Quilts And All Things Fabric...

As an avid fabric enthusiast, a blog about quilts and all things fabric just seemed the obvious thing to do.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Three Quarter Bag Project

Awhile back (2 maybe 3 years) I purchased a kit from Connecting Threads for a bag called the "Three Quarter Bag". The kit was in a green color-way and I also purchased enough fabric of the same line in the pink color-way for a second bag.  At the time these were purchased, I intended to jump right on making them. Well, things got in the way and that didn't happen. You know how it goes.  With lots of determination that these would get done for this year's Spring and Summer season, I tackled the project.....finally. All was going along quickly and smoothly, but then along came a couple of "important" interruptions and a mystery quilt that just begged to be done. (Yep, that was the last post.) So the bags were put on hold in order to work on other projects.

Officially as of this morning, the bags are finished!


I took a few process photos along the way, but mostly followed the pattern. Of course you read that right. I said MOSTLY followed.... True confession time...I am a Pocket NUT...I want pockets and lots of pockets in my bags. A girl never knows just what she may need to have a special place for.
Anyway, I added a pocket to the front of the bag(s) between the handles. I did it in matching fabric on the green bag, but used accent fabric on the pink bag. Why? Because this is how it looked best on each bag.
 When the fabric was originally purchased, my intent was to make the pink bag exactly like the green bag using the same fabrics for the main fabric, the accent fabric and the lining fabric; just in the pink color-way. But when my daughter (who will be the recipient of the pink bag) saw the fabrics, she asked me to switch the fabrics (if there was enough) because she liked the swirly vine fabric better than the flowery print for the main fabric.  There was enough to do this, so I made the change for her.

Here is a look at the top of the bags showing the zipper closure.
I like having the full zipper closure for the tops of the bag. Much less likely to loose things this way.

The original pattern only had one big divided side pocket inside. This shows a close-up of the pocket divisions and top stitching.
 

 It is divided into three sections, and is a big deep pocket unit. BUT....I wanted more. So I added a double layered pocket, with a zip closure and divided pockets, including a section for pens/pencils. I also included a key fob. The key fob is placed directly above one of the small divided pockets so if you wanted to, the keys could be kept in the pocket while on the key fob to prevent them from getting in the way.
I took other photos of the construction process, but since I didn't blog about this as it was constructed, it seems a mute point to post those now. It is just a lot better photo to show the inside pocket prior to construction than it is to try and stick the camera down inside the bag to get a look of the pocket units.

This is a really big bag measuring approximately 16 1/2 " wide by 12" tall. I referred to these a "purses", but when my  husband saw them he said they looked more like carry-on suitcases. Well, they aren't THAT big! My daughter calls this a "Mommy Bag". You know, big enough to hold everything you need when you have children, but no longer need a diaper bag. :-)

Well, that's it for today's project. Until next time...
Kathy

Sunday, April 14, 2013

The latest mystery quilt....

You can call me silly if you want, but I truly love to do mystery quilts. Why, you ask. Huh, beats me. Maybe it's the thrill of not knowing what lies ahead or what the finished quilt will look like. Maybe it's the laziness of just following along and not having to think a process through. Maybe it's just plain old curiosity. Whatever IT is , it's a lot of fun; at least for me.

So of course when the Connecting Threads Quilt With Us community came up with a Mystery Quilt - Quilt-Along in March, I was definitely in. But being the rebel I am, I of course chose to switch out the fabrics from the recommended color ways. Oh, here's the reasoning...hey, it was sound in my mind! The Mystery Quilt was to be throw size. I couldn't justify making a throw size quilt since I really didn't need one. And I couldn't justify making it just because I wanted to. HOWEVER....a throw size quilt is the perfect size for a Toddler Bed and one of my little granddaughters just happened to have one. AND, since she had so many other quilts given to her at her birth, I didn't make her one of my "tummy time" quilts. My daughter suggested I just wait and make one to fit her bed later. SO....you see where this is going right? I chose fabrics in her favorite colors Pink and Purple and her room theme...Fairies.
After a visit to Quilts and Quilts in Branson, MO here is the fabric of choice:
Although there is a lot of blue in the background of the Fairy fabric, it is covered in pinks and purples so the other fabrics did a great job of "pulling" the purples forward.

I managed to put all other sewing aside and keep up with this quilt-along....REALLY not sure how that managed to happen! Step 1 was easy and straight forward. I did Fussy Cut the little flower corners in the 4 patch block just to make sure they were pretty.

 
Step 2 was quick and easy as well. Isn't this a pretty block?
 
 
Final assembly put it all together to look like this:
The photo looks a lot more Yellow than the real quilt top. Oh, and just before I clicked to take this photo, Murphy dog decided to walk across it. I didn't see the wrinkle he created until after it was uploaded. Too lazy to put the top back down and retake the pic. I have wrinkles, so the quilt in this picture can also!
Originally I had purchased enough Fairy fabric to back the quilt. But after looking closely at it for awhile, I decided it was just too blue for my granddaughter's room. Her room, although themed in fairies and pink and purple being her favorite colors, is painted lime green. So, I decided to attempt to remedy the 'too blue' effect and piece the back of the quilt as well. Just made some changes on the fabrics and placement. Here is what I came up with and the label. This is the quilt back after being finished: 
 
For some reason the dark purple in the photo looks almost black. It is not. It is a very beautiful plum/purple fabric.
There was enough of the Fairy fabric and purples left over to make a matching pillow case. Here is the front of the quilt with the pillow case.
 

Just hope my granddaughter likes this quilt. It definitely was a lot of fun to make. 
If you have never participated in a Mystery Quilt, consider giving it a try. And if you are not familiar with the Quilt With Us forum, come on over and look around. It's free to join and a lot of good sub-groups for all of your quilting interests and skills.
 
I'm also working on a couple of bags that need to get finished up this week. Hoping to make that the next post.
In the mean time...it's starting to warm up, things are turning green...did I say GREEN...you know that THE color for 2013 is Emerald Green don't you?  That indicates it is time to start up "the Garden Variety Inspiration"  segment again. Yes, I was out taking photos today and they are mostly Green.  Hope this gives you some nudge or urge to go create some thing pretty....enjoy the photos, but look at colors in nature and shadows and contrasts.

 
Until next time, be creative and make something beautiful!
Hugs,
Kathy