December!

December has snuck up on me! I have been sewing away on some projects and gifts. This Sew Together Bag has been gifted so I can show it to you. Don't you love the fabric? I found the pin at The Quilt Block in Exton and thought it added a perfect touch.

The inside has some favorite fabrics too.

Yesterday was our bee lunch and the ladies made some lovely ornaments. This one is from Ellen, who was also our host and made a wonderful lunch. Thanks Ellen!

Jean's lovely work.

Robin actually made the nose from polymer clay!

Kathy's Santa got lots of chuckles!

Sara's plate of cookies looked much better before I brought them home. My husband happened to be here and helped himself, maybe I did too......

Thanksgiving went by fast as well! I am really getting bad about taking pictures. My crafty little Maddy made turkey place cards that we will now use every year. I love that it is in her handwriting.

Bob with Jaxon. All the kids had on red, green or plaid for the annual Christmas picture. Look at all that hair! He is 2lbs heavier than his brother, Cameron!

Jenny, Colin and Mary is holding Cameron. Elliot and Griffin look so big in this picture!

My wonderful family!

Kelly

Auction For Eleni

I know, you are thinking, "haven't we already seen this?" Well yes you have and I hope you really, really, desire it too and wish to pay a lot of money for it. There is an auction this weekend called Auction For Eleni that I think is a worthwhile cause. Many people have donated items and you can too if you would like. The auctions starts on March 14 and March 15 HERE.

When you blog you connect with some people and end up being "friends". You may email back and forth, take classes from them or just feel like you know them from following along on their blogs. No matter what, it is one of the best things I have ever done. So if you would like to read more about the reason for the auction you can go HERE. 
Starting bid is $40 and I will ship anywhere at my cost.

Kelly

Finally!

Oh my goodness, it has been a long time since I felt this horrible! I think I had a light version of the flu. Super tired sleeping like 12 -13 hours a day and no appetite. It's been almost 2 weeks since I sewed.
Here is my 5th Sew Together Bag. I can't say I am getting any better making them but at least I don't need to look at the tutorial! I really like the outside fabric on this one and feel like it is very feminine.

The inside is also kind of girly, all pretty in pink and green.

Pattern: Mixing It Up by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet

I machine quilted this baby up today and am very happy with my color choices. I think it will appeal to a lot of people for the mini quilt auction.

Don't you like the backing too? I am keeping that vintage vibe going. I asked for permission from the designer before I used the pattern. She gave it to me as long as I had her name and the name of the pattern on the back, a good think to keep in mind when using someone's pattern.

Once again I used the glue-it-down-method instead of pins. I love that fine tip!

After you draw on a thin bead of glue just hit it with the iron until it is dry and voila it is instantly basted waiting for you to sew it down. It also allows you to get your miters perfect too! I may just save this as some handwork to have on hand while waiting for a certain baby to arrive.....

This cool pin arrived in the mail today from Entropy Always Wins. Just for the record I started to quilt in 1976 before it was cool, and there was no decent fabric or magazines or books or patterns....

Kelly

Happy Thanksgiving

My blocks are coming together. I have two more to sew up and may try and get to them today.

I did make yet another Sew Together bag. Instead of piecing the exterior I used a cool print and let it do the work.

Those fun fabrics from the last post found their way into this bag!

I wish all that are celebrating Thanksgiving, a happy and fun day. It is my favorite holiday that we will be celebrating on Friday instead of Thursday so all my children can be together with us. Thank you to all my readers who comment and make my day that much better every day!

Kelly

Winter Is Here!

It is freezing here today, I am not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary! I finished up my 2nd Sew Together bag. The colors feel very cheerful!

I really do spend a lot of time picking out just the right fabrics. I wanted it to be something the ladies would like. The colorful zippers are so much fun.

I had a lot of comments about the label. I didn't make it but bought them through an etsy site called,  Emily Ann's Kloset. She has many designs and other things that you might enjoy. I put some fusible on the back and then stitched around the edges.

I didn't put this on mine but now wish I had! It's a place to keep your pins or needles.

I also finished off the edges of the zippers to give it a cleaner look.

I am almost out of the pin fabric but figured it was a perfect piece for a sewing bag.

This is not a hard bag to make, but you must concentrate and it is not a quick project. Once again I chose to sew down the binding around the long zipper by hand. It does not take long and I like the way it looks.

Congratulations to Longwood Gardens for the best restroom in the world award! It is fantastic and well deserved this is a must see in person if you ever get the chance.

Okay now for something fun...... last summer I did a survey on what was your favorite color, everyone seemed to like it a lot. I thought it would be fun to try and guess what the Pantone color of the year will be for 2015. I can't possibly list every color so, send me your guesses and in 1 week I will use those to put up the survey. I will put up as many as it allows. There could be a giveaway involved, I'm just saying......
My vote is for classic blue.

Revison....go here to see the colors.........Start voting it ends 12/13/14. Go up to the right hand side of the blog and vote!

Kelly

Sew Together Bag for a Good Cause

Another Sew Together Bag! I am still learning some tricks as I go....This is going to be for my guild, Calico Cutters auction in December. I love this color combination! I am so glad I went with the gingham binding.

I also remembered to put in these cute little labels I bought. I will show you the finished bag tomorrow.

Kelly

Finished!

My sew together bag is finished! The best part is the big scary zipper was pretty easy and not as hard as the smaller zippers!

I did some hand sewing on the big zipper as I did not feel confident enough  to do it by machine. I was happy with the red and white binding and did not want to have to rip it out!

I like how wide it opens up and there are 7 places to put things.

And you get to use lots of fabrics!
There is a tutorial at a blog called  Quilt Barn. Truthfully I don't think I would have been able to make it without this tutorial. There are also many blogs that have different tips that you can find if you Google them.
I do think I will make some more now that I have it somewhat figured out. Think of all the fabric combinations to be explored!


The pattern is called the Sew Together Bag and it is by Sew Demented.
You can buy the pattern here.
Most of the fabrics I used were from a layer cake called Marmalade from Bonnie and Camille.

Kelly

I Drank The Koolaid

And it's not the first time and probably won't be the last time.....I am sure many of you have seen the Sew Together bag all over blog land. At first it didn't strike me as something I  HAD to make. The more I saw it the more I NEEDED it. Is it the wear down effect, or am I easily influenced?

I love all the compartments to hold all kinds of sewing things. This will be perfect for getaway/retreats where you need to bring a million things and they are all in one place.

The best part is picking out all the fabrics! The pattern calls for fat quarters but I was able to use a layer cake and get all my pieces cut. For the exterior I chose to piece mine, but if you went for one fabric you would have to use a fat quarter.

I love the polka dots on the sides, they make me happy! Those nasty edges will be covered up with binding.

The zippers on the inside were not hard to do at all. Just some patience and slow sewing got the job done.
All I have left to do is the big scary zipper on the outside, yes I am procrastinating......

I will do another post when it is finished and give you more details about a tutorial and some places to find tips if you are thinking of making one. I already have some other fabric combos in mind.....

Kelly