The Bag Lady!

Inspired by a show on Create and Craft TV

last week I got my sewing machine out -

not something I do very often!

This is where I sew.

It's the other end of my craft room.

The lady who inspired me on the tele was

Mandy Shaw of Dandelion Designs.

 She was selling her kits for small

bags/fabric folders and demonstrated

how easy it was to make one.

I remembered I'd bought one of her books

a while back and sure enough in it 

was the exact pattern for her bags.

They really were very easy to make, although

mine are far from perfect.

This is the first one I made and I think it's the best one.

The ric rac is very wide so shows up much more than

on the other bags where I used narrower ric rac.

I used Tim Holtz fabric for both the main and lining fabric,

as it was only 10 x 10" the finished bag is only

8" wide by 31/2" deep - so could be a pencil or

cosmetic case.

 

I made another again with Tim Holtz fabric.

 

I like the wooden buttons especially on this

fabric with the wooden ruler design on.

(The buttons came from a firm called

Button-It)

I then raided my fabric stash and made one

slightly larger.

 

 Made up, this one measures 10" wide by 6" deep.

(I've yet to add a decorative button as I couldn't

find a suitable one in my button box)

I added a strap to the side - making it a 'wristlet'.

I think this will make a good passport holder

which I'll definitely use.

Onwards and upwards - 

  

This is a similar size to the previous one,

just a bit deeper.  This is a cute one - not

sure what I'll use it for, or who I'll give it to yet.

Finally, I made a couple of gadget folders -

 IPad size.

 

Again, this is from my fabric stash, I wouldn't

necessarily have chosen this particular lining

fabric if I'd had more to chose from.

This could double up as a little cushion or pillow - lol.

I used a layer of wadding which turned out to

be far too thick - at least the IPad will be safe.

For the next one I used felt instead of wadding

which is much better (not such a comfortable

cushion though!)

Now, what else can I sew while the machine's out!!

 

Thanks for looking :)

From Tablecloth to Rag Quilt Purse!

I joined Mrs Moen's Tablecloth Challenge whereby we had to change our chosen tablecloth into something else!  Although it didn't have to be something quilting related my transformation did turn out to be just that!

Here's the tablecloth I started with, bought from a charity shop.  It is a beautiful white linen with machine embroidered flowers all over.

I remembered seeing a video tutorial for a little rag bag and once I'd tracked it down again I decided to make one with the tablecloth.  It is a fantastic video from Chic 'n Scratch, so easy to follow and it's here.

Who'd have thought you could make a quilted patchwork bag using your Big Shot!  

 

I didn't have the exact die used in the video, but adapted the scallop tag one I had.  After cutting out all the embroidered pieces from the tablecloth there wasn't enough fabric to complete the bag so I used some pink gingham.

After cutting the pieces out with the big shot I made 19 little fabric sandwiches (with some felt in the middle), and stitched them together as instructed in the video.  So quick and easy to make, the longest part is cutting out all the squares.  

 

If I'd planned it better the embroidered squares wouldn't have been upside down!  Oh well, I think it still looks fine.

As it is a raggedy bag (by design, not accident - lol), the pieces were sewn wrong sides together so all the seams are on the outside.  This means that the inside is all neat and tidy!

As I'm not an experienced sewer by any means I am so pleased with how this bag has turned out. 

 Thanks  Nina Lise (Mrs Moen) for a lovely challenge.