My Berlin Bound Bag

In just a couple of weeks (yikes) the family and I are leaving for a month-long trip to Germany.  We'll be staying in a cute little apartment in an uber-hip section of Berlin (or so we've been told).  Although I'm excited for the trip, I'm not so excited for the plane ride -- it will be a very LONG ride with two small boys.  Thankfully, my two (mostly) grown up nieces are coming along so we'll get some help.

For the plane ride, I've got all sorts of activities and snacks to bring along.  This means, of course, that I need an extra big bag.  This is what I came up with:

This is a mash-up of some previous bags I've made, and I incorporated all the features of those other bags that I liked.  The main body is actually the pattern pieces of the lining from Amy Butler's Birdie Sling.  You can see my interpretation of the birdie sling here, here, and here.  I still use the mustard and pink one quite regularly, but the other two were destined for others.

The lining piece doesn't have those front pleats, which was exactly what I needed in order to incorporate a pocket on the outside.  The outside pocket was inspired by Keyka Lou's Cross Body Bag.  This is a great feature, very functional but cute.  Here's my version of the cross body bag -- it's just a little too small for my particular purpose.

Anyhow, I also changed up the strap from the birdie sling.  You can't tell from the picture, but the strap is fully adjustable and can be worn over one shoulder or cross-body style.  Even though I love my birdie sling, it always falls off my shoulder, and the strap is too short to wear comfortably across my chest (though I've tried).



I put a few magnetic clasps too, one for the outside pocket and two for the main compartment.  The other features that I've really come to like in bags is a zippered pocket -- the birdie sling only has two large patch pockets, which is nice, but I wanted something a little more secure. I did make one large patch pocket for small items. The other feature I've come to love are key fobs. I put one on the outside, and one on the inside, just for variety.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll all get there without too much drama.  It will be a trip of a lifetime, so well worth the effort to get there (I hope).


ADDENDUM (6/16): I just found out about the Summer Sewing Contest at Ellison Lane Quilts.  There are four categories: quilts, bags, clothing, and home decor.  Sounds like fun!

WIP Wednesday and Some Finishes

First things first, I have two finishes this week!  Here's my first finish:



This was a birthday quilt for #1's eighth birthday, which was last week. I couldn't quite get it done for the big day, but that's OK, there was plenty going on celebration-wise.

I used a star-and-loop all over pattern.  I wanted to keep it simple and boy-centric but also something that he would not grow out of.  Mr. Elvy helped me with the quilting again -- I quilted the first half, and he finished the rest.



This quilt turned out to be perfect for a twin-sized bed.  The fabric is Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda, except for the backing, which is from Sweetwater's Reunion collection.

And, here's my second finish:



I won't say too much about this one, as I already talked about it in my last post. However, I was able to get it bound relatively quickly so I'm happy about that.

 Last, but not least, I started putting together a new bag for our upcoming trip this summer. It's a mash-up of previous bags, using elements that I particularly liked from those patterns. I'll post the deets when I get it finished, hopefully by week's end!



I'm linking again this week to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced -- go check out this linky party for some inspiration!

A Hunky Dory Snowball Quilt

Another quilt, almost done!  This quilt was actually one of the first quilts I had ever pieced, but it's taken me this long to get it quilted.

Actually, I have a confession.  I cannot take credit for the quilting.  Mr. Elvy actually did the quilting for me, using this beast of a machine.  Pretty awesome, huh?

He used an all-over pantograph curlicue type pattern.  It only took about 1 1/2 hours to quilt, which is probably about a fraction of the time it would have taken me to do on my home sewing machine. 

The fabric is an old collection called Hunky Dory, designed by Chez Moi for Moda Fabrics.  Actually, I bought this as part of a beginner's type quilting kit.

Here's the quilt all folded up, minus the binding that I still need to complete.

I love the floral pattern for the backing. The quilting doesn't show up real well, as the thread Mr. Elvy used was pretty close in color to the background.

And, just one last gratuitous detail shot.

I'm linking up today with Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet at Lily's Quilts!