Bag No.56 Sitting Hare

 

There will be not much writing today, because the whole story of the Sitting Hare was told in my latest blog of 2022 already. Today I can proudly announce that the sitting hare definitely became a bag. Based on the original template by Amy Tedge, the panel was actually bigger than needed for a bag. I just hadn´t the heart to cut it smaller and the finished bag belongs to the biggest bags I have ever made. It can accommodate so much! I love it.

 

 

Happy stitching! 

Michaela

Sitting Hare

The sitting hare became the last finished project of 2022. When I first saw the beautiful creation by Amy Tedge, I just couldn´t resist buying the pattern. The aim was (and still is) to make a bag for myself.  

This is the original work by Amy:

My colorway of the background is quite different from the original. It is not the fact that I wouldn´t like it, I simply haven´t such lovely vintage-looking fabrics in my stash.

I followed the (very good written) instructions for the appliqué and embroidered outlines and flowers,  nevertheless, I added more quilting on the background. I must admit, I love hand quilting... 

The bag isn´t finished yet, but the appliqué and embroidery panel can be declared finished.

Happy quilting!

Michaela

Eleven bags

 

Some weeks ago, I visited my favorite Aja Votrubcová patchwork store in Prague. I was looking for a nice fabric for sewing advent bags. I wanted Quilters Shadow in holiday red and some thin linen. That was the plan, but I immediately noticed the newly arrived heavy linens, a great basic for my beloved shopping bags. I couldn´t resist. I went home with a hefty (and expensive) bag full of happiness.

At home, I prewashed the linen first and started calculating how many and how big the bags would be. In the end, there were eleven!

I worked in my favorite technique: first, I laid and quilted a collage background, then ironed a fusible appliqué on it and quilted it by machine. As a final touch, I added lace and buttons.

Eleven bags means 22 handles!

Here they are. Two of them with Cori Dantini fabrics:

With the other ones I used two beautiful panels, which I bought some time ago not knowing who the designer was: 

Some of my favorite details:

Yesterday evening, the last bag was finally completed. 

Suddenly I felt, they lacked something, I missed the icing on the cake. A badge!  I used some scraps for sewing the badges and embellished them with a Tim Holz token. I´m satisfied now.

The final inspection by Norioka:

Happy stitching!

Michaela 

Slow stitching on holiday II.

 

 

At the beginning of September, we spent one beautiful week in Ruprechtov, a very small village near the Spa Karlovy Vary. We made some nice trips but also spent a lovely time in the garden of the pension reading, drinking tea, and (in my case) sewing. I had plenty of time to finish (or almost finish)  two fabric collages which were „in progress“ for some time already.

This is how they were prepared at home:

The bird

And the cat:

And this is what they look like now:

Both, the cat and the bird are to become journal covers, something like this:

Happy stitching

Michaela

 

 

Two Zippered Bags for two Sisters in Law

I´m planning a short trip to the Netherlands to visit my good friends. Due the pandemic we didn´t see each other for a very long time and I´m really looking forward to it.  I have still to wait a few weeks, so what could be better than to pass the time by sewing gifts?
Going through my stash I found a small bundle of scraps, all from the fabric collection "Wordsmith" by Janet Clare for Moda Fabrics. I knew immediately, I found the right material to make two small pockets for two sisters in law: similar, from the same family, but still very different, like my two friends.
I worked in my favourite technique – sew as you go. After sewing all four panels I still found them unfinished. Linen lace and the embroidery with linen thread were definitely the right finish.

Voila, here they are!

 

Happy stitching!

Michaela