Melody Miller Messenger Bag

Since finishing mum's knitting bag over the weekend, I've been on a bag-making high. Who knew I would love making bags as much as quilty things? Admittedly this one has been a looong time coming - I cut most of the pieces last summer and was feeling really nervous about making it (which is probably why I've left it this long). But last week, the bag I had been using finally died, so I decided to put my big girl pants on and make this one. Lots of photos to come :o)

I used Amy Butler's High Street Messenger Bag pattern (yes, the same one as I gave away last week - I accidentally bought two copies.) It's designed to be a laptop bag, but it's incredibly roomy so I'll be using it as an everyday bag (because as a mum I'm always carrying a LOT of stuff.)

I've pretty much used Melody Miller fabrics for all of it (apart from a few bits of natural Essex linen for some of the hidden bits). I've used bits of most of her collections I think. The entire bag is interfaced with cotton duck. I'd never heard of this stuff - it's a heavy cotton canvas, and gives the bag a really nice weight to it. I used my walking foot for pretty much all the sewing (apart from the zips). There were a few tricky bits with lots of layers, but all in all it wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

The bag closes with a flap with a magnetic clasp at the bottom (first time installing one - and it worked pretty well.)

Under the front flap is a pleated pocket. 

I fussy cut some bees and moths for the side panels.

The back has a zip pocket and features one of my all time favorite Melody Miller prints :o)

 The inside of the flap has another pocket.

And the inside has a hanging zippered pocket panel, with lots of little pockets under it for pens and things.

I am completely in love with it! Now I've overcome my bag making fears, I think I'm almost ready to tackle a Weekender :o) Caitlin is now stocking the patterns in her shop if you're interested in jumping on the Weekender bandwagon too!

This is my third finish this quarter in Leanne's FAL! 

xx Jess

My first custom quilt!!

I haven't blogged in almost two weeks! Only because I haven't had any finished quilts to put on here - although I have 6 at various stages of completion. I had a couple I was about to finish, when I had two custom quilt orders - my very first ones!! I finished one of these today - using fabric from Amy Butler's Love Collection. I really loved working with these fabrics and have a couple of ideas for quilts using the rest of my stash...

It's the same pattern (my own design) I used for my Lotus Garden quilt (it just works so well with Amy Butler prints). The sashing is Moda Bella Snow, and I free-motion quilted it with cream cotton thread. The binding is machine stitched to front and back (its a biggish cot quilt (about 40" x 60"), and the last one took about 4 hours to hand stitch - I'm really slow - so I decided to give machine stitching it a go - and it looks pretty good.)

Lotus Baby Quilt

I did finish hand stitching this one last night, and am really happy with the end result.

I used fabric from Amy Butler's Lotus collection (which I completely love!) and bordered it with Snow Bella solid. I quilted it in a meandering free-motion style, which has added a lovely texture to it. The binding is the same temple garland in green as in the quilt top (machine stitched at the front and hand-stitched at the back.

Its for sale in my madeit shop here. And its destined to become a pattern - really great beginners quilt as there are NO seams to match and it came together really quickly :)

Quilting on my mind....

Why is it that my camera dies just when I have lots of photos to take of quilts? Earlier this week I spent ages photographing three of my quilts, only to find when I downloaded my photos they were all perfectly focused on half, and blurry on the other half. I am pretty certain my baby girl had gotten her hand on it - and poked some fingers into the lens shutter. But I found a box of (quite dry) isowipes and I swear its never taken better photos! But tonight when I went to photograph my weekend's work the batteries died... I can't win!

So although I have had a brilliant weekend in terms of getting quilting done, I can't upload any photos (hopefully tomorrow though, depending on camera behaving and sun making an appearance). I am handstitching the binding on a new design made with Amy Butler's lotus collection. I have finished piecing a new design made with Jenean Morrison's new range Silent Cinema (which I LOVE to bits - so retro!), and have cut and started piecing a new quilt using Saffron Craig's Bird Tree range in magenta/yellow/green.

I have so many other projects in mind too - in an effort to deplete some of my stash :). I have a bundle of Heirloom by Joel Dewberry (amber colourway) that I'm itching to get into (and have a pretty good idea of the design I'm going to create). And I need to finish my quilt for my daughter using Saffron Craig's magical lands fabric. And I have a stash of urban zoologie waiting to become a lovely boys quilt. Not to mention my fat quarter bundle of Meadow Friends... Oh, plus a bundle of Amy Butler that will probably arrive on my doorstep this week sometime. Plus more I'm sure I've forgotten are there (these are just the ones I've been thinking about, well, all the time!)

I don't think its a problem, the amount of time I spend thinking about quilting (ie when I'm washing up, vaccuuming, general boring everyday tasks that need to be done but not thought about). I am either thinking about quilting, blogging about quilting or wishing I had more hours in the day to actually do more quilting. I think its safe to say I have a hardcore obsession.

Do I have enough fabric? Most definitely. Does that stop me crushing on all the other beautiful ranges out there? Most definitely not. Did I just order a huge bundle of Children at Play by Sarah Jane? Most definitely. And I am SO excited about getting it - the prints are just so gorgeous, and I have some great ideas about what I will do with it.

I'd love to know what you're working on at the moment, and what fabrics you have in your stash. Just don't make me too jealous - I don't think my other half would appreciate me spending more money on fabric just at the moment...