Snuck in some selfish sewing

I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it being shared on Instagram and was so excited when there was still some available when I put my vinyl order in a few weeks ago. And after being gifted a set of Swoon patterns, I knew exactly what I wanted to use my Viewfinders fabric by Cotton + Steel fabric for.

I also knew that I wanted to add my own "feel" to it...so of course I quilted it 😊. I snuck time in Sunday night and Monday night to quilt pieces and make extra pockets for the lining. 

Last night i managed to construct all but one strap between the baby being picked up and time to take banana skating. 

Today, I finished the last strap and then spent the rest of the day figuring out the folded wallet. 

Inside of the purse with the middle strap fastened. This bag is a bit bigger than I imagined it would be. Lots of room for all my extra pockets. 😊😊

All the way open. 

Inside of the wallet. Sorry for the cruddy pic. 

View of the two end zip pockets. 

Loving these patterns by Alicia, designer of Swoon Sewing Patterns): CharlotteCity  Tote, and Della wallet. 

The Art Glass Bag Series Fun

Saturday we did our big giveaway and had over 2500 people see our four bags in their newsfeed!  That's amazing considering all the new algorithms that tend to hide small business posts unless they are advertised now.  Love that my hard work was seen in so many newsfeeds!  I think I put quite a bit of my heart in each of these four bags...as evidenced by the fact that I lugged them all over the place for their photo shoot. 
Ms. Banana drew the winner, and even when she drew one more name to see who would have been next...it was our winner again!  Ms. Heather was our big giveaway winner and we laughed so hard that she won.  She had opened an instagram account that morning, while helping me at the craft show, just so she could get her name in all four available times.  First time we drew her name was her facebook entry, and the second one was an instagram entry!  She was sooooooo excited when she came over Sunday and picked up her bag!

Yesterday we had our first ever auction on our facebook page for the other three Art Glass Bags.  In the last 10 minutes it got a little exciting as people began to bid against each other on two bags...one bag missed out on the action altogether.  In the end, the Orange bag was won by my friend Lara (from camp days), and the Green one was won by her mom! 

We were able to raise about half of what we need for making our house a little bit more sensory friendly....in order to make the dining room/studio easier for her OCD and senses as well as to make it easier for all of us to craft (one of the biggest ways all three of us de-stress) and to get her the hanging bag chair that is supposed to help during meltdowns.

Speaking of meltdowns...last night was a night full of small ones and one sort of big one...and she went to bed last night with her first ever migraine.  I was able to clean up/hide quite a few of the growing piles in the dining room/kitchen on Sunday, but even I was overwhelmed by the state our house was in when we got home.  As my little business grows, so does the supplies needed on hand, and since our living room, dining room, kitchen are all pretty open, things can get overwhelming to the senses pretty quickly.  We are to the point that something has to be done to make it easier for her (and even to the point that I am overwhelmed by piles).  And after last night, we are a little closer!  We have a plan in place of what to do, and now we have a fund to get started...and we will do what we can as we can.  The whole goal is to make things a little easier as she continues to fight to learn ways to live despite her challenges, and as her sister and I work to help make an environment that she can thrive in...which also makes life easier for the two of us to thrive too!
We are so thankful to everyone that is joining us on our journey, and encouraging us all along the way.  Somedays, those encouraging words and actions are the string we hold onto to make it through a hard day.  And super thankful to a God that never gives up on us no matter how many hard days there are!

Art Glass Bag series giveaway!

They are all made!
Today's photo shoot went very very well!
And I am excited to share some of the pictures with you!
And don't forget to go to our facebook page and instagram to participate in the giveaway from 9 am to 9 pm Saturday, April 18th, 215. 
The way I choose to celebrate my 38th birthday is by giving one of these bags away!  And the girls can't wait to draw a name and announce it at 9:30 pm.
All instructions will be on the facebook page and instagram...and you can enter from both to get your name in more than once.
And special thanks to P&B Textiles for giving me the privilege of working with these fabrics.  If you haven't started following them on facebook and instagram, you will want to!  They have amazing fabrics and designers and they have been incredibly helpful and kind to me.
Anyways...here are the pics I promised you (my mom is going to love having today's blog in her email!)

It's all about perspective!

We had an event this weekend. Our set up was cute. We had plenty of product and lots of variety. Even some really fun new stuff. We really had a great combination of colors, sizes, and prices to have something for everyone and make some money. 

But we didn't. We sold two items and didn't even make enough to cover our table fee, let alone the gas to get there. 

And I will admit it, I was disappointed. I felt like I let my kids down and I was failing to provide for my kiddos because I didn't pick a good event. BUT...

After having my quiet time this afternoon, God reminded me that I wasn't necessarily looking at it or judging it correctly. 

Sales amount does not dictate whether or not the event is "good". 

The raffle items (which each vendor provided an item for, plus other items were donated) raised a great amount for the special needs camp. 

But even more close to home, my daughter did amazing. She walked around the whole area by herself. She talked to adults at the event, people she didn't know, but were great for her to talk to. She helped me set up...everything... and we had a lot!  She got to spend an hour or so with one of her best friends. All of these things are huge for her!  

And all of that...each of those things...are thugs to be thankful for!  And makes for a good event. 

And God used other ways to provide for us. Ways that may mean swallowing my pride, but still provided for. Two etsy sales. Two people volunteering to help with a bill. God's provision. Just like He does everytime. 

Do I wish I was doing it on my own, every time. Of course! Do I wish I was the one who was doing the giving/helping instead of being helped?  Yep. But I'm learning that is not the season I am in. On the other hand, I'm having a blast doing some giveaways on my Facebook page this month...that's not the same thing, but it's what I can do right now. 

And it's always fun to watch God in action!  So I'm working on my attitude and perspective!

Art Glass bag #4 is in the works.

Making a series of bags, that I want to be similar, but different, is a new thing for me. I was going for the boxy look, because I wanted to really show off the fabric being worked with. And I wanted bags that could be useful for a weekend getaway. These bags are not small, medium, or even what I would call large. They are jumbo. Around the 18" tall mark and a little variety in widths. With fun details like vinyl, quilted pleather, bright colored denim, and on #4 upholstery fabric with fun texture. And the Art Glass fabric line by P&B Textiles is breathtaking on its own. And is amazing as bags. 

Literally everyone who has viewed these bags has fallen in love with the fabric and wondered how they could get one and what price I will sell them for. And they haven't been all that satisfied with my I don't know yet answer. 

These bags are so detailed and heavy duty, that they have been taking me multiple days to make a single one. They all have quilting on them. Their lining has multiple pockets and sections and all the pieces are strengthened with craft fuse to help the bag structure and so the bag stands on its own. There are added zippers. The outer bag has hidden pockets, reinforced double layer straps. I've been pouring myself into these bags and pushing myself past my comfort level trying new things and designing/creating as I go. And the response after each bag has been created, makes me want to make the next one that much more detailed. 

Which also means I have put a lot of pressure on myself. Wanting each one to be fabulous on its own, but also to be an amazing, unique collection of one of a kind bags. 

That was downright rambly!

How about I just show you the beginnings of bag #4 now. I worked on it all day yesterday, and I've got the outer shell almost complete...and then realized I forgot to add the hidden zip pocket. 

I had no idea what I wanted to do with the gorgeous teals that were left, so I actually talked with Daddy God during my journaling time and then sketched what I felt He and I had talked about. Yep...seriously did just that. 

And here's what it looks like before touching it today...and no, I'm not 100% sure where it's going from here, but I know I want it to zip closed. And of course have great inside pockets. 

And so you can see the fun texture better...

What do you think?

Etno Blog Tour with Pat Bravo Design

Good morning!
I hope you have been following along every day with this blog tour, because I have seen some absolutely amazing creations and sneak peeks of more to come!  Yesterday was Nancy Purvis' amazing creation, today I share mine, and tomorrow you will get to see Erin Stewart's creation.  Crazy talent on this tour, for sure! And it continues until April 18th (my birthday)!
I am so excited to finally be able to share with you what I made for the Etno Blog Tour.  And so thankful to Pat Bravo for allowing me to participate and to work with these fabrics.  They look and feel amazing! 

Warning: this post will be heavy on pictures, because I love to take pics and I wanted to share with you how to make your own beautiful quilted fabric for bags.  This is almost in tutorial format...so if you just want to see the finished product, feel free to scroll to the bottom. :)

Yep, I pieced and quilted a quilt just so I could turn around and cut it into pieces for a duffle (and no, I have never done that before, and yes, I will be doing it again)!  And you won't believe the results!!!

 

This is the stack of beauties that were mailed to me. 

Fat quarter gorgeousness!

A little easier to see them this way...

And between the picture above and the one below, 

I cut each fat quarter into 2 1/2" strips, and each strip into 2 1/2" squares.

