Nothing new...

This was pretty much a sew-less weekend.  However,I did get outside to snap off a few photos finally!

Fireside Bowl Bag ~ first bag in the Big City Bags Book

The inside of the Bye Bye Love Bag ~ first Bag of the Month bag

This one you have not seen before,it is the Aeroplane Bag.  I started this one way back in August of last year.  The plan was to use it at Fabric Fest but,time ran out.  So it has sat in the UFO bin.  Until this last week that is!

For the top part of the bag I did half arc quilting,and for the bottom practiced some pebble bolder quilting.  This is the bag/pattern that got me hooked on Sara Lawson's bag patterns!  So I am glad to finally have it finished!  The timing is not to bad either as Mr. P and I plan on running away next month for a little R&R :)))

I have finished my swap pouch,but will not be posting photos until I send it off later this quarter.
Linking up with :
Lets Bee Social this week.

Bye Bye Love Bag

On a roll here,as we are only three and a half weeks into the New Year,and I have already finished my second bag!

Most of the fabric used for this bag is DS Quilts from Joann's,I don't remember what line the bicycle fabric is,but it was also purchased at Joann's.

Making pleated pockets was easier than I thought it would be,however there were also a lot more steps than expected.  Attaching the rings was a bit of a challenge since mine were larger than the pattern called for.  I couldn't find the correct size so made do with what I had on hand.

Installing the zipper even went smoothly,of course that could have something to do with the fact that I used a separating zipper,and was able to take the front and back pieces apart and sew them,and then put them back together.  This photo is right before sewing up the sides and bottom of the bag.  It was a little difficult to sew up close to the zipper ends,but I did manage it with only a little puckering on one side.

The zippered pocked on the backside of the bag was a cake walk.

The inside is super roomy,there are supposed to be two pockets on each side,but I made them a tad smaller.  So my bag has three pockets per side.  I think with a couple more under my belt,I would be able to eliminate the little bit of pucker issue.  Practice,practice...

A finish,and another bag started

My first bag Finish of 2014!

The Fireside Bowl bag is done,and I love it :)  Although I expected to have some issues with this bag(mostly because of the shape)it was a breeze to sew!  Love it when that happens.

I had a hard time getting a photo of the inside,the lighting was not playing nice.  It is a very roomy bag,with a pocket on both the front and backside of the lining.  I shortened one of the pockets from 7 inches high to about 4 inches,and sewed a 1inch line on one side for a pen or pencil.  Also added a little tab for hooking a keychain to,because I hate having to dig around for my keys.

I was finally able to get an opportunity to get outside for a photo shoot!  The weather was amazingly warm for a January day.

Today I started on the first bag of the month bag(button on my side bar).  This pattern is called Bye Bye Love Bag,and is exclusively for members of the Bag of the Month Club.  You can join at anytime if you are interested :)

There are 59 steps to complete this bag,today I made it through step 22,and am ready to start on 23!  Of course,I did cut the pattern out last night,so that helped.

The third project this weekend is this mini Swoon block,it measures in at 8 inches.  The plan is to use this block for the front of a zip pouch I am making for a swap...

Linking up to these parties!

Big City Bags SAL

A Lovely Year of Finishes

Wake Up to Kona!!! (Day 8)

Good Morning,Afternoon,or Evening,depending on where you are visiting from.  Well here we are on day 8 already!  Is if flying by for you too?

                         + TWO extra days!

First,a Thank You to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt & Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for all of your behind the scenes work/help,you both Rock ;)  (Thank you Carol for the photo tips)!  Of course what would a blog hop be with out the lovely sponsors?  So a Big Thank You also to,Amanda Murphy,Robert Kaufman,and Aurifil,because with out them this blog hop just would not be the same.

On to my Kona project...

I knew right off the bat what to make for this very special solids hop!  Lil miss Jamome and I have been sewing together for right around six years.  She has been so good to me,it was high time to repay the favor.  So here she is sporting her New cover!  The pattern used to make this Sweet cover is called Jeweled Geese.

This is a paper pieced pattern that calls for 3 inch strips.  So I decided to use the remaining strips for the back and sides of the cover.

Kona Colors used: Glacier,Ice Frappe,Silver,Mulberry,Lavender,Cerise.
Sewn with # 2600 Aurifil thread.

Thank you for hopping with me today,now go check out all the Kona Sweetness that these ladies have to share with you...

                                          January 16

I Piece 2-Mary

A Reformed Heath’n

From This To That

A Quilting Sheep

CeLynn’s Sunflower Patch

Robin’s Fabric Nest

Quilted Delights

Sew Me Something Good

sew...

You are probably thinking,she did say she was jumping into 2014 with both feet,right?  Yes I did say that,I am,just getting off to a slow start.  However now that my motor lil miss Janome's motor is running  smoothly...Here we Go!

My plan was to use the above fabrics to make my Fireside Bowl Bag,but there was only a 1/2 yard of the green and the pattern calls for 5/8 yard.  So I went with a Kona solid instead.(Peacock,I think)

Saturday evening was spent cutting out all the pieces and fusing all of the interfacings to each corresponding piece.

The first sewing step,sew the zipper to the exterior zipper panel.  The first time I sewed the zipper incorrectly,and didn't realize it until I had already started to rip the basting stitches out.  However,as it turns out,that was not such a bad thing,as a result of that mistake,I did not have to do any hand sewing on the zipper panel :)

The bag strap and strap extenders,all finished.  The hardware are two different colors,since I could not find the needed items at the same place or in the same color.

The first side all pinned and ready to be sewn.  I was so excited when getting to this point!  About half way around,the thread ran out,so off to the LQS for another spool.  They did not have the same shade,but had one pretty close.

After dinner,I was able to finish the exterior of the bag!!  Hopefully tomorrow evening I will be able to get the interior of the bag done...

In other sewing news,my Wake up to Kona (button to schedule is on my sidebar) project is also finished,but you will have to come back on Thursday the 16th to see it. The strips in the photo above are Lavender,Cerise,Mulberry,Ice Frappe,Glacier,and Silver.  These are the colors used in my project.

One of my personal goals for this year is to get my scraps cut up into squares,instead of being piled up in totes.

This is my progress so far,the stack of 2 1/2"squares is 5 1/2"high.  The plan is to spend at least 15 minutes cutting squares each time before starting to sew on my projects.  That also means cutting any and all new scraps into squares as I go,so the tote does not just get filled right back up.

Did you have any time for sewing this weekend?  I hope so ;)

ALYOF January 2014

Last year was a great year for finishes,so this year I am joining the 2014 A Lovely Year of Finishes Party again!

My first Goal of the year is...

To make the first bag in Sara Lawson's new Book Big City Bags.  This is the Fireside Bowl bag,I will be using Frou Frou by Kathleen Francour (the two outside prints) and the green Eiffel Tower print by Timeless Treasures fabrics to make my bag.  This will be killing two birds with one sewing project ;)

 As I have also joined Angela over at Sewing with Squeak in her bag sew along for the bags in this book!  Come on and join us,you know you want to :)  It is okay if you have not sewn bags or many bags yet,Sara's patterns are super easy to follow!  If you are not into making bags,then join the fun each month with your own projects,at ALYOF!