Sewing Project - Every Day Carry Bag

I worked on bags today. I was looking for something I could add slow stitching to which I could sell.

Of course, I love Every Day Carry Bags. I have made a couple. Mine and one for a show.

I started with a piece of blue striped cotton fabric. It was cut to 8.75" W x 11.125" T.  

The flannel was cut just inside the seam allowances so it would not bulk up the seams.  It was quilted to the cotton with the curvy decorative stitch in vertical lines matching the lines in the pattern.  I used ivory thread.

The lining is good weight polyester fabric in medium grey.

It was cut the same size as the outer fabric.  I sewed the side and bottom seams on both outer and lining then boxed the corners to 2 inches wide.  I pressed the pieces then put the outer into the lining and sewed the top seam leaving a gap to turn it right side out. 

The zipper insert was assembled separately with 2 tabs on either side measuring 1.5" finished. I sewed the bottom tab to the zipper then top stitched the top tab on top on both sides. Now, I had to finish the ends. I trimmed the ends of the zipper insert to the width of the top of the bag which is 7.5" wide. I added a binding to both ends in the same fabric. With all the edges finished I sewed it to the top of the bag with the curvy decorative stitch. 

Note: My planning was not good because I could have added the pocket to the front panel before sewing that up but I had to do it after. Same with the handles - They should have been attached to the front and back panels before assembly.

A quick access pocket on the outside is always nice.

The top zipper provides full access to the bag.  I embroidered it with a paisley design in the blue and emerald.

A zipper pull is helpful because the zipper tab is small and it is pretty incorporating the emerald as an accent color.

It is fully lined which leaves no raw edges exposed.

The Clip Strip is handy for things you don't necessarily what to dig for in the bag. Keys, cart token, measuring tape, and who knows what else. Maybe even a pen could live there.

The boxed corners helps to give the bag body and space for larger items. Maybe a small book, post in notes, and whatever else.

The straps measure 12" long which gives enough room to sit on your wrist.

Finished size is 10" tall and 8" wide at the top with 5" wide at the boxed bottom.

Sewing Project - Front Zipper Pouch

I made another bag the other day.  I wanted to give the Front Zipper Pouch a try.

I chose this beautiful floral print in cotton.

I chose ivory thread and a taupe zipper.

I added a layer of flannel for a bit of padding.

The lining is gorgeous navy microfiber fabric which will wear well.

The cotton outer layer was cut 9 3/8 inches x 23.25 inches.  The flannel was cut 9 3/8 inches by 21.75 inches long.  The zipper is a 9"/23cm one.

The flannel was quilted to the cotton with the curvy decorative stitch vertically along the full length. 

I made a wrist strap by cutting a length of the cotton outer fabric, folding it in half then in half again and top stitching both sides. Finished it measures 4 inches long.

Then I inserted the zipper on the short end between the outer and the lining.  Now, I have a tube with the zipper inserted.  It was a matter of deciding where the zipper would be placed. I could be at the very top or some where along the top third of the pouch. I chose 2.5 inches down from the top fold. Once decided, I pinned the side seams right side out, added the wrist strap above the zipper and stitched about 1/8 inch from the edge then turned inside out and sewed the side seams at generous 1/4 inch to enclose the first seam inside. Turned it right side out.  Pressed really well.

I added a metal charm on the zipper pull so that it would be easy to open and close.

Note: I should cut the flannel from the sides seams as they are quite thick.  I was planning on doing some stitching on it but I have not come up with an idea that seems to fit so I will pondering it over the next few weeks.

Finished size is 8" wide x 11" inches tall.

Fabric Flower Bouquet - 05

Bouquet number 5. 

I placed the yellow stretchy sparkly vase wrap on a straight sided drinking glass.

This wrap featured the flap from the earlier ones because of the ease of sewing.  It gives a place to do some slow stitching.

I added the navy linen flower with the same fabric as the wrap in the center of the flower.

I had to make a spacer on the inside of the glass to keep the flower in the center.  I cut a 3.5 inch piece of chipboard onto which I scored a line at about 2.25 inches. I then cut slits all around the circle which allowed me to fold those over to fit inside the glass. I added a blue water fabric onto the top of the spacer then punched 1/8" hole in the center.  It was tucked inside the glass.

All five bouquets are now at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery Gift Shop.

Fabric Flower - Navy Linen

I cut 12 strips of the navy linen fabric about 1" wide.  That covered the silver ring nicely. Makes for a heavy flower though.

I chose a scrap of the vase fabric to make the center of the flower.

I started with the wire stitched to a 2" circle of heavy cardstock. Then I placed a piece of batting and the yellow fabric and stitched all the way around the navy ring using navy thread.  I then stitched a yellow backing fabric to hide the wire and stitching.

Note: I should make my next wires heavier and I should chose lighter fabric.

I really wanted to get these bouquets to the Gallery yesterday.

Sewing Project - Fabric Vase Wrap - Butterscotch Yellow

Another stretcky and sparkly vase wrap from the fabric given to me by my sister.

I dyed this one with Rangers Alcohol ink in Butterscotch color. Beautiful warm yellow. 

The fabric measured 12" x 10" and again was folded in half on the width to ensure solid color for the full height.

I chose to put a flap on this one because the doing the side seam was much easier.  I did put a seam through across from the side seam after which would have been much easier before.

To finish the edge of the flap I cut it with pinking shears. This fabric will not unravel.

I added some French Knots in a random pattern on each of the layers of the flap then just added some stitches in yellow to keep it from opening.

Fabric Flower Bouquet - 04

I combined my Hot Pink Vase Wrap with my Tulle flower into a Fabric Flower Bouquet.

I cut a blue circle of fabric for the water. The glass I am using for the bouquet is a drinking glass so it has no lid. I cut a piece of chipboard bigger than the opening of the glass.  I made some slits from the outer edge to the size of the opening. I tacked the blue "water" fabric to the chip board and made a hole in the center. I pushed the wire from the flower through the hole then I twisted the wire stem onto a piece of bamboo skewer which measured just under the height of the glass.  Then I placed it inside the glass making sure the fabric was pressed between the chipboard edge and the side of the glass.  This keeps the flower in the center of the vase.

A very bright and cheery color for spring.

Fabric Flower - White Tulle with Hot Pink Accents

I made a flower to coordinate with my Hot Pink Vase Wrap.

The white tulle was cut to .75 wide and 4.5 inches long.  I put 65 of them onto a 1.75" metal ring with half hitch knots. Then I added 5 hot pink lengths of frilly yarn. That took a long time.

I punched a 2" heavy cardstock circle to create the support for the wire.  I stitched the gold twisted wire onto the card stock.  

I then placed a layer of batting and the hot pink cotton fabric to create the center of the flower.  I stitched these layers from the back with heavy thread over the covered ring. 

I then stitched a hot pink fabric circle on the back to cover the wire and stitching. 

Sewing Project - Fabric Vase Wrap - Hot Pink Sparkly

During my visit at my sister's on the weekend we sorted through fabric scraps.  We found a piece of stretchy white sparkly fabric which was no doubt part of a fancy evening dress at one point in its life.

I had been thinking of making adjustable vase wraps and this fabric was the ticket!  I brought it home.

I wanted to change the color so I checked the fabric dye I had and it indicated it would not dye polyester fabric.  So I headed into my paper dye inks.  I chose Ranger Alcohol Ink because that is sticks to shiny surfaces.

Into a yogurt container with tap hot water and several drops of Plum alcohol ink and I set the timer for 20 minutes.  My hopes were not high.

Well, once I pulled it out it was dyed!  It was pretty bright and I added some blue to change the color but it was not alcohol ink and did nothing at all to change the color.  I rinsed it thoroughly and dried it.  It is what it is!

I wanted clean edges so I decided to overlap the raw edges (which don't ravel) over each other flat against the glass. I pinned it well. Now, I needed something to over the one raw edge visible. I chose a piece of white double edged lace. I was not sure I could sew it with the machine because of the small diameter of the wrap. After at lot of hemming and hawing, I just took action.  It went better when I turned it inside out.  I chose a curvy stitch on my machine which is not really a stretch stitch but it's all I have. The stress will be horizontal so it should be okay.  

The embellishments could not be placed horizontally on the wrap because that would limit its ability to expand to larger sizes.  I added French Knots in the open spaces of the lace to repeat the color in the flower.

The fabric measured 12" tall and 9.75" wide.  I realized that I would have to double up the fabric with the join in the middle to have nice smooth edges on the top and bottom.  With about 3/8 inch overlap the final wrap measured 4.5" across folded in half.  It measures 5.75" tall.

Bouquet - Embellishments

I added some stitching to the first bouquet Vase Wrap.

I chose alternating running stitching in red along the height of the vase wrap.

Gives it an additional touch of red to highlight the color of the flower.

You can see the bouquet here. 

On the second Vase Wrap I stitched around the flowers on one of the fabric strips.  I added some yellow running stitching along the edge of that strip as well to work in the yellow color of the flower.

You can see the bouquet here.

On the 3rd bouquet I added some color to the edges of the organza flower with Peel Paint Distress Stain.  It provides a bit of definition to the flower and works with the color of the vase wrap.

You can see the bouquet here.

2026 Slow Stitching Project - Page 12 - F2

I am following K3N Cloth Tales' slow stitch project for 2026. We are doing from A to Z where she chooses the first one and the community chooses the second one.

The community choice was Found Object. I chose this yellow button as my Found Object then created a Funky Flower around it. I chose a variety of threads from my ORTS box and made each petal a different color. I added a green stem and leaves.  

Then I added a Frame in purple with the chain stitch.  I added several rows of stitching around the Found Object in the center of the Flower.

You will notice the Frayed edge of the linen Fabric on which I am stitching. All good!

Art - Coloring Contest - AAC

The Allied Arts Council is having a Easter coloring contest and adults can participate.  I was in for sure!  Coloring was my favorite thing as a kid. You can find the coloring pages at the bottom of the Home page by following the link above. Have a go and a bit of fun!

I love the small Forget Me Knot flowers in the basket as well as the colorful eggs. I used my collection of Prismacolor pencils which were delightful to use. 

2026 Slow Stitching Project - Page 11 - F1

I am following K3N Cloth Tales' slow stitch challenge for 2026.

We are working through the alphabet A-Z. First is her choice and second is the community choice.

K3N chose Feather but I did not. I chose Fish, Five Fantastic/Fabulous ones. 

I chose a bluish background cotton fabric and invisible stitched it to my thin white foundation layer.

I chose fabrics for my Fish from bright cotton scraps. I pinned them in place and used a running stitch to secure them to the background. 

I then decorated them in bright colors and stitch patterns. French Knots and running stitch in a variety of patterns.

I then used green thread to create plants in the water from the bottom and water pattern along the top of the piece in blue embroidery thread. I left space on the left for the eventual binding the piece into a book.

I think I got carried away with the stitching.  Decompressing from a very busy week. 

Sewing Project - Tea Pot Mats

I made up some tea pot mats for my sister as the fabric did not speak to her.  If for sure did to met.

The fabric was square panels of these tea/coffee related images. The panels measured 11.5 inches square with a black border. 

The sandwich is 100% cotton. The panel on the top, then a layer of cotton batting, then a layer of cotton terry cloth and a bottom layer of cotton for the backing.

I used my walking foot to sew this project. With black thread in the machine I topped stitched around the image.  The backing was cut to 14" square to allow a self binding. The backing is black so that worked well with the black border around the image. I used clips to hold it all in place and then made my final top stitching seam all the way around.

