The Beatle Bag
The first is Abbey Lane's Beatle Bag--Grab, Go and Sew. It's a kit for a handy sewing caddy that has plastic zip pockets, pin cushion and extra cloth pockets for odds and ends.
It called for Soft and Stable (Foam Stabilizer) which I had never used. Couldn't find it locally at the time so I bought it on line at www.ByAnnie.com. Since then a couple of local quilting stores are stocking it. This product takes the place of batting and I found it quite nice to work with. It has a little more body than batting but is still very light weight. I think I'll use it when I make purses in the future.
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Travel Duffle Bag
I fell in love with some fabric which had panels of sewing and art ladies that were sort of steampunk. I've used some of the panels in purses and garments but I originally bought it to make a travel bag. I had to use borders on the panels to make them fit the pocket sizes and an I used a complimentary border print on the top of the bag. There is a pocket inside that is divided into 3 sections when you stitch on the strap. I didn't make the fabric covered straps since my bag was black. This bag also uses Soft and Stable for the stabilizer. The pattern is on www.ByAnnie.com. The bag is 21 x 13 x 8 which is a pretty big bag. They have a smaller one on the website too. There are 6 exterior pockets; two with zippers. I would buy the hardware and zippers from the website to save some time as they are hard to find. I couldn't find the right size hardware anywhere locally so I ended up buying a used messenger bag from goodwill and using the hardware from it instead of paying $15.00 for the hardware kit on the website. The end seams on the inside of the bag are bound and proved to be quite cumbersome to do. I would probably make a more rounded corner if I were to do it again. That would make it easier to bind.
Iron Caddy
If you travel or go to sewing retreats then this project is one you might like. This cute iron caddy fits travel irons and opens out into a pressing surface. The patter is by Sisters' Common Thread and it is called Caddy Pad Jr. Makes me wonder if the Sr version if for a full size iron. Anyway, it was a quick project and turned out really cute. It's lined with insul-brite and heat resistant ironing board cloth.
