Happy New Year !

I wish to all the readers of my blog a
Happy, Healthy and Creative New Year !

Thank you all for visiting my blog,
for all the lovely comments and for your support !
2009 was the best year of my quilting life !
And you all are part of it !

Shopping Bag - Sewing Tutorial

These shopping bags were my Christmas gifts for my family...

These are not large grocery bags, I made a pattern that uses only one yard of fabric.
It can be carried in the purse and you will not need so many plastic bags.
The bags measure 13"x16.5" (without handles).

I used nice cotton quilting fabrics...

and the best thing: they are reversible, what you see below is the same bag...

Let's sew this bag.

You will need:
- one half yard of fabric for the outer bag
- one half yard for the lining.
Or you can use four fat quarters.
Pre-wash your fabrics.

1. The pattern
Download the pattern.
It is only half of the pattern. It comes on three pages. Print the pattern twice.
Tape the pages together. Then tape together one half of the pattern with the reverse of the other half.

2. Iron your pieces of fabrics with right sides together.

Your pattern should look like this (look below). I use tracing paper for my patterns.
Place the pattern onto fabrics.

3. Trace around all edges using a permanent marker. Use a few pins to keep the pattern in place.

Use a ruler to trace the straight lines and use a rotary cutter to cut them. Cut the curved lines with scissors.

These are the four pieces. Keep them with the right sides together.

4. Sew along the sides and the bottom. Reinforce the seams by sewing again over the previous stitch. Sew using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Repeat this step with the lining.

5. Press all the seams.

6. Clip the corners.

7. Turn the bag and the lining right side out.
Press all the seams again, on the right side.

8. Turn the outer bag wrong side out and put the lining into it (with right sides together).

9. Sew the curved edges (outer bag+lining).

10. Sew the other curved edges, but leave an opening. Backstitch where the opening starts and stops.
At this stage clip into the seam allowance on the curved edges (I forgot to take pictures). Be careful not to clip the seam.

11. Turn the outer bag with right side out. Here you will see why I told you to backstitch.

It doesn't look too pretty now...

12. Iron all the seams and carefully close the opening (stitching by hand or by machine).
Topstitch around all the edges (as close as you want ).

13. Now we have to sew the handles together.
Sew about 3/4" away from the edges. Double the seam.

Trim one seam allowance.

Fold in half the other seam allowance covering the trimmed seam allowance.

Fold again the seam allowance over the left handle and topstitch. Double this seam.
If you use a thicker fabric you will need a jeans needle (#90/14).
Press the seam.

The bag is ready !
This is a quick and easy project. I sewn six bags in just a few hours. The only time consuming step is ironing.

If you are not in a hurry, you can make even a more elegant version, with rounded corners.
I made only one. I also sewn a pleat.

I hope this tutorial is useful. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

I am glad I found another way to show off the beautiful fabrics from my stash !

---

Would you like to try something new ?  

 Retro Fun bags

Pockets with Love - fabric origami

Building Fun quilt

 Nina's Garden quilt

A touching gift

Look what I received for Christmas from my friend Sanda.
A desk calendar with my shadow trapunto quilts...

She used some photos I posted on Internet, no high resolution images; I am amazed by how nice they look printed on a glossy card stock !

The layout of the page is very elegant and the pictures have a nice border.

She marked on it even my husband’s birthday…

She sent me not one, but eight calendars, for my family and a few friends…
While my sisters and my husband are glad and proud to have my quilts on their desks, I am very happy to see everyday this sign of her wonderful friendship…

It was a truly unique and unexpected gift ! That filled my heart with joy !
Thank you, my dear friend !

If you want to make happy a friend, you can't go wrong with this !
She made the calendars here.

Jolly bag

Hi everyone,
I hope you all spent a wonderful Christmas time with your family !

Today I want to show you what I sewn for my nephew (he is 19 years old). Well, not quite for him !
I don’t know what kind of things I could sew for men (besides quilts and wallets). He already has a quilt I made for his 13th anniversary - and he still uses it…

I wanted to make something that makes him happy, I though a gift for his girlfriend would be nice. I don’t even know her yet, but if she is special to him, she is special to me, too…
Here is:

The bag is roomy with nice pockets inside and a magnetic snap closure.

The fabric is a beautiful heavy cotton canvas....I fused interfacing onto it and the bag has more body.

I did not forget about the December tutorial, I will post it in a few days.

Have a wonderful week !

Merry Christmas !

May the Christmas fill your home and soul with
joy, happiness and love !
Geta

Other Christmas gifts...

received from Ortansa...
She has an incredible patience to make these things.

And they are so time consuming, I am amazed by how many she made. You can see them here and here, they are wonderful !

And Ortansa's friend, Silvia, send me this little pocket. It's wonderful !

Thank you, my friends !

If you are interested to make something similar, I found a few tutorials.

From Katrina

Ball ornament

On Blue Primrose blog there are a lot of great tutorials, here are a few links:

Christmas Ornament
Fabric star

On the same blog, with no connection with Christmas, but too cute to not share it-
Cord bracelet

I hope your preparations for Christmas go well. I have a long list of "must do" before Christmas...

Small projects

These are the little quilts I sent to Eniko, my partner in the Romanian Swap.

Two placemats

and a table runner.

Eniko doesn't sew and she was happy to see these little quilts.

This folded star was a little "Thank you" for Kriszta for the wonders she sent me in the swap.

I am crazy about folded stars. I could sew this patterns over and over again...

and I would not be bored...

Three years ago I wrote even a pattern for these:

My first ever pattern...

written in Romanian language for Romanian quilters...

Christmas whishes

I have already received Christmas presents. Last week my friend Teodora send me this little drawstring bag. I love it ! The front panel is made in a mysterious technique for me. I know just she used glue and a paper napkin.
Thank you, Teodora ! It's on my desk now !

Speaking of Christmas, do you want that Santa bring you something extravagant for quilting ?
My extravagance would be this: the entire "Fossil fern"fabric collection. 121 pieces of fabrics. I don't want one yard of every fabric, I could be happy with fat quarters. And I don't want them just to have a really great stash but to enjoy the colors ! Isn't this picture gorgeous ?

I know a shop where Santa could buy these - Cotton Club. He could order online !

Do you want something special from Santa ? I think it would be funny to see how extravagant we are !