Curvalicious Bags

My plan was to make a large batik Curvalicious bed quilt.  Stitching the fused circles by hand was to be my "sitting" project on a tour to Budapest and Hungary.  There was a lot of sitting time on the flight over and back and time spent waiting for the group.  I don't like to fuse down all the circles at once, since inevitably the fabric begins to fray.  I know I have shared this before, but you can always find an iron in a hotel.  It's either in your room or a call down to the front desk results in one appearing at your door.

This was half of the quilt and quite frankly, I just thought it was too much, and this was only the first half.

So I decided to cut it up and make 2 bags from it and a tablerunner,

 and then I would see what else was left over.

I am far from an expert in making bags.  The first bag I wanted to create was inspired by this little double zipped purse. I take it with me all over the island.  It's large enough to carry my little wallet and my phone. The two zippered compartments are separate, and I can sling it over my shoulder.

My "wants" for my double zippered purse were:
                           1.  Two independently zippered compartment
                           2.  to wear it over my shoulder, which means a comfortable strap
                           3.  Large enough for serious travel
                           4.  Large enough to hold a sketch pad, digital camera, wallet, phone and umbrella, + ??
                           5.  Finished inside seams
                           6.  Inside pocket for my phone and keys

Most of the requirements were pretty easy to meet, just by making the bag larger, so I started with a piece of the Curvalicious fabric that measured 12" x 30".  I knew my struggle would be with making sure there were no raw seams inside, so I made a little prototype.

The dot fabric represented the zipper.

I cant tell you how many times I had to refer to my prototype before finishing 

my Curvvalicious Double Zip Bag, perfectly sized at 10" x 15".

The local fabric store that also does upholstery put the grommets in for me.

(Thanks Nick.)

One bag down and one more to go.  

A big beautiful tote bag, large enough to hold projects or for an overnight trip. It has a square bottom and interior pockets and a comfy strap.

This is my first project with horizontal Curvalicious stripes.  I like it!

Getting Ready

I'm getting ready for a vacation trip to Budapest and Prague. I always have a list of things to do.   If you are a book reader, part of trip preparation is making sure you have enough reading material.  If you are a quilter, the most important part of trip prep is making sure you have handwork.  And that is the first item on my list.  This trip involves a long plane ride accompanied by layovers that are quite lengthy.  I have been thinking about what to bring for a couple of weeks. It had to be compact.

I don't do a lot of handwork these days. My sewing machine is  I applique by machine and I even put my bindings on completely by machine.  But I do love stitching circles down by hand.  So this hand project would be the start of a new Curvalicious quilt.  Some women in my workshops used batiks.  I liked them a lot, so that was my choice.

My fabrics- washed and ready to go.

The pieced background

with the appliques

I had to prep about 200 circles.

Then fused a bunch of them to the curvy strips for stitching.

I like using rayon thread to stitch down the circles.  Since I wanted to minimize the stuff in my carry on luggage, I wound bobbins with the thread and put them in this great red bobbin keeper.  I have high hopes that my threads won't get tangled.

I am relieved that my handwork is prepared.  

Now I can focus on cleaning the house and packing my clothes.

Prague, here I come!