Stash buster project

For years, I have been wanting to make purses.  I must have at least 8 purse or tote patterns in my pattern boxes, purchased over a long period.  Each one had features I liked, but something got in the way of my making one of them up... either it needed a zipper, which I have always had trouble with, or it was the wrong size, or the wrong shape... as a result, I never got around to making any of them!  But recently, I followed a tutorial on making a tote for my laptop, and decided to see if I could make something similar to use as a purse.   I pulled one of my patterns out and discovered it had a simple design at its core, so I started there.  The finished  size was larger than I wanted, so I took a tuck in the middle before cutting.  And I decided to do a simple flip and stitch directly onto some warm and natural batting, then figured I would line it and add some pockets inside.

The pattern called for making straps that would encircle the bag on both sides, but I realized I had some grosgrain ribbon that would do the trick, so that saved some time and effort.  I ended up taking tucks on the top of each strap to shorten them, and that added a little stability to the straps where they rest on my shoulder.  

Here is the bag loaded with my stuff. 

I made 3 pockets - one is split in half and is just big enough for my keys and a few other small items.  

On the other side of the inside are two pockets - one is split in half, and carries my cell phone and lipstick.  Then over that and slightly below, I made a pocket large enough for my check book.  Then the bulk of my stuff is in the main part of the bag.

What I loved about making this purse is that it helped me to finally get past the block I have had for so long!  And I learned how much I really do know about constructing purses and pockets.  I plan to test this design for awhile and make sure it works well, then hope to make several over the next few months for the craft shows I will be selling at this year.  I have plans as well to test a messenger bag, although I don't think I will use flip and stitch for that style.  

Lesson learned - it's time to stop letting bad experiences from my younger days of learning how to sew get in the way of doing what I want to do!  Maybe it's time to try zippers again!

Flip and Stitch set

I had so much fun making the Flip & Stitch table runner that I decided to make a couple of placemats to go with it!  Fortunately, I had enough fabric and batting to complete them.  Here's how they look all quilted and on the dining table:

I hope to think up some more projects that I can make using flip & stitch... I really like how these came out! 

Flip and Stitch Table Runner

Recently, I used the 'Flip & Stitch' method to create a carrying case for my new laptop... it had been a while since I had used this method to create anything, and I had forgotten how much fun it is.  So I decided to use that method again when I wanted to make a new table runner for our dining room table.  I had just organized my fabric stash by colors, so it was fairly easy to select a group of fabrics I could use, and I had a piece of batting large enough, as well as some muslin for the backing.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any 'in process' photos, but here's how it turned out:

It has some stripped pieces I created last year after I got Rayna Gillman's book "create your own free-form quilts", which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn to play with piecing.  At any rate, I used the pieces along with scraps of un-pieced fabrics, and decided to go with an angular layout.  And I had lots of fun figuring out what to do to quilt it - fairly simple mostly, although I did do some free-motion quilting on the blue leaf-motif batik and one of the strips with copper color and a flower and vine motif.  I like this well enough that I think I'll put together a couple of placemats with the same or similar fabrics... great way to use up some of my stash, isn't it?