Plus sign quilt layout
I used as many of the squares as I could for the pattern on my design wall.
This is a great pattern for using up fabric, with very little waste. :)

By the way, this is a super simple way to use charm pack or mini charm packs and make a beautiful quilt that shows off all the details of a fabric line.  It can be used for any size quilt you want, and is easy to layout.  And if you are a random thinker...this is even more perfect for you.  I struggle with random, and need to have some sort of "pattern"...so mine ended up having an angled up and to the right look when it was done.

Next, I took pieces straight from my design wall to the sewing machine...

 

 This is the first column (top square on top of pile, and bottom corner on the bottom) on the left and the second column on the right.  Other than these first two, I only took one column (vertical row) off the design wall at a time...the first two were sewn together first...chaining one row at a time.

 

 Here's  pic showing the "chain"

 

  after finishing chaining the first column together, I took the third vertical row of pieces off the design wall, opened up the squares already sewn (finger pressed each one open as I went), and added squares from the next column... Repeat until all the vertical rows are pieced together...

at this point, I am literally making a small quilt!

 

 see, you just keep adding those vertical rows until they are all done.

 

It looks really long now...

because only the vertical rows (columns) are sewn together.

The thread (chain) in between squares is what holds it together like this...

time to take it down and sew the horizontal rows...

which will shrink it to almost a square shape.

 

 Sewing the horizontal rows...

I just fold two rows together, and hold the seams together as I go...

the chain helps a lot in keeping seams close to each other, 

and you just tug a bit to line them up the way you want to sew them.

 

 Told you it would shrink up quite a bit.

Now its all pieced and ready to be sandwhiched and quilted.

 

 Beginning to quilt...this is the center

FYI: My quilt sandwhich is my quilt top, a layer of 72" felt cut to size, and my backing.

When making bags, I like to quilt with felt in the center...it helps the bag to stand on its own.
I also like to use it for my wallhangings...because it stays straight/flat on its own better (in my opinion).

 

 close up of the quilting.

To quilt this, I just freemotioned from each corner, curving a little bit as I went from corner to corner.

This is a great way to practice free-motion quilting, and mistakes (or wobbly hands like I had after being sick in bed all week) don't show...It looks amazing on the front and the back.  Which is one of the things I most love about free motion quilting!

 

 So...Now I have my quilt!

Remember what I said I was going to do with/to it?

Back

all that was done so that I could do this...

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This is my go-to pattern for quilted duffles.  

It's not my only pattern, but I have used this one the most often.

Simplicity 2600, View A

I add side pockets to both ends, instead of just one...and I add a zipper to the top of each.

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Construction

First time using piping...so I had to include this pic!

 

 Straps are cut from the same pieced fabric as the other bag pieces.
Then sewn together and edges covered in binding.
Centered on the main bag piece and sewn down on all sides.
This also completely encases the raw edges of the front pocket.

This is one end.
On the front side, it has the piping and a zip pocket.
After attaching the end, and sewing twice for durability,
then all the raw edges are tucked safely under binding.
In addition to covering raw edges, your binding also helps the bag to hold its shape.

 

 Looking in the bag from where the last side will be sewn on.  

Everything is tucked inside, and zip is opened so it can be 

flipped right side out after side is sewn on and bound.

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Ready for the reveal?
To see the Duffle I cut up my quilt to make???

I can't believe this piping!  First time I have ever done it and it turned out amazing!

 

Side view...zip top pocket

 

 Other side...with another zip top pocket

And a look inside...inner pocket, and all seams beautifully bound.  That lining with its little bit of shine is fantastic!

I had some scraps of the quilted fabric left, so I zig zagged sewed them together to make two rectangle pieces, covered the zigzag seams with ribbon, put a zipper on the top of the two pieces, sewed the other three sides shut, and boxed the bottom two corners. Made a zip pouch to match 😊 

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Thanks for joining me on this Etno adventure!
I loved pushing myself to try an idea and see if it worked...
to look at something from a different perspective...
and conquering piping which I was so scared of trying.
I hope you love it!
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For more ideas and projects, don't forget to follow the tour link above and see what others have created.  And while you are at it, check out the Etno LookBook and free pattern, and take a moment to follow Pat Bravo on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.  She's got another amazing line of fabric that is about to be introduced that she keeps sharing sneak peeks of!

To follow along with us, and all of Simply Memorable's products and creations, check out our links in the column on the right.