For the red one I chose red cotton fabric for the back because I did not have enough black.  It would have been better but we can always have what is best.

On this one I quilted the square on the red with red thread in the machine which I think worked better. 

The self binding was folded once and then folded to encase the sandwich edge and the fold is on the front.  I decided to leave a small line of the black border to add contrast.

Same sandwich as described earlier in this post.

The blue one got black backer fabric as well.

The quilting was done just inside the center panel edge with black thread.

The black backer was brought forward to create a self binding on the mat.

On the corners I folded the sides first then the top and bottom and stitched a square on the corner.  With such small dimensions mitered corner would have been challenging.

Finished size is just a slight bit over the 11.5 inches I started with.

These are headed back to her.

2026 Slow Stitching Project - Page 10 - E2

I am following K3N Cloth Tales' slow stitching project for 2026.

The community choice E2 that K3N chose was envelope.

I chose an Easter Egg on an Ecru background. I nested it against the trunk of an Elm Tree. The Elm Tree is done in Espresso thread.   

I chose Electric Blue fabric for the Egg applique. The stitching is done in Emerald, Ecru, Eggnog, and Eggplant thread. Electric blue thread selected for the blanket stitch Edging. 

I added an Ermine Stitch star in the center with small star stitches in yellow. 

The grass is done in Emerald green and other shades of green thread. 

Fabric Flower Bouquet - 03

I combined the organza flower and the green fern vase wrap into a bouquet.

I cut a bamboo skewer as tall as the inside of the bottle.  

I cut a circle of warm blue fabric and put a small hole in the center.  

I put a hole in the center of the metal lid with a nail and hammer.

I then pushed the stem wire through the fabric circle, then through the metal lid and then wrapped it tightly around the skewer.

Then I dropped the skewer/wire into the bottle and screwed on the lid to the bottle.

I placed the wrap onto the bottle from the bottom ensuring the flower was where I wanted it.  

I tucked the blue "water" fabric circle between the jar and the wrap.

And I have another bouquet ready to go.

Fabric Flower - Peach Organza

 My aunt offered me some organza for making a flower so I went ahead with cutting circles.  I cut four 5" circles, four 3.5" circles and two 2" circles.  I sewed the layers together.  Started by folding the circles in quarters then overlapped the points of 2 of the circles and stitched then repeated that and placed these offset from the first set. Now I had a full circle of organza.  Repeated the same process with the 4 medium circles.  The small circles I folded in half and then in thirds to make the center. This was stitched horizontally to keep the petals pointing forward instead flattened.  Once this was done I secured my thread carefully. 

I added a 2.5 inch cardstock circle to the back of the flower with thread and then stitched the wire to the flower and card stock to ensure it would stay in place. I cut a piece of the lining fabric from the fern wrap and and hand stitched that to cover the mess at the back of the flower.

Sewing Project - Fabric Vase Wrap - Green Fern

This wrap started with the fern embroidery which is machine stitched and was acquired as a left over from someone else project.  I chose a moss green linen for the base fabric and some green flannel as the middle layer.  I pinned the embroidery until I was happy but there was not much choice because I did not want the braid in the side seam.  I sewed the fern pieces on to the linen & flannel then placed it right side together with the lining fabric which is a leaf pattern polyester fabric. Stitched all the way around leave a gap to turn the piece right side out. I trimmed the 4 corners then turned it. I pressed it then sewed my curvy top stitching all the way around.  I then wrapped it around the bottle I had chosen and determined where the side seam would be.  Sewed the side seam creating the flap which in this case are the same size. This makes it identical either way it is placed on the vase/bottle. 

The bottle I used for this wrap is a bit shorter then the others and a bit bigger in circumference.

The fabric layers were cut 7" T x 12" W to give me a finished piece which is 6.5"T x 11.5" W using .25 inch seams.

Art Show Submissions - Juried Member Show

Today was jury day for our upcoming Juried Member Show at the Art Gallery.

I dropped these three entries this morning and I did not get a phone call to pick up any rejected entries. Very good.

Title: Art Detritus

Size: 10 x10 inches

Frame: Beech Wood Frame

Mat: Single White Mat

Photograph: 5x5 inches matte print

This is a close up photo of pencil sharpener wood shavings.  Typical of working on art projects with drawing pencils, colored pencils, or watercolor pencils.

Title: Bulrushes

Size: 8x10 inches

Frame: Silver Brushed Metal

Mat: Double Black and White Archival Mat

Image: Watercolor with black marker

This is a painting of the bulrushes I see along the lake as I walk in the mornings.  Beautiful green leaves with deep brown seed heads in the middle of summer.  A wonderful blue sky.  An absolute joy to have this nature in our urban setting.

This is a textile entry art quilt which I was not sure would be juried in.

Title: The Solar System

Size: 19 x 19 inches

The sun, planets, orbits, stars, asteroid belt and Kuiper belt are hand stitched unto a printed galaxy cotton fabric. 

The orange frame was machine stitched onto the piece.  I then added a facing which allowed for a dowel to have it hang. 

Ermine Stitch for stars, Seed Stitch on the Sun, Back stitch for the Orbits, French Knots for the tiny stars.  Running Stitch on the planets. Rock like beads in the Asteroid Belt and Blue E-Beads in the Kuiper Belt on the outer edge of the system.

The show will be on display on Tuesday, March 10th and the reception will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, 1-3 p.m. at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery in Heavy Metal Place. You are welcome to enjoy over 90 pieces of art submitted by members of the Allied Arts Council.

I did a lot of research and watched a lot of scientific videos to educate myself about our Solar System.  It was very interesting. Some of the information informed my choices for the fabric I chose for the planets.  

Of course, the distances between planets and the their sizes are not accurately represented. I did my best given the size of the fabric I was working with.

I prepared this bit of information and printed it onto fabric and stitched to the back so it would always stay with the art piece.

Fabric Flower Bouquet - O2

I chose to make a yellow flower for this fabric vase wrap because I like the color combo and one of the strips of fabric had yellow in it.  That helps marry the 2 pieces together. 

I wanted to cover the inner parts in the bottle so cut a 5 inch circle of teal fabric. I placed a hole in the center of the water circle and passed the wire stem through it then the stem also through the hole in the metal lid.  It will sit on the lid the bottle.  Then I wrapped the wire stem around a wooden skewer which is cut to the height of the bottle and now provides stability to the flower. The skewer is then placed inside the bottle and the lid is screwed onto the bottle.  

The wrap is then placed onto the bottle from the bottom and the water circle is tucked into the vase wrap.

The fabric flower can be removed and real flowers can be placed in the bottle vase.

Fabric Flower Bouquet - 01

After weeks of working on this idea I finally have something I am happy with.

It has brought together a Fabric Collage Vase Wrap which uses scraps of fabric into something pretty, an empty sauce bottle that was headed to the recycle bin, and scrap fabric to make the Fabric Flower on bendable wire stem.

The challenges were:

1. Make the flower proportional to the vase.

2. Make a stem strong enough to hold the flower.

3. Will I build adjustability into the wrap?  I decide in the end no.

4. Will I have a strip extend from the body? Yes, this makes sewing the flat piece into a tube much easier.

5. How deep will I make the strip? Do I want to make it a feature?  If it is a feature then you need to put a piece of fabric on the lining side or chose your lining fabric carefully.

6. How do I hide the jar lid?  Put a piece of blue fabric to represent water.

I plan on make some of these bouquet for the gift shop at the Art Gallery.  They will all be unique which will make a perfect gift for a special person.

The fabric flower can be removed and real flowers placed in the bottle vase.