I’ve been caught up in sewing Swoon bags.   After my initial tote bag (Ethel), I made six Coralines, a wristlet clutch pattern (which I blogged about previously).

My latest completion is a bag called “Bonnie”, which is a bucket purse.  I made this one in vinyl and quilter’s cotton in a cute horse print by Laurel Burch.

This bag has a recessed zipper closure at the top.  I liked it well enough to enter it in the Minnesota State Fair in the purse category.  It came in second, and considering the competition, I was pleased with second place.

I am now working on a cute fold-over bag named “Amber”.  (Yes, Swoon gives girl’s names to all their bag patterns.)  Amber might be my new favorite!  I’ll show it to you when it’s done.

I added to my Singer family this week.  I was looking for a Singer 99 in a bentwood case.  I made a lucky find of exactly what I was looking for at a great price.  (I named her Shirley after the seller’s mother who was the primary user of this machine.)  Shirley’s cord needed to be replaced, and she was a dirty girl.  She cleaned up nicely, and for a 1937 machine, I think she is beautiful.  She also sews well.

Linking to Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times.

–Sue

… the Bag Edition:

I have been busy sewing, but since I’ve been introduced to Swoon Bags, it’s been hard to focus on anything else!  I started with the Ethyl (a free pattern) that I showed you a while back:

Then I purchased Coraline pattern, which makes a clutch or an easy wristlet.  First I made an aqua wristlet:

Then I came across some Dr. Who fabric that I knew would be perfect for my niece Kyla:

There is a zipper across the top, but it is recessed.  On  a couple of bags, I added credit card slots.  On the most recent ones, I made a separate little credit card holder

I saw this western fabric and I knew it would be perfect for grand-niece Mattea, who is a rodeo kind of gal:

Next I cut out three more to stitch up as gifts.  I finished the retro looking pink one with cherries:

I really like this brown one made of batiks.  I just might keep this one:

And I have a black-and-white wristlet I’m still working on.  I am ready to move on to other bag patterns that Swoon offers, but I need to get a couple of quilts done before I can go Swoon-ing again.

Linking to Judy Laquidara’s Design Wall Monday post.

I have quite a bit to catch up on, so this will be strictly a sewing post, in the interest of brevity.  I have a photo post and a scrap-busting post that I will publish in the next couple of days.

• Have you discovered Swoon bags yet?  My first Swoon bag…her name is Ethel.  This is a nice smaller tote bag with a zippered pocket and a large divided slip pocket on the inside, as well as a large slip pocket on the front.  The designer uses interfacing, fusible batting, and other stiffening products to make a nice bag that stands up nicely.  Her designs are also a bit more sophisticated in construction than what we are used to in the quilting world.

I used home decorating fabric, and that made it pretty thick with all the additional layers, so I wouldn’t do that again.  This is also only about 10″ high, so while it’s a nice bag, it isn’t quite as tall as I expected.  (Yes, the pattern said 10″; no, I guess I can’t read.)

• While at a quilting retreat with my Aunt Bertha in Alabama, I made this fun top from the book One-derful 1-Fabric Quilts by Kay Nickols.  My original fabric was a border stripe.

This is two rows, and I have completed six rows with one more to go.  The original fabric:

• Bertha and I also made Bow Tucks bags — well, hers is done, mine is not, so no photo.

Goals for this week:  Finish the Bow Tucks bag, and finish the blue one-fabric top.

Linking to Patchwork Times’ Design Wall Monday post.

Be sure to stop back this week and see how I’m getting my scraps under control, and some quilt-room photos.

— Sue