CATCHING UP

First of all, Happy one-day-after Valentine's day!  It's been busy in our hmble abode and have a few minutes to do this quick post 'cause I'm just so proud of myself....



Well, my hubby officially banned me from the fabric store.  You see, we cleaned out our little storage shed that lives in our backyard, only to find seven large bins of fabric (large bins----oooooops!).  I found a bunch of unfinished projects and thought to tackle them, one by one....that leads me to this post.



About six years ago, a good friend of mine announced that she was expecting her first child.  I thought to make her a baby blanket and bag as I found sewing to be a zen for me and wanted to do something special for her  Well, it got over my head and basically got overwhelmed by the project.  It was put away temporarily thinking it would get completed sooner or later.  Guess it was later than sooner instead.  Here it is, six years later:

I got the idea from some magazine out of the doctor's office.  Guess it pays to sit and wait, and wait and wait 'till the doctor is ready to see his patient.



My inspiration for the bag originally came from a gift I rec'd from my first child.  It was such a simple gift that I used over and over I kept the idea of a tote and blanket  in the back burner.  The tote idea pattern came from this Log Cabin book. 

Best thing about it is that you can see the design from the layout pages before the blocks are sewed together.  Okay, I need an expecting mother that will appreciate the HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS I had no idea it would take to finish this (sigh!).



Tote interior large pocket



Tote interior small pocket

Yep, this is that famous clown fish from that popular movie, uh, SIX years ago.  I'm not crazy about the color and value combination.  I think I'm a little better today with putting fabrics together, just a little.  I'm still learning.

I had enough xtra blocks from both the tote and blanket to make two cute little pillows.  Just hafta "stuff" them later.

My favorite of this project was the bag.  Little "b" chose the log cabin design out of the book.  I think she made a pretty choice!



Close up of them little bitty strips that was so time consuming (for me) but I feel great that I finally finished this project.



Ya think she'll want to have another baby so I can finally give her this?  Okay, I hafta call her.

MARKET BAG

Another Market Tote Bag from Sweetwater....This was made from fabric that I really didn't feel it deserved throwing out.  It is also from some denim that was reserved to be upcycled!  The only thing that was purchased to finish up this tote was the interior lining....It's a really nice blue, perfect for summer!

Handles were made from denim scraps as well as the back panel.  Luckily, the back denim  was large enough to be one piece:

I added the front hardware again....it really makes sense to have this for a cell phone, iphone, itouch, ipod, etc.  And of course, here's my tag, very simple, just how I like things...

Since this was a denim project, a little button was added in the front just for the heck of it....

And here it is, my newest Market Tote:

As you can see, the front pocket is actually from the denim trouser....it was in such good condition that I had to put it to use.  I enjoyed making this!..Cute!

SWEETWATER MARKET TOTE BAG

Here's another Market Tote Bag from Sweetwater.  This is for a friend of mine who admires animal skin prints..... Like all of us, she lives a busy lifestyle and is constantly on the go so I thought this would be a nice bag for her when she runs around town to do her errands.  The fabric used are canvas and animal printed acrylic with black cotton lining.

I added this hardware to the front to accommodate either a cell phone or iPod holder.  I saw a bag on display at the mall and thought to give it a try. 

For this bag, the label was printed out on fabric and placed in the front.  Seems like it turned out okay.  Very simple:

The front pocket is actually just one peice of fabric (instead of two per the pattern instructions) with a fringe trim and button to give it some dimension.  Can't believe the fringe was in my "sewing stuff" for years.  The receipt that was found attached to it was dated 2005.  EEEEEK!  Gotta empty out those drawers.  There seems to be more and more treasures each time I dig into them.  Here's a photo of the front pocket:

Hope my friend likes it.....it will look cute with her new faux cheetah skin sandals!

CANVAS MARKET TOTE FROM SWEETWATER

Here's another MARKET TOTE I made using this pattern from Sweetwater (I'm a Sweetwater fan!) I got from The Fat Quarter Shop on-line and my delicious cotton canvas fabric I recently rec'd from here.

LOVE this pattern!  The dimensions are perfect for me.  I'm thinking maybe a beach/pool/sleepover bag for this one.  My daughter "borrowed" it for a day and it really fit her well.  She insisted that she needed to "advertise" for me.  Maybe next time I'll try long straps on both ends so she can wear it like a messenger bag......Lots of room for her binder and school stuff. 

Can't wait to make more.  Oh wait, I did make more, I made one more:

Now I have two lovely Sweetwater Market Totes: