my #newsstand tote

Pattern testing is one of my new favorite things. Talented pattern designers often head to instagram to find people willing to test out new patterns and I've been volunteering often lately. It's fun to choose fabrics for a project I wouldn't otherwise get to make, and this bag is my favorite of them all! It's the Newsstand Tote by Felice Regina and it features elasticized side pockets and an interior slip pocket, but you could easily customize it. I think if I made another I would add a key fob, maybe a zippered pocket in the lining, and use leather handles. This bag is going to be a workhorse for me so I think these pretty yellow handles are going to take a beating.

The construction of the bag was straightforward and simple. Felice writes great patterns and this one is pretty easy to follow, even for a novice bag maker. I've made a bunch of bags before but I don't often use very advanced techniques so sometimes I'm challenged by things like gussets or zipper installation, but this pattern was smooth sailing for me!

I love the exterior side pockets. They're a must for me on any bag because I like being able to carry the boys' water bottles in my bag without the risk of them spilling inside. It makes it easy for them to grab them, too. Then they're not fishing around in my bag and inadvertently finding the snacks I'm trying to save for later.

I used an Alison Glass Handcrafted print (plus in teal) for the main exterior, and Cotton + Steel for the pockets (from August), handles (one of the basics), and binding (from Mesa). The lining is a fun Alexander Henry print that I'm obsessed with lately. I've used it for three linings and put some of it in a quilt!

It's a good size for toting around anything I need for an outing with the boys - my wallet, keys, and phone, of course, along with diapers and wipes, a change of clothes for Finn, some snacks, Finn's epi pens, and lots of other purse detritus. I made a couple other pouches to corral my belongings - that pouch with the blue zip on top there is a Noodlehead open wide pouch and it holds a lip balm, diaper cream, hand sanitizer, and an Ava Anderson boo boo stick. There's a kitty wristlet in there, too, and I use it to hold my phone and keys if I'm leaving the diaper bag somewhere like at my parents' house or Matt's parents' house when they're watching the boys. Now I just need to make myself a wallet to replace my old and threadbare Vera Bradley one!

Be sure to check out all the other bags Felice's pattern testers made... I love the fabrics on them all! And as always, I have to thank Matt for the photos! He always says yes when I ask him to take some pictures for me, even when he has a backlog of weddings to edit and more scheduled for the coming weekend. Also, if I could wear jeans and a gray t shirt every day it would be great.

Home is... | a mini quilt for the Wassons

I've had a backlog of projects to share for a while now, and I figured it's time to dust the ol' blog off! I've been pro-craft-inating (perhaps you're familiar with this - similar to procrastinating but occurs when one is actively doing crafts - like fabric covered buttons to make into magnets and needleminders and zip pouches and appliqued kitty wristlets and cloth napkins and a tote bag and a mug rug and fabric baskets and lavender sachets - to avoid doing other crafts) because I have two large-ish quilts to complete but I'm stuck on both of them. One needs to be finished in a couple weeks (it's a wedding gift) and the other is sort of past due (it's for a baby who has already been born!). I've been agonizing over the back of the wedding quilt because I just could not motivate myself to piece it (it was really a double-sided quilt which I regret) and yesterday I gave myself permission to abandon my plans for the back and I bought yardage of this pretty Katarina Roccella print from Llama Fabrics. Problem solved! And I know Chio will have it shipped tomorrow or the day after so I'll be able to get to work again really soon. Now I'm excited about it again and can't wait to finish it. In the meantime I'll continue piecing the baby quilt. It's taking me a while because it's all equilateral triangles and there are no shortcuts I can take. The end result should be really pretty though so I'm looking forward to the finish! I also have a couple other quilts in the works as well as some dresses and bags... I don't usually have this many works in progress but it's time I cut down the list a bit!

Anyway, while I work on these various projects I wanted to share some older ones that never made it to the blog. This little quilt was the first mini quilt that I made. It was for friends who bought a home and then shortly thereafter celebrated their tenth anniversary with a vow renewal in their new backyard. I used fabrics my friend had picked out to make a quilt of her own years ago, but I ended up with the fabrics because she decided against making it at the time. Long story, I know, and you can read more about it here, if you're interested. I don't think the quilt is so lopsided in real life, but I haven't seen it since I gave it to her so I don't remember - maybe it is! I hope not! I really love the embroidery though, and want to add more special details to quilts in the future. Stay tuned for a couple more projects on the blog this week!