Nurses Zippered Bag

Last week my sister came to visit and wanted to learn how to make a zippered bag.  So we went into the sewing room to pick out some fabric and zippers and I showed her how to quilt and sew one.

To demonstrate making the bag, I picked out this sweet nurses-themed fabric and worked on this bag for my daughter, who is a travel nurse.  I quilted half-inch straight lines on the front and back and then added the zipper.  I found some blue starred fabric to coordinate and added a tassel to the zipper pull.  

To embellish, I added a small crocheted flower and a button to match.  

What fun fabric do you have that you'd like to make a zippered bag out of?  

 

Zippered Kitty Bags

For the past couple of weeks I have been spending more time in my sewing room.  And honestly, I am loving it.

As I was sorting some of my fabrics, I came across fabric that had cute little kitty images on it.  I almost forgot that I had bought it!

So I looked at it for a couple of days and then decided to cut them up and make little zippered pouches out of the kitty panels.  The panels are about 4" square, so they are not too big.  

Each bag is a little different and I had fun picking out scraps of fabric and zippers that matched each panel.

I could make these all day - oh, wait - I did.  :)

Seriously, each panel is just so cute!  The colors are great, the kitties are so sweet and the project is just plain old fun.  

After they were finished I added a little tassel to them.  The tassels were from Stampin Up at least 10 years ago, and they were just waiting for the perfect project to go with them.

I love how the black tassel brings out the text on the cat and the leaves in the plant.  

I'm not sure if I even want to part with them.  

The fabric is It's Raining cats and Dogs by Terry Runyan for Benartex.  I bought it a couple of years ago.

After I finished up some of the kitty bags, I counted to see how many more panels that I have left.  There's still 28 more cats, so I can keep making more or save them for another project.  

They would even make a sweet wall hanging for my sewing room.  

What do you think of them?  Now I have to go through more fabric piles to see if I have more panels to play with.

I think this little kitty is my favorite, but it's hard to pick.  I love how the teal and pink flowers go so well with this panel. 

He's just enjoying his time relaxing in the flowers.  And what's better on a nice summer day? 

 

Quilted Zippered Bag

This week in my sewing lessons, I taught some of the ladies how to make a zippered bag.  Putting in zippers can be scary if you haven't done it before, but it's actually not that hard.  We cut our fabric into 2 1/4 inch strips.  For our bags today, we used 5 strips across but you can use any amount that you'd like.  

You quilt it with batting and backing and then put the zipper in at the top of the bag.  This is how mine turned out before I added the embellishments.  I made a couple of yo-yo flowers and added a tassel to the zipper pull.  

I am going to put together a tutorial on how to make this bag, hopefully this weekend.  I will keep you posted.  

This bag is made using fabric from the Folktale line from Moda.  I have quite a bit of this fabric and I love the soft, muted colors that are in it.  I made some key fobs to match the bag.  

And I paired it with the sweet little flower bowl.  I want to make a whole basket full of these little bags in a bunch of different sizes.  They are great way to get organized and also make a nice gift.  :)

 

The Tilda Collection

For the past couple of weeks I have been playing around using some of my Tilda fabrics.  I wanted to make a gift for one of my sewing friends for her birthday because I know that she loves fabric from the Tilda lines.  

I started out making some needlepoint cases and fussy cutting the ladies from one of my fabric pieces for the front of the case.  The back is patchwork and inside is some wool felt with embellishments on it.  I made four of them and love how they came out!  I saw the idea for these online.

Next I made some patchwork pincushions to match.  I had to order some purple buttons to complete all of the projects.  I like how they add to the cuteness factor.

After finishing them, I sewed some small zippered bags in the beautiful Tilda fabrics.  I added a small charm to the zipper pull and a little tab on them.  

Of course, I couldn't leave out the little birdies!  My friend has a whole collection of them and I knew that she would like one in the Tilda fabrics.  :)

I found a flower pattern on the internet and made some mug rugs to go with the collection.  You can drink your tea and while sewing and there's room for a cookie, too!  Or you can just dress up a table or shelf with them.

After the flowers, I put together some key fobs.  These are great for keys or anything that you can put on a ring.  I have some applique circles that I added to mine so that I don't lose them.  

Lastly, I made a couple of cards to match the set.  I gave one set to my friend Carol and raffled off a second set at my quilt guild.  The ladies there loved them, too!  

