Goodie Bag Swap, Round 2

I received my new bag from my partner wen_ot in the Goodie Bag Swap yesterday! I took photos as soon as I got home from work today, because I'm anxious to cram all my stuff in there and start using it! This bag is so perfectly me...I love the wool, the cute wonky yellow stitching, and especially the "secret" front pocket :)

That little hole in the front isn't just a cool design element - it's a giant pocket! I'm going to keep my phone, iPod, and a few other frequently used items in there :) My brother-in-law thought this bag was about the coolest thing since sliced bread....I think that concealed pocket in the front was transporting him back to his Hardy Boys mystery days, lol.

And he was even more impressed when I told him it was reversible. And because Wendy thinks of everything, she put a cute summery print on the inside so that I can use my new bag year round! The striped fabric is a really thin, soft cotton that's perfect for the blazing inferno summer days down here in New Orleans :)

Thanks Wendy! I absolutely love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Goodie Bag Swap

November is always our busiest time of year at work, because most of our clients renew their policies January 1st (which means we're working behind the scenes putting everything in place 2-3 months in advance of that). I worked roughly 8 hours of overtime last week, so it was a real rat race trying to get my swap bag finished and to the post office in time! I really need to reform my procrastinating ways - argh!

This bag is very simple in appearance, and a departure from the bright colors and busy patterns I'm drawn to, but I had a really hard time letting this go at the post office! To date, I think this was my hardest swap item to part with, mostly because I'm madly in love with how the B&W plaid and mustard yellow look together - it's got a cool, retro vibe to it. Plus I'm a sucker for a good wintery plaid, and the Moda Bella Solid I used for the outside was so buttery soft. I just wanted to rub it on my face, lol! (don't worry partner, I didn't actually do that). I love this bag so, so much and feel like it's the most "professional" looking one I've made. Hopefully my partner likes it - I'm worried it might be a little too simple.

As you can see in the photos below, I decided to alter the pattern a bit and add a zipper pocket. I don't know how the rest of you feel, but if I'm going to go to the trouble of making a fancy bag, I'm gonna make it worth the effort by adding hardware that's durable and polished looking - especially if it's for someone else!

I left in the large pocket that was called for in the pattern, and eliminated the smaller pocket that is supposed to lay over it, so now my partner will have storage on both sides of the purse - a zipper pocket on the side closest to her body, and a large pocket with two sections for her phone, keys, etc. opposite that.

I've been wanting to try this pattern for a while, and even bought the fabric used on the cover, but hadn't gotten around to it in the year+ that I've had it. I'm always at the bottom of my To Do list - but I think it's safe to say we're all like that :)

This pattern is a bit tedious with a lot of detail work, but overall I thought it was well-written and easy to follow (I've always had good luck with her patterns). I did find one error though, which I'll pass on so you all don't make the same mistake. When you get to the point where you're supposed to make two gathering seams 1/4" and 3/4" away from the top and bottom of the exterior panels, you should make the second seam only 1/2" away from the edges. The finishing seam when sewing the exterior of the bag together is only 5/8", so if you place the gathering seam 3/4" away (rather than 1/2"), it will show when you turn the bag right side out. I wondered about that while I was making the 3/4" seam (since most of the seams up until that point had been 5/8"), but instead of reading ahead to make sure, I trusted that the directions were correct, and ended up having to rip out both seams. Make a mental note on this, because picking out stitches between a million tiny gathers is not fun!

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Goodie Bag Swap (aka the last swap I'll be doing for a good long while)

For the last 6 months or so, I've barely had time to do any designing or actual quilting because of the borderline insane number of swaps I've been in. I can't say that I regret it, because how can you regret meeting awesome new online friends and receiving super cool stuff like this?

Today I finished sewing my last swap commitment, and aside from running the Goodie Bag Swap with Angela again in the fall, I'm taking a year off from swaps to focus on personal sewing and designing - it's time to get those creative juices flowing! I'll still be plugging along at my usual pace and posting on here, except that I'll be focusing more on posting helpful tutorials for you guys, original patterns, and more quilting! Yeah! Bring on the quilting! *bangs forks on table*

I taught myself to sew & quilt 100% through the internet back in 2007, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for the generosity of bloggers who shared their patterns & tutorials for free. I want to pay it forward, because sewing has become a huge blessing in my life, and teaching others this skill has become one of my passions. It really excites me when I can help someone learn how to make something on their own...because isn't it so incredibly freeing to be able to make things for yourself? Exactly how you want them?! No more scouring stores looking for the perfect color, material, or details. Once you know how to sew, you can snap a photo, go home, and create it from scratch with new & improved features!

