Big City Bags ~ Sound Check Bag ~ Take 2

Did you all have a nice ThanksGiving,with lots of turkey and Family?  Hope that wherever you were it was a wonderful time spent with Family and friends!

My last post (just below this one) was all about my mis-adventures sewing up my first Sound Check Bag.  One of the two Bags we could sew up this month for the Big City Bags SAL.

The second bag is of course the Sound Check Bag.  The fabric for the exterior of this one was a gift from my friend Jamie,of busy bee quilts.  She has a great eye for fabric,Thanks Jamie :)!

After all the problems with the last Sound Check Bag I was a little hesitant to cut into this beautiful fabric!  But as they say,nothing ventured nothing gained...

The interior is a pale pink with an almost cream color polkadot.  It is actually pretty cool,as the dots pick up colors,when I had it next to the yellow they almost looked a faint yellow shade.

Happily this time around there were almost no mistakes made.  When it came time to add the side panels they were 2 1/2" short!  After emailing Sara (just an FYI here,she is super about getting back to you,asap)!  She replied to my email within a half an hour.  I realized that I had forgot to round the corners on the side panels.  That was my only issue this time round! (yay)

When pulling fabrics for this bag I wanted to use an accent fabric that coordinated with the flesh/peach color.  This is one of those times when thankfully I did not have anything in that shade,so the yellow it was.  The yellow gives this bag a pop that the other color just would not have.

We went to Riverside Park to take the photos today,because they have set up all the Christmas trees for the season.  I love to go and see them,they are all decorated by individuals/shops that are local.  Some are in memory of loved ones that have passed on.  Some are just themed for the shop that has that tree.  These cute little snowmen are a pattern I tested recently...more on that in a later post.  See this post from a couple years ago,for a look at Holiday Park all lit up at night.

Do Over

This weekend I set aside time to sew up the Sound Check Bag,the last bag in the Big-City Bags book.

What I didn't plan on was all the cutting mistakes...For some reason I just could not seem to get my brain in the right gear.  My fabric is directional,if it was an all over print there would not have been any problems.  The above photo was my first cutting mistake,it was supposed to be 14 1/2" x 18" (hight by width).  I cut just the opposite.

My second attempt,this time I cut the width 2" too short,Seriously?!  Yep.  Since this fabric was from a quilt shop (i.e. not cheap)there was no way it was going in the trash.  So I decided to just try and make it work.

This decision lead to a lot of math(which bty I stink at).  The accent strips,the black on the edges of the bag front and back had to be cut down to 1".  Even with cutting them to half the size I ended up sewing half of the strips into the side seams.

Of course the side pieces had to also be cut down to fit properly.

You can see how the D ring tabs are right at the edges,they should be a couple inches in from it.

The fabric used for the handles/straps,is a faux leather type,so when tying the knots in them they stretched.  This made my top stitching on them(straps) rip out a bit.  The pattern actually called for rectangular hardware,which I did not have.  That would not have mattered though.

The bag should have five nice flat pleats across the front/back of the bag,mine has only three.  So the result is a slouchy bag. Instead of a nicely flat pleated exterior/interior.  Can you believe with all the problems mistakes and math issues involved with this bag,I still love it?  The fact that I was able to take all the mistakes and turn them into a decent looking bag is just a testament to how much my bag making skills have improved this year!  And,that makes me very Happy :)

Not sure how to go about making the exterior bag pieces in the first photo into a bag,but when I figure it out I will post about it.

Happy Sewing!

Circus,Circus

  You might be thinking that maybe the Circus has come to town,from this post title.  Well...it sorta has!

Recently I showed this photo of the pieces mostly cut for one of this months bag options for the Big-City bags SAL.

Just like with my HoneyMooners Suitcase I took some photos of the bag making process.  Both the exterior and interior pieces finished.

The zipper panels and side pieces all prepped/ready to be sewn to the the bag front/back pieces.

My pockets are almost never made the stated size in the pattern,because I like to customize them to my needs.

Although not called for in the pattern,a tab with a D-ring for clipping my keys onto.

Almost finished,just lacking having the lining sewn to the exterior.

A peek inside the finished Piccadilly bag.  Love the polka dots and that you can see just what you are looking for in the bag,due to the light colored interior.

Piccadilly Circus bag #2 all finished!  My plan was to gift this to either my niece or niece in-law...

and gift this one(Piccadilly Circus bag # 1) to the other...but I am really liking # 2 myself!  Oh Deer,better package it up quick and ship it off,before that happens ;).

This is a very roomy bag,in fact it is a bit larger than what I normally like to carry.  Other than that I really like this bag,especially since it snugs up under your arm!  Most bags with longer straps always end up sliding off my (sloped)shoulders,not so with this one.  So that is a big plus,for me anyway.

