Totes Magotes...

It's been all about the totes around here lately.

We had a really fun workshop led by Jessica at the SMQG at the beginning of January on how to make and modify your own tote bag pattern.  I've made a few bags but have never tried this style of tote, so I was all in and wanted to make something fun and bright (shocking, I know!).  I pulled out some of my stashed Echino birds and cherries print along with a few bright complimentary fabrics.

We had to come to the meeting with two quilted panels for the front and back along with the handle materials.  Since I started pulling fabrics at - cough - 11 the night before - cough - I didn't quite get all my prep done, but no one seemed to mind.

I changed up the basic pattern just slightly by adding extra ShapeFlex interfacing to the quilted panels and the handle strip because I like my bags sturdy!

It finished up SO great and even though it was a little taller than my typical bags, this turned out perfect for toting a yoga mat around for my daughter's after school dance class.

And since I was on a roll and the instructions were fresh in my mind, I made the girls their own totes in some very stylish but cute Cotton + Steel prints.  You just can't go wrong with kitties and butterflies for girls, right?

I made the same modifications with the Shapeflex but made the totes 2" shorter so that they were more square shaped than rectangular.  The boxed bottoms make them perfect for toting a few books/notebooks/packs of colored pencils around and the girls are in love :)

And just in case you were wondering about the post title, here you go. Enjoy the laugh from me.

Linking up:

Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday!

Welcome to the Clutch Factory...

First off, I've got some winners from my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway!  I loved reading about everyone's fabric fails - we've all made them and (more often than not) they are too numerous to count or remember :)

So now that all four Far Far Away clutches are out the door, I've started making some more - and first on the list was one to match my brocade Super Tote.  I thought that the original clutches were beautiful but a smidge squishy, so for these new ones, I added a layer of Craft Fuse to the outside panels to give them a little more weight and a sturdier shape.  Now I think they are perfect!

I loved how my Fox Field clutch turned out so much that I'm making a couple more duplicates. If I keep this up, I'll be all set for my end-of-the-year teacher gifts before the end of 2014!

A Farmer's Market and Selfish Super Tote...

Have you ever bought fabric that you thought would be perfect for something specific...and then it sits in your fabric bins for YEARS before you finally get around to actually sewing with it?  Yeah, I know you have.  I bought this beautiful Brandon Mably fabric called Burlesque Brocade at Mardens at my first BMQG Retreat two years ago and thought that the large scale print would be perfect for a bag.

It is SO satisfying when you prove yourself right.  Bonus is that this bag is all MINE and I positively love it!

The last time I made Noodlehead's Super Tote pattern, I thought it was super easy to follow and made a gorgeous finished product.  If I didn't have to work in such stops and starts, I could probably bang this bag out in a day.  As it was with the littles, it only took 2 days from start to finish.  Okay, 2 years and 2 days.  But still.

I used my black and white Madrona Road text prints for the pocket binding, the handles, the gusset and the recessed zipper facings and I love the contrast between it and the bright print.

Plus, I got to fussy cut the binding so that my favorite text was prominently featured.  The pink geometric print is one of the Cotton & Steel basics that I got in a "berry" solid bundle.  It's such a great compliment :)

The interior is a complimentary light blue Lizzy House from the 1001 Peeps line, and the pockets are my bright brocade.  This bag holds SO much and has become my go to errand/library bag.  In two weeks, it has already gotten a lot of use!

We are clearly on another Mo Willems kick...

I still have a decent amount of the print left and I'd like to make a medium sized complimentary clutch that I can toss in the tote and then take out during small errands.  Anyone have a great clutch pattern to recommend?

So....while I was making one bag, I figured why not make two?  The annual SMQG Yankee Swap was coming up the first weekend in December and we were asked to make a handmade item to swap.  I wanted to get rid of some fabrics that I bought for something specific (again) but so much time had passed that my original idea was no longer necessary for our house.  I couldn't really see using these Alexander Henry "Little Green" fabrics in anything else, so why not "get rid" of them with a Farmer's Market Super Tote?

I just couldn't resist more fussy cut binding - food related, of course.  Besides, how can you resist super bright green lining and a kiwi green zipper?

But in making this, even though I love how it turned out, I think I majorly broke a swap rule.  I could have sworn that the rule was that you could make anything if it cost under $30...which it totally was! But then when I was all done and feeling quite proud of myself, I reread the swap post and it said a "small item" like pincushions, pouches, etc.

Oops.  Super totes are definitely not small.  But look how many groceries this bag can hold!

I felt very much relieved when several other medium sized bags were gifted during the swap as well.  Phew!  But this Farmer's Market Super Tote is living with a very grateful recipient and I hope will get used as much as my own :)

Linking up:
Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday!

Turning Fail into Fabulous...with a Giveaway!

I had some really, really good intentions for a bit of selfish sewing.  I was going to make myself a super cute skirt with flair.  Two colors of tulle flair with shimmery fabric and Heather Ross Far Far Away scrumptiousness to be exact.

"Pattern?" I chuckled.  "I don't need a pattern - I've been on a clothing roll and how hard can a simple elastic waist skirt with tulle be?"  I think we all know where this is headed...

Looks innocent and cute enough while it's lying on the ground...but people, this was NOT a cute skirt on my body. I cut the topskirt layer too big so that it gathered way too much.  As if that wasn't bad enough, I cut the 4 layers of tulle and the shimmery blue underskirt not large enough so that the amount of gathering on those layers was just...weird.  Volume was not my friend here.  But honestly, I don't really know what I was thinking to begin with.  My bottom half doesn't really need any extra volume, so even if I had executed this properly, it still probably would not have had me looking my best.

This skirt was NOT leaving my house on my person.  But all that fabric waste made my heart (and wallet) hurt.  It was just too pretty to let sit rolled into a sad ball in the bottom of my closet.  After seeing some very cute clutches and bags at our SMQG Yankee Swap this past weekend, I went searching for During Quiet Time's Ruched Happy Bag pattern and went to work.

Fabric saved and a fail turned Far Far Away fabulous!!  Even the shimmery fabric got saved as a nice decorative detail.

I was so excited about the ability to make lemonade from my lemon skirt (plus I had a TON of skirt that needed to be chopped up) that I pulled a few more colors from my stash and started a clutch factory.

And hey...did you know that today is Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day??  How fabulously convenient!  I've made a few and I'd like to giveaway more than one clutch - just means more chances for you to win :)  

So here are the rules:  Leave a comment and tell me one of your fabric fails - or if you've been lucky enough to not have one!  Don't forget to tell me your favorite colored clutch :)  Leave a second comment if you follow my blog AND leave a third comment if you follow me on Instagram (@simplesewendipity).  I will ship internationally, so don't be shy if you're not in the United States - the more, the merrier!

The comments will close on December 12th at 8pm EST and winners will be notified on December 14th.  These would make a really cute gift for someone or (even better) a gift for yourself!  Can't wait to hear from you all and enjoy the giveaway here and at all the other link ups :)

Linking up:

Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday!

How Fast Time Flies...

It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was dropping my oldest off for her first day of kindergarten in the middle of tears and nerves and begging me not to leave.  Those fears stuck around for a few anxious weeks.  But then one day it was almost like the clouds cleared, the fears receded and all of a sudden, school was SO much fun!

I give a lot of credit to her fabulous teacher Jess who kept the classroom a warm, inviting and engaging place to learn and have fun throughout the year.  I toyed with the idea of a quilt as an end of the year thank you gift, but a friend wisely pointed out that this would set expectations for coming years pretty high...she is only in kindergarten and just a few years down the road, I'll be pulling double duty when both girls are in school.  Instead, I decided on doing a larger gift for Jess and two smaller (but coordinating, natch) pouches for her art and music teachers.

Of course, these gifts were created in a whirlwind and gifted almost immediately after they were finished, so I'm going to have to rely on some smaller IG photos and hope that you all forgive the quality :)  They came out so cute that I might even get away with it.

The two smaller bags are the Vintage Pencil Case pattern from the book Patchwork Please - I did not look closely enough at the dimensions when I started out, but this zippered pouch turns out TINY.  Ironically, it is so small that regular colored pencils are too long to fit inside.

Those paper pieced pencil tips are even TEENIER...they are smaller than the head of my flower pins!  But I love the rainbow pencils against the Kona Dark Gray.  I lined them with my leftover Summerville.

The larger bag is the amazing Noodlehead Super Tote - after completing this pattern as well as the Divided Basket, I totally get why Noodlehead is such a go-to pattern designer.  The finished product is amazing and polished and the instructions are ridiculously easy to follow.   The only alteration I made to the pattern was to create a centerpiece of 15 of the Patchwork Please pencils on the front exterior pocket.

Even though I enlarged the pattern, they were still pretty small and I think that creating this front pocket panel took longer than assembling the rest of the entire tote.  But seriously, you just can't resist a rainbow of colored pencils and the effect was totally worth the effort.  Plus I even got a little bit of fussy cutting in so that the "Once upon a time" got a little time to shine.

The lining is a Cloud 9 organic cotton that I picked up on sale at Joann's - love it!  I've never tried a recessed zipper before, but I love how polished it looks.

I put pockets on both sides of the bag interior - two on one side and three on another.  Even managed to sneak a label in there.  The exterior pocket is lined with more leftover Summerville that gives it a few extra pops of color.

You know that a gift is a good one when you want to keep it for yourself.  Of course I could just make another carbon copy, but after a total of 25 of these teeny tiny pieced pencils, I am ready to tackle some bigger pieces and don't know if I have it in me again.

I've got a lot of stuff that I've been working on to share - two dresses, one quilt and two minis in progress - I just have to stop long enough to actually blog about them!  Stay tuned and if you want to see a few more "in progress" pics, follow me on Instagram @simplesewendipity

Linking up:

Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday!

For An Awesome Teacher...

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week!  Although I still have another small something prepared for the end of school, I wanted to show my daughter's kindergarten teacher how much we appreciate all she does.  I've volunteered a few times and let me tell you that a room full of 5 year olds - even at their best behaved (lol) - is a ridiculous amount of work!  I'm exhausted after an hour, so I don't know how she does it day in and day out.

I've never tried a Noodlehead pattern before but have heard nothing but rave reviews.  Before I dive into the Super Tote, I purchased the much praised Divided Basket pattern in the hopes of making a fabric basket that I could stuff with lots of extra school supplies and goodies. I pulled all my fabrics and cut out pattern pieces on Monday with the goal of finishing by Thursday at the latest.  Within 24 hours, I had a finished basket!

This pattern is awesome!  I had a blast using some novelty cursive fabric as well as a dash of dictionary print for the divider in the middle.  I even managed to sneak in a label :)

I had so much fun making this that I'll definitely be making more.  And just about everything that I bought (except for the sidewalk chalk) fit inside no problem!

On a little side note, I finally caved in to peer pressure and hopped onto Instagram.  I'm instantly hooked - I still love checking everyone's blogs, but it's fun to see projects in progress and bits of everyone's personal lives and kids.  If you're on there, come and find me @simplesewendipity!

Linking up:

Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday!