Naked Fokart Clothesline Tote Revealed!

I finished the naked Folkart Clothesline Tote today. Turned out pretty good. I learned a few things along the way. Black thread on cream clothesline shows up quite well, and so do the mistakes. The extra padding/stability that the fabric wraps give the clothesline tote are missing with this, and the resulting tote is a bit softer, less sturdy. I used iron-on interfacing on the lining, and if I make this again, I would use iron-on fleece to compensate for the loss of the extra fabric. A good steam press with a sewing ham helps to shape the bag. The tote is attractive in a back-to-nature sort of way. I paired it with a Big Bottom Bonnie Bag, made out of selvedge edges, that looks good with the dotty lining. "What are you going to do with that bag?" says Husband Carl. "I don't know. It would be a great warm weather tote." Hmm. That leads me to the next picture:

Yep, Martha went crazy with the glitter. But, look at that blue sky! Pretty, huh? Seriously, I am trying VERY hard to like this winter we are having. Maybe I need to dust off my cross country skis so that I can celebrate new snow inches. Nah. Jerilynn

Wild Thing

I had a request for organizational bags for a brown leather coach bag that has a purple lining. Not sure if these will match well, but I think they will serve just fine to put purse stuff in. The bigger bag, a Big Bottom Bonnie Bag, has a long outside pocket with two divisions. The littler bag is just flat, but fits inside the BBBB for extra security, if necessary. I will notify the requester and see if they need to be sent to her or directly to the recipient. So, requester, if you are reading this blog, let me know! Jerilynn

Stitches, Hugs, and Kisses

This is a pretty Big Bottom Bonnie Bag. Woolfelt, of course. I love the stitches, not embroidered, just stitched with sewing machine decorative stitches. Simple. The inside lining and the little trim pieces on the outside are cotton. This is the first time I combined the cotton and the woolfelt. I think I will do more of this. I finished it right after we put Benjamin down to sleep. We are watching him for 5 days while his parents take their first trip away from him. So far only one text from the dad, Peter, and one call from the mom, Katie. He was a fun little boy tonight. I don't remember laughing this much in quite a while. I think this is just what we needed for a few days...playing and being silly. Jerilynn

A Good Mess of Bonnie Bags

When my Grandma Fry made homemade noodles for the holidays, she would look at them all laid out to dry on a clean white dish towel and pronounce them "a good mess of noodles." My friend ordered 3 Big Bottom Bonnie Bags for Christmas gifts, so I made 6 - then she can pick which 3 she wants. After I got them done, I looked them over, and pronounced it a good mess of Big Bottom Bonnie Bags. She's a beader so I am counting on her to add wonderful beaded zipper pulls. I really enjoy making these, and would have liked to keep making more. The fabric combinations are fun to pick out. Sometimes, though, that takes the most time. The sewing together is the easy part! Jerilynn

Sewing in Madison, Wisconsin

Greetings from the capitol of Wisconsin! I am at my daughter, Ellen's, house for a sewing weekend with her and her friend, Heather. We did a little shopping yesterday and then came home to a big turkey breast that had been cooking in the oven, a yummy salad, and a couple glasses of wine. We started up the sewing machines and got to work. Both Ellen and Heather went to design school at Harrington in Chicago and are create sorts. And, both are participating in Holiday Fairs the first weekend in December, so they both are in production mode. Heather is taking screen printing classes in Illinois, so her projects are screen printed. Her candy cane swirl red pillow is really cute. Ellen is in a sale with a couple of other women here in Madison. So far she is making Quick Card Cases (what??? You don't have that pattern yet?). Her fabric choices are great! I think today she might make some two sided wine bottle fabric bags. We went through several design samples before we settled on one that is easy to make, reversible, and cute. I will try to get a quick tutorial up on the blog. I worked on a new shape for the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag. What do you think? For some reason my computer did not like her wireless router. I tried all the tricks I could think of....that is why these posts are late. I will try to catch you up with the pictures of what we did. I am home again, tired, but have a happy heart. Jerilynn

Big Bottom Bonnie Bag in.....Wool Felt!

