2017 Tote and Shopping Bags

I bought a new Heavy Duty sewing machine so I can make a bunch of tote bags and save my good sewing machine for more delicate quilting projects. The sewing machine performed as advertised on the first bag. It ate through the thick seam as if to ask, "What seam?" I am pleased with my investment and hope to make many bags this year. Total was 40!

The first bag, made with sale fabric from The Laurel Leaf's going out of business sale. I made it using a pattern whose instructions were to use a layer of iron on fleece and a layer of medium weight iron on interfacing on top of the fleece. The bag has a very nice "hand" so the writer of the instruction was spot on. I don't have enough fleece to make many bags this way, but I need to keep this method in mind for special bags. Linda in yoga.

Used the Soft and Stable product as the batting. Soft and Stable makes a springy bag that keeps its shape and stands upright. Yoga

Used Soft and Stable to give bag shape. Yoga

Used polyester batting and medium weight interfacing. Bag was kinda hard. Yoga.

Used 80/20 Cotton/polyester batting. Ann took this one.

Used 100% cotton batting. Landy took this one.

Yoga

Both yoga

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga 

PFit            

PFit

PFit

PFit

One Pocket.  PFit

Apples and Oranges: First Side

Apples and Oranges: Other Side. PFit

Yoga Teacher with some of the bags!

L

Pocket on one side Miriam

Pocket on other side

Pocket on one side, Yoga

Pocket on other side

Outside, Sally

 

    

Inside

PFit

Outside, PFit

Inside

Outside, Yoga

Inside

A little bit bigger, 2 pockets, Loretta

Also a little bigger, Cindy

Yoga

PFit

Sonna

Both Yoga

Yoga, Aunt Linda

Outside, Inside, Detail of Quilting. Quilted in squares with blue thread to resemble graph paper pages in a lab book, Yoga

Yoga

 

Mondo Bag using purchased pattern. Given to Loretta.

 

Bottom of Bag

 

 

Pattern for Mondo Bag

 

Bag made with lefts from Mondo Bag. Given to Lee.

This bag was made from a free charm pack that Craftsy sent me. The quality of the fabric was very good, so i will buy more of this fabric line. Given to Lee.

The free charm pack

  

 

 

Silvery Moon (PIGS)

This quilt was made for Miff's friend who is going to foster children. The friend is having a "shower" and requests a "gently used" book and a blanket for gifts. I had a gently used "Goodnight Moon" book and the fabric for a companion quilt in one of my PIGS. The fabric is mostly leftover from the twins' rocket ship quilts that I made a couple years ago. The backing was actually a "Goodnight Moon" print showing the cow jumping over the moon (the picture that hangs in the room) that I picked up on an internet sale several years ago. The green fabric for the great green room also came from an internet sale. Thanks to Miff's friend for providing the excuse to empty a PIGS and help me meet one of my yearly goals!

 

After I planned this present, I read on the internet that "Goodnight Moon" is an "abiding horror." I was shocked as I thought it was a "classic." I felt like I'd just read that "Pride and Prejudice" is really pornography or something equally traumatizing to my fantasy world. Apparently, the old lady is creepy, the mice frightening, the mush disgusting, and the rhymes terrible! Well, barren old women who make quilts for little kids need to climb out of their fantasies and have a dose of reality. I hope Miff's friend doesn't hold the same opinion of the book.

 

• Size: 48 1/2" x 57" Crib size
• Quilting: Quilted in a free-form pattern. Quilted free form circles ("moons") in the border. Quilted free form, meandering spirals in the night sky. Quilted my signature  rabbit jumping over the moon. Did not quilt the red window sashing, stars, or moon. 5 bobbins. Used variegated silver to gray thread, Omni-V 100% polyester thread #9138, named "Silver Mist".  Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: "Goodnight Moon" cow jumping over the moon fabric from fabric.com. I pre-shrunk the backing because it was an organic cotton and I wasn't too sure about the dyes and quality of the fabric. It washed beautifully, the dyes are color fast, and it didn't require ironing after drying in the dryer.
• Batting: 80%/20% cotton/polyester batting From Winline
• Binding:  Plain green fabric from internet sale. Same fabric that was used for the border.
• Pattern: "Goodnight Moon" inspired by pictures in the book. Piecing by Patty.
• Pinned and basted into frame May 26, 2017. Full float. Quilting on long arm quilter May 29, 2017. (Patty).
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer.