Sewing Circle Tote: A Finish

Huge day today! I have made a bag. No, you heard me correctly, a bag! It has straps, pockets and zippers. The dreaded zipper has been conquered. That's right zipper, bow down to me.
This my friends is Elizabeth Hartman's Sewing Circle Tote

I have had this pattern in my hands for a couple of years now. It has been staring at me, taunting me. But since the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild has started their Sew Ins, I have been wanting to make this bag so that I have a proper carryall for all of my supplies and projects when I go to meet my guild mates for a sew day. And let's face it, I want to look good too and this bag does that!

One of the main features that sold me on this pattern was that I can carry my rulers and they will not be in the way of the handles. That drives me crazy. I now no longer have this problem...

And inside, the storage is never ending. It has five gathered pockets and three zippered pockets inside and four pockets on the outside. And it is a big bag, check out how much stuff I can get in there, and there is still lots of room!

The construction of this bag was no joke. I mean I have never had a bag this sturdy, it is going to last. I have to give props to the good ole' Kenmore for soldiering through the millions of layers to get this puppy done. I cannot even tell you how many needles were broke in the process, but it was epic.

I can't not show you some of the construction pics that I took along the way. Seriously, every new step was a serious triumph for me. I must say that if you are considering making a bag such as this, the pattern was excellent. Very detailed instructions with a lot of pictures.

I have to give a special shout out to my friend Jenn from A Quarter Inch From The Edge for taking this journey with me. I was afraid of the bag so I basically roped Jenn into making it with me as she is a much more accomplished sewist than I when it comes to things not quilt! In total I would say it took us three solid sewing day sessions to make this project, but it was worth it. And it is always more fun to sew together! Here is Jenn taking her construction pictures along the way

The biggest reward of this project is that I feel as though I could tackle other non-quilty projects, even things with zippers :) Oh and another plus...I have finished this just in time for MMQG Sew in next weekend! I am going to look so cool.

I basically want everyone in the world to see my new bag so this week I am going to link up everywhere:
Monday Maker
Anything Goes Mondays
Needle and Thread Thursday
I Quilt Thursdays
Thank Goodness It's Finish Friday!

So how about you? Have you conquered the zipper, or bag making in general? Would love to hear about it. Now I am off to put things in my bag and maybe carry it around the house. Yes, I will actually do that.
Adrienne

Oh I almost forgot, in case you are wondering about fabrics: I used Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Black for the main bag, Denyse Schmidt Shelburne Falls for the Prints and for the lining, Kona Cotton in Oasis.

Winner Winner - Great Big Giveaway Day Winner!

How amazing was this round of the Sew Mama Sew Great Big Giveaway Day!

I had so much fun hearing about all of your favorite vacation destinations. Oceans and Mountains people, we all want to go there.

And check out the favorite spot of our winner Julie from I'm Keeping Busy- Orcas swimming by! How Cool!

116. Julie in WA13 May 2014 12:21

Every July we go camping on San Juan Island in the Puget Sound. We get to watch the Orcas swim past the campground!

 

Congratulations Julie! and many thanks to all of you for dropping in and throwing your hat in the ring. See you soon!

Adrienne

The Library Project QAL: May Report

It's time for the May update on The Library Project QAL

Now, I am fairly certain that a Quilt Along means that you actually quilt...right? Well I have to admit that I have missed the boat as they say this month. Sewing time has been sparse, to non existent and my WiPs are piling up (which I talked about earlier this week).

About the only thing that I have accomplished is to gather the fabric for my improv project from Quilt Improv, which will also be my Michael Miller Challenge piece.

So of course I have big plans over the next weeks to get back on track, but I also think that a down month is ok. This Quilt Along is a year long event. More of a Quilt Marathon, than a sprint! Slow and steady!

Now how have you been doing? Gangbusters, stand still, increments of greatness? Can't wait to read and find out.

Of course, regardless of my progress, there must be prizes! With this month's linky party I have a prize to offer from my very own Library. As I was pawing through the shelves I could not decide on which one book to offer to you, my special QAL sista's. So I am going to show you a few and the winner gets to pick the one they want! Here are your choices...Kaffe Fassett or Amy Butler, which will it be?

Regardless of our progress, I am glad you have chosen to come on this journey with me. Just writing this post inspires me to run upstairs to the sewing room and get crackin'.

Now off you go, get linking! The link will be open for a week and I will draw a winner next Friday.
Adrienne

An InLinkz Link-up

WiP Wednesday: The one with a cramped cubby

So this is going on right now in my sewing room. Right now.

I had big plan this week. Big plans I tell you! There would be a WiP Wednesday post with some real magic, some real inspirational sewing goodness. But instead I looked at all of my WiPs stuffed into this cubby and realized the magic is gone.

Sweet mother, how all of a sudden did the WiPs get so out of control? Two months ago I would have told you I was on top of it all! Now? Clearly not so much. Here is the truth of my WiP List:

• A Baby quilt for me new niece - needs quilting and binding
• A tote bag - needs a bit of everything
• The Volume Quilt - much. more. to. do. to get a top
• My Triangle quilt for the Triangle QAL (way long over now!) - top needs piecing etc etc
• Michael Miller Fabric Challenge - I have the fabrics at least
• Cammo Quilt - again, I have the fabrics
• Canadian Flag Custom Pillow - have a pattern in mind (big deal)
• A Lush Uptown Camp Quilt - stuff is cut up
• A giant star quilt - needs quilting and binding
• May Bee Blocks - for two Bees!
• A pincushion for Maritime Modern Quilt Guilds Pin Cushion Swap

Holy crap people, things are out of control.
So, no magic today, but a swift kick in the behind to get in that sewing room and get busy!
How are your WiPs? Taking over, or are you kicking ass and taking quilt names?

Feeling overwhelmed by it all, don't forget it's Great Big Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew this week. Get away from the WiPs and enter some great giveaways. My giveaway is here.

Good Luck!
Adrienne

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Needle and Thread Network.

Giveaway Day is Here!

It's that time folks! Giveaway Day, hosted by Sew Mama Sew is here! This is a week long event where bloggers everywhere come together to offer either handmade goods or Supplies to make things. You can head on over to the two pages to enter to win prizes galore!

Supplies Giveaway Page

Handmade Items Page

 



For my giveaway I have  a nice little package including two Patterns from Carolina Patchworks - Ascend and Groove, and a nice little woodsy neutral bundle of Fat Quarters featuring Kona Cottons and  Stonehenge cottons from Northcott.

 

To enter my giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite summer vacation destination - I am desperate for summer to get here!

• The giveaway will be open until May 16th at noon AST.
• I will chose a winner using a random number generator
• The lucky winner will be announced by May 18th
• The giveaway is open to international participants! All are welcome!  
• I usually reply to all comments on blog posts, but I hope you will forgive me if I don't respond to every post this time around since giveaways can generate a lot of responses :)

Thank you so much for dropping by, and good luck with all of the winning opportunities. Now I am foo to do some entering myself!
Adrienne

Sunday Stashing

It's Sunday, there's fabric, I'm here telling you about it!

Last weekend it was actually sunny here in the never ending winter province of Nova Scotia. The girls and I took advantage and took a road trip to Mahone Bay on the South Shore. There just happened to be a Fabric Flea Market on hosted by the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild. We got there late so I think I missed some good deals, but I did pick up some Crazy for Dots from RJR Fabrics

More deliciousness added to the stash is this awesome bundle of Rain Essential by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. Have I told you how much I love Art Gallery Fabrics? Well, I do, they are so silky and lovely  to work with. This bundle was actually a win from a giveaway at Pile O' Fabric. Thank you Alyssa!!!

If you are part of the Modern Quilt Guild you are likely participating in their most recent Michael Miller Fabric Challenge using Petal Pinwheels. We at the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild are, and I needed some fabric to add to the project (you can add other Michael Miller fabric), so off I went to Mad About Patchwork for a little shopping therapy. All for a good cause of course.


Just My Type in Letterpress Grey; Wee Wander in With The Birds in Sea, Domino Dot in White, Helen's Garden in Parterre in Aqua and Domino Dot in Starfruit 

I think I have a great pull now with a couple of other lovelies pulled form my stash

Not fabric related, I also had a couple of other items join the sewing studio. My mom just came back from the US and she brought me a couple of bobbin holders, and some batting! Batting is sooooo expensive in Canada so I usually bulk buy from the states when there are good sales. Some day I would like to buy a bolt, but storage may be an issue:

on a side note, see how messy the thread is on those bobbins, clearly my machine is having an issue

So, a very good time is  had in the stash this week. Now to sew some of this stuff up! Must. Get. Working. On. My. Fabric. Challenge. Project.

I hope you get some time to sew this weekend!

Linking up with Sunday Stash which is being hosted this week over at Sewing by Moonlight.

ALYOF: May Goal

Another month, another goal. I am pretty proud of myself for sticking to this challenge of A Lovely Year of Finishes. I am a list person and ticking off a project every month makes me REALLY happy.

So this month's goal? I have a new baby niece on the way, and the little bundle will of course need a quilt. I have had a million ideas about design and fabric and could not seem to settle on anything. But today I just needed to sew so I picked fabric and started cutting!

This is actually a curated bundle from Mad About Patchwork. I think it perfect. It's soft without being too girly, and warm without being all brown.

I have picked a very simple design for this quilt. Not because I am lazy, although I did ask myself that, but because I just feel like something simple. I want to see the fabric in this one, I want it to shine. I bet tomorrow I will think another design is good, but tonight, simple it is.

I am going to keep the design under wraps for now, don't want to spoil the whole surprise. But my goal for May is to finish this flimsy for the new babe. (look, even the scraps are cool)

Are you playing along with ALYOF? What are you May goals?
Adrienne