Of all the bags in the book,this is my second favorite,with the Chandelier Swing bag being my favorite.  You can see those here & here.  Now to see if I can get two of the Sound Check bag patterns sewn up before the end of the month...

Linking up here this week:

Fabric Frenzy

Diamonds are a girls best friend...

So they say anyway.

In this case Dizzying Diamonds are this girls new best friend!    See that dusting of snow on the deck?  Although we have only had a couple inches so far it feels like a couple feet with how cold is has been!

So far today there is no wind(crossing fingers and knocking on wood as I say that)!  So this quilt has been on our bed now for the last half of the week,and I am happy to say that it has been toasty warm all night every night since!  No more waking up cold at 2am for me!  Yay for a middle of the month finish for this months goal.(ALYOF,button on side bar)

This is actually a bento lunch bag,but they make the cutest little santa sacks!  So I have been sewing some up to use as such.  You can see the one I made for Cori from the blog, Creativity Amongst Chaos for her T'Was the Night gift.  You can find the full hop schedule Here on Marlene's blog.

This year has been pretty much a stash fabric year (meaning not much new fabric purchased) so I was super excited to be the lucky winner last month for the Big City Bags SAL!  Here is the fabric that was purchased with my winnings,from Fat Quarter Shop.  Mostly Art Gallery Solids,which just happened to be on Sale! (double Win)  There are also a few linens and one print. Since my zipper stash was down to the very last few I stocked up (the 15% discount code is only good until the end of next month when the SAL ends)

Speaking of the SAL these are my fabrics/accessories for this months bag,the Picadilly bag.  I have already sewn one of these bags up(sorry no photos or post yet).  This month we can sew this bag or the last bag in the book,the Sound Check bag.  Hoping to sew at least one of each...

A little bit of Christmas Present sewing...

A better view.  These are a project in progress,can you guess what they will end up as?

Happy Sewing...

T'was the night...

Before Christmas,and all through the house not a creature was stirring...

Except for the sewing mice!    What could be more perfect than a Blog Hop for Last minute gifts?  Yes The one and Only Madame Samm has once again out done herself!

Our Wonderful CheerLeader for this hop is Marlene from Stitchin By the Lake.  Had it not been for these two ladies I would probably been a sewing mouse again this year.  So I Thank both of you,Samm,for putting this hop together and Marlene,for being the perfect CheerLeader!

All the items created for this hop need to take only a few hours to make,from start to finish.  The first item on my list was a mini ipad case for a certain young lady who has been deployed and should be returning home to the states soon.  She loves purple...

The open wide zippered pouch from noodlehead.  For these I used some orphan blocks which made them an even quicker project to sew!  The one on the right was the first,and my measurements were just a bit off.  It still turned out cute though.

Stuck for ideas for those hard to sew/shop for guys on your list?  Why not make them a Tool Roll to hold all those wrenches and or screwdrivers?  I would recommend checking to see if your tools will fit before just marking the slots as directed in the tutorial.(ask me why;)  Since I did not have vinyl,this one is made with a fake leather exterior and some military fabric from my sons discarded Camos.  

These fleece hats sew up super quick!  If you need a tutorial there is a great one here.

How about a stocking wine bottle gift "bag"?  Be sure to adjust the size for your bottle so that it will fit into the stocking!

Since this Hop is all about Gifts...

(Photo courtsey of Madame Samm!)


Being first on the hop had its perks,like this Sweet Cuppa Cozie Gift from Madame Samm herself! (complete with mug) She made me the perfect gift!  As I have a very bad habit of making myself a cuppa joe or cocoa,and then getting distracted...  I have used it quite often already and am enjoying it very much,as it keeps my mug/drink hot for quite some time.

Thank You so very much Samm,the gift is not only beautiful but,fits me to a T too!  I Love it.

Okay I have kept you long enough off you go to see what the lovely ladies  sharing the first day of the hop have whipped sewn up for you!

Tuesday, Nov. 11

CeLynn’s Sunflower Patch (you are here)

Creativity Amongst Chaos

Stitchin’ By The Lake

Seams To Be Sew

Why Knot Kwilt

Quilting Quietly

Dizzying Diamonds Re~Visited

November already,what???  This year is snowballing to an end!  With that in mind,it is time to set some goals for this 11th month.

Remember the quilt pattern tested for Melissa last year?  You can read the review in this post.  Since the weather has turned to the chilly side lately it has me thinking of another quilt for the bed.  For some reason Mr. P has an aversion to any type of comforter and throws a major fit if I even suggest getting/using one.

My A Lovely Year of Finishes goal this month is to add boarders tie,and bind this.  It will then become my "comforter"shhh,don't tell  Mr. P ;)!

Although I would love to quilt this instead of tying it,that just will not be happening with my little Jamome b/c the throat on her is only about six inches.  Which is just way too much frustration for me,as the finished quilt will be pretty close to a proper queen size.

My other goals for the month will be listed in another post.