Tag Archives: bag making

My Bag – #7 on my Jan list

On my January list of things I wanted to get done, this bag is #7. I’ve written about wanting to make bags almost since the very beginning of this blog. And some years I make some and a lot of years I do not. But this bag kit was purchased with a Craftsy class many years ago when I was into Craftsy classes. Unfortunately, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of this project and I let it go many years. I kept the kit together and harbored hope that one day I would be able to do it. During the pandemic a group of us ladies met on zoom a lot and out of those meetings bag making was discussed. Not everyone wanted to venture into it but some did and some were already well into it. We created a Friday night group called The Bag Ladies. In the beginning, it was supposed to be once a month. But it quickly increased to every Friday. Slowly, as time went on and the world opened up more we found ourselves meeting less and less and we disbanded the group.

However I had started this project and it was beyond my bag making skills. The project itself is difficult but I also had to look for all the parts to the kit and luckily, I was able to gather them all together. I worked on this a bunch in 2021 and then put it aside when life got busy. That’s the worse thing to do with a project as complex as this. Its already a hard bag just by itself. but when I put it aside and then have to remember where I left off, what I did and what I still needed to do just made it all the more difficult. Since this is number 7 in my list I made it a mission to not start #8 until this project is done!

Here are some progress pics of the pages I put together.

pockets with style 1 on the left and style 2 on the right. the difference is that 1 is one big pocket on top of another with one zipper. while 2 has two side by side pockets and 2 zippers.

pockets with style 3 on the left and style 4 on the right. it’s pretty much the same as 1 and 2 respectively except that there are three sets instead of two.

And once those were done I added velcro to each side.

I’m really thrilled with how it’s coming along. and while it is difficult, my machine is handling things like a pro and as long as I take each step one by one and watch the craftsy class while I’m doing it I am finding I’m able to do it.

bound

I find bag making takes a lot of focus and I couldn’t do this bag and meet up with the bag ladies. I needed to focus and concentrate which are two things I am unable to do while my friends and I are on zoom chatting.

This is the outside part with one of the sides connected to the outer zipper.

I found it hard to do the binding on this end. It’s done but I don’t like how it turned out. I took the raw edges together and with the side at the bottom machine bound the raw edges of the binding to the raw edges of bag smooshing all the layers as much as possible with my stiletto. That part was easy but I had to pay attention and not make my quarter inch too big by mistake, especially around the corners which I tend to cut through too quickly. The part that was hard was doing the other side. I was able to pull the binding over and it covered everything nicely but if I sewed it on that end we would be able to see the stitching on the other side. I didn’t want that. So I stitched in the ditch on the already sewn side and hoped it caught the binding to secure it on the other side. It did mostly and where it did not I just resewed from this side. It worked but where I was blindly securing it didn’t line up always right and so it looks wonky. If you look closely at the picture above you can see how the bottom binding has more pulled over than on the other parts.

There must be some trick to it that I’m not aware of. Well that side is done now and I’m not picking out. But hopefully I will learn a better way to do these bindings in the future.

FINISHED!
Inside

Stay crafty friends!

Melanie

Maxwell Bag – Finally a finish

Maxwell Bag
A Finish
3/29/2020

I didn’t realize that I started this bag in 2017. I know because I looked for the post I wrote about this when I took the class. All I had left was to put the handles through the purple things, whip stitch them, and that’s it. They were done. It did take me longer than I thought and it was harder than I thought it would be. But it’s done. I do not know what I’m going to use it for but it’s so cute. And I want to make another one. Not right now. 😉

 

~Melanie

Maxwell Bag

The outer and inner parts put together
5/2017

I took a 2-day class at my LQS last May and produced an almost done Maxwell Bag.  All I needed to do was the handle and some finishing touches.  I spent some time on Sunday working on the handle.

First Step – cut the handles to size.

Second Step – enclose the soft and stable around the cord

 

Final Step – somehow get the cord into the fabric tube

I spent some time wrangling the cord in the fabric tube and finally gave up.  I’ll try to do more in the evenings.  My next bag class is on Saturday and if I do not have these handles wrapped, I’m going to see if the instructor has an easier way to do this.

~happy crafting

~melanie

Stash and Dash bag

On Saturday I was able to take a bag class at my LQS, Quilt Emporium, in Woodland Hills, CA.  I’m so excited because it is the first in a series of bag classes offered through a program by By Annie.  I love that they start with an easy bag and work through a series of bags that get more complicated so that you learn various techniques of bag making.  I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time and in fact, mentioned it to the ladies at my LQS.  I’m sure my request wasn’t the only one because the class was pretty full.

I forgot to take pictures early in the day but after lunch remembered so here are the pictures.

By the time I remembered to take pictures I had already quilted my inside and outside fabric to the soft and stable.  I already attached the belt.

I already made the zipper/mesh pouch.

 

And I was making the outer part of the bag.  You can’t tell but that’s a vinyl pocket.  I have heard horror stories about sewing on vinyl which is one of the reasons why I took an actual class.  Luckily our instructor had a Bernina and let me borrow her Teflon foot specifically made for sewing on vinyl.  With her instructions and the foot, it was easy peasy and I can’t wait to purchase a foot of my own and sew more bags with vinyl.

Our instructor showed us how to connect the zippers.  These zippers were from By Annie and were 30″ long.  The zipper had 2 zips attached and an extra zip in the kit.  I would have had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to attach those zippers on my own.

Here’s the bag all trimmed and ready for binding.

Yesterday, I was able to get it together and put the binding on:

 

Inside

 

Outside

~crafty mojo is coming back…

~happy crafting

~Melanie

 

Cross Stitch, an update

“Mama’s Bukid” …

Here’s what it looked like last time:

Mama’s Bukid
5/20/2017

Here’s what it looks like now…

Mama’s Bukid
5/27/2017

Happy Saturday!

 

I was able to snag a picture with somewhat better lighting.  And I do not know why I’ve never done this before but watched some cross stitch tutorials on you tube.  I just had it on auto play.  This morning I realized that I watched all my regular podcasts/vlogs and was looking for something new.  Since I picked up my long term cross stitch project, Mama’s Bukid, I searched out cross stitch videos.  I’ve said this in past posts but in case you didn’t know, I learned to cross stitch in the 90’s with my grandma and I’m working through the crush of projects she and my mother purchased for me.  So my projects are dated and I never explored further than what my grandma taught me.  It didn’t even cross my mind.  Except that I’ve been watching a lot of podcasts lately and a number of them have mentioned cross stitching and some interesting ideas like starting, finishing, etc.  So while I was cross stitching I started watching.  I plan to integrate some of the new to me techniques to see if I like them and will let you know what I find.  In the meantime, here’s my current progress and it looks like the images in the sky of the bukid are changing.  It is exciting to see.  Somewhere I lost the picture that came with this project so it’s a mystery to us.  I know I liked it.  I know my mom picked this out.  I hope we still like it when it is finished. ;0

This last week my hubby’s uncle passed away.  The family is still recovering from the sudden passing of my brother-in-law so it’s really sad and heartbreaking to have this happen as well.  My heart goes out to my MIL and my cousin-in-laws and all the family over there.  Unfortunately, my hubby will not be able to make the trip back to the Philippines again as there’s just no money for a second trip and he’s not able to take the time off work again.  This last week was just his 2nd week back after almost 1 month off.  We will do what we can from here.

On a happier note, I took a bag class at my LQS.  It was for the Maxwell Bag by Abbey Lane.  The picture above is the picture of the bag on the pattern.  Here is picture of my bag still in progress:

 

The outer and inner parts put together

I’ll have to post about it separately as there is just too much to talk about…  It was supposed to be 2 evening sessions but it looks like we’re trying to get a 3rd evening thrown in so we can finish the bag.  I hope that happens soon.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  I’m very excited to have a long weekend and enjoy the time crafting.  Tonight the hubby and I plan to join friends at a JoKoy comedy show.  It’s the first time we’re watching one of his shows.  We’ve seen him on an Adam Carolla show in Vegas one year but never on his own.  I’m excited to be doing something different.  Other than that, I’ll be crafting all weekend.

Happy Stitching!

~Melanie

 

 

Is there a ravelry for quilting?

I’ve been knitting more these last few months just because it’s easier to grab and take around with me.  So I’ve been using Ravelry more and more.

It got me thinking – is there a Ravelry for quilting?

Let me know!  I’d love to try it out.

In the meantime, I made a project bag

Another Project Bag
4/22/17

My husband and MIL took off to the Philippines last Thursday because my Brother-In-Law passed away suddenly.  I gave them all the bags I’d made so far for them to give away as they saw fit.  It’s a great feeling.  Now I need to make more bags to put my projects into.  🙂 Anyway, here is the latest one.  I’ve still got a ton of that fabric (the floral one).  It’s like a home dec fabric and it works great for making bags with substance.  I’m trying different stitches on my machine because I want the stitch definition at the top of the bag to be more defined.  I am using 28W Aurifil to help with that.  This is why I buy thread.  I stopped just buying thread because I want to use what I got but I think I want to try the 12W or thicker.  I don’t know if I have that already in black.  I want the stitches to stand out on top of the fabric.  With the 50W it sinks into the fabric and gets lost.  I like it how the 28W looks better than the 50W but it’s not quite where I want it.  So I’ll try the 12W next.  I need to play with more stitches on my machine too because I might just find something that works with a different stitch.

I am also using parachute cords because it helps with drawing the bag open and closed.  I like it!  I was using fabric at first but it was difficult to open and close the bag.  I also discovered that you have to burn the ends so that they don’t fray.  Last weekend I burnt the ends but I didn’t burn them enough and it looked weird.  Here’s how they look this weekend.  I like them better but, boy, do they stink!

I’m going to try to get around to some quilting today too.  With the hubby out of town for a few weeks, I hope to get some serious crafting done.

~happy quilting and knitting and sewing…

~Melanie

TGIF, 4/24/2015

WIPs Be Gone

WIP Status:

1. Month by Month – 

Month by Month - off the frame but sprawled on the floor  4/10/15

Month by Month – off the frame but sprawled on the floor
4/10/15

Still on the floor where I left it although I’m hoping to get to this this weekend.  I’ve only got the border to finish quilting then I can bind and label it and it’s done.

2. Tell It To The Stars

Tell It To The Stars Designing the back 3/5/15

Tell It To The Stars
Designing the back
3/5/15

I actually removed this from the design wall.  I’ll put it back up when I’m ready to actually piece the back together.

3. Scrapitude – Clue #3 is done and I’m planning on tackling Clue #4 this weekend.

Scrapitude  Clue #3 4/19/2015 just section A... forgot to take pictures of the whole piece!

Scrapitude
Clue #3
4/19/2015
just section A… forgot to take pictures of the whole piece!

4. Moon Glow – This is done for this month and I’ll add the next step to next month’s goal list.

Moon Glow All blocks completed Up on the design wall 4/16/15

Moon Glow
All blocks completed
Up on the design wall
4/16/15

My exciting news for today – #5 – Mini project – I finally got the first project of the book “Sew Practical” done.  I still need to put more pins on it.  In the book it has buttons that we make with fabric.  I bought the supplies to do that but I wanted to use the bag to showcase some of my pins that I’ve accumulated.  I’ve got more somewhere so as I find them, I’ll be attaching them to the bag.  Next time I make this bag I will do the embroidery with thread that matches the inner lining. The instructions for this bag was pretty clear but there were some things I felt were left out.  First – to use a quarter inch seam or a half inch seam or something else.  The book didn’t say.  I’m a quilter so my default action would be to use a quarter inch.  However, I think I’m starting to be more familiar with bag making (this is, what, my 5th now?) and I decided to use a half inch.  I worried until I got to the step, that when it came to putting on the bottom it wouldn’t fit properly.  It wasn’t exact but it fit better than if I used a quarter inch.  Second – when I made the lining, the instructions said to follow the same steps to make the external part of the bag.  So I did.  Then the next line said, leave a 6″ gap in one of the long sides.  That one took me awhile to figure out but I had already followed the steps from before so I had to take my seam ripper out and re-do one of the sides to get that gap.  And that was it… just two things that I didn’t understand and had to redo.  I think this is a cute book bag to take to the library.  I do not know if I will make another one.  I don’t think it’s cute enough to make as a gift unless I change the fabric.  There aren’t any pockets inside or anything.  And it’s not that big.  It’s about 15″ (H) x 13″ (L) x 3″ (D).   But if I find I use it a lot then I might make more.  Or, if I get more buttons.