What do you think of my Tilda collection for sewing?  

 

Getting Ready for My Trip

Before I left on my trip to Israel with some of my friends, I wanted to make them a small pouch to put their shekels in!  I found some cork in my craft room along with some travel fabric and put these together.  I drew up my own pattern with a slight curve at the top.  

I didn't want them to be very big and I like the shape of them.  

They loved getting their little gift before we went.  I made each one just a little bit differently, by adding different charms and using various colors for the linings and tab.  They were impressed with the addition of the cork.   

Here we are on an adventure by a stream in the woods.  Like most places in Israel, we were on our way to see some ancient ruins.  

Before the trip I sent my roommate, Barb, a card for the trip.  Ha ha - I looked through my stamps to find something that sort of looked like a vacation and this is what I came up with!  The two of us on the front with our hats and luggage along with a little camera image that I found.  

The card was pretty plain so I added some blue flowers from Regency Park to give it some contrast (because they were laying on my desk).  Note the little "town" of Bethlehem and the Dome of the "Rock" that I added.  It's kind of silly, but she loved it and I guess that's all that matters.  :)

 

Another Zippered Bag

One of my friends that attends the Bible study at my church has been going through a tough time.  The ladies in the group decided to each bring in a small gift for her and we would put them all together in a basket to give to her.  

I picked up the basket from Marshall's and made a medium sized zippered bag to give to her.  Not knowing what others would give to her, I used colors that matched the basket for my gift.  

This is another of my "go-to" gifts that I like to make.  I picked out some soft cream fabrics and I like how they went together.  The bag is made using 2 1/2" strips that are quilted.  I like putting the zipper in the top part of the bag instead of at the top.  This makes the zipper look better on the bag.  

I picked out a card for her that matched the colors that I used.  

All of the ladies put a gift into the basket and it looked amazing!  Our friend was so grateful to receive her gift and know that we are all thinking of her this week.  :)

Zippered Pouch with Nest Fabric

The other day I had out my bin of Nest fabrics by Lella Boutique.  I have always loved this fabric line, so I decided to make a zippered pouch out of it for a friend of mine who comes over to sew.  I decided to install the zipper onto the front piece, which is easier than fussing with it at the top, and quilted a small bag for her sewing supplies.  

I added some fabric yo-yo's along with buttons to it for embellishment.  Then I made a little pincushion with the same fabrics.  I sewed a strip of the selvage to the top because I loved the colored hearts and added some buttons to the pincushion, too.

She loved how it turned out.  Her handbag was gray so it matched her other items.  :)

 

Asian Ladies Zippered Pouch

I love to make small zippered pouches for my myself and for my friends.  They come in so handy when you need to organize things.  I have some special ones that I use to store my charging cords for my electronics so that I know where they are when I need them.

One day when I was out a second-hand craft shop in my area, I spotted this pretty fabric with these Asian ladies on it.  I knew right away that one of my friends would love something made with this fabric so I bought a yard of it.  She loves everything Asian, especially if it has ladies on it. I turned it into this cute little zippered bag.  It even has some fabric with Chinese print on the inside.  

I made a small zippered pocket for the outside and added some charms to the zippers pulls.  And guess what, she loved it!  Now she can bring the Asian ladies with her wherever she goes.  :)

What To Do With Strips of Fabric

A friend of mine recently had some surgery and I wanted to make a little something for her.  While I was getting my steps in and doing my daily walking at Hobby Lobby, I noticed this really bright and cheery fabric that was on sale.  Of course, I had to get some! 

The first thing that I did was to cut it into strips.  Then I had the idea to make a couple of cosmetic-type zippered bags with it.  There's no sense in just making one, so I made three of them.  I lined them with felt and it was just the right thickness to make them sturdy without being too stiff.  I just happened to have zippers to match on hand, so I used those.

I was going to sew small tabs on the sides of them, but was sort of in a hurry and decided against it.  Now I wish that I had taken the time to do it.  I think tabs make the zippered bags look more finished.

Then with some of the remaining strips, I sewed this hexagon centerpiece.  Can you see the flamingos in the fabric?  I just love them!  I think it came out so cute.  So cute, that I went back to Hobby Lobby and purchased more flamingo fabric!  I'll take that out and use it on another day.  :)  Stay posted.