All that aside, I'm behind on so many wedding and baby quilts it's not even funny. The one I'm most excited about (that I probably won't get to until later in the summer) is a Mad Men inspired wedding quilt for my good friend Amanda. She got married this past weekend and I'm making an original quilt for her that I've dubbed the "Swanky Squares" quilt...it may or may not involve some retro-looking paper pieced blocks ;)

So here goes. These will be the last swap photos I post for a good looooong while. My partner asked for a messenger bag, and I decided to go all out because I like experimenting with hardware. This was my first attempt at sewing webbed belting material, plastic snaps and adjustable shoulder straps, and while it was a pain in the cartouche to finagle that stuff under my needle at times, overall, it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.

The finished dimensions are roughly 17 x 12 x 4. I pulled the measurements from the messenger bag pattern in Sew What Bags, but the instructions and techniques in that book are pretty shoddy (no interfacing, unlined pockets, no interior pockets, nothing to fasten the flap, non-adjustable strap...who wants a big messenger bag with a non-adjustable strap?), so I didn't use anything other than the materials/cutting section. All the fabric is home decor weight and I interfaced the daylights outta this thing, so my partner can literally carry around bricks if she wants. I also added two zippered pockets because I like having lots of secure little compartments for hiding my stuff :)  I put one in the front flap because I once had a messenger bag with a pocket there, and it was a God-send. It kept me from having to fish through my bag for my keys and phone all the time - ugh.

Alright. Sorry. I'll stop blathering on now. I've really run quite the gamut of topics with this post, haven't I? Focus Kaelin, focus! Just shut your yap and show us the pictures, crazy blogger lady!

In 2 days it went from this...

To this...

Side

(the side panels are about 4" wide)

Back

I told you I loved pockets. Total, there are 6 regular pockets + 2 zippered pockets.

My favorite fabric is the interior. It's a really heavy linen with brown stripes I found at a discount home decor shop.

You can fit a crapload of stuff in here. There's plenty of room left over even with a 3" binder, hardback book, and 2" wide software box crammed in there.

Here's a closeup so you can see the 3 different fabrics living in harmony....*ebony & ivory, live together in perfect harmony...la la la*

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Sneaky Peek

I'm off work today and tomorrow, so I thought I'd take some pictures of my finished sewing room while the glorious morning sunlight was streaming through the windows :)

View from the doorway

All my fabric storage is along the left-side wall if you're standing in the doorway. These are Itso storage cubes I bought at Target. I like this storage solution best because I can add more cubes as I need them. The bins at the top hold my scraps (sorted by color), and the white drawers contain my patterns)

My favorite cubby - Japanese fabric + AMH Little Folks Voiles (I have at least 1 yard cuts of all the prints...I'm such a hoarder!)

Here's where I store all my Holiday/Seasonal fabric + Home Decor fabric. I really need to get more cubes so I can get rid of these junky plastic drawers.

Bookshelf & Bolts 
(the plastic bins on the left hold all my fat quarters...the big cubes you saw earlier hold only 1/2 yard or larger cuts of fabric)

DQS10 quilt from emedoodle :)

Check out these awesome covers I found stuffed in a storage box. I bought this light switch plate and 4 matching electrical outlet covers on clearance at Anthro a few years back. After I finished painting the sewing room, I randomly thought "didn't I buy some covers that would match this room perfectly back when we lived in Chicago?" I did. Score!

This is Whiskers giving me what I call the "sass face" because he felt I was spending too much time taking photos, and not enough time scratching his tummy. Look how he's eyeballing me! I always sternly tell him "don't you dare look at me in that tone of voice!" whenever he gives me this look (that was a line my mom used on us as teenagers, lol!)

In case anyone is wondering, the wall color is Metro Gray from Benjamin Moore, and the curtains are from Patty Young's new Sanctuary line. The print is Seaweed Wrap in Seafoam.

That's all for now folks! I have to run because I desperately need to finish my bag for the Goodie Bag Swap...the mailing deadline is Friday and I have to put together a messenger bag by then :)

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