My UCAB Finished

UCAB: Front, closed
UCAB: Front, closed

My UCAB is finally finished. This will replace part of my travel bag and it will fit nicely on the handle of my sewing machine travel bag.

I am happy with how it turned out and I am glad I feel comfortable putting the project together as I think it will make a great gift if and when I decide I have time to make more of them.

UCAB: inside pockets from top
UCAB: inside pockets from top

I am not 100% happy with the project, but I think that is true for all of my projects. I get to like them better after I have lived with them for awhile. 🙂

One thing I think I forgot to do was put Shapeflex** on the inside of the pockets. Some of them are a little floopy. They will be fine once I get some stuff inside them.

I still haven’t decided how to marry the use of this bag with the use of my Pink Tupperware box. I am not sure I am ready to give it up, though it is clearly not big enough for the stuff I need at Sew Day or when I travel.

UCAB: front, open
UCAB: front, open

As I may have mentioned, I didn’t install the front zipper. I wanted the front to be the front. In the pattern, the designers put the ironing pad in the back because she, rightly, doesn’t want you sewing over a zipper. I just omitted the zipper and made an open pocket. I think it will be much more useful and I think having the front (with the ironing pad) open to the front is much better. I didn’t want the front of the inside opening from the back. Also, I will be able to slip things, like my phone, into that front pocket easily without unzipping.

I haven’t made any pouches to use with this bag, like I talked about back in March of last year. I put some square ‘rings’ in the seam of the pockets, so if I have one to attach to the inside of the bag, I will be ready. I wasn’t careful about the way I placed the pockets and both ‘rings’ ended up on the same side of the bag. I don’t think it will make much difference, but we will see.

UCAB: Back
UCAB: Back

The back is a tight fit over the handle of my sewing machine rolly bag, but it does fit. There is another open pocket, for which I am sure I will find a use.

One thing I did was use Renaissance Ribbon as a trim on the handles, over the pink, and on the front pocket. I want to do more of that type of trim. I think it looks nice.

Stay tuned for some ‘in use’ pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UCAB: Front and Back Panels Finished

During the tutorial session on Saturday during Sew Day for the Ultimate Carry All Bag, Lynette showed how to complete the front panel. I had tried and messed it up. Don’t worry, though, I will write a tutorial for this step now that I know how to make it to post here later.

UCAB front and back panels
UCAB front and back panels

Lynette went further than I had planned. I had planned on just doing the front zipper pocket, which I talked about the other day. She showed us how to complete that pocket, plus apply the pocket to the front, add handles and make the back panel with handles. I am really glad as it makes the tutorials move along faster and I have to create fewer. I am not afraid; the work just takes time.

One thing that came out is one piece was missing from the list on the pattern of pieces we needed for this step.  On part 2, pg.16, you need to add L6, an 8×8 lining piece, to the list of pieces you’ll need. This pattern would improve significantly if the designer went through and numbered all the pieces. I know you know that we did that at the beginning, but you can’t number pieces in the pattern that aren’t listed.

One thing I did was use the handles I made for the All Rolled Up Tote, which I ended up not using for that project. I decided that those handles would work for this bag even though they are a little wider than called for in the pattern. One side, which you can see in the other blog post, is pleather and the side you can see above is the accent piece I sewed from Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric to cover the pleather seam.

I had to unsew and redo the back luggage sleeve because I forgot to put SF101 on the back. I thought it would be ok, but decided it was too flimsy. I am much happier now that I redid it, though unsewing takes awhile.

Finally, this project is starting to look like something. With the back and front panels finished, I can see the end of the road in the distance. In some part of my brain, I feel like I am wasting time when I am working on this project. I feel like I could be working on better projects. In another part of my brain, I tell myself that I am making progress, this bag will use up some fabric in my palette, etc. It is so weird. I just think this project has been hanging around for longer than I like and I want to be done with it.

I have to remind myself that one of the reasons we started this was to encourage people to make bags and show them they could do it. Perhaps we didn’t choose wisely with this weird and difficult bag. Fortunately, it will be a  useful bag. I don’t know if people will be encouraged to make other bags or be daunted.

UCAB Front Pocket Finished

UCAB Front Zipper Pocket
UCAB Front Zipper Pocket

We had another tutorial session on Saturday during Sew Day for the Ultimate Carry All Bag. This time Lynette was the teacher. I was relieved not to have to do the tutorial, because I was confused about how to complete the front zipper pocket. I had tried and messed it up. I hadn’t quite given up, but had put it off for awhile.

The directions seemed to be more complicated than necessary, but once Lynette discussed the steps, I was able to follow. The key is that L7 is sewn to the rest of the zipper panel by top stitching the top part of the zipper. you sew around the outside of the whole panel eventually, but this top stitching is such a weird instruction. I have never seen that type of instruction before.

All the Jane Market Totes

The other day I talked about the Jane Market Tote I made for the guild’s monthly door prize. it occurred to me that I had made a lot of Jane Market Totes, but I had never seen them together.

Voila! Here they are!

