Friday Finish: Teacher Thank You Totes

So last night I had to sudden realization that today was the last day of school for my son.  And not only that, it's his last day at Montessori school because next Fall he'll go to the public kindergarten.

Anyway, I've been so caught up in all the last week of school festivities and looming deadlines (and maybe a little bit of avoidance), that I'd missed the class collection for gift cards, and hadn't even had the boy write out a thank you card.  But I really wanted to do something for the teachers because they are amazing.  Isaac is a very specific type of kid, and I could tell that while there were tough days in the class room over these last two years, they really loved him.  It's a big deal for him to go to kindergarten and ride the bus next year, but I'm really sad to be leaving this school behind.

So last night I pulled out a bunch of fabric and some batting scraps and made some book bags.  What teacher doesn't need more book bags?  I cut out a long rectangle, and then sewed the strips to the bag quilt-as-you-go style.  Once I had the whole rectangle covered, I sewed up the sides and boxed the corners.

I used some home dec fabric I had to line the bags and to make the straps.  In hindsight, I wish I'd added a pocket, but I was in such a rush, I decided to just make them as simple as possible.

Now to go deliver them.  I'll be that parent with glossy eyes awkwardly hugging the teachers.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish It Up Friday and Riddle and Whimsy for TGIFF!

Friday Finish: Drawstring Project Bag

I didn't accomplish much after my neck started hurting this week.  It's getting better, but standing at the sewing machine (yeah, I stand) is just not an option.

I did get really restless last night, so I whipped out this little bag for my sock knitting.  It's the Lined Drawstring Bag pattern from In Color Order.  Last week I made a couple of these to wrap a gift, and just loved how quick and easy they were.  I think it takes more time to cut the fabric than it  does to actually sew.

I used some of my coveted Amy Butler wallflowers.  When I set up my new fabric shelves, I realized I had way more than I'd originally thought, so no need to hoard quite so much.  And the black is a FQ I picked up from a quilt show with the intention of using it for some sort of craft bag.  Perfect!

It's the perfect size for sock knitting!  This poor ball of Malabrigo was getting bounced around my tote bag and every time I'd pull it out, I'd have to untangle it from all the books, bottles, and child debris.  Now it has a much happier home.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it up Friday!

Sending My 241 Tote Into the World

So a last minute make gets some last minute photos.  I wasn't even going to bother, but the kids were so excited to get their pictures taken that it had to happen.

I made up this little tote as a going away present for a really great friend.  We only just started getting crafty together, when a new job mean moving pretty far away.  Everyone is bummed, and I'm sure this little girl is going to be asking for her friend (my friend's daughter is the same age)  for a while before she understands what "moved away" means.

So I whipped up a little 241 Tote from Noodlehead as a going away present.  It was the first time with this pattern, but the Super Tote and Open Wide Pouches worked so well, I just jumped right in.  I love Anna's patterns!  They're really easy to sew up, but they have fun details that make them look more involved than they really are.

I left off the zippers because I was chicken, but the rest of it came together really quickly.  I dipped into my pile of Echino to find a fun center print, then picked a nice solid to coordinate and put them together with some black linen.

I love when I don't have to go anywhere for supplies to a project.  I had everything for this already in my stash, including some piping for the inner pocket to make it stand out, interfacing (which I never have!), and the magnetic snaps.  I'm going to have to put in a bulk order of those snaps; they're super easy to install and are the best closures ever.

The bag was heavily twirl tested, and stood up to all the G's the little girl could give it.   Now it's on to it's future home, and hopefully we'll be able to visit it, and our friends, soon.

Photo Bomb!!!

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday!

Hello Birdie Super Tote Finish!

I'm back!  It was a great break, just knitting and sewing up presents, and enjoying Christmas break.  And I got to get more practice with the fancy new camera, and I'm so excited to take pictures now.

But the tote!  It's the Noodlehead Super Tote.  I won (kind of, begged) for the pattern at our guild's Yankee Swap and was dying to make myself one of these bags.  They're super big, and zippers!

So I was just waiting for the right fabric sale to get myself some supplies, when I realized that the perfect finishing touch for my cousin's art supplies Christmas gift would be to wrap it all up in a tote.  Luckily, I'd just managed to convince a friend to spend some quality time at the Ikea fabric section for me, and she brought back this hilarious bird print.  And it was almost home dec weight, so perfect for a tote.

