BAILEY ISLAND HOBO BAG - PART 4

 I did get all of my strips sewn together.  It wasn't hard, just my eyes would cross while watching to make sure I was catching both sides with the zigzag stitch but it turned out nice and I love the colors!

Next, I decided to do a different type of  pocket.  This  is going  to be a big  bag and I wanted  something

that would zip closed so nothing will fall out.  I needed something large enough for two phones, our keys, and probably sunscreen and a hairbrush.  I decided to make a separate hook for the keys so they are not moving around and scratching the screens on the phones.  Here is what I came up with. 

 

 

This  is a  zippered  bag with  netting  and the hook  on the  left side will  be for our  keys to keep  them safe.  At first I thought I would just hand stitch the pocket and I got about half way finished and decided I didn't like the way it looked.  I didn't want to stitch it because it would show on the back of the bag.   I then thought I may as well try it and see how it looks.  I sewed it with the aqua thread and you could not even see it but I sewed the  zipper with  black thread and  it looked awful.  So I ripped it out  and put the nylon thread  just  in  the bobbin and  believe it or not, it sewed  out just fine  and you cannot see it at all now.

Last for now, I had to do a running stitch on the top and bottom edges with some heavy thread and pull them in for several inches and now it looks like a boat.  

Should have it finished soon!

BAILEY ISLAND HOBO BAG - PART 3

 I now have all of the tubes finished and I am trying to figure out how I want them arranged.  This was harder than I expected.  Now on the pictures, the first one is layed out really nice, but that was a pain.  the next ones are not as neat but you will get the idea.  I will show you the different arrangments and then the last will be what I chose.

Here is the winner next!  I think it looks the best.

Now I have to zig zag the tubes together.  I start by sewing the tubes into rows of two.  Then join the sets of two together to get four and etc. until they are all joined together.  I hope I made the right choice, but if not, you know me, I will just get out my seam ripper!  I am not sure what color of thread to use.  When I sewed the tubes, I matched the thread to the material in the top and bobbin area of the sewing machine since it will show on both sides of the bag.  That will work in some seams but not all.  I don't think I want to try nylon clear thread since I am sewing through so many layers.  Nylon thread is hard enough to work with without adding another head ache.  I guess I will have to wait and see what I am sewing together and use my best judgement.  Then see how much the thread actually shows after sewing.  I might be able to get some varigated thread if necessary.  Maybe I will try the nylon thread and just see if it would work.  Hmmmm!  Will let you know!

BAILEY ISLAND HOBO BAG - PART 2

  I have been doing a little sewing and here is a picture of the material that I picked out for my bag.

I have to make a lot of strips and what you do is take your strip of material and put your strip of batting on top of that and fold it over to meet in the center and then fold over again.  Then you have to sew down the whole tube.  That makes it four layers of batting and two layers of material that you are sewing through. 

It took a little time to get them started and get into a rythum that worked for me so they were all coming out to close to the exact same size.  I have some finished but I still have lots to go.  It is sort of a mindless sewing once you get the hang of it.  The material is thick so I started out with a heavy 16 denim needle and it just pounded my machine with every stitch it made.  Then I removed this needle and used a lighter thinner needle and this helped a lot.  It glided through all the layers much easier.  Here is what I have been working on.

.  This is a close up of what the finished tubes look like.

Here is what I have finished so far.

BAILEY ISLAND HOBO BAG PART 1

 

I started on my bag, I washed all of my material and left it line dry and then pressed each of them.  I then cut out my strips and I am  using six  different colors.  Now the directions  said to cut everything out that was needed to make the bag but until I make the body of the bag, I am not sure what color I will want for my trim and for the handles, etc.  So I did not do that step.  I can finish that later.

                                                       

 Next, I had to cut out strips of batting.  Now the batting said it wasn't neccesary to wash and dry the batting and they did not recommend it.  I read on and it said there would be a 3% shrinkage on the batting.  I wasn't real sure if I wanted to just worry about a 3% shortage but I know this bag will be by the pool and it is going to be getting wet.  I decided to go ahead and cut out my strips of batting and I added 1/8 inch to the width for a tiny bit of shrinkage.  After I had them all cut out, I filled up my washer with water and I dunked them into the water carefully and then pulled them out and hung them across the clothes line in my basement again very carefully so I did not stretch them out of shape.  I am hoping that they will shrink to the correct size that I need as they dry.  My thinking is to never take any short cuts as you sew.  This gives you a much better product when finished and for what it costs and the time it takes to make it, I will most likely always take the extra necessary steps to have my items looking the best that I can.  

I cannot give any measurements while making this bag.  I talked with Auntie Two who makes the pattern and this was their request to be able to post on my blog.  I certainly understand that.  I also would like anyone who does have questions to please contact me and not Auntie Two if you don't have the pattern.  If you have purchased the pattern, you can contact me or Auntie Two and that would be fine.

 

                                                      

Hopefully, I can get a little sewing started tomorrow!

NEW PROJECT - BAILEY ISLAND HOBO BAG BY AUNTIES TWO

 I just finished up this morning with some new receiving blankets and heavier blankets for the baby bed to match.  These will be for Ja'Kobe, my new great grandson coming in May!  Can't wait!!

 

Now, I need a new beach bag before camping season gets here.  I bought a new bathing suit and need something to match.  I have decided to make Aunties Two pattern called Bailey Island Hobo Bag.  If you would like the pattern to follow along with me, most quilt shops carry this pattern.  I am making the large one so I can fit towels in it also.  Here is the picture.  Isn't it cute!!

I am going to make it with blues and black.  I think it is going to be very cute and I had fun picking out the fabrics and notions.  It needs some large and small buttons and I decided to just get buttons that I can cover myself.  I still need to wash my fabric and I have been sewing all morning so that might not get done until tomorrow or maybe later this evening.  

I have also bought some material for some new tops, but I have gained about 10 pounds with this covid and winter.  I would like to see if I can get that back off before I start on those.  It is such a struggle and I get tired of trying but it is time to kick it into gear again!  If I keep sewing, then I won't snack so I need to get started on this.  I will be posting as soon as I get ready to sew!!  Talk soon!  Cindy

Stadium Seats For School

 We are tired of sitting on those oh so rough bleacher seats every time we go to one of our grandchildren's sport games.  I am sure you know what I mean.  So we started looking around for those stadium chairs with a back in it for comfort.  We found a set of chairs at Meijer's,  They zipped at the top so I assumed that I could remove the cloth and embroider our name on them.  I took some pictures but they have dissappeared.  I think I accidentally deleted them before I downloaded them.

When I got home I unzipped the zippers but there was no way to get the material off of the frame.  This must of been so they could put them together because everything is rivoted together so it can't be taken apart.  I so wanted to put our names on the back of them.

I decided to digitize and embroider our names on some black felt.  I then cut around the felt and made a hem around all four sides and then I hand sewed them to the back of the chairs.  This was kind of hard because the chairs had to sit in my lap and I had to sew them on this way.   I sewed them on a large pocket so the back with my hand sewing does not show.  I am sure I looked kind of crazy, but I think they still came out cute.  I do have a picture of the finished project!

I just ordered some more flannel for our new baby that will be coming in May!   It's  time to start getting ready!  It is going to be another boy and his name will be JaCobe!  I will then have a JaQuan and a JaCobe!  We just helped to move them to a different apartment.  They use to live on the third floor and she didn't have a washer or dryer.  I think that is going to be a must with two babies!  So now she is on the first floor and she is looking for a used washer and dryer.  Hopefully she will have this by May!!  Stay safe and stay warm!!!  It is going to be around 14 below in Ohio on Monday!  At least this is what I heard on the news!

BABY SNOW SUIT AND ANOTHER BABY ON THE WAY!

 Well I can't believe my granddaughter is pregnant again and already 4 1/2 months pregnant.  She is due May 23 and baby Quan will be one on May 30.  This means next year that these two children will be the same age for a week or two and not be twins!  She is really going to have her hands full because baby Quan is a very loving baby and not happy if  mama isn't holding him!  Poor little fella is going to be in for a rude awakening when the new baby comes along!! LOL   She finds out this week what she is having already.  

I made Quan a baby snow suit.  My granddaughter and I could not find any really cute material for a boy online or at JoAnn fabrics.  Then I was in Wal-Mart and saw this really cute blanket and I thought I could make it out of this blanket.    It is a very dark navy blue and I would say it is a velour material with a Sherpa lining.  Well after I got it home I realized that there was a top velour and then a bottom Sherpa but they were not connected.  When I saw the grooves in the material I assumed the two materials were attached.  So I had to do some quilting first to attach the two materials together.  I just did the center of the three lines, but on the hat and gloves, I  sewed all three lines for more definition.  Now the pictures really don't do it justice.

This was definitely some difficult sewing because this was some very thick and luxurious material.  I could not make any mistakes because I sewed with a 5.0 stitch which was the largest stitch on my machine and I still would have never been able to pick anything out if I sewed a seam incorrectly. 

I sewed the snow suit and she wanted a tassel on top of the hat but when I tried to make one out of the material, it just ripped apart.  I found some yarn that matched and made a pom pom out of that.  She hasn’t seen the suit yet, so if she doesn’t like this, I can just quickly remove it.  The first problem I had was the Sherpa just scattered everywhere when I cut it.  So I cut each pattern piece out as I needed it and took it right to the serger and serged the edges around the entire piece before I sewed it to the suit.  I could not mark any of the special markings added to the pattern because nothing would show up on the material, I had to get out thread and a needle and sew in each notation so I could have my markings.  I had the most trouble with the zipper.   I had to purchase a 28” coat zipper and then you trim it to size.  After I had it sewn in place, it had some ruff edges and I did not want it to scratch or be uncomfortable for the baby. I then sewed some extra material over the edges so you could not feel the ruff edge.  It took a lot longer to make with all the extra steps but it it sure came out cute.  I even had enough material left over for a blanket that she can carry so she can cover his face when she  is

out in the cold.  She is going to love it!!  Let me know what you think, please!!

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