Hiiiii-yah! Super cool Asian-girl-kick-ass tote with skull interior

I am in love with this bag. Probably because it took me a long time to make it. I'm still experimenting and getting things to be a little better each time I make one. But how cute is this? I know, I know, I'm too proud of myself. But I love these fabrics and they compliment one another so well.

This is a small tote, perfect for Summer, that has two interior pockets - one smaller for a cell phone, and one for a wallet - and a key chain sewn in so you can locate your keys in the bag. The handles I have reinforced with twill tape so you can carry something a little heavier.

I already have a buyer for this one (and I may just keep this one myself and make her another one!) but I will be making more soon. I also have this Asian themed fabric in light blue and pink so I'll be making variations of this with those too.

Hope you like it!

Next Tote... A Teaser!

Check out these wild, awesome fabrics! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Asian themed one with the kick ass girls. I will be making a bag for myself with one of these fabrics! I hope the sewing goes well, cuz this stuff is too good to waste.

Back soon with a more finished product.

And just like that... BAGS!

Ok, a bag. But more to come!

It has mistakes, so I won't be selling it, but check it out! I made a cute little tote! SO MANY ideas and great fabric to use now.

I will probably try to make it a little bigger and add some pockets. I live NYC and hate purses without pockets of any kind.

But I'm proud, people, I'm proud.

Now onto the fabulous world of bags...

Leopard & Pink Flowered Tote - with a little help.

So I'm starting to make my first "real" bag. The Ava Bag. I have one other tote that is 'soft', but this one will be firmer and cute, I think. It has leopard fabric on one side and pink, flowered fabric on the other. It should be reversible when I'm done, altho I'm making it firmer than the instructions say so we'll see. Here are the pieces I've been cutting. Tomorrow, hopefully, I can get to work on putting it together! Should be interesting.

I love the bright pink with the leopard print. Ideally, I would pair this leopard print with a more retro fabric, but I loved these colors together. And you can see my gorgeous helper. "Helper".

I'll put up a picture of the finished product once I'm done. As well as getting to work on the queen sized quilt for my friend, I might also try to squeeze a quick crib-sized quilt in by June 7th. No problem! That may not happen, but I'll give it the good college try, as they say. You know... THEM.

Saramanda's Quilt - The Beginning!

Just after I finished posting my last post, there was a knock at the door and my friendly neighborhood UPS man was there with a box from Fabric.com with lots of cool fabrics for Saramanda's Summer Quilt! I'm SO excited.

Check 'em out - I'm looking for mod, 60's, fun, based on the "In Crowd" print by Alexander Henry that is TRAGICALLY out of production at the moment. So far so good! I can't wait to get a "base" fabric which will be the warm, chocolate brown you see in these.

Off and running!

Lavender Eye Pillows - the search for the perfect measurements!

I don't know about you, but when I am stressed out or can't sleep a lavender eye pillow is the first thing I turn to. I have at least 3 in my possession at all times. I always, always travel with one and an eye mask and sleeping pills (a last resort).

So I am beginning to make them for sale and am trying out different measurements and ways of making them. The result? Two very cheap decent lavender eye pillows! See my Etsy store: http://www.badgalquilts.etsy.com.

I am much closer to understanding what will make the perfect eye pillow - what dimensions, how much "stuffing" to add, what ratio, and how to make it as comfortable as possible. There will definitely be more added to my store soon.

And in other exciting news I am beginning a new quilt - a Queen size! My friend has commissioned me to make her a Summer quilt and we are choosing very cool, mod-themed fabrics centered around a lime/blue colored "In Crowd" that I just nabbed off ebay. Yes! More on that soon too.

Making Eye Masks

Well, I've been working on making eye masks that you can use with ice packs or lavender eye pillows (which I'm also about to make and try to sell). I love lavender eye masks and use them a lot when I can't sleep- they are the only thing that helps me get to sleep besides sleeping drugs and I often try them before taking a pill and wake up hours later refreshed.

So.
It's a little tricky - figuring out how to make something that will fit a number of different sized heads (mine is quite large) and how to make it look nice. Here is my third attempt - I am figuring out the do's and dont's as I go along.

I plan to make some masks with coordinating lavender eye masks. They are quite comfortable! I gave one to a friend who gets migraines a lot and he uses it for ice packs - he says he loves it, so that's good.

Here's this one- more to come.