Tasting Table Tuesday - A New Year

Happy New Year!  Seems like forever since I've posted anything new here.  The holidays were a flurry of activity, both before - and during - leaving no extra time for blogging.  I made almost all of my Christmas gifts this year, and in hind-sight, I probably got in a little too deep this time.  I got a little stressed out in  my attempts to finish everything on time, but in the end, it all worked out fine.

Following tradition, hubby and I got up early Christmas morning and drove to a nearby State Park at the PA Grand Canyon for a daybreak pancake breakfast.  We always do this when we find ourselves alone on Christmas morning, and it's a very special start to our holiday.  This year there was a fresh snowfall and absolutely no wind.  The weather was perfect.  We built a fire in the huge stone fireplace in the pavillion, cooked pancakes and drank coffee.  A peaceful start to a perfect day.

Our daughter, SIL  and granddaughter were here for most of the week, including Christmas, and the 5 of us had plans to travel to Western PA to see my parents and brothers, but Mother Nature had other plans.  We got dumped with about 18 inches of snow between Wednesday and Saturday so that brought our travel plans to a screeching halt.  Very disappointing, to say the least.  But we made the best of it and enjoyed a quiet end to the week and enjoyed the time together.  And you have to admit - the snow was beautiful.

Little Miss R kept us totally entertained as she played "dress-up" for hours on end.  Grammie's hats, shoes, jewelry, purses, scarves - you name it - she wore it.

Now for some of my Christmas projects...
My husband loved his target quilt, so that was a huge success.  In my rush to get everything done, I neglected to take a picture of it after I finished quilting it, and I just now realized it.  Oh well - I'll take one later.
The Weekender Bag was also a hit, as was the I Spy Matching Game, as you can see here.  She's not yet two years old, but was already finding the pairs and matching them up.

At the last minute, I also decided to make a Computer Bag for my DIL.  I used the Two-Zip Hipster pattern by Dog Under My Desk, but made it twice as wide and an inch taller, so it would hold her laptop computer. I also added a padded, elasticized pocket for the power cord and the mouse, along with some slip pockets on the other side.  I love these fabrics.  They're from the Juggling Summer collection by Moda.

There were many other small miscellaneous gifts, but I neglected to photograph them all.  Besides, I don't want to bore you with picture overload.  Next year I think I need to get an earlier start on my projects...
Thank you for sharing 2012 with me here at the Cotton Cellar, and I look forward to keeping in touch with you all in 2013.  Happy New Year!
Cheers!

Tasting Table Tuesday - Weekender Bag Review

It was a tough battle, but I won.  This bag was definitely the most difficult bag I'm made yet.  But I kind of compare it to childbirth - tough to get through, but so worth it in the end!  It's been a few days now, and I've already almost forgotten how difficult it was - I repeat - almost!

I'm happy with the structure of the bag, since I used the QAYG technique instead of the Peltex on every panel.  It's definitely stable enough and stands up well on it's own.  What really made this bag difficult to sew was the piping in the seams.  But the bag wouldn't look as good without it, so it was worth suffering through the process.

One success though - I didn't break any needles!  The instructions actually suggest that you have a package of new needles on hand, and from the reviews I read, most people go through several.  My Bernina's a tough old gal...

Lots of reviews I read mentioned that the bottom lining panel seemed too big, and I have to agree.  When I realized it, I could have stopped and altered it to fit, but I took the easy way out, like everyone else, and just put some little pleats in the bottom corners to take up the extra fullness.  Afterall, it's on the inside of the bag and will never be noticed, so I'm fine with that.

I also increased the strap length by 9 inches (also recommended on a review) so it can be carried as a shoulder bag, and that length worked out great.

So all-in-all, I'm very happy with how this bag turned out, but I won't be making another one anytime soon.
It's for my granddaughter for Christmas.  Her mom wanted an overnight bag just for her, and I think this will be just perfect.  Oh, the things we do for love...

Cheers!

Tasting Table Tuesday - Weekender Bag

I finally took the plunge...  I've admired Amy Butler's Weekender Bag pattern for quite some time now, but was hesitant to try making one.  The pattern calls for tons and tons of interfacing and Peltex, and if you buy everything on the material list it becomes VERY expensive to make - and probably pretty difficult as well.  But then I read about an alternative construction method on Elizabeth Hartman's blog, Oh, Frannson, that eliminates all that Peltex.  Count me in!!!  That's all the encouragement I needed to give this bag a try.

Elizabeth uses only cotton duck, thin batting, and quilting cotton.  She used a "quilt-as-you-go" patchwork technique that looks amazing.  I opted to just use one piece of fabric, instead of the patchwork, but still used the same quilting technique to secure all the layers together, stitching vertical rows every half inch.
I think this is probably the most challenging bag I've tried so far, but I haven't run into any problems - yet...  It's been years since I've made piping - let alone applied it to a bag - and I love the extra detail it provides.
So wish me luck in completing this monster.  I think I'm going to love it when it's done, but I don't think this is something I'll want to make dozens of, that's for sure!

And if you're looking for my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day post, just click here.  Good luck!!!

Cheers!