It's a Small Suitcase

I’ve got three fairly large not-sewing projects going at the moment. In an attempt to be disciplined, I am not allowing myself to sew until I spend a few hours moving them along the pipeline. The project I worked on yesterday morning was the digital layout of the marketing postcard for the craft co-op sale. The first draft is done and has been sent to the rest of the committee members for their input.

After lunch, I finished the Place for Everything Tote:

This bag really does have a place for everything. There are pockets galore on the removable inside pages:

What a great bag to take to classes and retreats. I included the D-rings for the strap but I haven’t made the strap, nor do I think I will add one. The Bernina 880 had no trouble with the thicker layers, although that outside binding took me a solid couple of hours. Each of those outside seams has to be sewn three times: once to assemble the bag, the second time to attach the binding, and the third time to sew down the binding. Oof. I sewed slowly using a denim needle and the #8D jeans foot with the dual feed engaged.

Speaking of retreats, one is happening this weekend here in Kalispell. Pink Door Fabrics, a store in Frederick, CO, hosts what they call the Sew Fancy Retreat every year. From what I can tell, it moves around the country. This year, they chose to have it at Snowline Acres, which just happens to be the venue where DD#1 had her wedding reception in 2020. The husband also did some concrete work there. Click on that link and go look at the photos. The teachers for this year’s retreat are Guiseppe Ribaudo and Annie Unrein, which is why they are coming to the store on Tuesday to present lectures.

Rather than start the Running With Scissors pattern, I took a small detour. I picked up this pattern at the store last week. Would I use a purse like this? Probably not, but sometimes I make things because they are fun to sew.

This is the Roundabout Bag by Cotton Street Commons. I thought I might make one in some of my Tim Holtz fabric, but I couldn’t find a combination I liked. Instead, I pulled out some Tula Pink fabric and am using that. I got as far as quilting the main bag pieces—fabric and foam stabilizer—before I stopped for dinner.