On Sunday, I did some clean-up projects. It seemed like a good thing to do after finishing the Pandora Charisma #2. I needed to tidy up my workroom any way.
First, I made a label for the Quilt for Valor quilt. I haven’t shown that one here yet, so stay tuned.
BAM BOM Flying Kite
BAM BOM Flying Kite
Next, I got out my BAM BOM fabrics to make the last block. This is the Flying Kite (AKA Spinning Wheel) pattern. I made two and I really like them.
Leftover Four Patch Fun blocks
Leftover Four Patch Fun blocks
Leftover Four Patch Fun blocks
Leftover Four Patch Fun blocks
Leftover Four Patch Fun blocks
Leftovers from the Four Patch Fun quilts have been laying on my cutting table. I finally decided to get them into blocks. I have a few leftover blocks from those quilts and plan to make a donation top with them. Getting these leftovers pieced will add to the donation quilts.
I also tidied up after finishing the Pandora Charisma #2. I put the pattern, leftover fabric, etc away as well.
In between the above photos, I continued to work on the Pink Color Strip donation blocks. I think I have made 60 so far!!! Twenty more and I can make two Sidewalk quilts.
Finally! I finished the second Pandora Charisma. It was mostly done after Friday night’s stitching session, but I made the strap after the meeting on Saturday.
I am much happier with the way the zipper opens after stitching down the excess binding fabric. I have to review the pattern to see where I misread about binding. I think I may have mentioned I will try foldover elastic next time.
I also think this bag looks pretty professional. It isn’t perfect, but it is very good.
Pandora Charisma #2: finished – back
After taking some photos, I realized I needed some zipper pulls! I had a couple of Ruby Star color wheels so I added those, though not to the front pocket. I want that pocket to stay hidden.
I put the strap on the side and tried it out as a cross body bag, but thought I might try out the sling function as well. I plan to take this on a trip and the sling style might be a better way to wear it on a trip. I suppose it depends on whether I am wearing a backpack.
The good thing is I can change the strap at any moment. The same strap works for wearing it as a sling and as a crossbody bag.
Pandora Charisma #2: adjustable strap
The webbing I chose was very thick, thus comfortable when the bag is on the heavy side. The thickness made the sewing difficult, however, even with the Harry Potter foot.
The pattern includes three different methods for making the strap. I combined a couple of the options for no good reason other than I felt like it. I think I will still rivet the strap in a couple of places. I am not sure I 100% like this strap and may make another.
I also used a different template for the Strap Connector tabs. I used a different decorative version from Sew Sweetness. I used the Diamond vinyl to make the strap connector tab and am a little uncomfortable with the fact that edges are raw. Still, there will be no fraying, so I don’t what I am worried about.
Pandora Charisma #2: mesh pocket
The mesh pocket looks good and I hope it is useful.
In the photo, you can see the Ruby Star zipper pulls I mentioned. The metal is gold, not rainbow, but I think it is ok. I probably mentioned that I used various labels on this bag. Why not?
I notice that there are some places where items could fall out from the bottom. I guess that is why there are pockets.
Pandora Charisma #2: vinyl pocket
On the opposite side from the mesh pocket is the vinyl pocket. One of the things about vinyl pockets is I can see the beautiful peonies in the Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric I used.
In thinking about using this bag, I think the vinyl pocket is where my pens will be housed. I didn’t think about pens before. I may make a specific pen holder/pocket and attach it to the gusset, if I make this bag again.
The key leash is built in, so I won’t have to worry about switching a leash from bag to bag in order to keep my keys clipped to my handbag.
I made the bag pocket using the fatter gussets as someone else in the Sewfisticated group did, so that it opens wider.
Pandora Charisma #2: Vinyl and interior
I added another vinyl pocket to the back section. It covers an interior zipper pocket. This vinyl pocket is shorter than the one described above. It might be a better candidate for pens. We’ll see.
Pandora Charisma #2: my tablet fits!!!
Finally, I am really happy that the tablet/computer sleeve, because it fits my tablet. I didn’t think it would. The sleeve looks really small in the bag and my tablet just fits. It is almost like the bag was made for my tablet, which it wasn’t. The only thing I would do differently is put the tablet sleeve against the main part of the bag next time. The pattern has its placement against the outside of the bag / the back panel. I think the fabric would be less likely to rip with a heavy tablet housed there if it were swapped with the second vinyl pocket.
I am looking forward to using this bag. Yes, I plan to use it soon. I am contemplating not using it until after next year’s Fair, but I think that might be too long to let it just sit around.
Another shop I visited before the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show was Blue Bar Quilts. This shop describes itself as a ‘welcoming modern quilting community’. The shop was much smaller and more crowded than Sew Much More, but this shop also had a lot of great items to buy.
Blue Bar Quilts – front to back of store
The store had a lot of stuff. It was really hard to take it all in, which probably shocks you coming from me!
They used the space very well as every inch was full of fabric, notions, patterns, samples, etc. I had to make a couple of circuits around the store to see everything. Even still, I am sure I missed some things I would have found interesting.
I did notice that the shop had a good selection of Liberty fabrics as well as Tilda fabrics. There was also Tula fabrics and other modern designers.
Blue Bar Quilts – bag patterns & samples
I was impressed with the selection of bag patterns. Most of them had samples to go with them, which is what attracted me. I would have looked at the bag patterns anyway, but I saw what I thought was an Aneela Hoey pattern (check the top of the photo). It was!
There were actually a couple of different Aneela Hoey patterns, which was a first. I don’t think I have seen them in a shop before.
Blue Bar Quilts – back of store
Blue Bar Quilts
Blue Bar Quilts
Blue Bar Quilts – fabric & patterns & samples
Blue Bar Quilts – fabric & patterns & Sue Daly mats
Blue Bar Quilts – fabric
Blue Bar Quilts – fabric
Blue Bar Quilts – wool felt, etc
I think a lot of shops are adding other craft materials to their offerings. Blue Bar was no exception. It’s a good idea to draw in new customers. There was a whole section of wool felt, sashiko and other types of stitching at the end of the notions wall.
I was really drawn into the vibrancy of the colors of the wool felt. I want to add felt to the drawers of my Everything But the Machine bag. This was Bonnie‘s idea and I thought it was a great one that would keep my tools and supplies from rolling around. I was really tempted by the colors of wool felt at Blue Bar! I restrained myself, because I have bought wool felt from Pioneer Quilts in Portland and have not yet used it. I don’t know if I will make it back to Madison, but I can always order from them.
Blue Bar Quilts – Latifah
One product offering I was interested to see was patterns and rulers from Latifah Saafir. I can’t remember seeing her patterns and rulers in person recently.
She designs the Clammys and the one at the bottom was quite large. I think it was 16 inches or so. Admittedly, I didn’t crawl on the floor to measure. I am pretty sure it wasn’t the Giant Clammy. I was pleased to see they had given her products some space.
Blue Bar Quilts – rulers
In general, the shop had a nice selection of rulers. Aside from the Clammys, the shop seemed to stock Creative Grids rulers.
Sew Much More had an excellent selection and I was impressed that this smaller shop had so many different rulers as well.
I am not left handed, but after seeing the joy on lefties when I talked to them about the left handed rulers SewTites makes, I am noticing more left handed rulers. This shop had a few from Creative Grids, which I thought was great.
Blue Bar Quilts – notions
The notions wall was well stocked. The shop had all sizes of the Karen Kay Buckley scissors**, which are favorites of mine because they are so sharp. There were other scissors as well plus different glues, Flatter and other fabric prep sprays.
The fabric underneath was different substrates as well as wide backs.
They had a variety of rotary cutters and machine quilting gloves.
Blue Bar Quilts – patterns
Across from the notions was an endcap of patterns. They were all modern patterns. I saw some new Elizabeth Hartman patterns that I had never seen before. More animals as is her style.
Above the patterns you can see a sample of one block from one of the patterns, a shark, which might make a fun cushion cover.
I saw a couple of V&Co patterns as well as a number of patterns I have seen on IG. Definitely a ‘modern’ vibe.
Blue Bar Quilts – Holiday fabric
There was a long hallway, which was filled with holiday fabric – all types: Halloween, Christmas, Hannukah and some others I don’t think registered. I saw some Ruby Star Halloween fabric, but got distracted by something so didn’t look at it all carefully. It was a weirdly shaped space and I think they used it well.
They also used the space for sale fabric, which was at the end. I also saw patterns and small samples on top of the fabric rack.
Blue Bar Quilts – Longarm
In the very back of the shop, at the end of the holiday fabrics hallway was the longarm room. It was possibly a classroom as well; I couldn’t tell.
