Rather fitting that this post is being written in spring because these project bags are multiplying like rabbits! Welcome to my little springtime parade. 🐥
Three different sizes and three completely different looks – all from the same basic pattern in my previous post, How to Sew: Flat Zipper Bag.
I love how these bags look together. I made the Acufactum fabrics version (far left) last year so I could store finished quilt blocks in it. My husband and I have 5 cats who love to relax, clean themselves and generally mess up anything they shouldn’t! So I knew I would need a locked-away area for finished quilt blocks as I created them to make a quilt top and this was my fun idea for using up loads of Acufactum scraps I’d accumulated from Elmhirst Fabrics.
The third version I made on the far-right, using the Lori Holt Mercantile print, was made over the Easter weekend this year and documented in my blog post, How to Sew: Flat Zipper Bag. I’m using this bag to store a finished quilt top in as I get my act together and prepare to quilt it!
And then in the middle of both of those is my smallest and pinkest bag! On Valentine’s Day this year I decided I should gift myself the joy of pulling fabric from my stash, teaming it with pretty haberdashery and marrying it all together! The very next day I honestly spent longer designing, cutting and ironing-on the Cricut lettering than I did sewing this love-hearted beauty together! I am a complete beginner when it comes to Cricut and I am loving it so far, I have a Joy Xtra.
The fabrics all worked together so well. I didn’t spend too long looking through my stash as I knew I only wanted red and pink fabrics. It was at this point I discovered I only have 2 love-heart prints so I used them both!
Here’s my ‘before’ shot ⇓
Both love-heart prints are over 30 years old and I’m pretty sure they’re a polycotton. The pink solid is a Rose & Hubble cotton I purchased from Abakhan by the metre for another project I’ve made, I used some of the scraps for this bag.
I chose a simple grid design for my quilting of this bag. It’s always so satisfying when the quilting both allows the fabrics to shine as well as adding some beautiful texture.
As you can see, I used a little fussy-cut section of the backing fabric on the front upper-right section and edged it with vintage lace. I had no idea at this point what Cricut design I was going to create so I just left a decent-sized piece of solid fabric to work with and decided that was a job for another day – that sounds so carefree and random for someone as planned and organised as me!
Here’s another little close-up of that Cricut design that I cut from their Smart Heat Transfer Vinyl.
I store smaller quilt blocks in this bag that I’m making out of scraps – a subject for a future post…!
~ How do you store your quilt blocks?
~ Do you add Cricut designs to your stitched creations?
~ What have you been up to in May?
~ Any crafting plans for June?
Happy stitching everyone x
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