What a Beach of a Week!

My week started out by finishing Noodlehead's Poolside Tote for my grandchildren. I found some really bright and cheery plaid for my granddaughter's tote. I had some whale fabric for my grandson's since he has a bathing suit and matching sun protection shirt with whales, what could be better?

Bright and cheery bag

Green lining and key fob

Whales, whales and more whales!

I love this lining!

Yesterday I found some cute beach cottage fabric that I forgot I even had so I decided to make s.o.t.a.k handmade's Two in One Clutch. I bought her pattern when she introduced it but I then took a hiatus from sewing and hadn't made it. What a mistake! It is a fun pattern  and picking out the fabric is a lot of the fun! I couldn't stop at one...no, I made two large and two small clutches and could sit and make a lot more if I didn't have so many things to get done!

The front of the beach cottage clutch done with quilting

The two zips. I decided I liked using two colors to pull from the clutch

Front of house clutch

Back of house clutch

Black and red zips for this one!

First small clutch

Purple and Green are fun colors

Boys need somewhere to put their money also!

Two tone zips again!

 So now you understand my "beachy" week. Totes and beachy fabric . Hoping you had a beach of a week also!

Sew What Did I Do Last Week?

I looked at the calendar and suddenly realized that if I was going to make end of the year gifts for my grandchildren's teachers, I had better get going! I decided that teachers can always use a new tote so I used my Out Of Time tote pattern by Dog Under My Desk.  I ended up making four totes...now the kids have to decide which teacher gets which tote with one left over for good measure!

Yoga frog in all his glory!

I love these cats!

A little birdie told me!

Yoga cat....can't let the frogs have all the fun!

After I finished these totes, I remembered my roommate's mother's 80th birthday was coming up. So another OOT tote. This time I went a little fancier and made it out of suede with an inset of a map on front. It really turned out nicely and she loved it!

Suede and map insert

When I finished all of these totes, I realized that I have made 8 OOT totes and I do not own one for myself! So I dug around in all of my stash and found some great denim and some flowery fabric and made one for me!!!! I used webbing for the handles, added some piping to the front and even covered a button to add a bit of pizazz to the front. I think it turned out well and I really can't wait to use it.

The lining matches the front insert

On top of all the sewing, I have cut out 8 more totes for future projects and put them in ziplock bags. Everything is there, zippers, interfacing, etc so all I have to do is grab a bag when I want to sew. Hope your week was productive also!

Bigger on the Inside Backpack...what fun!

I have had Erin Gilbey's Dog Under My Desk " Bigger on the Inside Backpack" pattern for a long time. (See link at top right!) Why didn't I make it? Who knows but now that I have found it, I can't stop! I decided to make one for my daughter-in-law for the families' travels this coming summer. When I finished hers, I figured why not make one for each grandchild. I made the kids version 90% of the pattern.

I found some black and yellow fabric that I bought a long time ago along with some cute little yellow birdie lining for my daughter-in-law's. I really like how it all came together. Bright and cheery for the summer.

Here is the front with the front zipper pocket 

See the cute little birdies  in the lining...look carefully LOL!

I next made my granddaughter a Paris backpack. Since I was using two fat quarters, I didn't have enough fabric to cut out the bottom piece so I found a gray checked fabric. I am really glad that I did because I think the Paris fabric would have shown lots of dirt on the bottom.

Front of the backpack

Who doesn't love polka dots?

Bottom of bag with coordinating gray bottom

Last but not least, I made a Teenaged Mutant Turtle backpack for my grandson! He loves them and he loves green so it was a win-win situation!

All of those happy, smiling turtles!

I love this stripey green fabric with a passion! Can't tell you how many times I have used it for a project!

Here are the three backpacks together before they get mailed.

If you want a fun pattern to make, try this one! Erin's patterns are the best. She has such clear dirctions along with great pictures. You can't go wrong!

Takeoff Tote and Noodlehead's Poolside Tote

I have been busy sewing rag dolls and their clothes along with QAYG blocks for a while so I decided that I was ready to sew a tote or two!

 I have wanted to make the Take Off Tote(for me) by Erin Gilbey of Dog Under My Desk for a long time and I finally did it!!!! I have had this fabric forever and I love how it turned out. Instead of fabric straps, I used webbing. Also I used Stiff Stuff for body.(http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/products/stiff-stuff). For me, it is so much easier to use than Soft and Stable and gives the bag wonderful body. This is a large tote perfect for a weekend trip.  I think the best compliment that I have received for this tote is from my roommate who thinks it looks like a Coach bag! Since all the fabrics were remnants, this certainly didn't cost what a Coach bag would!

Front of the bag with zipper pocket with butterfly zipper pull

Back of bag with pocket

Inside pocket and cute little owl lining.

Leather tab on zipper

I next moved onto Noodlehead's Poolside tote. I got this pattern when I was a member of the Bag of the Month Club in 2014 but I kept putting off making it! Boy, was that a mistake. This is such a great pattern and perfect for the beach. I made the first one on Sunday and I quickly made a second one on Monday. The first tote I made exactly like the pattern was written with only Pellon SF101. This leaves the bag quite soft and has the ability to be stuffed to the gills with needed items for the beach. For the second tote, I usedPellon® 987F Fusible Fleece to give it more stability. I had so much fun making these. I am now planning on making one 80% of the full size for my grandkids.

Front of my first Poolside Tote. Note the cute little zipper pull.

Inside of tote with key fob.

Second tote using Pellon fusible fleece

Inside of tote

Close up of zipper pull

Close up of key fob