4 Zip Bags

The four little zippy bags are all finished and are on their way to my fairy niece and nephews.

I'm pretty happy with them although it did take me a bit to figure out how I made them!

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Dear Megan, the co-op needs information about Millie because it is an over-55 facility, and they need to know (if the awful awful happens to me) if there is a pet in my home that will need care. They also wanted to know who would care for her if I was incapacitated.  They called me today after calling my references (all of whom called me to relay their stories) and I have a "First Meeting" with the Membership Committee on Friday.

The new place is out in the country, in a very quiet area, about 4 miles away. Millie will have EXCELLENT bird TV and I have a (tiny) screened in porch, so she is going to love that too. My new sewing studio is about 50% bigger than my current one, and has excellent natural light.

You Didn't Think I Could Stay Away...

You didn't really think I could stay away from the sewing studio, now did you?

About five years ago I made these nifty little boxed bags to sell.

 They are about ten inches long by about 2" x 2".

My best pal Tracey texted me the other day telling me she had to get zippered pencil bags for her three school aged kids for their first day of school.

I volunteered to make some for my  "fairy niece and nephews," and since Tracey has four kids, I told her I'd make a bag for her littlest one too.

 Here are the fabrics I pulled for them.

Here's what I got done before it was time to go to bed. Later I'll sew up the end seams and "box" them, and they'll go out to my Maryland family before the week is out.

Goodie Bags

Helen has two young daughters, so I made each of them a little skinny bag for their goodies. She's working on my quilt, and has posted a few sneak peeks. I have to tell you, I can't wait to see it!

Rumors of my Demise...

are greatly exaggerated. After a fabulous Thanksgiving week of visiting family and friends, I am simply zonked. My tree is half constructed, and I haven't spent much time in the sewing studio.

However, these little bags (filled with goodies, of course) will soon be delivered to a couple of cute fairy oddkids.

Stick Bags

My sister received her Second Degree Black Belt last night. This is a Big Deal. She's 47 and was by no means an athletic person. Growing up she was the very definition of accident-prone. She used to describe herself as being "completely without grace." No longer. She started karate at 42, very stiff, very awkward, but she loved it, and stuck with it.

The Advanced Black Belts train with a pair of sticks. Essentially these are dowels between 26 and 28" long. Hers are just under an inch in diameter. They come wider, for folks with bigger hands. Problem with the sticks, though, is they're too big for the average athletic bag, so they end up sticking out, getting caught on things, and two of them are hard to carry around in one hand.

When she saw my little skinny bags, she asked if I could make a bag for her sticks. No problem.

Then she asked for a strap, so she could carry it over her shoulder. Tricky problem, given the bag would be very long and very narrow.

I'd been thinking about how I would make the bag. The bag didn't need a zipper its entire length, but because the zipper would only be 1/3 the length of the bag, I wouldn't be able to cover the inside seam the way I do in the skinny bags. Finally, I had to work out the size. After a bit of math and graph paper, I set to work yesterday.

My sister had given me some upholstery grade fabric she had bought as a remnant to use for the bag. I used the standard nylon webbing as a strap and I added a gold tassel as a zipper pull.

I made one bag, and didn't like the way the strap attached to it, so I made another bag, slightly longer. Both bags are 3" wide, 2" deep. The short one is 28" long, and this one is 30" long.

These photos are of the second bag. (Here I need to tell you my nephew is also a Black Belt, also trains with sticks, but his are longer than his mother's.)

I wasn't sure which bag she would like, so I brought them both to her house. As soon as she saw them, the room exploded with a high-pitched SQUEEEEE, as she ran to her athletic bag, grabbed her sticks, zipped open Stick Bag #1 and put them inside, zipped the bag shut, then grabbed her son's sticks, and inserted them in Stick Bag #2.

All in about 15 seconds.

I guess that means she liked them.

Black, White and Red All Over

I've spent a very productive day in the sewing studio. I finished the pair of quilts, and made my Mom a very long skinny bag (the red one at the top) for her oil painting brushes. Then I made three other "normal" skinny bags.

The studio is getting messy, and I've got to clean it up.

No More Funk

The best way to get out of a funk is to do something. So I made two skinny bags last night. This one is for the Selvage Fairy.This one is for another friend.
I've got a couple of Gizzy Quilts going too. It's supposed to be cold and blustery here over the weekend, and I plan to be in the sewing room for most of it!

(Except for the time I will be watching last night's Project Runway and the most recent Top Chef. No spoilers, please!)

How Big?

I decided to make a really long skinny bag. Long like the buxom bags, but the width and height of the skinny bag. So I made this one. It's 14" long by 2" high by 2"wide. It doesn't look big until you put it next to the smaller one.
The really long bag is long enough for 14" long knitting needles.

I've been a bit "sewed out" over the last couple of days, but I'm getting back into the sewing room tonight...

Cut, Cut, Cut

Three yards of 54" flannel backed vinyl fabric, a long ruler, right triangles, pencils, scissors and a very big table.
Gotta have linings for these little bags!This little cutie is now in my Etsy shop.

Today, the dentist and later, a movie with my Mom.

More Skinny Bags

Yesterday I made a few more skinny boxed bags. They are now for sale in my Etsy shop. I found this really cute fabric about sewing, and thought it would be perfect for a bag showing off some sewing tools. Mary had the same idea. She bought a skinny bag and plans to use it to carry her rotary cutter and handsewing tools when she goes to sew fests. This way these small items won't get lost in her "monster bag."

Here are a few of the bags I worked on yesterday. I'm learning that I have to take better photographs of them, so I am working on that too. Eventually I'll have some selvage tote bags up for sale.

Speaking of which... Remember I made this bag for my friend way back in March? Well, now that the baby has arrived, she uses the bag as diaper bag and purse. She says it's perfect.

Whee!

Not So Basic Black, Part Two

These black bags were fun.

Not So Basic Black

When you have a lot of black zippers, you make black bags.

I paid some bills tonight, so not as much sewing as I would have liked. I've got a few more "black" bags to finish.

I'm still working on the Etsy shop. It's coming...

Sunshine Goes Home

My son picked up his Sunshine Quilt and brought it home with him. He's thrilled, and says it looks great on his bed.

I'm working on some Black Skinny Boxed Bags. An Etsy shop is in the works. Email me at patcherymenagerie AT gmail DOT com if you are interested.

Seven More Bags

I've got a stack of these little bags in process. Here are the newest ones. I'm looking into setting up an Etsy shop.

Two For Tuesday

Two more finished. My son came over for dinner last night, so I didn't get any sewing done.
But I have plans...

More, More!

I've finished four more, but I watched a lot of Tennis. I've got about a dozen in various stages of completion. My Mother has already selected her favorite.

I keep thinking of more uses for this little bag.