An Adventure in Tote Bags

At the last ECMQG meeting, Marcy talked about bags.  She brought bags of all shapes and sizes, and since I've been on something of a bag kick lately, I thought I would try out some of the things I learned from her.

Unlike my attempt with the Wonky Scrap Basket, this time I followed instructions (I have a problem with that sometimes) and used both interfacing and headliner foam.  I had much better results.

The bag has double pockets on the outside and I used Pellon 808 fusible interfacing to stiffen the pockets.

It has a double pocket on one side of the lining...

And a zipper pocket on the other.  I had to have Marcy show me how to do the zipper pocket again.  I know I've done them before, but I couldn't remember how.  My recent attempts have been less than wonderful.

I know this sounds silly, but I really like the handles.  The polka dots make me smile.

The only problem I had was sewing the corners at the bottom.  My machine really didn't like 10 layers of fabric, 6 layers of Pellon and 2 layers of foam.  But four or five attempts and two broken needles later, I finally had the thing stitched down. 

And I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. 

Thanks, Marcy, for the inspiration.

Wonky Scrappy Scrap Basket

So we all know that I'm a sucker for swaps, and despite my best intentions, one weekend several  of my favorite swaps were having sign ups, and apparently I have NO self control, because I signed up for all of them.  What was I thinking??? 

One of them was the Modern Scrappy Bits swap.  This time we could make our partner whatever they wanted, and my partner wanted a fabric basket.  I've been on a hexagon kick lately - maybe it has something to do with that Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that's been absorbing most of my waking moments for the last several months - but I decided to do a fabric basket with a scrappy hexagon top.  These hexies are machine sewn, and even the Y-seams aren't so tricky once you do a few, especially on a decent-sized hexie (still not going to try them on the GMFG - the hexies are too small and I think the Y-seams would make me nuts!)

While I was at the ECMQG meeting on Saturday, Marcy did a bag and pouch demo - oh my does she create beautiful bags! - and she talked about using headliner foam as a substantial backing for bags and totes.  Well, what the hey!, thought I...  I'll give it a try.

It was my first time working with it and it's a little wonky, but still, I like the idea that it stands up by itself.  This basket is 18" high, and doesn't sag or buckle.  I like that a lot.  So, there are probably things I would do differently next time, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with it as a first try.

So there you have it - my Wonky Scrappy Scrap Basket