February Winner!

Time to announce the winner for the February giveaway!

Number 3 (and I swear I did a new Random pick, it just happened to pick the same number from the same total as last month. Weird!) is from Mandy at SugarBee Craft Edition!

I really love the added detail of the ruffle on the pocket of this bag. Mandy also made a really cute smaller edition, so head over & check it out!

Mandy, please send me an e-mail so I can send you your fabric!

Until next time...

Time to share YOUR Reversible Everyday Shopper!

It's time to link up to share your Reversible Everyday Shopper for your chance to win this month's prize - a half yard each of FreeSpirit Olive Rose by Valori Wells, in emerald & pink.

The linky party will be open until midnight on Friday, March 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday, March 7.

Only links entered below will be considered for the giveaway drawing, not links entered as comments. You may enter more than once ONLY if you completed more than one bag, and each bag must be in its own blog post & its own link above. If you blogged multiple times for the same bag, please do not enter multiple links above, but link to them in your own blog post. We do want to see your process! If you are linking to a blog, please link up to the specific post, not your main page. That will make it easier to find later, when it's no longer your most recent post. If you are not blogging about your bag (which is perfectly okay!), please link up to your Flickr picture instead of a blog with no post about the bag.

Let's see those Reversibly Everyday Shoppers!

Until next time...

Reversible Everyday Shopper: Completed!

I was less of a slacker this month & have had this bag completed for a couple weeks now. It felt so much better than scrambling the last weekend to get it finished up! It's amazing how much more time I seem to have now that we're not still recovering from the holidays. Of course, it sure doesn't hurt that this bag was just a smidge (okay, okay, a TON) easier than the Cosmo Bag.

From what I've seen so far from those of you who have completed it, I think you'd have to agree with me that this should have been the first pattern in the book. I guess I must have assumed that not only did I expect the book to advance through the sewing levels (easy, intermediate, advanced, & experienced) in order, but I also assumed the patterns within those levels would be in order of difficulty. Boy was I wrong!

I enjoyed making this bag, it was a nice break after working so hard on the Cosmo Bag. Cutting out the pieces & interfacing didn't take me two days, and sewing would have only taken me an afternoon if I'd had the time do work on it in one sitting.

As I mentioned before, I chose to use four different fabrics for my bag - all red & navy gingham, in three different pattern sizes.

Let me tell you, sewing with tiny gingham is a chore & hard on the eyes! I was pretty much cross-eyed by the time I was done, and even now it kind of hurts to look at it! I do like the final look of the bag, but I don't think I'll work with that small of a gingham pattern again.

My finished bag reminds me of summer picnics, and a blanket we always brought to sit on while watching fireworks for the fourth of July.

I think I like the red side with the blue pocket the best, mostly because the blue handles add some extra contrast. I also like the way the smallest & largest ginghams look next to each other when they're the same color, rather than the largest & medium on the blue side. Again, it adds extra contrast.

I did split my pockets in half, although mine doesn't look as cute as Chrissy's. It's difficult to see here, but I just did a plain line of stitching up the center of the pocket. Try not to hurt your eyes looking too close! :)

I really didn't make many changes to the pattern when I was working on this one. I used a fairly lightweight interfacing so it would be easier to turn inside out, and used a lightweight cotton instead of home dec fabric. I also chose not to fold in the straps since I did use decor bond interfacing on them, and I liked them better laying flat. Like I mentioned earlier, I did split my pockets in half. They just gapped too much for me. I haven't done it yet, but I plan on doing at least a few stitches in the seams to attach the two layers together so it'll be easier to turn inside out.

Remember you can check out another pattern review from Sara at Sew Sweetness, and there's a ton of great inspiration in the Flickr Group. I'll have a linky party on Monday for you to share your completed bags for your chance to win this month's giveaway - a half yard each of FreeSpirit Olive Rose by Valori Wells, in emerald & pink.

Get sewing this weekend (if you haven't already!) and I can't wait to see what every has to share next week!

Until next time...

Just gotta share!

I can't not share the most recent bag added to the Flickr Group!

This Everyday Shopper was made by Nellie's Niceties with some great Melody Miller Ruby Star Rising fabric. I've mentioned before how much I love the ViewFinder fabric, so this is pretty hard to resist.

Let this be your inspiration for the weekend! You've still got a little over a week left to get your bag finished up if you haven't already. Although, I can't blame anybody else who would like to be out enjoying the weather if it's anything like it is around here after this winter.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Until next time...

Quick question for you

A question has come up about this month's project:

If you are participating in the Sew Along & will be making this month's Reversible Everyday Shopper, are you planning to use Home Decor weight fabric, or something else? The pattern does call for home dec fabric, but I know I personally used something much lighter, and I've seen many others use quilting cotton. What's your plan, or what did you use if you've already made the bag?

Also, if you're using a lighter weight fabric, are you using a heavier interfacing?

Inquiring minds want to know! :)

Until next time...

Reversible Everyday Shopper: Inspiration

Time for our monthly project inspiration! I know quite a few of you are already done with this bag (myself included, but I'll wait to share mine) and Chrissy from Boerman Ramblings has already made two great versions! Here's a little inspiration for those of you who are still working on yours.

(All pictures link back to the original Flickr page)

First up, from Chrissy:

Love, love, love the animals & the camel appliqué on the pocket!

And check out her Cosmo Bag inspired side pocket!

Great idea with the stitching detail here to split the outer pocket in half. I did sew up the middle of mine as well, but her stitching is so much cuter!

I mentioned last time that Sara at Sew Sweetness used a variety of fabric on hers, and I really like the finished look. It's just so fun & unexpected.

Really digging this black & white version from SleepytimeSewing.

You just can't go wrong with this denim version from sewbeeit!

Perfect spring colors from sewfunbymonique!

This is a perfect idea from Kiah Grey to use the bag as part of a baby shower gift.

I hope this inspiration gets you going, but if not, you've still got plenty of sewing time left this month! The first week may have gotten away from me, but this week has been much better. :)

Don't forget you can upload your photos and ask any questions on the Flickr group.

Until next time...

February: Reversible Everyday Shopper

Can anybody tell me where the first week of February went?! Yikes, this week just flew. I guess being snowed in for a few days didn't help much, but I did get quite a bit done around the house!

This month we'll be making the Reversible Everyday Shopper. And let me tell you, I sure wish this had been the first pattern in the book! It would have been a much better start than the Cosmo Bag, but at the very least I guess it can be a good break. :)

Like last month, Sara over at Sew Sweetness is really on a roll & has already shared her pattern review for this month's bag. It's a good place to start after you read through the pattern. I really like Sara's scrappy version, and this pattern certainly works well with various fabrics.

I'm using four different fabrics myself, all red or navy gingham, in three different sizes.

That smallest one on the right is rough on the eyes when cutting & sewing! I swear I was just about cross-eyed by the time I finished with it.

I've seen a few finished bags already in the Flickr album, so I know Sara & I aren't the only ones already hard at work. Be sure to share your pictures (fabric choices too!) and any questions you might have.

This month's giveaway will be a yard of FreeSpirit Olive Rose by Valori Wells, half yard each of these colors.

I'll have a linky party again at the end of the month for the drawing.

If you haven't gotten started yet, it's time to read through the pattern & get your fabrics picked out. There is a lot less cutting & fusing this month than we had to deal with last month, so it shouldn't take you a day or two to get that done like it might have last month. :)

Good luck as you get started!

Until next time...