Girl on the Rocks » Sewing | Girl on the Rocks

Quilted Weekender Bag

karrie — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 23:41:03 +0000

I made a quilt-as-you-go version of Amy Butler’s Weekender bag. Here are my notes.

I think that one of the most popular quilted versions of the Amy Butler Weekender Bag is the one by Oh, Fransson. Like Oh, Fransson, I used cotton duck (from my stash) and lots of long scraps of batting leftover from the edges of quilts.

Materials and construction
I bought my pattern locally at Stone Mountain and Daughter. The zipper is a #5 36″ separating zipper in buttercup from Zipperstop’s Etsy shop. The purse feet were purchased locally at Laci’s but if I had to do it again, I would check out Jo-Ann’s. I bought the biggest ones they had at Laci’s, but I think there was one slightly bigger made by Clover and Nancy Zieman. I recommend getting 6 feet. I tried to use only material from my stash. The outside is obviously scrappy patchwork and the inside was cotton ticking that I bought as a remnant a while ago. I used iron-in interfacing on the pocket panels, and 1 layer of Peltex in the bottom.
All parts were sewn using my Singer 201. I used the walking foot for the quilting, and cording foot to make the piping. The Singer 201 has tons of power, but I still had to go slow at the end when I was sewing through all of the layers of fabric.

Modifications

I made my handles longer. They extend approximately 16 inches from the top of the bag which is perfect for going over my shoulder. I also used about 4 thicknesses of fabric and some interfacing to support the handles.

I added an interior zippered pocket. I didn’t go crazy with the inside pockets since I think it would just make the lining sag.

I used a lovely piece of laser-cut bamboo for the bottom of the bag. I didn’t enclose it in anything should I choose to remove it. Plus it looks nice just like it is. If you want one, you can order one from my Ponoko shop, and I can send it to you in about 2 weeks.

More references

I like the quilt as you go tutorial at Stitched in Color – maybe because I like the fabrics that she used.

Flickr’s Amy Butler Weekender Bag support group

Pinterest boards full of nice pics and helpful links

The icing on the cake was the discovery that this bag makes the perfect carrying case for my singer 301.

Creepy

karrie — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:38:19 +0000

I haven’t put any time or thought into my own Halloween costume. I focused all of my energies on making one for my Blythe Doll. Through the This is Blythe forums, I found out that there would be a Halloween Blythe meet in San Francisco. Since I had several months advance notice, I was able to plan to go, and make a kick-ass costume (if I do say so myself). I don’t know how I thought of it, but I decided that my doll should be inside-out. Hours of sewing and knitting later, I think it turned out pretty well.

I made a long sleeve red dress to use as the base of the costume. I used felt and embroidery to create her organs.

I knit a long I-cord for intestines, and created a pocket behind her stomach for gut storage. thanks for the yarn, b!)

Her tiny heart attaches to her chest with a rare earth magnet, and can also be attached to a magnet on her hand.

Her brainy hat is made from pieces of curled up pink t-shirt material sewn to a skull cap that I made.

The overall effect is super-creepy. Let’s face it, Blythe dolls are inherently a little creepy, so for Halloween, you just have to go for it.

Check out my Flickr set to see photos from the SF Blythe Halloween meet.

Sock Needle Case

karrie — Wed, 30 May 2007 20:45:50 +0000

A few years ago I made a lot of knitting needle cases. Downsizing apartments makes dealing with more than about a half of a yard of fabric at a time difficult, so I quit sewing as often. I do however, have just enough room to make one of my favorites – Sock Knitters Knitting Needle Cases.

I designed the cases to hold skinny crochet hooks (for provisional cast-ons and dropped stitches), double pointed needles and circular needles. You can even toss in a tape measure, stitch markers and a little ball of scrap yarn for casting on. They are small enough that you can take the whole case with you and your portable sock project.

See the notes in this photo for details on where to keep everything…

I listed a few in my shop, along with some newly dyed merino rovings.

Okay, I am of to scrounge for contest prizes… I am trying to think up something good….

No not another crafty hobby!

karrie — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:16:10 +0000

I discovered the ‘Tie-one-on’ webpage through someone’s knitting blog, but i forget whose. It is all about aprons. The september challenge was to make an apron out of a dishcloth. genius. and a handy idea since i now live 1 block from Stone Mountain and Daughter Fabrics, and only a few blocks from Ross. i know that ross has rockin housewares and they didn’t disappoint. I designed an apron that greatly increases the flammabilty and decreases the washability of the dishcloth, but it is certainly cuter.