Zen Blossoms Purse

Q: What's black and white

and red all over???

A: My latest tote bag!

Do you remember seeing this little zip pouch here?

Well, recently someone asked me to make

a tote bag for her,

using the same black/white/red floral fabric.

It's from Michael Miller,

and it's called Zen Blossoms.

It's been a while since that fabric came out,

and I had used up my supply of it.

A quick search on Quiltshops.com

led me to a shop that still carries this print.

{I just typed in "zen blossoms" and...poof!}

In my stash I found some black-and-white fabrics

that blended nicely,

as well as a bright red polka dot.

I used my own Anita Vacation Tote Bag pattern.

I can't tell you how many times I've used this pattern.

This time, though, I chose to leave out the pleated accent band.

Instead, I quilted the bag, in a diamond design.

That's one thing that my customer liked about

that little zippered pouch,

in the first place.

I love talking about my purses and bags...

Notice the two-toned bag handles

that I almost always create

for my bags and purses.

The zippered pocket just called out

for me to choose a RED zipper.

Such an attention-grabber!

For the interior pocket strip,

I went big and bold, with a chevron fabric.

The little "eamylove" label

lets my customer know I made this tote bag

just for her!

I wish I could make a custom tote bag for everybody!

But...I can't.

That's okay, though, because you can make

them for yourself,

just the way you want them,

using my Anita Vacation Tote Bag pattern!

{Here's another one of my purse-onal favorites,

created with Joel Dewberry's Aviary fabrics.}

If you make any,

I would love to see them!

Be sure to share them on my Flickr page,

"Amy Made That!...and So Did I."

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A New Merry Christmas Pillow

As part of my ongoing

"Christmas Through The Year 2015"

project,

I proudly present my latest pillow...

Merry Christmas!

This pillow will be mine to keep!

I love the way it matches

our brown couch.

I used my 4th and last (sniff...sniff)

"ink swatch" from Sweetwater.

You may recall the other pillows I've made,

using the other 3 ink swatches.

This "Let It Snow" one really works!

We have a few inches of pretty white stuff now.

I love the sentiments on the next two pillows,

describing what Christmas really means.

I believe in Christmas!

Nothing beats a simple

"Merry Christmas" greeting, right?

For this pillow,

I used some more of my beloved Winter's Lane

fabric by Kate & Birdie Paper Co. for Moda,

in rich brown and red.

I love the way this newest pillow looks

with my Topiary Christmas Pillow,

which I made back in 2013.

If you like that topiary pillow,

you can make your own,

using my free tutorial, found here!

As usual,

I've added a covered zipper to the pillow back.

You can learn how to do that

from ANOTHER free tutorial, found here!

I've made the Merry Christmas pillow

only 12" square.

I adapted the pillow backing tutorial

by cutting my backing pieces out about an inch

larger that the finished dimensions.

It's not necessary to make it exactly the right size.

Just before stitching the backing to the front,

I trim away the excess backing.

This pillow looks pretty from every angle,

with a finished covered zipper.

This petite cushion packs a lot of style

into a small space.

 I'll be sharing more Christmasy projects all year,

so please stop by often, friends!

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Ric Rac...or Is It Ricrac? Maybe Rickrack?

I bet when you see this photo,
you won't even need to know what these things are,
edged in ric rac...you just know you like 'em.

{Am I right?}

It turns out these are little coasters!

See how pretty they are, even one at a time?

{My Cath Kidson mug is such a nice model!}

I spent some quality time with my ric rac collection
and made a whole bunch of these coasters,
for a custom order on my Etsy shop, eamylove.

I love the way the different shades of ric rac look
against the bright fabrics.

Mostly I used prints from Briar Rose
by Heather Ross.
I love the tiny grasshoppers on clover...

the cute bees...

and the bright strawberries.

There are even tinier strawberries on the fabrics
from Bake Sale by Lori Holt.

These colors are a bit less intense,
but still nice and bright.

I want to give credit for my inspiration...
I saw them here on the nanacompany blog.
If you would like to learn to make them,
Amy Sinibaldi has told me that they will be included as a project
in her upcoming book,
Sweetly Stitched Handmades!

{It's available for pre-order now and will be released in May 2015.}

My Etsy client asked me to make some ric rac edged coasters for her,
and they were sew much fun to create!

I love everything about ric rac,
except that there are so many ways to spell it!
Ric rac, ricrac, rickrack...
what a nuisance when I'm adding tags
 to posts and photos.

I'm running out of ric rac...must find more!!!
Anybody know a great place to buy ric rac?

I've picked mine up here and there and everywhere...
sometimes it's even on a clearance shelf.
Please let me know if you've got a good source!
If you do, I'll have more of these to show.

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Christmas 2015 --- Getting Started

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions,

but I do like to formulate a plan

for my sewing focus each year.

Back in 2013,

I made a conscious effort to sew

something for Christmas every month.

By Christmastime, I had a wide variety

of gifts and decorations.

{See this post for a complete listing of my 2013 holiday projects.}

For 2015, I've made up my mind

 to keep up with Christmas sewing again.

I've got lots of Christmas fabrics in my stash,

and I'd love to see what I can make by December.

It was so gratifying to make this pillow

as a gift for a wonderful friend,

and I was reminded of how much I love handmade holiday presents.

Inspired by that red and black color scheme,

I've already made my first holiday project for this year!

I used two more of my "ink swatches" from Sweetwater,

and I whipped up a pair of holiday pillows.

The first pillow says,

"Joy To The World"...one of my favorite

Christmas carols of all.

I found some sophisticated damask

in a home dec weight at JoAnn's.

I think it sets off the ink swatch perfectly.

Also at JoAnn's, I found cherry red solid home dec fabric.

I used it for the backing of these pillows.

For this pillow, I chose a black and white floral print

for the covered zipper flap.

{Visit this post for a link to my free tutorial...Covered Zipper Pillow Backing!}

The second pillow of the set says "Just Believe."

The simple sentiment goes well with this classic palette.

I really love the polka dot zipper cover.

Believe me when I say this method for making

pillow backings is truly easy and versatile.

To adapt it to different pillow sizes,

just add an inch to the finished dimensions of the pillow front.

Your backing will be a wee bit oversized,

but that makes it easy to stitch to the pillow front.

So here it is, only January,

and I've got a couple of plump Christmas pillows,

all ready for next December!

Stop by again soon...

I'll be sharing yet another holiday ink swatch pillow!

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