You've Got to Love When a Plan Comes Together!

Last week I posted about the hand dyed batik fabric I made and the little quilted piece that resulted from it (see that here).

Well, after many hours of thinking about my design and mulling over ideas, I finally sat down and got to work making this fully lined and totally organized puppy raiser carry-all bag.





It's amazing what you can do with a recycled old pair of your husband's jeans, some colourful quilted fabric, muslin and a repurposed adjustable strap from a bag that's never use.


Here are various views:

 

The front zippered pocket allows me secure but quick access to a bit of cash and/or my iPhone.

The back outer pocket, for puppy training treats, is lined with a piece of an old denim shirt. This will allow me to turn it completely inside out to shake out crumbs that inevitably end up in the bottom of the pocket in which I carry dog treats.

I decided to add grommets with brass rings through them to attach the strap.  Since I have a small carabiner attached to my keys, this also gives me a great way to attach my keys to the bag and tuck them inside so I can get my hands on them quick and easy!  You can see all of the internal pockets for everything I need...no more digging around trying to get my hands on what I'm looking for!

It's big enough to carry extra little things I might pick up while shopping, or to carry a light jacket or umbrella, or my DSLR camera when I want it, yet not so big and bulky that I can't comfortably wear it wherever I go! I'm thrilled with how it turned out!

Repurposing a Quilt...

Many years ago, I designed and made a quilt that was used for the quilt guild's block of the month.  Although I liked the idea of the blocks, I never really liked the little quilt I had made with them.  So, this weekend I decided to repurpose it into an organizational system.

I could have just used it as a dog bed, since as soon as I put it on the floor to snap this picture so I could show you the 'before', Dime walked right over and lay down on it! Silly puppy!

Anyway, the original blocks were 12" blocks so I cut them down to 11.5".  The four blocks used for the outer panels of the bags were trimmed to get rid of any binding, but the four blocks that I used for inner pockets were trimmed so that the binding became the open edge of the pocket.

Since becoming a foster 'mom' for future dog guides, I've been carrying a lot of ziploc bags with puppy needs (paper towels, a collapsible water dish, water bottle, training treats, etc.) as well as the usual contents of a purse.  Now I can organize all of the puppy things into one bag...the pockets are great for finding things quickly, and the second one holds my other 'purse' items.

The final block (the quilt had 9 blocks) became the water bottle holder and a little change purse (which fits nicely inside the larger 'purse' bag).  All of this fits into the larger bag I carry so that now instead of riffling through a bunch of ziploc bags to try to find my wallet or whatever, I can get my hands on things really quickly!

The idea of cutting up a quilt and repurposing it took some getting over, but I'm going to enjoy this quilt so much more now that I'll see it daily and know that it'll keep me organized!

What Do You Do When You Have No Pockets?

Although pockets tend to inform my shopping to some extent, a few of my clothes don't seem to have them. Although I can't be bothered carrying a lot around with me, I do need somewhere to keep my iPhone, a bit of cash and maybe my Visa card and my keys.

On Monday, I showed you a 6 inch square of my rust dyed fabric that I had embellished using Michelle Ward's stencil design and some hand stitching, and I promised to show you how I was going to use it.  Well, it has become a tiny little pocket/bag!

I created the bag using a simple pattern idea from Jane Davila, which I altered to suit my personal needs. The 6 inch hand stitched square was bound with the same fabric that creates the accents by the zipper and the inside lining.  This creates an open front pocket in addition to the one compartment within the bag.  I couldnt' find a strap that I was happy with, so I made my own by combining some Blue trim and a bit of copper coloured 'rope' trim.

Fortune Cookie Bag

A while ago I saw a tutorial for a cute little 'fortune cookie bag' on Claude Larson's blog.  Since I had so much fun with the Angie Hughes technique I used for the journal cover I recently made, I thought I'd use it for this bag.

I started with some lace I had, layering it over the cotton foundation.  The circles were cut from a bit of a J-cloth that I had  on my work table.

Some yarn was machine couched around the edge of the circles and then I did some free motion stitching all over the piece.

The next step was to paint on some gesso to seal the layers and ready it for painting.

I've used a metallic copper colour for the circles and then painted the rest with turquoise and a little purple.

Once the paint dries I'll be able to start putting the bag together.  I'll show you the finished bag in a couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Evening Bag

It seems I'm into making bags right now!  I began this bag by sewing silk circles on a wool backing, free motion stitching many times around the circle to allow the circle to bubble up off the surface.  I then added the painted, heat distressed Lutradur circles for some extra interest.  Finally, I made it into a fully lined evening bag.

Name Tag Bag

As a member of the Oakville Stitchery Guild, we were asked to make a name tag bag.  The guild is a member of ONN (Ontario Needleworkers Network) and the ONN Theme for this year is "Gathering Threads".  As part of the theme, members are asked to create a small bag, no larger than 8"X10".  This is the little bag I created.  It's a lined bag with double quilted lines, hand embroidery and beaded embellishments.