DrEAMi! #61 or Was That A Squirrel?

 It is that time of the year. The squirrels in my yard are very busy and very hungry. I don't have any pictures of the squirrels but I can give you one with a chipmunk.

This is the marvelous Mystique, one of our long term foster cats. She was with us for over a year in total. We put peanuts on the window ledge to entertain her. We called it her car order. Here she is taking the order of a passing chipmunk.

Actually, the squirrels for this blog are those little projects that you just have to try. I spent most of the month working on my Boronia Bowler Bag, and Friday, I finally finished it. 

https://artsandsocks.blogspot.com/2022/03/boronia-bowler-bag-finally-done.html

However, while I was waiting for matching thread to arrive (yes, I was silly enough not to check to see if I had the correct coloured thread before I started), I saw a new project I just had to try.

This is the Effortless Twin Pouch, by Spencer Ogg Patterns. It is a free video tutorial on her YouTube Channel. https://youtu.be/DJzXP9S_zl4

It was quick and easy. I used a fat quarter, some PUL fabric and a zipper I had in my stash, and I did have matching thread for this one. However, because the PUL can't be ironed, I couldn't get crisp folds to make it stand up, unless it had something heavy in the pockets. It also didn't stay folded.

So, today, I mad another one, using the same fabrics, and added a magnetic snap, this time.

I also put a crisp fold in the cotton fabric before I started to see if that would help. 

This is the new bag (the zippers are different colours) and it stands pretty well. 

The centre fold looks pretty good.

On the first one, I added bar tacks to hold the fold.

Now I need to try one with a cotton lining and maybe do French seams on the outside to help it stand. Obviously, there are more squirrel projects to try here!

I'm linking to Sandra's "Drop Everything And Make it" link up, over at MMMQuilts.  Go and check out the other projects.

Boronia Bowler Bag - Finally Done!

 It is officially mud season. Puppy footprints are making the floors like a sandy beach. You can't keep up with the sweeping.

Mud, grubby snow, and water, everywhere. However, there are little indications of spring.

A friend gave me some snowdrops last summer when she was thinning hers. Now they are peeking through the dead leaves.

And someone is snacking on them.

My trip outside was actually to bring in some Forsythia, in order to force it to bloom.

They look sad at the moment but in a week's time, or less, they will be covered with little yellow flowers.

I finished the Boronia Bowler Bag. Of course, I can only see the flaws, but in the pictures, it looks pretty good.

The fabric is Tula Pink Curiouser. The cork is from MM Cork Supply and Sherri very kindly sent me pictures of the colours next to a piece of the fabric it help me pick. 

The gold hardware makes the bag quit classy. The metal bag tag says "Handmade".

The hardware is from Emmaline Bags. of course. 

The lining repeats the gold with veining through the purple.

The bag has a large zippered pocket and a divided slip pocket.

I must say, this bag reaffirmed my dislike of foam stabilizer. While it makes the bag stand up nicely, my machine hates it, and there were a lot of times when I wondered why I was even trying this. I ended up ordering tice from MM cork and twice from Emmaline, as my plans changed and things didn't work out quite as planned.

So, my next bag will have cork (I'm loving it) but it won't likely have foam. My next bag will also not be this large. 

My other finish this week was another pair of baby socks.

I just can't quit making this delightful little socks. 

And I will leave you with the show off above the Forsythia branches.

Boronia Bag - Work in Progress

 My new bag is progressing, slowly.

The label kind of sums it up. First the thread didn't match. After the thread arrived, I realized that the amount of strapping that I had ordered was the bare minimum and no mistakes could be made in cutting. Of course, mistakes were made. Fabric has been sewn wrong way up. 

However, stitch rippers fix many errors. More straps can be ordered. And progress is being made.

The outside of the bag has been finished. The cork fabric is a wine colour, though the picture doesn't show it. As you can see, it is a big bag. I even added a nice shiny "HANDMADE" metal label to the outside.

Slip pockets for one side of the bag.

A zippered pocket is on the other side of the lining.

Next up will be gussets and  an exterior zipper.

Meanwhile, I am progressing nicely on my latest socks.

The yarn colour is called "The Boy Who Lived". My grandson tells me all the cool kids wear mismatched socks, so I guess I'm cool.

More Amaryllis pictures have been taken.

I need to wade through the snow and cut some forsythia to get it to flower inside.

I Made Something!

 My bag progress was slowed down when I realized that I didn't have the right colour of thread to top stitch the cork fabric. It is now in the mail between Nova Scotia and here. With luck it will arrive tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Spencer Ogg released a new quick pattern, called the Effortless Twin Pouch. You can find the tutorial on her YouTube channel. I decided to try making it and gathered up supplies from my stash. In under two hours, I had it finished. No shopping necessary. I even had the correct thread.

The fabric is from the Tula Pink Curiouser line. Since the bag fabric is from that line too, it will make a cute little purse accessory.

Since I don't wear a lot of makeup, I loaded the bag with bottles of nail polish to add some weight. I lined it with PUL fabric that I had in my stash.

To compensate for not being able to iron a crease in the PUL fabric, I used 3 bar tacks on the fold to form the crease and make the two pockets. Even the PUL and the zipper matched. Sometimes, I just get it right.

Meanwhile, during March's lion-like snow storm entry, yesterday, my dining room produced even more flowers.

The "Christmas" cactus and the large begonia behind the amaryllis are both in bloom, as well.

Today, I'll work on the lining of my cork bag. Then, when the thread arrives, I'll be nearly finished.