The Third Law

You know, the one which states that every triumph has an equal number of disasters?  In this case, it was an equal number plus a few more.  But it’s done!  I’ve finished the bag!

So, where were we?  I think I was about to begin to sew the side panels in place.  It’s quite a clever design in that these side panels have pleats which hold the pocket sides together.  I folded and pressed and took it carefully and all appeared to be well.

Of course, one side is always easier than the other and where one seems to fit nicely and sit under the sewing machine foot without difficulty, the other side  doesn’t want to lay quite so flat.  Anyway, I got both sides stitched in place and took a deep breath.

Now it was time to sew the seam which joins the sides to the bottom, and though the straight parts were fairly ok, that curved piece was the trickiest part of the whole thing – so far.  In the end, I tacked it and stitched it by hand before doing what I could on the machine, hoping that my dreadful stitching would be hidden by the next challenging stage.

Those edges now needed to be bound, and though the pink binding was cut to fit, it soon became the next most trickiest bit of the whole project.  It should have been topstitched by machine but I copped out of that bit and simply blindstitched it in place.  Any wonky bits were pressed into submission with a good whack of steam.

There remained just one last step – sewing the long closing zip in place and however hard I tried, I just couldn’t envisage how it was done.  I waited until today, Saturday afternoon, to tackle that bit.

It was a (comparative!) breeze!  Well, I did have to rip out a couple of small areas but compared with other parts, sewing four long, straight seams was easy peasy. 

I finished off the zip “handle” with the tabs as instructed, and was nearly finished. 

I just needed to make the small dish with the magnetic clips which fits in the front.  That’s when I discovered that the pattern for that is on an additional Craftsy download!  Another seven pages!

But half an hour later I’d got that in place without too much bother.

Tra laaa!

Would I make it again?  Hmmm.  Maybe.  But I’m not in a hurry to do that!  Is it a beginner project?  Well, I don’t think so.  I think the curved seam in particular needs confidence to sew, and wrangling a fairly large, three dimensional object under the sewing machine takes some doing, too.  I was using all the clever capabilities of my machine, moving the needle left and right to squeeze the quarter inch seam through.  I engaged the dual feed to make sure the zips didn’t slip and move in between all those layers of fabric and yes, in places, it struggled to get through it all: Attaching the pink binding, at one point I was sewing a quarter inch seam through at least eight fabric layers and a couple of bits of interfacing too! Would I pay $50 for someone to steer me through it in a class?  If I were a beginner, you know, it’d probably be worth it, just to make sure I didn’t throw it across the room.

Anyway, for now, I’m just going to carry it everywhere with me, to unzip it and look inside from time to time and bask in the glory of a finished project.

I am not allowing a WI Craft Judge anywhere near it though

Progress

After I finished writing the last post, I had an email from Mary, who told me she’d seen a class to make this bag on offer in LA, cost $50.  Well, I don’t need much persuasion to save money, so immediately set to and began to cut out those pieces! 

I went carefully, ticking off each one as I went and marking the pieces with an identifier and an arrow as recommended.  I knew I’d need to set off well before lunchtime for an afternoon meeting at Denman College, so rather than begin the sewing I thought I’d just get all the pieces together, including the zips.  4 short and one very long one.

I could find only three.  (I’m sure I bought four, but who knows where the other one went?)

I bought another four zips on my way to my meeting and was thankful for the little sewing shop in Cirencester and the fact there were no traffic wardens around whilst I parked on a double yellow line to run and out as quickly as I could!

Another meeting this morning, so it was after lunch that I switched on my machine and began page 15 of the instructions.  I won’t say it’s difficult sewing but I guess it’s not that easy to explain which piece goes where.

I was very thankful for my zipper foot and being able to engage the dual feed on my machine!

As I thought, once the first one was done, it was fairly simple to continue in the same way.

Though it takes time to identify each piece and work out where it goes, place it accurately, stitch, press and topstitch.

But that bit is done!  Four zip pockets complete.  I’m now on page 22 of the instructions and about to install the magnetic snap for the Optional Fabric Dish.

I was about to leave it there, but thought I might as well continue and get that little magnetic bit in place.  Then I turned over   scrolled down a little further and decided to sew the pockets in place too.

Needless to say, I didn’t get one of those seams quite right, so had to undo it using my trusty seam ripper.  But one thing about that wonderful tool is that it leaves quite a few straggly little bits of thread behind, so I was glad of my new mini ripper (why do I hum a tune when I say that?) which has an “innovative thread remover” on the end.  (Though actually, I expect I could have done exactly the same thing with a pencil eraser)

Anyway, tomorrow, I’m ready to begin page 26.

Progress.

Not easily intimidated

but.

A couple of months ago, I came across this nifty pattern on Craftsy.  Like many, I’m a sucker for a good bag pattern and this one seemed to be super-useful for not only carrying a sewing (art?) kit but for holding it all together in use too.

I watched the video demonstration here and thought that it was something I wanted to make, so I bought the pattern and noted the ingredients.

I wasn’t in a particular hurry but took the opportunity to buy a cheap bundle of fat quarters in JoAnns when we were in the USA, plus all the zips, interfacing and so on.  In the meantime, Mary had got the pattern as well and together we discussed the clever design. Mary asked if I’d noticed how detailed the instructions are, but bearing in mind that Craftsy mark it as a beginner project, it shouldn’t be too tricky, should it?

With a day at home and having completed my responsibilities this morning, I thought I’d make a start.  It’s a while since I downloaded the pattern though and the perfectionist in me wanted to make sure I cut the right piece from the right colour.  For, although this was going to be a mish mash of colours, I did want some control!

I went to the sewing patterns folder on my pc and opened it up. I thought I’d better print it out before I began, so I could tick off the various stages.

Oooer.  Now I understood why Mary had referred to the detailed instructions. 

82 pages!

Of course, I wasn’t going to print all that out.  I skimmed through to see what I needed and printed out the cutting list, hoping to identify which bit I needed to cut from each colour.  I still wasn’t sure though, so watched another video (or four) with a step by step guide to what goes where (and how it’s constructed)

My free afternoon was disappearing fast!

Now totally at a loss as to where to start, I considered just cutting the pieces and winging it!  I could hear my Mum’s voice though – no, don’t spoil it.  Do it properly.

But here we are, almost 4.30pm and I haven’t so much as made a snip in any fabric let alone threaded my machine.  I was about to make a start when I spotted an update and pattern errata on the website so watched the updated YouTube video which has some further refinements – not that I’ve really got to grips with the original version yet.

Whilst I commend the designer for her detailed and carefully thought out pattern instructions, I’m beginning to wonder where “enough” might be.  Of course, those 82 pages contain a lot more than the straightforward step by step instructions; in fact, there’s a pattern for another small accessory in there as well as a good deal of commentary.  But all in all, I’m overwhelmed by the whole thing.  Perhaps there’s a cause for the simple, basic pattern to be outlined, so that those of us who would just like to dive in and make it can do exactly that.  Having done that, we might have enough of an understanding that we could then consider refinements and a better way of doing things.

So there we are, an afternoon being busy doing nothing.

I need a lie down.

Can’t see the wood

We had a fun day out with friends on Friday, spending some time at Whichford Pottery listening to their gardener speak about planting bulbs in pots.  

 

We are always happy to mooch around there and seldom leave without a new pot to add to our collection.

On Friday, we arrived early enough for coffee and a bacon buttie in the new cafe there, which is an interesting and eclectic space.

Just behind us were a couple of holes in the wall, one of which was stuffed with pieces of brightly coloured yarn.  Of course, I took a photo.

It was only just now though, when printing a few pics out for my Project Life that I spotted the legs.

Up with the larks

I was judging one of my favourite shows today, so up and out first thing and driving through Moreton in Marsh before 8am.  The forecast was good, but as it was early, I’d put on an additional layer, just to get me through until the sun came out.  Working in a damp marquee can be chilly on the warmest of days, so I thought I’d better be prepared.

One entrant in the “memory book” class had created a treasure but I smiled as I wrote a comment about it needing a bigger spine.  Physician, heal thyself!

We worked our way methodically through our allotted classes, did our usual humming and hahhing with the stewards before taking a look around the other parts of the Home and Garden marquee and sympathising with my colleague judging a large class of jars of chutney.

Some of the vegetables were huge this year.

I had intended to go and take a look around the cattle before going for my lunch, but when I saw the quagmire that had been created by the entrance to the livestock arena, I thought better of it and simply watched from a distance.

So much for the fine weather forecast – it seems as though it had rained pretty heavily earlier on.  Such a shame when everyone has poured heart and soul into the organisation of the day.  Each year, there seems to be one particularly popular item of clothing on everyone’s stand – it definitely wasn’t a sunhat this year, but these were flying off the racks!

I took refuge inside the food tent instead and did a little pre-lunch tasting!  I just might have made a purchase here at the Cotswold Fudge Company – something sweet for my Hero, of course.

But the product of the day here?

Gin!  Damson gin, sloe gin, plum gin, plain gin…all offering little tasters just right for a chilly day

Who knew there were so many?  Well, I do now!  What a pity I was driving.

Clearly the programme for the day was similar to last year,  because as I went for my lunch the Ladies’ Sidesaddle competition was under way.

Watching the judge climb up onto each horse in turn, my colleague Carolyn and I heaved a sigh of relief that judging crafts involves no such peril.

Because not all the participants in the class were behaving themselves and one in particular was being difficult.  It certainly put my challenge of the morning into perspective – I mean, dealing with a motheaten sweater is a piece of cake compared to managing an unruly horse, isn’t it?

I hope that judge found her way to the gin tent.