I am surprised to say I can’t remember making most of these. I guess they are kind of ephemeral since they go together so quickly. I am sure I will make more. I am definitely getting my money’s worth out of this pattern.

Superbloom Finished!

Superbloom Finish
Superbloom Finish

I am really thrilled with the Superbloom finish!

First I am excited with how well the bag came out.

Next I am excited at how well the fussy cutting looks.

Third, I am thrilled with how the Linework print and my strips fit together.

Superbloom top closed
Superbloom top closed

Fourth, I am ridiculously happy about the top zipper placket. I don’t know why this bit of a bag makes me so giddy. I don’t think I have ever done one before, so that may be part of it. I’ll probably come down off my cloud tomorrow.

Superbloom open
Superbloom open

Finally, I just love those turquoise zippers. Could they be any better? They add such a spark of color.

The lining is a little baggy even though I followed the directions and used different seam allowances. Not sure what that is about, but I will do better next time.

I was surprised at the size of the bag. I thought it was much larger. It isn’t a stupid size or anything. It is a reasonable size, just smaller than I thought. I really like the angled shape, though I don’t know if you can tell that from the top photo. I forgot to put a D-ring in it, though I know where I will put one next time. I plan to make another of these, especially since I bought the templates. So many bag patterns…so little time.

March Guild Door Prize Bag

St. Paddy's Jane Market Tote
St. Paddy’s Jane Market Tote

Last weekend I made a bag for the door prize at today’s meeting. I used the Jane Market Tote for the pattern again. This is a practical pattern that isn’t too big and goes together relatively quickly. I spent about 3 hours from finding the pattern to clipping the last thread.

It is scrappy green. I chose green for St. Patrick’s Day. I thought it would be fun to have green/St. Patrick’s Day as a theme.

I chose to make it scrappy so I could use up some smaller pieces of green.

Superbloom Returns

Anna Maria Honorable Mention
Anna Maria Honorable Mention

My first attempt at putting the exterior of the Superbloom Tote together was unsuccessful. I was disappointed and distraught. I left the bag for much too long and considered not finishing it.

Briefly, I thought about quitting.

This was a terrible idea, because I have other fabric that I want to use to make another one. AND the fussy cutting I did with the Linework fabric is fantastic. The fussy cutting on those side pockets was fantastic. Finally, after mulling a lot, I realized that I had been working on the bag without the benefit of the video. Many of Sara Lawson’s pattern packs come with the pattern and a video. The video is very helpful. She has improved the videos by tagging them to steps in the pattern. I was able to navigate right to putting the exterior together easily.

Superbloom Exterior
Superbloom Exterior

Watching the video really helped and I was able to get over the hump of adding the side pockets and the straps to the exterior. There was one step I did a little wrong, so I had some ripping to do, but it came out really well.

I am well on my way!

Next is the lining.

Superbloom Side Pockets

Superbloom Side Pockets
Superbloom Side Pockets

I spent some time on Sunday sewing the Superbloom tote. I am particularly happy with the Side Pockets.

First of all, I always forget how easy those internal zipper pockets are. They really go together smoothly. I always wonder why I don’t just add them to every bag. I should.

Second, I am super happy with fussy cutting. I basically lined up the motifs with the template pieces. My one issue is that the swans heads got cut off when I added the zipper. I plan to add some markers on the template where the zipper is so I know where the zipper for the next time I make one of these.

I started putting the bag together and am excited to see how it will look.

Superbloom Tote Start

My YM’s girlfriend (YMG??) has a birthday at the beginning of January. I thought I might be a week late in getting her a gift, but here it is a month later and I have not made progress on the tote.

Linework Superbloom Tote pieces cut out
Linework Superbloom Tote pieces cut out

I decided to make her a Superbloom tote. I wanted to try this pattern and her birthday seemed like a good opportunity.

I used some of Tula Pink’s Linework fabric for the outside. YMG likes dark green, which is not a color of which I own a lot (shocking, I know), so black and white it is.

This is a Sew Sweetness pattern (one of the new ones) so I have every confidence that it will go well.

As you can see, I haven’t gotten very far. I still need to get beyond the cutting and hope to work on it this weekend.

Gift Post: Mini Maker Case

Mini Maker Case
Mini Maker Case

I finished the Mini Maker Case in September. I wanted to save the post  for after I gifted it. The recipient, Friend Julie, reads this blog on occasion and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

The small Oliso irons didn’t arrive until after her birthday, so this ended up as a Christmas gift. I sent it off with the iron and a couple of other gifts last week. I meant to take a photo of my iron inside the case, but forgot. I hope she will take one after she receives it and has a chance to look through her gifts.

I want to make one for myself. It is kind of a talisman for when Sew Days start up again.

Sheffield Progress

Sheffield Bag Exterior in process
Sheffield Bag Exterior in process

I made good progress on Sunday on the Sheffield Bag. There was very little ripping until I got to the zipper installation, which was all ripping all the time.