As I talked about in an earlier post, I am having fun using the stitches on my machine to make felt squares. Previously, I had designed this type of stitching using digitizing software and then sewing them out on my embroidery machine. I challenged myself to use just the stitches in my sewing machine and am finding out that this is tons of fun! Using different threads is fun, too, and I have been using a lot of King Tut variegated thread from Superior Threads. The above pocket is sewn out using shades of green. The stitches do not have to line up perfectly in the corners...I give you permission just to play with designs and threads and have fun. I also like the zipper that I used. I ordered the Brastique YKK zipper from Ghees. I love the zipper pull and also the "steampunk" finish of the zipper. I am going to be on the lookout for more colors and a bit longer length. I used a charcoal grey wool felt on the outside, and lined it with a red. It is very soft and fits perfectly in the bag that I made (can't tell you too much about that right now...secret stuff!) Go buy some wool felt somewhere - Sew Complete in Eau Claire, WI, carries a bunch of colors, and you can order it on line at Wool Felt Central. Cut the squares into 5" and draw a diagonal chalk line from corner to corner to help keep your stitched squares square. I usually stitch the first one out about 5/8" from the edge and keep making smaller squares. Once you are all done, give it a good steam press and trim to 4.5". Stitch on to another square for a cute coaster or a fun pocket on a Bonnie Bag. What??? You don't have a Bonnie Bag pattern? Where have you been? Let me know and I will gladly sell you one! Jerilynn

Zipper Ruffle Trimmed Big Bottom Bonnie Bag

The ruffle on the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag I made today didn't get too ruffled. I used a pretty thick metal zipper and two layers of fabric. When I stitched two lines of straight stitches to gather, I only got a wave look. I put a section of the ruffle on one side of the outside of the bag, and a zipped double pocket on the other. I lined it in a swirly yellow fabric (the lighting on these pictures is not to good) that looks good with the outside fabric. I may add a beaded zipper pull to the zipper tabs. I think I have some gold-colored lobster claw closures. We hung the curtains from yesterday and they look sharp. I forgot to bring my camera over to their house so you will just have to take me word for it. Jerilynn

Bibelot Vist

My sister and I went to the Bibelot shop on Grand Ave. in St. Paul, MN last Saturday. Love that store...clothes, shoes, jewelry, gifts, kids, decs, cooking stuff...you name it. Stuff can be pricey, but the ideas are wonderful! I love to go there before I head down the street to the Bead Monkey bead store. I try hard to concentrate on a necklace or such that I would like to interpret with my own beading skills, but by the time I leave the store, and drive 6 blocks, the idea is gone. Anyway, in their clothing section they had a gorgeous jacket, steely blue, wool, I think. the front was trimmed with a wavy ruffle in a satiny fabric. The whole jacket, ruffle, sleeve, bottom front and back, was "piped" with zipper teeth. There was also a big removable flower that was the same steely blue wool with zipper teeth trim. The price tag was shocking and I was super tempted because I had a 20% off coupon (loooove coupons). But, when I tried it on for my sister she said it was too froo-froo for me. Guess sometone a bit taller and thinner might be able to carry it off. Anyway, I just can't stop thinking about how to take this idea and use it in another way. In the meantime, I was checking my etsy store (sales have not been too brisk) and on the front page they show various artists' things, and there was a make-up bag that had a ruffle down the front that caught my eye. See it at http://www.etsy.com/listing/59662245/girly-girl-ruffles-cosmetic-bag-makeup. So then I tried to find a picture somewhere of the jacket, but only found a handbag that had zipper teeth trim . This isn't the cutest bag in the world, but I bet you see where I am going. A Big Bottom Bonnie Bag with a zipper teeth trimmed ruffle! I suppose that if I can find a steely blue fabric I can recreate the feeling of the jacket with coin left in my pocket. Jerilynn

She Likes Circles, Dots and Swirls

Yep, put a dot on it and it will probably end up in my shopping basket. If I were a raccoon I wouldn't be tempted by shiny stuff but I would be picking up anything that I found that was circular. Can't understand why red isn't everyone's favorite color and why anyone wouldn't like a dot or two in their life. You have already seen the Penny Rug Table Runner and the Penny Rug Handbag. Well, today's photo is the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag made out of selvages. I have seen quilts and other bags made out of sewn together selvages and, of course, what really caught my eye was the whole dots of color that appear on the edges. How clever to post what color is used in the printing of the fabric. I wonder who thought of that idea? I have seen some selvages zig-zagged together, and some stitched on top of a base fabric, such as a muslin. I just straight-stitched mine together because I knew I was going to iron on a fusible fleece to the back for the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag construction. This bag not only has the outside zippered pocket but I had a little piece of the fun selvage fabric left over so I made an additional little pocket on the pocket. For extra treasures, I suppose. I love the lining fabric I used, of course. Red and dots. What could be more perfect? Today is a beautiful day. Trees are having their last party before the winter snooze fest and they show up quite well against the bright blue sky. Pork steak and dumplings and homemade applesauce on the menu. mmmm Next week's weather looks good, too. More circles tomorrow...Jerilynn