HoneyMooners Suitcase

Firstly,I must apologize for the lack of posting lately.  Life has a way of sneaking up on a person when she least expects it to!  I have been doing some sewing,but most of it is Top Secret at the moment.

The one thing that is not secret is was my goal for this month,the HoneyMooners Suitcase.  This has probably been one of the hardest bags I have ever sewn.  Of course part of that is probably because of the fact that instead of going out and purchasing supplies,I used what was in my stash.

The pattern called for Thermolam Plus which I have never used,and do not have in my stash.  So since there was enough Soft and Stable  left  to make this suitcase,that is what I used instead.

The backside of the exterior,quilted to the soft and stable.

The first sewing step is to make the handle for the suitcase.  Fairly easy,that is until you get to the end and have to try and sew the actual handle to the top panel.  Which is the flat bottom piece pictured above.  You have to twist things around and sew at a very difficult angle to attach the handle to the rectangle rings.

My suggestion,or what I will do if ever sewing this suitcase again,is to skip step 3 in the "make the handle" section,go from step 2 to step 4 and at the end(after step 8) go back to step 3.  This will make sewing the handle a breeze,instead of a pain.

Making the piping,was the crazy thing!  You take double wide bias tape,press it,so that you are only leaving the center crease,or it is only pressed in half.    Cut the bias tape down to 5/8",don't ask me how much fun that was Not to do!  Then you place the cording in the center crease and sew it in to make the piping.

Note to self,make your own bias binding next time.

After attaching the piping to the exterior front and back pieces you then sew the lining pieces to the exterior pieces,easy peasy.

One of the reasons I did not finish this sooner,no 48" zipper...at the eleventh hour the light bulb came on!  Why not use two 24" zippers?  Great idea,except...if you decide to do this,do not make the mistake I did.  See how the two zipper tabs are one solid piece?  Do Not Do This!!  Unless of course you do not want to be able to open the suitcase for any reason!  (so i had to cut these apart and use fabric glue on the raw edges)!

What I should have done,make two separate tabs,one for each side of the zipper pull ends of the zippers.

The suitcase with one side sewed on to the side panel.(the part where the zips are attached)  This was a difficult part for me.  Mostly because there were no photos to help me figure out the correct placement,so that the corners lined up and the easing was spread out evenly.  I did okay,but need more practice.

Attaching the second exterior panel was So Not Fun!  I had such a hard time with it.  Here is where I am thinking that at least some of the problem could be because of using the Soft and Stable in place of the Thermolam Plus.  Any thoughts on that anyone?  The pattern called for two layers of it on the exterior panels.  So maybe it would not be quite as thick as the Soft and Stable?

And here is my HoneyMooners Suitcase!!!  Sorry,no close ups,because my piping has lots of issues!  For the same reason I am not showing any photos of the inside.

After you sew the exterior pieces to the side panels,this leaves the inside edges all raw/exposed.  Then you are supposed to sew the rest of the bias tape over these to enclose the raw edges..lets just say,they are quite Ugly,and that is putting it nicely!  Obviously I need a Lot more practice or need to find another way to finish the inside of the bag.

From the tone of this post you might think that I really do not like this bag/suitcase.  Not so!  It is actually a really Sweet little weekender bag!  Only I Need more practice and probably the right supplies would make a difference too!

Linking up with:

Big City SAL October link up

A Lovely Year of Finishes

Bento Birthday bag

T (my sis) has a Birthday this next Saturday,so it was time to get busy and make something for her!

I used Aymui's tutorial which has been on my list of things to make for a while now.  If you have been wanting to make one of these do it!  They are so cute,as well as functional.

The tutorial is for just the lunch bag.  However since it is a lunch bag I wanted to add some pockets along the inside of the bag for cutlery/silverware and a napkin too.  It took me a bit to figure out but after a couple attempts I got it!

At first I thought that it might not work because the pockets kind of wrap to the side of the bag.

Although not the greatest photo,you can see that my pockets do work nicely!  I was pretty exited about that.  The tutorial calls for interfacing for the main part or body of the bag,I used insulbright instead.  So that the bag is insulated for either hot or cold items.

The napkin was made with scraps from the main bag fabric and the handles,the backside is the same red print as the rim of the bag.  I will be making more of these little bags,as they can be used for lots of other things besides a lunch bag.  They would make great little bags to take hand sewing projects in,or knitting or crocheting,or toy bags for the car...

Angelic scraps

There has not been much sewing going on around here lately,hence the lack of posting.  Today was Inventory at work,so life can/will finally resume to some semblance of "normal".

These little Angel ornaments are the result of my recent sewing.(plus 7 more in progress)  You can find a tutorial for making some like the two at the top of the photo here.  Mine are slightly different,they have wings made from only one yoyo,and the wooden balls/beads are solid,meaning that they do not have a hole drilled through them.  Which meant that I had to attach the hanger and halo differently.

The ornaments laying flat might end up as magnets,or they might also get hangers and be tree ornaments/or package decorations.  The link just goes to a photo,but all you need to do is make a couple yoyo's and add the wood pieces to turn them into Sweet little angels!

On our trip to the city I found these cute little jars with wooden spoons for my infused sugars!  They hold one cup,or 8oz. of sugar.  Since all of Hobby Lobby's glass was 50% off they were only $1.73 each,such a sweet deal.  The flavors,from left to right are,orange,chocolate mint,unfilled as yet,lemon,lavender and lime.

I used some of the orange to make orange cranberry scones the other day,MM Good!

Back in september Daryl of Patchouli Moon Studio posted about some Kumihimo necklaces she had made.  They are beautiful!  So After leaving her a comment and several emails to work out details,she agreed to make up a custom necklace (on the right) and also sold me the one of the left,which had already been made.

They arrived in these cute little drawstring pouches,perfectly wrapped and instantly ready for gift giving!

Included in my package was this sweet little fabric postcard extra!  If you have someone who loves jewelry on your list this year,she is selling these for $18 + $3 shipping(US).  Her photos are much better than mine,pop over from the link above and have a look for yourself.

Joann's did not have either the fabric I need to finish my Fall  Frolic quilt top,or the right size pillow form for my fox pillow cover (above) so,I just stuffed my bag of polyfil in it so you could see how sweet it is.  It measures 19x19,so I might just end up making my own pillow to put in it.

Fall Frolic & October Goal (s)

This week past week I was able to squeeze in a little more sewing!

Sorry for the blurry cell photo,but this one was snapped off pretty late at night.

There is a better close up for you,I am really loving the bird blocks and wish I had included a few more.  Even though they would have been repeats of the blocks already there.

This is how far I was able to get before running out of the DS Quilts print,the orange print sashing strips.  Hopefully Joann's will still have some of it next weekend when we go to the city.

Recently while surfing Pinterest for Christmas Ideas I came across this Pin for Infusing Sugar over at Sugar and Charm since no one locally sells cute little jars like the ones they used.  I purchased a few sugar dispensers at Walmart for $.97 each,although not as pretty they are just as functional.  I layered the zest and the sugar,but next time will just mix it all together.

The rest of the fruit did not go to waste,instead it was sliced up and placed into the food dehydrator.  When it is all dehydrated it will be used to make simmering pouches for last minute Holiday gifts.  I just need to pick up the spices to go with them.

A handful of yoyo's that will become Christmas Ornaments...

Lastly,my goal for this month.  The HoneyMooner suitcase,which will be a twofold goal/finish.  Since it will be for both the BigCity Bag SAL (button on my sidebar) as well as my ALYOF Goal.  I have everything except the 48" zipper,wish me luck(I need it)!