I have the handles clipped so they are out of the way. You can see a good view of the various pockets. I think the pocket construction on the gathered pockets would be much easier than the similar pockets on the Oslo Craft Bag. If I make the Oslo Craft Bag again, I will use this pocket construction.

I am kind of on a Sew Sweetness binge lately, aren’t I? Oslo Craft Bag, Sidewinder Pouches and the Sheffield Bag all within a month. I do have quite a few of her patterns and feel like I need to make my way through them.

Sheffield Tool Tote Begins

I started cutting out the Sheffield Tool Tote last week during Sew Happy Hour. I really got busy on it Friday, which is when I finished the cutting and, then, yesterday I started the sewing. Cutting out projects really makes me feel like I am getting nowhere so making pockets and the exterior made me feel like I was making progress.

This is a pretty structured bag by Sew Sweetness. It is similar to the Quilts Illustrated Tool Tote I made a few years ago (?). I bought it as part of the His, Hers and Furs bundle when that bundle was on sale (no affiliation). This is the first project I have made from that bundle.

Ultimate Carry All Bag Review

I decided that I needed to get busy on the Ultimate Carry All Bag. The BAM Virtual Retreat is this weekend and that would be a good time to finish- or at least make progress- the bag.

The last thing I worked on was the front pocket. I did it wrong and it is still in that state. That is the first thing I need to work on once I get going again. I also want to make one of these for myself, to replace my current Quilt To Go bag, and I am thinking of making the front pocket for that bag at the same time I finish this one. I know I would be skipping a bunch of steps, but at least one piece would be done.

Lynette said that she is working on a different way to add the binding. Since I am scared of that binding based on Cyndi’s and Mary’s experience,  I am waiting for her to try it.

Mary’s bag looks really good and she went around the binding by doing part of it by hand with some exceptional detailing. Her example is one I am considering. I have done a number of bag bindings by hand when the bag was too unwieldy for me to do it by machine. I also get better results by hand on awkward shapes. I am not scared to sew the binding by hand.

Writing about this project makes me want to work on it. Of course, I have to keep up with the Journey2Nebula as well.

First Catch All Caddy

This post should have really been the first one I wrote about the Catch All  Caddy class. I should have posted it before the Baseball Catch All Caddy post. I realized that my mom, to whom I planned to gift it, reads my blog and I wanted it to be a surprise.

Paint Tube Catch All Caddy
Paint Tube Catch All Caddy

As mentioned in the Baseball Catch All Caddy, this was the project from my first Zoom class and I really liked the pattern. Lynette taught the class and she did a great job. I was impressed with her overhead camera set up (she used her iPad on a tripod). I need to figure out that kind of setup for when I teach. Things take time.

I used the color scheme of the original, because I really like that slate grey. I used a Cotton Couture solid from Michael Miller. It was easy to work with, though I didn’t like the fact that the holes where the basting stitches had been showed even after I took them out.

Instead of making a scrappy border for the pocket, I used one piece of fabric. It is the paint tube fabric that goes with the set of bags and holders I am making for my mom. I was actually glad to add this one to the group, because I am running out of useful bags to make for her. She really liked t he bag and thought she might use it to carry a project between her recliner and her sewing room

Paint Tube Catch All Caddy
Paint Tube Catch All Caddy

The bag went together pretty easily, which was why I could make two in one day, though I did cut the fabric for this one the day before the class.

I kind of like the simplicity of the bag and the opportunity to highlight favorite fabrics or scraps on the pocket border. I was thinking that I could use ribbon as well. I have some of that Renaissance Ribbon and this project would be a good way to highlight some of it.

I had some trouble with the lining, but was able to fix it when I closed the turning hole. I don’t think Mom will mind.

Mini Maker Case SAL Progress

Mini Maker Case - Friday Progress
Mini Maker Case – Friday Progress

I spent some time over the weekend working on the Mini Maker Case Sew-a-Long with Lillyella. She sent out more instructions on Thursday and some corrections to the pattern. I was behind. I had work to do, and did some, but also wanted to think about some things, so I spent time on Friday catching up.

I normally don’t use a zipper foot, but decided to try it this time as Nicole, of Lillyella, had some good reasons for suggesting it. After breaking a needle and having the zipper foot go disastrously crooked, I ripped out the zipper and put it in again using my quarter inch foot** and a stiletto**. After sewing in the zipper and top stitching it down, I was super pleased with how it looks. It may be the best zipper I have put in EVER. Maybe.

Mini Maker Case - handle detail
Mini Maker Case – handle detail

The handle was really interesting. I definitely like the look of it, but there were no instructions on holding it in place so it could be sewn. I tried one of the newer super strong Sew Tites**. That worked a little bit, but I had to hold on to it and check the placement until I could get it anchored in place.

Mini Maker Case - Saturday Progress
Mini Maker Case – Saturday Progress

On Saturday morning I went to work, having all the flat parts done. The assembly of the body was pretty confusing for me. You know how I am with pattern directions. Again, some ripping went on, but I eventually got the body together.

My next step is to assemble the entire thing. I know I should wait for the SAL, but I may want to keep the momentum going.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.