Sally Said Sew

Once again, I was able to be a pattern tester, this time for a great little bag from Stitched Essentials. This bag is perfect for those times when you want to go to a game at the stadium or a concert but have to deal with size regulations. Meet Bella! The front flap is kept closed with a magnetic snap fastener. The thin strap can be made to your length preference. Add a 1/2" slide and make it adjustable. Bella's back features a zipped pocket, perfect for keeping your cash and credit cards secure. Inside, there is a pocket large enough to hold your cell phone along with a pack of tissues, your tickets and some other smaller sized items.  You'll also find two slip pockets to hold your lip balm and lipstick. Maybe tuck a small pen in there. Be creative! You can purchase your pattern through the Stitched Essentials Etsy shop here  and start sewing your own bag immediately! No waiting for the mailman to arrive. It's fast, fun and fabulous!

I recently had the opportunity to test a bag pattern for Sher's Creative Space. Let me tell you, she has designed a really nice bag and the pattern is easy to follow. I like this bag so much, it has become my every day bag. It is just the right size for me, think Momma Bear Bag, not too big, not too small -- just right! I like the two exterior zippered pockets plus the interior slip pockets are handy. There is also a wristlet pattern to go with Paige but my work schedule kept me from making it. One of these days... The pattern is on sale for the next 48 hours at the two following shops: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ ShersPatternShop http://www.craftsy.com/user/ 470616/pattern-store Check out the other tester bags on Sher's blog >> http://sherscreativespace.blogspot.com/2016/02/paige-bag-pattern-thank-you-to-my.html Paige - Back Paige - Front Paige - Interior

Now that Christmas is over, I can share several of the projects that were gifts that I worked on. Barbados Bag by Pink Sand Beach Designs. The fabrics in this have gold metallic that don't show up very well in the photos. This was for my sister-in-law. I also made a matching Fiona wallet (pattern by Clobird Designs). One of these Seahawks wallets (a variation on the Fiona pattern) was a gift to my mom. The other one I will keep since the quality wasn't up to my standards. I also made a really nice tote bag from a free online tutorial. It is called the Market Tote from Bijou Lovely ( http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2010/05/market-tote-tutorial.html ). It is a heavier duty tote than some of them out there. This bag also gifted to a dear friend. I just love the cat fabric! Then I made up a few more runaround bags out of Seahawks fabric, but wouldn't you know, I forgot to take pictures! Lastly, although not a bag or tote, I made a hexie ...

I tried another new pattern this weekend for small crossbody bags called the Runaround Bag by Lazy Girl Designs. I followed the directions as written for my first bag, the navy/purple one. Yeah, I was not impressed with the handle and the fact that you can see the seams inside, even though you zigzag stitch them to clean up the raw edges. I thought the strap was downright ugly as designed. I didn't like the "openness" of the one side of it. Bag #1 Time for another modification to a pattern which meant I would be making another bag. I used my Dritz Quick Turn tool to do the next strap.  It made for a much cleaner and nicer looking strap.  Another thing I did differently from the pattern when I made the strap was to use just one WOF instead of piecing it. Mistake. The strap was too short in my opinion even though the instructions said to make the strap 40-45" long. I also had access to a set of instructions to modify the liner to hide the seams. Incorpor...