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!

And Just Like That...

...two months are gone.  As my 5-year-old likes to say when he loses something, "Poof, it just disappeared."

I'm trying to recall what happened to those two months since my last post.  I think we just got really busy, as a family and also individually with work.  I didn't have much time for sewing, and I wasn't wholly enthusiastic about the project I was working on.  Also, like anything else, blogging works best if it's part of a routine and habit.  Our routine (or lack thereof) was so hectic, I fell out of the habit.

On to sewing, I completed this quilt top for my second-grader and will hopefully have it quilted before the summer is out.

I have to be honest and say I didn't love making the blocks for this quilt.  I had a really difficult time getting the blocks to be the same size.  To top it all off, my finished blocks were about 1/4 of an inch smaller than indicated on the directions.  It wasn't a big deal, because the blocks were all consistently smaller.  BUT, it makes me question my 1/4" seam measurement.  I kept measuring and re-measuring, and doing test blocks, but to no avail.

Despite my measuring difficulties, I like the final result.  The fabric is Sweetwater's Hometown.  The quilt is actually from a kit purchased through the Fat Quarter Shop.  What can I say?  Kits appeal to me.  I want to find a yellow print for the backing, the same yellow as the polka-dot arrows.

It was a little breezy, so I couldn't get the quilt to hold still!  You get the idea, though.

As I'm now done with the quilt top, I'd like to pass the pattern on to someone else.  So, if anyone would like this pattern, shoot me a quick e-mail at elvycrafts(at)gmail.com, and I'd be happy to send it you.  Don't forget to include your mailing address.

Almost forgot, I'm linking up to Sew Happy Geek's Monday Linky Party!

Hometown Squares

I can't believe it's already Wednesday! It's been so crazy busy around here, I feel scattered in so many directions. I have also been between projects -- with my long list of things I want to make, I've had a difficult time choosing which one to tackle next. I have a lot of Sweetwater's Hometown in my stash, so I thought this would be a good place to start:

So far, I only have four of these arrow blocks made. Only another 44 to go! I do like the gray on cream much better than I thought I would. This one will be for my eldest, hopefully for his birthday in June when he turns 8 (yikes). Of course, he'd rather have a Nintendo DS, but it's not a birthday, in my opinion, unless it involves something handmade!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced!