purse.    I love the flap pockets on the front and the zipper top closure.  The inside pockets are great, too!   

Go get this pattern and make yourself one of these great bags--Rhine Valley Bag Pattern from Charmed Liebling.

Pilgrim Hat

 

Hello!

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!   I meant to post this yesterday, but I didn't.  :( 

I made this hat on a whim.  I modified a witches hat (pattern here) to make a Pilgrim Hat.  I decided to make my Pilgrim a little flashy.  Mine has an animal print band and rhinestone buckle!  Whoo HOO!  :)  Oh, I know, I KNOW!  A girl can have fun once and a while, right?

Enjoy your day!

Bottle Bag

Bottle Bag

 

Around my neighborhood there is usually some talk (jokingly of course) about how we can disguise wine bottles so that the wine can be enjoyed and not necessarily known that your drinking from a wine bottle.  :)  Things like bling, flowers, and straw are discussed.   I say we but I don't really like wine, but that doesn't mean that the creative side of me doesn't kick in. 

I actually have some ideas floating in my head to address this ummmm I'll call it issue. 

Today, I started with a pattern tutorial I came across on Pintrest.  See it here.  I have been in a little bit of a sewing slump lately.  I have so many ideas for patterns in my head that I want to attempt, but when I take the time to sew I kind of freeze.  So, sometimes I will  grab a pattern to hopefully help get me going.  That's what I did today.  The tutorial is a little rough around the edges and I made a few very slight changes. 

Here is my finished bag. 

 The changes I made are:  I cut my handles 4" x16" then folded in half  wrong sides together.  Opened it up and folded each raw edge to the center crease.  I then folded in each short edge in about 1/4".  Then re-folded and pressed  the long edges together.  Then edge stitched along all sides. 

On the inside of the bag, I cut binding 2 1/4" x 40".  After I pressed the binding using the same method as described for the handles, I added binding to the top and bottom of  each piece by cutting it into four 10" pieces.  I encased the raw top and bottom edges of the inside piece by placing it close to the pressed center crease of the binding.  Then edge stitched close to the bottom fold of the binding.  I then sewed the two inside pieces together down the center. 

I also changed the binding to be 2 1/4" x 33 1/2" for each the front and the back. 

Jenny Bag Pattern From IThinkSew

 

This is the Jenny Bag from www.ithinksew.com.