Quilted Western Purse/Tote

This is a western themed quilted purse that I finished this evening. The construction is the same as the purple one that I made for the swap on Fabric in Altered Art. The main difference besides the theme is this one has more in the way of embellishments. I have a steer head/skull stamp that I really like and don't get to use much. I stamped it onto 2 different pieces of leather and stitched them to a few of the fabric scraps. I added several buttons and a few charms as well. I really like the purse but I am actually tired of all of the brown fabric that I have laying all over the place and I am ready to get out something bright and cheerful. This is the first purse that I have made that I am keeping for myself. I am really looking forward to using it!

Altered Tea Towel

This is one of the tea towels I did for an altered tea towel swap on Fabric in Altered Art. The other one is similar with lace in place of the rick rack. I had some coffee themed fabric that seemed perfect for the towels. I simply cut strips for each end, pressed the edges under 1/4" and stitched them down. I had a fat quarter that had several images of pots, mugs and machines. I cut 3 for each end of the towel and zigzagged them on. Simple, tho a little time consuming. It was a fun swap and and ready to mail out tomorrow.

Latest Quilted Purse

This is the purse I made for the quilted purse swap on Fabric in Altered Art.. I received a packet of 7 fat quarters from EQuilter.com, my fav online fabric shop, and wondered what I would do with all of the purple fabric. It was time to start my quilted purse so I decided that I would challenge myself to use those 7 fat quarters. I did add a few other scraps of fabric on top of the main pieces but the outside, lining and straps are all made from the fat quarters. I had received a quilted purse from Debi Minter that gave me the inspiration for my purse. She had used a piece of decorator type fabric and then stitched fabric scraps all over it. I created the pieces for the outside of the bag by sewing two FQs together and then cutting them to create the front and back. The lining is created pretty much the same way except one side of the lining is more of a print, the other is more of a solid. After creating the front and back pieces I cut rectangles, squares and triangles from some of the other FQs that were left along with other purple scraps I had. It was a really fun a creative project! I have everything together to make another one in the near future. I will be posting the directions from start to finish along with a supply list and pictures for anyone that wants to make one of these purses. If you would like to join us just let me know. Please e-mail me at the address in the upper left hand corner of the blog. If you just leave a comment make sure your e-mail address is included in your comment.

Learn to make a Quilted Purse/Tote

Sometime in the next 2 weeks the members of Fabric in Altered Art is going to begin a new project. We are going to learn to make a quilted purse or tote. I have made a few in the last few months and I could not believe how simple they are to make. And I don't quilt! I can't even free motion quilt. Don't know why but I just can't get it. Thanks to a fellow member of Fabric in Altered Art, I found a very simple and colorful way to quilt a piece of fabric. I am going to write out the directions for a purse or tote that you can make simple changes to. I will add a few illustrations and make it as simple as possible. You will be able to change the shape and size of the bag very easily. You can add pockets or leave them off. Short handles or long. We will use one simple set of instructions and I am guessing we will all end up with totally different bags. I think you will be amazed at how simple it is. You know those totes that seem to have those perfect squared off bottoms and you wonder how that happens. It's soooooo simple. My daughter was really impressed until the turned the bag wrong side out and showed her how to do it.

If you would like to join us contact me at CathyJohnson42000@yahoo.com and I will send you and invite to the group.

Goodie Bag Challenge Wall Hangling

My gosh! It's been a while. Time to get this thing rolling again. I have been creating, just not posting. I will try to get back on track. This is a wall hanging I made using the items that were sent to me by Debi for a Goodie Bag Challenge on Fabric in Altered Art. She sent me some wonderful batiks and the great DJ Pettitt fabric image. I had to find a way to make the image work with the batiks since it had the coral color in it and nothing else did. I found a batik that had turquoise and coral so that helped some. I finally remembered the color washes that I had bought a few months ago to try out on fabric. I used a dark red one , red pepper I believe, and it did the trick. It added a touch of the coral color in several spots on the batiks. Some areas took the color wash better than others but it was perfect since I just wanted a little here and there. I laid it all out on a piece of black felt and quilted everything down. All in all I was happy with the final project. I hope Debi enjoys it!

Postcards for swap

These are my postcards for a swap. We were required to use Tallulah's college sheets from alphastamps.com. I had intended to make some of the cards with fabric but once I got started with the paper I just kept on going. The images, german scrap and victorian fans are all from
Alpha Stamps. I can't wait to see what I get in return!

Quilted Purse

This is a quilted purse that I did for a purse swap. I have wanted to make a purse for years but never seemed to get around to it. I joined a purse swap because I knew that if I joined and had a comittment I would finish it. The pattern is from a Cindy Taylor Oates book. The book has 12 different bag styles including a yoga mat tote and a water bottle holder. I love the fabric that I used for the purse. I am not happy with the tie. It may be replaced before I send the purse out. The colors all worked before the purse was put together but now the green stands out like a sore (or green) thumb but it is the only piece of fabric that I had that was long enough to make the tie. It is lined with a pink/coral batik. I did not realize that all of the purses in the book were quilted. I have never quilted anything prior to this. I ended up drawing a grid pattern since my free motion quilting abilities are not the greatest. I have ordered something called a sew-slip for my machine that is supposed to make the fabric just glide right along. I will let you know how that works out.