I also couldn’t tell if they rented out the longarm or if they had someone who came into quilt customer quilts.
As you can see from the photo, this is also where they displayed their batting. I thought the selection was really nice.
The shop was worth a visit and I was glad to have a chance to sample Madison’s quilt shops.
In-Store Shopping Hours:
Mon, Wed, Fri 10 AM – 5 PM
Tue, Thu 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 4 PM
Sunday Noon – 4 PM; Online ordering open 24/7
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s 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 website.
I got an unexpected view of Sparkle Pink the other day. I gave it to a friend’s daughter after a tragedy in their family.
My friend grabbed it before she moved to Washington State and it is living on her granddaughter’s bed. I am so pleased to see it again. I am also pleased that it is in use and not being saved as ‘special’.
Seeing this photo reminded me of how much I like the design. Perhaps I’ll make another one?
I really wanted a nice tidy finish before I left, but I wasn’t able to finish. I want it to be a bag that I will use so I didn’t want to do a rush job.
Pandora Charisma #2: working on the binding
Pandora Charisma #2: working on the binding
I worked hard on the binding, which is probably the most difficult part of the bag, aside from the thickness of the layers. The thickness of the layers is not a problem for me now because of the Elna’s HP2 foot. I almost finished. I have to fix the binding and have finishing bits to add like making the adjustable strap, so I put it aside and went to Wisconsin.
Pandora Charisma #2 Top
The biggest problem was when I tested the zippers that the binding was getting caught in the zippers. I thought about it while I was gone. I was disappointed and didn’t really want to take the binding off. For this pattern, the binding has been an issue for me. I thinking my quiltmaking binding background is the issue. I think I am making my binding too wide. Next time I make a Sewfisticated pattern, I plan to use foldover elastic. Alternatively, I will check the size of the binding the pattern requires more carefully.
Pandora Charisma #2 – main compartment
I got back to it on Thursday night after a few days of being home. You can see the excess binding fabric in the photo, right. I decided to handstitch the excess binding to itself. That will cover any suboptimal stitching and make the excess fabric more contained. Not an ideal solution, but the excess won’t get caught in the zipper.
I hope to finish soon. I’d like to try using it and see how it works for me.
This month #10, the Joni Tote Bag, was pulled. Another happy choice, though all the projects are good choices at the moment. I was looking at the pattern and thinking about cutting the bag the rest of the way out right before Sew Day so, serendipity.
I actually didn’t get to it until I got back from my Wisconsin trip. I was disappointed in the pattern, frankly. It was much smaller than I thought*. I am making it the size given, but will use my new Quilter’s Assistant Proportional Scale** to try the pattern in a larger size later.
Also, the pattern is a video pattern. The written instructions are super basic and then you have to go watch the video, which is one of the complaints I had about the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club. Fortunately, this is not a complicated bag, so I know, pretty much how to make it and can make some easy changes with no problem.
I was also disappointed that some of the pieces that show are not lined. They show the SF101, which I don’t want to see even for an internal pocket. Fortunately, I know how to make a lining and am lining what I want lined.
Joni Tote – one side / in progress
I have been busy, but need to get back to the project. I have the sides done and need to add the handles.
Don’t get me wrong. This bag has a great shape, lots of pockets and various handle options. Sew Hungry Hippie is a great business. My issues have to do with the way I learn.
*I read the sizes, but reading the sizes doesn’t really register in space and time for me.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses, as I did. However, if you are too busy, don’t have a local shop nearby or can’t find what you need, I use Amazon affiliate links. I may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I don’t link to items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
This trip meant my first flight since my last trip for work to Switzerland and Austria.
I was really amazed to see how green it was. At this time of year, California is quite golden (or brown!), so to see such green is a wonderful relief to the eyes.
The sky was relatively overcast and I think there might have been some sprinkles, but by the time we landed, rain was not a problem.
I started out by telling them how much I love my Elna. Our conversations snowballed from there and we had a great time. I told Jim to send over anyone who was thinking of buying the Elna 792 Pro and I would talk to them.
Throughout the show, I would stop by and chat for a minute when I had a break. It was a fun diversion.
WI floor inspiration
The restroom in the convention center had a really great floor. It is definitely a design I would like to explore as a quilt.
Each tile is a small square, but I would use more strips and chunks and larger squares in my design. It would make the piecing easier and faster. I am not sure what the block would be or if I would need to make the block be a column. I will have to play with it on a piece of graph paper. Do you look for inspiration in tile?
Eat Carrots
We went out for dinner and then to ice cream one evening. I saw the ‘Carrots’ sign and kind of want one. First, I love the colors, well the pink sign on the aqua/light teal wall. I may have to do something with that combination. Second, I think the words are just so perfect for an ice cream shop.
The ice cream shop had gluten free cones, but a lot of their ice creams were not gluten free. I wanted to try one with rhubarb, but it wasn’t GF. At least they had a list.
Victoria Findlay Wolfe with quilts in booth
Victoria Findlay Wolfe was at the show, too. She was selling books, patterns and templates. I almost bought a set of her templates and the pattern for her Cottage Daisy pattern. It might have been her Cottage Tulips pattern, but I think I decided against that one and moved on to consider the former. In the end I didn’t buy either.
The reality is that I see these patterns and templates and LOVE templates and see a finished quilt. I imagine myself happily working on it, but when I get home I have other project priorities. I put a note in my PKM system and will consider these projects for another day.
Victoria Findlay Wolfe exhibit
The organizers had hung a special exhibit of her quilts. It actually might have been two different exhibits. Because I was working at the booth, I didn’t get a ton of time to study everything at the show in minute detail.
I noticed that the quilts on exhibit were very different from the patterns she sold.
I was excited to see her and wanted to show her a photo of my Pies & Points quilt. It wasn’t on my phone anymore, though, so I didn’t approach. A victim of not enough storage. 🙁
Goldie Lou’s t-shirt
Goldie Lou’s t-shirt
I bought some stickers at a booth called Goldie Lou’s. They also had a GREAT selection of t-shirts.
Abyss Exhibit display
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit entries
Cherrywood Abyss exhibit
The Cherrywood Abyss exhibit was on display at this show. I have a hard time appreciating the Cherrywood exhibits sometimes. I really liked this one. I think the colors were what attracted me initially. The quilt-lets are always well done. This time the subject matter really appealed to me. I took photos of a number of the octopus quilts. I was disappointed to see that the photo of the porthole quilt-let is a little bit fuzzy. So sorry!
TJs zipper pouch
One of the things we did was go to Trader Joe’s to buy shopping bags. Chen’s friend makes zipper pouches from the 99 cent Trader Joe’s bags. Apparently, TJs puts different state designs in different outlets. Chen gifted me with this one. I found I didn’t have enough zipper pouches to organize the bag I take on the plane, so this one will come in handy.
Rolling cart/suitcase
I saw a lot of interesting products and supplies. One was a rolling suitcase that I would describe as a cart that folds up into a suitcase. They had some fun exteriors such as stars, rainbows and pink, in addition to a black one. I am not sure how I would use it. It was pretty tall, maybe 3.5 feet tall
Chen’s patch bag
Chen collects patches and puts them on a Trader Joe’s bag.
I collected patches in my youth and always wanted to do something with them. I always thought of a quilt similar to the Boy Scout quilt I want to make for the YM. I am not sure I have enough. I probably have enough for a bag, though. It is an idea. Patches aren’t widely available at tourist spots now, which is a shame, but understandable. They are becoming available at quilt shows, though.
Alison Glass cork
I bought a few things, in addition to what I bought at Sew Much More, but I wasn’t really in the mood and didn’t have tons of time, as mentioned. Chen found that Sallie Tomato put out a limited amount of Alison Glass cork. I thought I would use it to make some of the Hold Tite folios. Now that I know where to buy the metal parts, I can make them at will. LOL!!
The cork will be a little of a challenge, because the pattern has the maker put a binding on the piece. I will take a look at the pattern and figure out how to make sure I don’t have to fold the cork over. I haven’t decided if I need another folio for myself. Stay tuned!
SewTites purchases
As a result of my possible Hold Tite Folio project, I bought the metal pieces from the booth towards the end of the show. One of the show specials was to get a needle minder (that green circle) if a customer bought two items from a section in the booth. As a result of my purchases, I got two needle minders. I’ll see what I am going to with them.
Stickers from Goldie Lou’s
As mentioned, I did buy some stickers at Goldie Lou’s.
I often say, as a joke, that my sewing keeps the crime rate down in my town, so the top sticker really tickled me.
I LOVED the May the 1/4 inch… sticker. Seeing the first Star Wars movie is one of those days embedded in my mind. I can’t wait to stick it on something. My water bottle is full, but I’ll find something.
Quilt Gallery purchases
The Quilt Gallery is a shop in Kalispell, Montana near where one of my sisters lives. I stopped at their booth a couple of times for various reasons. One was that I wanted to send people from our booth to another booth to find EPP papers and this booth had some. It was a cool modern booth.
Even though I had already bought webbing for the Natalma, I saw some Ruby Star webbing that I thought would be better. The cats will go with the fabric I chose. I bought the ice cream webbing just because I thought it was fun.
As mentioned, I flew to Wisconsin recently to work at the SewTites booth. After we setup the booth, we had some free time. WE took the opportunity to visit two quilt shops. Sew Much More was near a restaurant we ate at the night we flew in. Unfortunately it was closed by the time we got there. Obviously, we went back and I am glad we did.
This is a huge shop. It’s like Paramount in Eugene. It was also clean, in both the housekeeping and the design sense. I liked the look and feel. The people working in the shop were very friendly and helpful.
Sew Much More – Accuquilt
They have more of everything than I have ever seen! They had two rows of Accuquilt stuff! I looked at the strip dies. They had more different sizes of strip dies than I had ever seen!
Sew Much More – Bernina
The shop is a Bernina dealer and it is always fun to see a lot of machines. The photo gives an idea of how big the shop is. The photo is taken from right next to the front entrance looking towards the back of the shop. The Accuquilt items shown above are just in front of the stuff in the left of the photo above/left.
Sew Much More – Bernina
This photo was taken by moving my camera to the right from the same vantage point above by the door. It allows you to see how the whole middle of the store was filled with Bernina machines, sewing tables, accessories and Bernina longarm machines. One of my SewTites colleagues was previously a Bernina ambassador, so she was super interested in the machines.
I was fascinated by the bags that are sold for the Bernina machines and accessories.
Sew Much More – Sallie Tomato
The shop had a nice selection of bag and pouch patterns, in general.
I was able to see Sallie Tomato hardware and patterns in person. I have never really seen them in person before, so I loved having this opportunity. Between this shop and the show, I really got to see what the Sallie Tomato company offers.
Sew Much More – project batting
I liked the large variety of “project batting” that was available at this shop.I was tempted by the bowl cozy batting, but I bought some at the Granary and haven’t made those yet. I have also been thinking about making other Jelly Roll Rug. The cut batting strips was also available and I thought about buying some. I only had a suitcase to bring home my purchases, so I refrained. I might be able to get City Made Quilts to order it for me.
Sew Much More – rulers
I was also impressed with the selection of rulers. They had Omnigrid, Creative Grids, the glow rulers and many, many more. The selection at Sew Much More might have been the most rulers I have ever seen. You know I love a good ruler! 😉
Thinking about bowl cozies, I almost bought the Creative Grids bowl cozy ruler. I just didn’t know if the shape would coordinate with the project batting I bought at the Granary.
Sew Much More – Sue Daly EPP
I was pleased to see the Sue Daly EPP papers and acrylic templates in person for once! There were quite a few paper shapes available even though the section looked a little decimated.
I think the SewTites rotating mat is better than the Sue Daly version, but I love her other products. My Sue Daly mat hasn’t really healed from my cutting on it.
At the booth during the show, we were asked more than once for EPP papers. I was surprised they weren’t more readily available at the show, but I directed people to this shop to get some. Some of the vendors said they weren’t expecting so many requests for them.
Benartex Dazzle Dots
I saw some fabulous Benartex dots in the large fabric department. I held off buying any. I thought I might prefer a fat quarter or half yard pack, but who knows?
Sew Much More – thread
The shop had the largest amount of thread I have ever seen. I was kind of overwhelmed by the time I got to it and didn’t take careful notice of all the brands offered. I did notice Glide, Blendables, Mettler and Aurifil. There were others, too. Needless to say, it was a lot.
Sew Much More – purchases
I ended up buying the Plover Pouch** by Noodlehead as well as some continuous zipper for the Natalma.
Sew Much More
2118 W Beltline Frontage Rd
Madison, WI 53713
tel:+1 608 308 2400
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses, as I did. However, if you are too busy, don’t have a local shop nearby or can’t find what you need, I use Amazon affiliate links. I may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I don’t link to items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
Late last year, or earlier this year, I signed up to be a SewTites ‘Showgirl.’ I thought it would be fun and it would give me a break from my normal life. This means that I fly to Wisconsin, setup the booth and sell a bunch of SewTites products.
I had fun, and met new people, saw others eat Cheese Curds, but it was hard work and I was glad to get home.
I had to leave my house at 3:15am, which was way too early for me. I had a hard time going to sleep the night before, so only slept for 2 hours. Not a great start, but I slept like a log the following night, so felt fine and had no jet lag by the second day. The other ladies had to leave just as early, so I didn’t feel so bad once I found that out.
Krista, Chen, Jennie and me: 2026 WI Showgirls
I met the other ladies, Krista, Jennie and Chen, in baggage claim at the airport. We picked up our rental car and then headed to FedEx pick up the booth and the inventory. All of the supplies we needed were on the equivalent of two pallets
SewTites booth stuff
Krista did a fantastic job driving a 26 foot box truck while I navigated to FedEx. I was happy to navigate!
The guys at FedEx were kind enough to load the pallet and the rolling box into the giant truck. Krista drove the truck back to the hotel and parked the truck there overnight.
While we were doing that, Chen and Jennie checked us into the hotel and manhandled all the luggage into the rooms. That was really nice. The hotel rooms reminded me of the Oxford Suites in Portland.
SewTites booth prep
The next day we got up early and drove the truck to the convention center, where we unpacked. It took us 4 hours to unpack and setup the booth! We weren’t alone. All the vendors were setting up for the show. The convention center went from an empty hall with curtains to a fully stocked shopping extravaganza.
SewTites booth – WI 2026
The others said that this was a really easy setup, but it was physically hard on me. I needed to sit for awhile in the afternoon to recover. I got quite a few steps, but not a Disneyland day’s worth.
The next was show day. The show was from 9-6 for two days, then 9-5 the last day. I thought it was a long day for a quilt show. We made some sales, but the last hour of each day was pretty dead. We recommended they close at 5 each day and 4pm on the last day. Who knows if they will?
I made the first sale of the show before it even opened. I was back from my quick tour around the show waiting for the show to open and another vendor came by wanting to buy some SewTites. It was my first of the show and of the day. Not a big sale, but good enough to learn on. The ladies who have been to a few shows were excited for me.
SewTites medium cutting system
I enjoyed myself. I got to meet new people and do something different. I enjoyed showing off the SewTites products and seeing people go away happy. We hit the sales goal the company set for us after 1.5 days. That earned us big kudos! We sold out of the medium “Sew Magnetic Cutting System” and had only one of the “Sew Magnetic Expanded Cutting System” left by the end of the show.
Among all the fun things, one fun thing I found: SewTites sells the Lilyella hardware kit / metal pieces needed for the Hold Tite Folio. Remember when I talked about that project a few months ago? I was so excited to see them that I went on a selling binge of the Hold Tite Folio metal pieces. Krista said she thought I had sold more of the metal pieces than anyone else ever! 🙂 I am really glad I know where to get the pieces now and the pattern is free. The Hold Tite Folios make really good gifts and are not difficult to sew.
Another fun thing was seeing all the bags people were wearing as they toured around the show. I had made many of them or was familiar with the pattern.
I spent the Labor Day weekend, when I wasn’t at Sew Day, working on the Pandora Charisma #2. I really wanted to finish it, but didn’t quite get there. The ripping that happened took time.
I sewed some of the panels together wrong. The panels are sewn back to back once they are all done. I sewed two of them to the ‘wrong’ sides. I thought it would be fine, but I found the final assembly to be really confusing. I couldn’t quite translate the panel in the instructions into the way I had sewn them during the final assembly. I ripped back all the stitching and sewed the correct panels to each other.
Pandora Charisma zipper/slip pocket
Pandora Charisma zipper/slip pocket-new
Since I was taking the panels apart anyway, I took the opportunity to fix one of the vinyl pockets. I thought the crookedness of the one on the left would bug me since it wasn’t quite extreme enough to be a design feature. I didn’t have any more of that turquoise foldover elastic, so I used some black, which looks good. Maybe better.
Pandora Charisma #2 binding in progress
I did figure out why the binding of the last one was so difficult. I was supposed to sew both sides of the binding at one time. I just figured that out through a cryptic note I had written to myself.
Putting the binding on this way is difficult. My machine was able to handle it, but it doesn’t look great and I think it might be too big for the space – the binding isn’t filled. The completed binding seems to get in the way of the zipper also, though I have to wait and see since I need to do some trimming and clearing up of threads.
I decided it was time to make another Mini One Handle Tote. I am sort of feeling at loose ends, despite all the projects on which I could make progress. This is a fast project, which is very satisfying to make.
I am behind in my efforts to make 20 or so of these by my own timetable. I haven’t wanted to work on them because I couldn’t find the template last time.
Nobody is harassing me to get these finished, BTW.
Mini One Handle Tote #5
I went looking for my folder and have once again hidden it from myself. < insert eye roll emoji here >
WTH? Every time I go to make one I have lost the file. This is really unlike me. I was thinking that it was a good thing I wrote the tutorial, because otherwise I would have to figure out the whole process over again.
Mini One Handle Tote template
After making a new template and making this latest bag, I cleaned up my cutting table. In the process, I found the two other templates I have made.
Note the difference. The fat template is the first one that I made and the tote handle turned out slimmer. Not skinny, but slimmer. I couldn’t figure out why the handles were so fat in the two latest bags. Now I know. I had been thinking I would move the template more towards the middle to mitigate the fatness of the handle. Now I don’t need to, thought I might try it with the original template just to see the difference.
I got it in my mind that I used an index card to make the template, which is why the two templates on the left are mostly the same. I clearly didn’t use an index card for the original template.
In this version, I used Decor Bond, which I don’t think I will do again. I had a hard time pressing out the wrinkles. I’ll have to look back and see which interfacing I like best.
Now I have made a project file so the templates, at least, are stored in my normal manner.
I was inspired by the black and white ball and all the pink I have been using to make a pink and black version. Again, I selected charm squares from my boxes of 5 inch squares and started piecing.
I had to put this project on the back burner while I made the Urban Sea backpack, but I am gathering supplies so I can get started.
I laid all of my choices out, so I could see what I had. I realized that I don’t have a long enough zipper. The ByAnnie 40″ is a bit short, so I’ll need to get some continuous zipper tape in a coordinating color.
The teal cats fabric will go on the outside. I haven’t decided where the other fabrics will be placed, but I want the pink cats to be seen a lot, so they will be in a primary position.
Another year and I know things are not better. Take a look at the Strait of Hormuz. I blame Geo. W in general for the way the world is now. If he had acted differently, considered, talked with more people, things might be different now. Fewer post 9/11 dead, fewer wars, less nationalism and hatred. Of course, some of the post-9/11 Presidents haven’t helped the situation. Easy for me to say, I know.
The same old men are still in charge. There are still people dying in the Middle East. I am not excusing the radicals; I just don’t know if there is anything that can make everyone tolerate everyone else, stop killing each other for religion and stay in their lane. It is depressing to think about.
There are now adults who weren’t even born on that day, which I know I said last year. Now they are in the workplace and don’t even react when September 11 is mentioned. There are even more adults who were too young to remember. Do they even care?
Fireball, 2001
I made two quilts to commemorate the lives lost during the destruction of the Twin Towers. The first one was Fireball, which is the imagery I saw as I sat and watched TV the week after the event. Those images are burned into my head. This quilt is a tame version of what I saw.
I was doing woven art pieces at the time and this is one of them. It is chaotic, reminds me of smoke and flames. This is a small quilt, maybe 12×12, and I was able to channel the pure emotion into this piece as I made it very quickly. The quilt was shown at the Houston Quilt Festival in 2001.
The quilt I really wanted to make took longer. I wanted to plead for something different than what ended up coming out of that terrible day. I wished for something different than a 20+ year war. People just want to fight when they are attacked; they don’t want to talk. What Comes Next is above and is one of my favorite quilts even though the reason I made it was horrible. The message was the one I wanted to send out into the world, but had no effect. I am still writing letters telling politicians to stop killing people and I will continue to do so.
This is a hard post for me to write. I had to force myself once again to write it this year, to get the message of What Comes Next out there, so, perhaps, people will think and do something different next time, though I hope there isn’t a next time.
After writing the post the other day, I thought about how using different fabrics makes the pouches look so different.
Cosquilla – finished front
Rose Cosquilla finished – front
Beth’s Cosquilla: 3/4s view
These have similarities to the yellow Cosquilla I made first.
One can definitely see the differences on the same pattern, whether quilt or bag, when looking online. I am sure I could make one bag pattern over and over and never make the same kind twice. Of course, I have done that with a few patterns, like the Hackney and the project bags.
