Garden Tiles Bag

I sold some items at the Gleason Park Art show last weekend with my friend Stephanie. Sadly I did not get a picture of our set up.  But here's the story behind one of the bags I had for sale. I finally got around to making up a bag that has been rolling around in my head for while. I'm calling it the Garden Tiles Bag.  We've just recently remodeled our bathroom and I was inspired to put that pretty subway tile stagger pattern in a fabric format.

 I'm in love with this bag.  The fabric on the front panel is from Anna Maria Horner's Hand drawn Garden line.

I added outside pockets this time around which I'm pretty excited about.

What do you think?  Should I make a pattern for this one?  I think it would make a perfect diaper bag with a a few more pockets on the inside.

Linking this to Make It, Wear It

DIY Gift Bags for Bite Sized Sewing

Hi there!! Sara over at Craft Snob has a series going on called Bite Sized Sewing. Over the last couple of months she has been highlighting quick and easy sewing projects that are perfect for a beginner or those who don't have time to take on a big project. There are lots of fun projects to browse through.  Today I'm sharing how to make an easy DIY Gift Bag.  Pop on over and take a look!!

Lickety Split Skirt

My son had a little birthday party to go to not too long ago. I always think it's fun to send a handmade gift if I have time.  But I am always pressed for time and I can only seem to manage "lickety split" projects that can be made the day of...sometimes the hour before..it's true!. This little project fits the bill perfectly. What little girl doesn't love a new little skirt to run around in?

 I just sort of made it up and it's not put together the correct way, it's put together the fast way. :) I'm sure there are a ton of tutorials out there.
Here's a mini description of how I made it...

• Use the width of the fabric off the bolt (about 44") and cut it to the desired finished skirt  length (minus 1 inch). 
• Cut a 5'' strip of another fabric, folded it in half and sewed it to the bottom of the skirt. Finish the edges with a zig-zag or serger. 
• Press the folded band down and topstitch along the seam. No hemming on this skirt!!

• Sew the short ends together. Finish that seam too!  Press it to one side and use your sewing machine to tack (sew back and forth for about 3 stitches) the seam down at the bottom of the hem so it stays folded over.
• Make a casing in the top a little bigger than the width of your elastic. How? Press the top  edge over 1/4 inch and then fold it over again and press.  I made my casing 1 inch wide and used a 1/2 inch elastic to thread through it. Stitch the casing leaving an opening in the back to thread the elastic through. 
• Stitch around the top too, so it looks cute when she tucks in a shirt.
• Thread your elastic through. Stitch it together. Sew the opening closed with a little tag or ribbon so she'll know which side is the back  

Quick and cute!

Quilt Market Recap

If you follow me on Instagram you know I've been back from International Quilt Market for a week already. But just in case you didn't get enough #quiltmarket browsing, here are my favorite shots from my real camera. Here's our gang! Rachel, Caroline and Me

We had a fun time browsing all of the fabulous booths, meeting people, and making new friends. There was so much sewing inspiration and of course a ton of beautiful quilts to browse. Here's one from the lovely Tula Pink

And some lovely ribbon to match her new fabric line.

A quilt made from Anna Maria Horner's stunning new fabric line.

We got to see Sara's bags in real life, from her new book Big City Bags. She is one talented lady!

We saw table after table stacked with pretty fabrics at the Sample Spree. 

I added a bunch of new projects to my MUST MAKE list. Like this cute dress from Serendipity Studio

I was able to help Bonnie from Fishstick Designs set up her cute booth a little bit and I caught a little glimpse of the amount of work that goes into setting one up.  Wow!

We met the super cute Vanessa.  I just love her new fabric line.

I fell in love with the designs from The Cottage Mama. 

 That girl knows how to use ribbons and trims! Adorable!

and here's Heather Bailey's beautiful booth. It was so beautifully lighted. I think she even won 1st place for her booth design.

 

Echino love!

Ellen Luckett Baker's cute booth. 

 And a pretty quilt featuring fabrics from Allison Glass' new Sun Print line

Phew! It was a whirlwind weekend and we hardly slept,but I came back with a ton of new ideas that I can't wait to share with you.

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

Houston Yipee!

Hi sewing friends! Greetings from Houston!! I just thought I'd pop in to tell you I'm at Quilt Market!!

Caroline and I flew in tonight and met my Sister. Yay!! Can you tell I'm excited. I hope to check in tomorrow night with a few fun pictures from School House tomorrow. I'll be posting on Instagram too @bluesusanmakes so you can follow me there if you'd like!!

 

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A Little Cinched Lace Bag

I have to admit I have been loving the "Lace" trend we are seeing this year.  I've got bags on the brain lately and I was curious about just how Lace would translate into bag format.  So I made one.  A little cinched lace bag. What do you think?

 I went with gray lace over the top of gray denim. I will probably "gray" myself out over here but right now I'm still in love with this perfect pairing color.  I regret that I didn't make this little bag bigger.  I always underestimate sizing when I'm cutting out a new bag.

 It's not as functional as I need it to be and really needs a boxed bottom to be convenient.  But I do love how cute it turned out. Mer, my fashion consultant, said I needed a little pop of color or a flower on it. So I added a gray one.  I wanted to keep it neutral. :)

I also experimented with using french seams on the sides and the bottom which made it interesting to construct. I love the construction puzzles that making bags create.

I'm linking this up to Purse Palooza, fun sewing contest going on at Sew Sweetness.
Also linking up to SewCanShe, & the Train to Crazy.

I have a few projects to share this week So hopefully I will update more than once here. :)  Also I get to go to quilt market again!! We leave Thursday and I have high hopes of sewing up a new bag design for the trip.  Stay tuned!

Project Sewn: My Little Black Dress

Have you heard of Project Sewn??  It's an online sewing competition where bloggers sew to compete.  There are 6 official contestants but readers are allowed to play along.  This weeks category was the Little Black Dress.  

I decided to play along just a little too late to enter officially, but I'm so happy I took the challenge.  Now I have a cute and comfortable new dress to wear.  My camera was having over exposure issues but I'd like to pretend I edited these shots with a beautiful filter :)  Here are a few dress details...I used the free Coffee Date Dress pattern on the Burda Style website.

It is meant to be made with a woven fabric but I took a risk and sewed it in a polyester knit and it worked!  I cut the size for my bust measurement and omitted the zipper, which meant I could cut the back skirt and bodice on the fold. I chose a medium weight plain polyester for the top and a slightly heavier weight  for the skirt.  I really like the subtle lines on the skirt fabric.

 I also added a simple sleeve to the side.  I ended up using the sleeve pattern from my purple shirt and taking out some of the"puff". I'm not sure I got the ruffle just right but oh well.

Next week's is "The Era Challenge". Hmmm still thinking on that one.

Over and out!