Trail Tote...

I downloaded the free Noodlehead pattern a long time ago, and have thought about making one, many, many times but always moved on to other things when faced with the inset zipper, piping and strap arrangement. My hopes for a quick and easy sewing fix always turned into a bit of a more complex task, well in my head.

But I was wrong.  I made this yesterday, using some lovely Mixology linen from Simply Solids as a starter.  I didn't have everything I needed in the house, but a quick trip into the village was a bit of a success despite the thunderstorm going on.

I got a 7" navy metal zip in the bit-of-everything/load-of-noting store, some brilliant cotton webbing and cream cotton bias binding in the sewing shop and a nasty plastic satchel in the charity shop which, for £4, had the buckle and other hardware I needed.

I LOVE how it turned out!

The piping was no real drama, I have made and sewn it before, but not on a curve; I used my walking foot and it worked fine.  The inset zip was pretty straight forward too - I cut a window in the interfacing before applying, so there wasn't too much bulk when turning through, and rather than going with my initial slack-Alice thoughts of simply sewing on the webbing, I went all fancy!

OK, so when I cut up the satchel it might have been wiser to have had a good look at how the buckle arrangement had been,  but I sussed it.  Although I know I will never adjust the length, I added 3 eyelet holes just in case!

I lined it with some Cotton & Steel with a little C&S pocket.  I used a sew-in magnet fastening, the others I have are so strong, they tend to just unbend the prongs rather than separate on other bags I have made!

I frankensteined the outer pocket lining, you cannot see the cream (Bone?) Kona on the zip side, just the Aloe, but it does the job and made me feel virtuous for using some scraps!

I have learnt my lesson and top-stitched about 1/2" from the top edge to avoid the seam allowance and bulk which make my stitches go wonky; it looks way neater being that little bit lower down, using my new favourite Aurifil 40wt 2310.

All in all it turned out so well, the pattern was of the usually brilliant and clear Anna-Noodlehead standard and I am glad that I didn't go for the easy option; I really want to make the large version now!

Another Super Mini...

Last summer I made a mini cross-body version of Anna Noodlehead's Super Tote.  It is one of the bags I use the most; perfect size for chucking in the essentials.  I wanted to make another for ages, and finally got round to it.

I used some of my precious FMF from Aneela, because I wanted it to be special...

… and I really love how it turned out.

Natural Essex Linen and some Chicopee for lining; I even made the piping, without the aid of hemming web as I was out of it, and it still looks great!

I feel another one coming soon; I have some navy Essex Linen and Cotton & Steel to collect on the weekend already earmarked, but maybe I will go large again!

So that's another FAL finish already, and guess what, I finished up the mini-Poolside too; nothing like an impending weekend of stitchy fun to get me all productive and stitch my socks off; I'll show you that soon.

Don't forget you still have time to enter my 4th blogiversary giveaway, I will be picking a winner tomorrow.

Thank you for all your comments so far xxx

Baby Poolside...

I made another bag!

10 minutes after Anna-Noodlehead posted that the Poolside Tote was available for purchase, I had it printed out!

I then printed it out again at 80%.  At 80% you can cut each panel from a FQ.  I kept the original width of handles and accents, but scaled the pocket and adjusted a few measurements by eye.

As with all Anna's patterns, the instructions were super clear and easy to follow and I will be making another at 100% for sure!

Now in the spirit of using what I have, I didn't have any wadding, or fusible fleece, so I used some thermal batting!!  I have had it in my stash since about day one, when I spotted that I could make oven gloves and other useful things in the name of quilting.  I have never made such things!

So my bag is super padded!

The only thing I have omitted (for now), is the final top-stitching, mainly because I think I have a bit of a judder with my walking foot, and the thickness will probably make it look worse than better… I can always add it later!  I hand finished the facing instead and am more than happy with that…

Bonus comment from a 7 year old, "Did you put the leather bit on the zip?  It looks like a proper one!"

I can definitely recommend the pattern; my reduced-scale is a great size, but I can't wait to go large!

Make mine a small one!

Early posting for me today.  I didn't want to leave you in suspenders, as the kids and I are off to meet up with Emily and Nicky shortly, and I really want to show you my promised late-night make.

Quick background.  Holidays mean making new things, just because.  Having big bags, clutch bags and small purses already, I felt I was lacking a simple small cross body bag for out-and-about essentials.

OK, this is not strictly true; I have my beloved Sidekick Tote, I use it all the time but it isn't new, and I really wanted a new one!

I looked through all the patterns I had stashed away, but they were mostly too complicated for what I wanted, or required hardware I didn't have on hand.  I googled, I really was prepared to be completely inspired, but then... lightbulb!

I printed out my Noodlehead Super Tote pattern at 50%!!!

Grabbed those gorgeous HR Strawberries, fresh through the door, some natural Essex Linen and pink Kei dots, then at about 7pm, got making!

Not the best pictures in the world, but the grass was wet, and the assistants were not in an assisting mood!

Cross body strap, rather than two handles; no internal pockets, some piping to break up the plain back along the seam that would have housed the handles; a concealed magnetic snap in the front pocket and Bob, as they say, is your uncle.  I stitched up the gap in the lining just before 11pm.

I love all Anna's patterns, I made a 50% 241 Tote for Cindy, and knew, (well hoped), it would turn out great!

I used Aurifil 50wt in 2021 as always, and my walking foot to piece the whole thing, including the zip.  Popped on a Jeans needle for the final top stitching that incorporated the strap ends as there must have been at least 10 layers of fabric plus fusible fleece at those points; and it sewed through like a dream.

I rarely need to finish anything so urgently that I keep going after about 9pm; most things can just wait.  As you know I am not one to leave stuff until the last minute either, BUT I wanted to see it completed so badly; dear husband had to be woken up for the Ta dah! moment too.

So there you go, my super mini-Super Tote.  Sorry for making you wait, but I hope I will be forgiven xxx

My Type of Bag...

I bought the Sidekick Tote pattern from Anna-Noodlehead as soon as it was available last year, and it has sat, niggling me for ages, moving from one month's To Do List to the next; but in my 2013 stash-busting frame of mind, this was the week to do it!

Having ordered my metalware, from here, upon cutting up my Melody Miller and Echino last weekend, I decided I wanted to extend the strap, and so hatched a plan that required a further rectangle ring purchase, hence the waiting.

This was the first time I have made bias binding, and the first time I have actually sewn curves with it.  It wasn't so hard.  I was being a bit of a smarty-pants with lining up the spots, but it worked out fine.  My stitching down is not perfect, and the stitches from attaching the back peak out in a couple of places, but I can live with that.  I am rather chuffed with this detailing.

Instead of using velcro to fasten the pocket, I used a sew-in magnetic snap, and this was an easy substitution.  There was a little lady-handling required to stop the magnets from sticking firm to the needle plate of my sewing machine, but no drama.

The other amendment to the pattern was the addition of the second ring-end to the strap.  This gave me an extra 5", as I like to wear my bags across-body, especially when I am wearing my slidey-shouldered coat in winter.  I don't think it looks too odd; the extra ring, not the coat.

I pieced and topstitched the whole bag with Aurifil 40wt thread, firstly because it was the right colour, a deep turquoise, and secondly because I really couldn't be bothered to keep changing the thread between piecing and topstitching.  I also changed up the order that I pieced it; I used my walking foot for most of the construction, and did eveything I could before swapping out for my zipper foot.  Again, sheer laziness.

I did try to use my walking foot for the zip too, but failed after about 1", so my trusty zipper foot was reinstated.

I popped a bit of woven interfacing on the back of my lining where the patch pocket was stitched, just to give this area more strength.  And I think that is all I did that deviated from the printed word.

Mine is the smaller version of the tote, and is plenty big enough for my wallet, phone, keys, sunglasses (I know!!) and even a small umbrella.

I will definitely make another one, in the larger size next time; the pattern is brilliantly clear, and after all the cutting and fleece-fusing, it comes together really quickly.

My tote had it's fist trip out today to Chichester, there may have been Valentine's fabric shopping, I will show you that, and the gift I made for my true love tomorrow xxx

The Missing Link

The hardware I needed to complete my Sidekick Tote arrived today...

...along with 3 beautiful charm packs of Alison Glass's Lucky Penny, my surprise prize from Pink Castle, I won at the end of January.  The colours are far brighter than my snap shows, and I am already pondering what to make.

Lucky Penny?  Lucky me!

Well I have finished work now for an extended half term, yippee, and I have already started making the most of it.  I've just got to sew up the turning gap, and the aforementioned bag will be finished! 

It is not perfect, I tried new techniques and made some changes to the pattern, bold, I know!  I can't wait to get some decent pictures to show you, and start using it xxx

Travellin' Pic Stitch...

It's my turn at last!!  It seems like an age ago that Laura and Katy asked for volunteers to join them on their travels, and what travels they have been!


So I had a ponder, as is my way, and tried loading a few pics into the Play Crafts palette builder to firstly come up with my colour scheme.

I thought I would stay local, a local block for local people everyone!

For those who don't know this part of the UK, I live on the beautiful South Downs about 10 miles north of the West Sussex coast.  I work and previously lived in Worthing, a seaside town, predominately inhabited by the older generation.  On a sunny day, coach loads of even more older people descend to look at the sea.

Anyway, I tried some pics from my village...

 

A bit dull?

Some of the autumnal foliage...

A bit too, um, yellow?

A trip to the beach on a cloudy day...

Too grey, and too brown.

Another trip to the beach on a sunny day...

Perfect!

So I showed you my first attempt before...

Shocking to say the least!  But there was deep thought going on here, see those little diamonds on the front of the beach huts and everything!  I don't usually throw away any fabric but these, once they were partially sewn, were so horrible, dear friends, they went in the bin!

And so to my beloved Sizzix-cut hexies.  Now these I adore.  There was no plan other than fabrics I love and random.  So much more me...

A bit of a cheat?  Well the text print is from Crabtastic, and we all know that the British seaside is where you go to eat fish & chips out of old newspaper!

I immediately made this into a whopping Open Wide zipper pouch and have been using it for hexying on-the-go ever since!

So there you have it, my interpretation of my locality at its best.

Thank you for stopping by if you are new to my blog, and thanks to Laura and Katy for a superb idea, even if they were the only ones who actually got to gad about the Wiki-wiki Wild Wild West.

Tomorrow my lovely friend Sara of Sew Sweetness takes the TPS baton, and I cannot wait to see what she has come up with.

Don't forget that on 30th November everyone can link up for a chance to win these fabulous prizes!

Sponsored by Paperpieces.com, Fabricworm, Pink Castle Fabrics ,  Marmalade Fabrics, the Fat Quarter Shop, WantItNeedItQuilt, and Aurifil.

Full details for competition entry can be found here.

xxx

Little Thank Yous

Two of my secretive makes arrived with Susan and Trudi over the weekend.

I embroidered these a couple of weeks ago, taken from Aneela's Little Stitches book, and didn't really think through what type of gifts I was going to make with them; thank goodness inspiration struck...

I used Anna Noodlehead's Open Wide pouch tutorial and Pezzy charms, that's how teeny they are.

It is a great tutorial, I had a little bit of random with the sticky-out zip-end but they turned out nicely, so much so, yesterday I made another, a huge one, but that's for another day.

So that'll be my first 100% completed FAL tick too; my Mouthy Stitches tick will come after mailing and mama-ing are complete, and the Sizzix project upon 'publication' - not bad for the first week!

London baby, yeah!

Well as I am going to go to London in June, I better take a bag, well probably 3, but I'll start with this one!

Sewing is definitely good therapy; I really needed to just get my head down and make something on Thursday; so with my lovely Christmas present Echino and my Noodlehead Go Anywhere Tote pattern, it was thankfully a no-brainer!

I found this pattern easier than the 241 Tote.  Due to the heavier weight of the Kokka linen, I didn't need to add interfacing to every piece, and there are no tight curves to negotiate.  My only gripe was turning through of the handles, (far superior brains than mine would know why this method is better than just folding and double folding), my fingers just aren't that strong, but I coped.

So this isn't just a 'Go Anywhere' tote, this is a 'Going there' tote!!  Woo hoo!

PS.  Things are starting to hot up over at the FQ London 2012 flickr group; if you are heading to the Retreat, make sure you join up and don't miss out; there's a Secret Name Badge swap to currently sign up for, a Fat Quarter swap to start thinking about and much much more.

Pretty things all in a row...

Like my buddy Helen, I got a parcel of complete and utter loveliness today!

I am such an Aneela Hoey 'fan', you may have noticed, she has!  Aneela was the inspiration for my Happy Scrappy quilt, I have my Sherbet Pips Confetti quilt, and she designed the Around the Corner 'Man Quilt' pattern; my hexie sewing bag is predominantly Pips, I am working on a Pips hexie cushion during all those ballet lessons and I have a stash of Little Apples waiting to ripen.  So you could easily guess that A Walk in The Woods is just a tad eagerly waited, oh, and pre-ordered already!

But looky look at these apparent scraps (although I beg to differ!)...

I was sooooooooooooooooo over the moon to find these waiting for me when I got home from work today; stacking them into piles of the different prints was so therapeutic after 5 hours of database interrogation.

Aneela is such a lovely, funny, generous and super talented designer and maker, and a Brit!  This line might just be my favourite so far, Little Red is the cutest.  (Did I miss anything out Aneela?!).  I am so chuffed, even the pain of the Nativity cannot wipe the smile off my face.

Wise Man update:

I hate gold thread even more than I imagined I would - so it has been banished, having been unpicked again and again!  The 'slinky look' from the first fitting this morning has been rectified this evening with the addition of a full length pleat down the back; gold ribbon and a nasty button have blinged it up a bit, and hopefully I will be able to entice the wise one to try it on again tomorrow for a photo or two!

Oh and before I go, Noodlehead-Anna is having a 2 day sale, offering $2 off all her patterns, including the 241 tote, so for less than £4, you could get that, or, as I did, the Go Anywhere Bag pattern.  Woo hoo!

Birthday makes...

The Man Quilt is now quilted, ends buried, binding made and pinned, and the label ready to be sewn in.   So I am now a little less anxious about getting this one completed by Saturday - phew.

The girls' turn 5 on Thursday and are getting 'big girl' bikes.  So on Friday I searched out the pattern I remembered seeing forever ago - good old Pinterest!

So having tracked down the Noodlehead tutorial, there was no stopping me.  (Well believe that and you'll believe anything!).

This pattern wasn't as clearly explained as the 241 Tote, my only other Noodlehead experience, and joining the curved bases to the sides had me unpicking like a crazy woman - but perseverance and all that!  They are not perfect, but they are also likely to be left in the rain.  They are pink, so, to be honest, nothing else really matters.

So here we have, photographed in the 2 minutes of supposed daylight today, 2 Bike Buckets to hold the teddies we have deprived of seats at the back!

They look a bit squished as they have been hidden under other things away from beady eyes!  I will hopefully get some 'in action' shots later in the week.

I am now struggling with wonky Beaver badges!!  I will see you later xxx