Bags and Pillows

I've been doing a bunch of bag sewing and pillow sewing.

 These were the first tote bags that I started with .  Top and bottom, three of each.  They are both from IKEA canvas that I've had sitting around forever, with the purpose of making bags. 

 Then I decided, hey, I've always wanted to open an Etsy shop.  So I did.  I have the totes up there for sale and a few pieces of fabric.  Also a couple of photographs taken by my husband.  End of advertisement.

 I also had to make a bigger rainbow tote for Mini - so I got that done very quickly. 

And I had to sew Christmas presents for my dad.  You see, he does wood stuff.  He turns wood, mostly into bowls, some pens, and other various items.  He's got his own webpage here.

I had this great fabric (also from IKEA) and I thought that since now he's president of his wood turner's guild and he also does some shows, he might need some Wood Totebags!!

I actually made three - but they all look the same.  The third is just a little smaller. 

I also made him two pillows.

So then, once I was on the pillow kick - I made four for us!

Actually they are just covers. 

Check out that invisible zip!  And I even managed to keep all the fabric in the right directions.

 I have one more to finish, but I had to go get another zipper.  I can't believe how much new pillow covers make me happy!

Zippered Tote Bags

A while back (waaaaayyy back) E asked me to make her a tote bag with anchors on it.  We picked out some fabric and it sat in the bottom of my ToDo box for a while.  I think a year, maybe.  So last month I finally got motivated to get them out and done.  

I've never made a zippered tote before and I didn't follow any instructions, so there was a fair amount of finagling to get these right.  I re-did the bottoms a couple of times because the dimensions made them look weird.

I made two because I wanted to use up all the fabric.  E kept the smaller one and bestowed the larger one to me.  No complaints here.  I can always use a bag.

They have a layer of fusible fleece inside for a small amount of stability.  E's actually has a pocket inside.

The smaller measures: 20"x16"
larger: 20"x19"

Grab 'N Go Tote Finish

 I made the Grab 'N Go Tote out of Gudrun Erla's book Fast & Furious Family.  I had bought the book specifically for this project.  It is a great big bag!

 Good for carrying around babies.

 I am pretty pleased with the results, although about half way through I informed Mr. Riley that "I will finish this one, but I don't think I'll ever make a second."  Now that I'm done and had some time to think about it, all my frustration was with the interfacing.  The pattern calls for Craf-Tex Lite.  I went and bought Pel-Tex because I didn't have a local source for Craf-Tex.  The Pel-Tex was not as wide as needed for the bag, so I had to piece it.  Then the instructions tell you to spray baste it to the lining.  It just didn't want to stick, so things kept getting shifted around a bit as I 'quilted'.  IF there is a next time, I will buy a fusible interfacing.

 This is a shot of how the bag looks before assembly.  It is essentially 'quilt as you go', so after the seams are sewn all you have to do is put a binding on the edge.

 The bottom is laminated, which I did myself with some iron on vinyl.  The squares were batik charms from Connecting Threads, the blue is probably a Hoffman Batik.  The only thing I had to purchase to make this was the interfacing.

 Those opposing teeth just kill me.

 Linking with Crazy Mom Quilts