Today's accomplishment

Lovely, Kathyl! :D Are you going to make more?

Oh, that's nice! Well done you. Now, I have to ask: does it have a gusseted bottom?

(I've been dying to ask that ever since we had the bag splurge >g< Sorry - childlike mind you understand!!) . In message , KJ writes

I have the "fixins" for one more for sure. I was thinking they would make cute tote bags for bridesmaids to carry makeup, hairbrush etc, AND be a gift! I'll add some inside pockets and a closure for any that I think would be a purse rather than just a tote. The clever designer also included a pattern to make a pocketed extra "liner". It shorter and sits inside the purse and would make for a quick switch when swapping purses. There are two larger sizes included in the tote bag pattern. I like that.

LOL! Well, I guess it's not a true gusset. Basically the flat bottom (heheheh) is made by folding and stitching across the fold....sort of. But it's not another piece of fabric as a true gusset would be.

far.http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2901554300053918257yhGrQK> I bought this as a kit at a quilt show last week. The gal selling it had> developed the pattern...(it has some issues, but I could deal with it). It> isn't padded, just has a fusible stabilizer inside. Which I'm not sure I> like very well yet....it seems to leave wrinkles when creased. And we all> know tote bags get banged around a lot. I wanted to make the first one "as> is" so I could see what the pitfalls are for future ones....if there are> any. No matter how the bag turned out, I have to say the woman putting the> kit fabrics together with the beading had excellent taste! I wanted them> ALL!!!

Chuckle, and thank you! . In message , KJ writes

Yup, that's her! The fusible made it fast but not a very high quality, IMHO. I do like the size and proportions. I suppose using a batt would require some quilting....then it's not as quick and looks a little bit more "crafty". I'm not really sure what the answer is. I'd also like to tell her to rewrite the pattern and not USE ALL CAPS! It makes it difficult to read. Did you make it to the Des Moines show?

Hey Kathyl, I think we have the same pattern! Designer is somewhere near Elkhorn, right? It was fun to make, but I agree, I'm not totally sold on the fusible. I would like to try some batting. I will have to take pics of the two I made.

thats lovely, Kathyl. now my inane questions about the beads. are those all stitched together? is it the type you can buy in the curtain dept? sure would make it easier to sew up, lol.

i like your idea re the wedding too. not sure i fully understood the extra swap out purse you spoke of but that too would be great for the bridesmaids. all done in colours to match their dresses/wedding theme of course. best get a move on there girl, lol. oh, i wonder if timtex would be useful anywhere in making the purse. you said you didnt much like the stabilizer and quilting is more work. i've not used timtex. is it fusible? or just more stitching over it to hold in place?

tho i do like the idea of a 'quilted' bag...specially if you can f> Here's what I did today so far.

There's a wonderful poinsettia print in the stash here; wouldn't that make a really cheery tote? The flowers are about 12" across and gorgeous. Just one of those times when I wish I'd brought home the whole bolt. I hope you'll let us know which interfacing works out best. Polly

The beads are already sewn to a ribbon/tape. You can see just a bit of the ribbon just above the beads in the pictures. It adds a nice extra touch of color. The designer had all kinds of beads at her booth, all at really good prices in my opinion. 3-6 dollars a yard. I didn't explain the second "liner" very well. It's almost like a second, shorter purse with no handles that nestles inside. There is webbing sewn at the top of it to make it firm enough to stay open. I haven't attempted that yet since I haven't seen a need for one. I have used Timtex to make fabric baskets, but I don't think I'd like it for these...too stiff. I'll have to experiment. Though the designer said they had tried a bunch of products and liked the craft fuse the best. But she also said to try whatever I liked. She was also the one who said to "go for it" when I asked about selling a few of these. (I really didn't have any plans to, just wanted to see what she would say after our conversations about Leslie's purses last week.)

There were some good sized chunks of fabric left over from the kit. Soooooo I made a matching Wonder Wallet. Obviously I won't be selling those with the purses, but it was fun to make.....I'd ordered the pattern in our Lazy Girl frenzy a couple weeks ago. I still need to put some velcro and a button on the wallet....even with all the STUFF I have, I didn't have velcro for the closure.

She had the extra liner pattern as a handout in her booth. You could contact her for it or since you've already got the pattern and there was no charge for the "extra", I could scan it and send it to you. I don't think it would be a breech of any ethics. Those large font caps in the instructions made it difficult to find the steps to follow. I had to read and re-read sections before I could pick up that a certain seam had to be sewn. Simply because the spacing was so strange. I'm tempted to call or write her about it....but I suppose that would be nit picking. I think upholstery fabric would be fine with this iron on interfacing. Cotton quilt fabric is just a wee bit light. I could pull the interfacing off my pieces I had already "fused" to make the Wonder Wallet. So I'm not really confident that it's a really strong fusible. I went to the show on Friday so I missed your friend's demo. I'll watch for your purse pictures. Kathyl

Ah......I thought it was the same pattern. And your bag is great by the way!

I am not sure I got all the directions that you did though. I didn't see anything about an extra pocketed liner-maybe she's changed the pattern a bit since I got it this summer at Elkhorn. And yes, I felt like I was being 'shouted' at with all those caps! You are right-it made it really hard to follow even though the pattern was simple. I've made two versions of it so far, and I have a 3rd one planned with some cool Tinkerbell pique fabric I found at JoAnns. I wondered if you could use a regular interfacing, then use that very thin poly batting that is recommended for clothing. I'm not sure, but I will experiment on the Tink purse.

No, I did not get to the Des Moines show this weekend :-(. I haven't missed it in years, but this time I had to teach in Ames on Saturday, and we did some serious house cleaning on Sunday. County Assessor is coming to inspect the house and I'd like it if she didn't fall all over the piles and piles of stuff in the basement. Did you go on Sunday? My friend April did a long arm demo.

I took some pictures of my purses tonight-I'll have them posted in a few minutes unless the 'puter crashes yet again.