Finished it off with some coordinating solids and red piping, and it was done.  The whole thing only took one night, but it was a late one.  And a real testament to how easy this pattern goes together is the fact that in my caffeinated, buzzy, late night stupor, I only had to rip out one side of the zipper because the fabric was stretchier than I anticipated!  So much win!

Still haven't made one for myself, but I plan on looking through some more of those Ikea fabrics later and finding a print for me.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it up Friday!

A Super Productive Long Weekend!

Finally, just got down to it and got some stuff done over the long weekend!  There's just been a bunch of little things piling up, but I finally started crossing things off.

Like these little snack bags for a friend.  They don't take long, but they just kept getting pushed to the back of my mind.  So I decided to take an afternoon and just do it.

They're two different tutorials.  The ones that lie flat are from this tutorial from Owen's Olivia.  And the stand up ones are from a tutorial at Mauby's.  We use both constantly, so I'm sure they'll get plenty of use.

And I got to use one of my favorite fabrics.  It's from Robert Kaufman.  I love it, but it just never seems like the right project for it, but this is perfect.  I might end up making a few more for myself.

After the bags were so quick and checked of the list, I then finished another gift quilt top, made pants for a friend's kid, tidied the area I've taken over with my sewing in the dining room, and cast on some socks.

Why knit socks?  Because I don't know how.  Can't wait to get these done because they're super warm and I keep trying this one on and loving it.

Here's hoping that the rest of the week is just as productive!

Linking up with Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday!

Another Multi-Tasker Tote!

Finally delivered this bag to a friend who was in desperate need of a new diaper bag.  (I also totally forgot to take pictures of it until I was outside her apartment.  Yay! for camera phones!)  I've had it finished for a while, but I was hung up on a few tweaks to the pattern, and had to stare at the bag for a while while I figured out what to do.

I, of course, used the Multi-Tasker Tote pattern, because it's awesome, and added a couple elastic pockets to the inside.  I switched out the interfacing for fusible fleece because it stands up so much nicer, but isn't super stiff, and outlined the butterflies and flowers in gold thread.

The big tweak was that purple pouch inside.  She wanted a place to pack an extra set of clothes, but she wanted it to be removable.  It seems obvious now to just add a couple buttons to the bag lining and buttonholes to a velcro pouch, but I had too many ideas at first and couldn't settle.  So I just made the whole bag and left it to the end.

My favorite part is the key chain.  I found clip hardware at Joann's and now have to add the strap to every bag I've ever made.

Linking up with Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday!

 

Scrap Happy Purse Pattern!

So remember way back when I cut into some pieces of my Flea Market Fancy?  It was to make this!!  It's the Scrap Happy Purse from Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts.  The second she posted a picture of her version on Instagram asking for pattern testers, I was in.  It's such a cute bag, why wouldn't I want to make my own!

The pattern was really easy to follow, it's mostly a basic tote, with a great outer layer.  I was able to use a bunch of scraps I'd gotten in a scrap pack from the Anna Maria Horner store clean out a couple months back.  I'd been saving them for just the right project, and this was perfect.  Then, I added a couple charms I'd gotten; two were the FMF, but there was also an AMH velour, a couple Tula Pink prints, and some dots.

All that quilting is really awesome too.  Because it's quilted so densely onto batting, it pretty much has all the stability I'd want.  And then, when you add the home dec weight lining, you have a bag that will really take a beating.  I've been toting it around for a while, and it's been great. 

I love the size of this tote.  I can carry around a book or a small knitting project, or I can just tuck in a diaper and wipes if I'm doing a quick trip with the toddler.  I'll probably make another of these because I have plenty of scraps, but I might have to add a couple more pockets because I can never have too many pockets.

The pattern is available here. 

Thanks Amanda Jean for letting me test for you!

Linking up with Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday and Funky Polka Dot Giraffe for Too Cute Tuesday and My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday!

Small Finish, Long Week

Toby the Cat is very bummed that this isn't my finish for the week, and is determined to cuddle under my Rainbow QAYG Quilt no matter what!

Honestly, though, I am pretty bummed.  I finished all the blocks, had my backing picked out, and was about to quilt the two together when I realized that I needed to make it a twin size.  Right now it's 4'x6', so that means adding another column and two rows.  Sixteen more blocks!!  But I have a feeling that a certain little girl will want to have this when she gets a real bed, so I'm going to keep going.  I may have to "help" some friends with their scrap stashes because I'm pretty much out of decent batting scraps.

I did manage to finish this Multi-Tasker Tote, though.  Sorry there's no amazing pictures of it; I was too excited to deliver it to it's new home to pause and take any.

