Anita Vacation Tote Bag - Black, Red and Linen Version

Hello, Friends!

Are you going to be traveling this summer?

I took some business trips recently,

so I made myself a new tote bag.

Do you recognize the pattern?

It's my very own "Anita Vacation Tote Bag" design,

available as a PDF pattern here on Craftsy, or

here in my shop called eamylove on Etsy.

For this latest version,

I wanted a mostly-neutral bag that would go with

a lot of my business wear.

The main exterior fabric is a floral print

from the original Mama Said Sew line

by Sweetwater for Moda.

The contrasting fabric near the top of the bag 

is Essex Linen by Robert Kaufman,

in a color called Flax.

The interior of the bag is also made from

the Essex Linen.

I find it to be very durable, especially when interfaced with

Pellon 987F fusible fleece, as I do for all of my purses.

Inside my bag, along one edge,

I use a strip of pockets,

to keep my sunglasses and other key items handy.

How do you like that cute zippered inside pocket?

For the inside of the pocket, I used a coordinating Sweetwater print,

from Volume II. 

What about that magnetic snap closure?
If you don't know how to add those,

my pattern will teach you...it's sew easy!

Even if you're not going on a vacation,

you might want to consider making one of these totes.

They make an excellent gift for a new grad!

Come back soon...we'll chat about this sweet pouch

that I also made, to coordinate with my new Anita Vacation Tote Bag.

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Trees and Quarter Squares for Quilty Fun

Time for a Quilty Fun Sew Along update...

I had sew much fun making the lollipop trees last week!

Choosing fabrics was easy this time.

I only needed 3 main prints for trees.

{Since I live in Pennsylvania, I decided to make my trees 
in green, red, and yellow fabrics.}

I've been using a bit of black here and there,

to tie in all of the blocks,

and in this block, it made sweet tree trunks.

{The black gingham print is from Sweetwater's Mama Said Sew! line.}

This week's Quilty Fun Sew Along block

was Quarter Squares,

made oh-so-scrappy with 20 different fabrics!

When I was finished stitching the little squares,

I just had to put them into my dishes,

to show you how yummy they were!

Even though I used my 50 wt Aurafil thread

for piecing these little cuties,

my blocks came out a bit smaller than expected.

Thankfully, though, they were still oversized

enough to allow for trimming to the final 2 1/2" size.

I put them together as randomly as possible...

I really like making lots of blocks,
assembly-line fashion.
It takes almost no time!

They play together so nicely, don't they?

and now they are waiting patiently

for the rest of the Quilty Fun blocks to be sewn.

This sew along is making me happy in 2014!

Don't forget...

we're taking signups for the Skinny Pinny Pincushion Swap

through the end of January.

Details here...just email me to register!

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Skinny Pinny for October Across The Pond Sew Along

The Skinny Pincushion is this month's

Across the Pond Sew Along project,

and I was really grateful to Susie of Susie's Sunroom

for picking something that is so quick to make,

fun to create, and useful!

{The free tutorial can be found here from Green Bee Designs.}

These are Susie's skinny pinnies!  Photo from Susie's Sunroom

Want to see mine?

I was tempted to use the Panoramic setting

on my camera, to capture it in its entirety.

I'll just show you some close-ups, in stages, instead.

I started out with a favorite Lakehouse button print. 

 For the main body, I used the text print

from Sweetwater's "Mama Said Sew" line.

I was "saving" this sewing print for something special,

and it does make a killer pincushion!

All the way down at the other end,

I used the red and black ricrac from

the same Mama Said Sew line.

Here it is, all in one photo!

When I made my skinny pinny,

I pieced together the fabrics for the top,

to measure about 3" x 15".

I cut a piece of the button print for the bottom

that also measured 3" x 15".

I fused some Pellon ShapeFlex SF101 interfacing

to the wrong sides of the top and bottom,

for some support.

I stitched the pieces wrong-sides-together,

leaving about a 5" opening in the center of the long side 

that would become the top of the pincushion.
My finished pinny is about 2 1/2" x 14 1/2".

Here's a trick I always use when I have to leave

an opening for turning and/or stuffing:

I stitch from the edge of the project,

straight over to the start of the seam, backstitching,

on each side of the opening.

{It's easier to show you than it is to describe it.}

Here's another tip:

after turning the pincushion right sides out,

I always give it a really good pressing,

to smooth it before stuffing.

{Now's the time to add a cute label, too, if you've got one.}

Susie and many other pincushion aficionados

swear by crushed walnut shells,

for stuffing their pinnies.

I'm allergic to walnuts myself,

so I just used plenty of polyfil to plump up mine...

just a bit.

{It's still skinny!}

Once it was stuffed, I hand-stitched the opening closed.

Now you know why I chose to make my opening

at the top of the pincushion,

where it will rarely be seen.

;)

Just for a bit of jazz, 

I added a piece of black ricrac to my skinny pinny.

I just pinned it between the top and bottom layers,

along a seam, before I stitched them together.

The ricrac is actually not stitched down,

except at the seams.

I'm hoping to find a nice new pair of scissors

that can be slipped under the ricrac when I'm not using them.

I've already enjoyed using

this little gem, and it's loaded up with many more pins

than I've shown in this photo.

From both sides of The Pond,

we hope you'll share photos

in our Flickr group, if you find  few minutes to make

your own Skinny Pincushion!

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New views from Cathedral Windows

I had just a wee bit of time for sewing

a few nights ago...

so I decided to make something small.

It was about time for a new batch 
of Cathedral Windows pincushions,

using Kim's tutorial from My Go-Go Life.

One of my earlier posts featured my first few pincushions

from this tutorial,

and I really have fun with this method!

{I made these during the summertime!}

In next-to-no-time

I had my new fabrics selected, and the basic ivory squares

were cut, folded and pressed.

For this new batch I chose a few Moda fabrics from Sweetwater,

featuring a Reunion charm pack...

and a few bits of Mama Said Sew yardage.

I developed a deep and lasting affection for the Sweetwater prints while

I was busy making those two zakka sewing kits...

one incorrectly, and one correctly!

The colors look great with charcoal linen,

but a basic ivory Bella solid cotton sets them off nicely, too.

I made one in cherry red and pewter...

another in scarlet and golden yellow...

and a third in charcoal gray and apple green!

{This color combination is really growing on me.}

And then I started REALLY playing around with colors,

seeing what backgrounds look good for photographs...

I totally copied this idea from the blogging genius Deborah

of Simply Miss Luella!

Their little pudgy bottoms..er, I mean backsides...
are so squeezy and cute.

What fun I had setting them up in different dishes...

and in different arrangements!

I think if I had known about pincushions

when I was a little girl,

I would have spent a lot less time with Barbie dolls!

One of these is going out to a very special person...

but watch for others to be listed in my shop on Etsy,

eamylove.

More new arrivals will be added shortly!

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