4/24/15 Project #1 of the Sew Practical book

4/24/15
Project #1 of the Sew Practical book

Happy Quilting everyone!

Melanie

WIP Wednesday – 4/22/2015

Front of bag for project #1 of Sew Practical

Front of bag for project #1 of Sew Practical

Here’s what I’m working on this week: project #1 from the book Sew Practical.  I was able to get the boxes done for the hand embroidery part so I’ll be working on the next steps over the weekend.  If I do this again, I would like to make the boxes in a different color.  The white disappears on this fabric.  In the meantime I think I’ll work on Clue #4 of Scrapitude or quilt the border of Month by Month.  I’m not sure.  We’ll see what I feel like when I get home from work tonight. 🙂

See more WIPs at … WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

~Wish I was quilting…

Melanie

Saturday musings

IMG_5767[1]

All right quilters!  Doing the first project in this book has been on my to do list for a few months now.  I’ve finally gotten the urge to actually do it.  Maybe it’s because I’m between quilty projects – Moon Glow’s month 12 is complete and I’m not planning (I just don’t feel like it!) piecing the rows together just yet.  I really want to get clue #3 for Scrapitude but I want to take a little break from piecing.  Or maybe it’s because I made this cute bag last week.

 

Pouch  Class project for the  Weaving Fabric workshop with Jennifer Rapacki 4/12/2015

Pouch
Class project for the
Weaving Fabric workshop with Jennifer Rapacki
4/12/2015

I’m starting to get a little arsenal of cute little bags/pouches.  I think this one is my favorite but takes all day to make.  Of course, the more I do I will get better and faster.  And the thread used above is Aurifil 12W!  Wooh – that is some thick thread!  I love how it pops off the fabric though.

I’ve got the fabric cut for the first project of Sew Practical.  I’ll be running errands and spending some time with a friend so I will probably not get a whole lot done today.  But it’s ready for me now. I can pick it up and do a little bit here and there until it’s done.

Have you ever worked with Linen?  This is my first time and it’s very slippery.  I bought some linen at Road2CA last January and it seemed thicker and I loved the feeling of it.  For this first project I didn’t have yards of it so I went online and bought “natural linen”.  I do not know if that is different than the linen from Moda’s line but it definitely feels different.  This natural linen is difficult to cut a straight line through because it slips all over the place under my ruler.  So – none of the pieces I cut, is exactly the right size.  I hope I can manipulate it enough so that this doesn’t matter when I get to the point of sewing everything together. 🙂

Happy quilting, my friends!

Enjoy!

Melanie

TGIF, 1/30/2015

WIPs Be Gone

WIP Status:

 1. Manhattan Bag –

Manhattan Bag 1/30/15

Manhattan Bag
1/30/15

 It’s practically done.  I still need a button in the front and a magnetic button inside to keep it closed but I can use it now and no one would be wiser.   I like it but I think there are a few tweaks that need to be done.  I do not like the inside pocket… I think I read the instructions wrong or I misunderstood but the inside pocket has the wrong side of the fabric facing out.  🙁  Also the inside lining seems a bit big which makes the bag a little bulky.  I am planning on doing this bag again and I think making the lining a little smaller than the outside would smooth out the inside part.  I think one of the free Craftsy bag classes talked about that.

I haven’t done anything on Tell It To The Stars. But I’ve got the final fabric pieces for my secret project and materials for a new bag keep arriving from online shops.  Woohoo!  I will not be able to play with it this weekend because the family is going to Vegas this weekend!  Whoop Whoop!!!!  It’s going to be a quick trip to get away and I plan on hitting a quilt shop or two tomorrow.  So stay tuned for Sunday Stash!

Happy Quilting everyone!
Melanie