Everything but the bottom super hard interfacing came from my friend's (yo Letty!) crazy fabric stash that was handed down to her.  The outside is denim that I quilted onto fusible fleece (because she had bags and bags of it!) instead of using the lightweight interfacing that the pattern called for.  It makes the bag stand up on it's own, which is something that I wish I'd done with mine.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but I did randomly spaced straight lines in navy and orange thread.

On the inside, instead of the one small pocket, I added a bunch of pockets with elastic tops.  I used this tutorial from Sew Thrilling Crafts.  It was super easy, so I'm going to have to add these to every bag I make from now on.  There's six pockets on the inside, of varying sizes, and the four orange pockets on the outside, so I don't think she'll have any problem with storage.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish It Up Friday and Flamingo Toes for Think Pink Sunday!

Insta-Monday!

So last week was kind of crazy.  The first few days were spent in denial of the upcoming first day of school.  And the last couple were just trying to readjust all our clocks back to school time.

The biggest change is that the dude is staying longer at school, which means no more nap time for him, or his sister unless I can beg someone to carpool with us.  I love naps because that's when I sew, so I had a mini panic attack about never being able to sew ever again, and then husband just suggested I set up a work space on the porch. Duh.

And since we were already on the road, the little girl and I were able to get out and finally go to playgroups that we've just ignored all summer.  We also managed to meet up with a friend that I've been promising a bag to for a while, but hadn't gotten over to her house to sort through her fabric.  She told me she had a lot of hand-me-down fabric, complete understatement.  There was so much vintage awesomeness.

 

We finally settled on this amazing orange and blue print, probably from the 70s, and a nice lightweight denim for the outer and some Alexander Henry fabric from '95 for the lining.  I can't wait to raid her stash again.

Then I capped off the week with an awesome Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild meeting in Portland, ME at A Gathering of Stitches.  Such a great space, I really hope that I can get up there and use it.  And, as an added bonus, our guild president managed to get us a discount at Marden's and we all went on a fabric spree field trip.  I was trying to be good, so I only got four yards of fabric and a handful of trims.  The whole thing only cost $20!!  The lighter flower fabric is begging to be a dress, and the silverware on blue is going to end up as pj bottoms.

And now, we'll see how this week turns out.  Fingers crossed that we manage to settle into a routine sooner rather than later.

Snack Pouches! For School Lunches!

It's my little dude's second year of preschool, but this year he's going to be staying longer and having lunch with the "big kids."  He's pretty excited about it.  We got a lunch box just for him; he put a lot of thought into it and had to look at every one they had.

So I decided to make him is own reusable pouches to pack his snacks.  The lining is a waterproof PUL fabric I found at a little sewing store (though maybe just water-resistant now that I've sewn through it a bunch).  I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's similar to this one from fabric.com.

Of course, the only things I have now to put in for the pictures are cookies.  I have grand ideas about carrots and crackers, because preschoolers love that sort of thing!  Maybe if packed in a fun pouch.

I kind of just winged it on this one, but there's a bunch of great tutorials out there.  This is a great one from Mauby's that I've had pinned on one of my Pinterest boards for a while.

Linking up with Live a Colorful Life for Really Random Thursday!

Here, Let Me Distract You With A Cute Pouch!

So I really intended to do some sewing on my Flying Geese quilt, but totally got a headache, which lead to caffeine, which lead to an urge to stay up late and make something where I don't have too think to much.

Anyway, I bought a bunch of zippers to make pouches for kids stuff.  I got big ones, like 22" to make bigger lunch/car trip pouches, and small ones to make "quick, my children are out of control and need a quiet distraction" pouches.

I think this will be exactly what I use it for.

After much searching the internet for decent free pouch tutorials, I decided on the Open Wide Pouch from Noodlehead.  Seemed really easy to make, and the kids can actually see what's in there without having to dump everything out.  (Though, they will probably dump everything out anyway.)

Look how many cars fit in there!  We could have a Restaurant Table Grand Prix!

The pattern called for a 10" zip, but I had 9" and 22", so I just used the 9" and shortened the bag an inch.  I also cut the corners on the bottom a little smaller, but the rest is the same.  It was really quick too, so I managed to finish before my caffeine crash.

I love this little fox!  Glad I saved at least one from the corner trimming!

The bottom is pretty awesome. 

And while I had all those little bits of pretty scraps around, I figured I might as well make another pin cushion.  Plus, my cup of tiny strings was full, so it made just the right amount of stuffing for this little guy.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday!