Here is this year’s spring bag – made with one charm pack and one yard of fabric!  This is a really cute pattern called the Borsa Bag.  You have to sew the squares together in a specific grid pattern, and then you start sewing the seams to turn it into a 3 dimensional bag.  You really had to put your thinking cap on to get it put together correctly – I had to wait until my son went to bed so I could totally concentrate on it.

The pattern is cool, because you can use any size squares – 5″ charm squares make a nice sized handbag, while 8″ squares would make a nice roomy tote.  I used the left over charm squares to make a little zip topped bag, it still needs some tweaking.  However, once I get it just right I will write up as a pattern and post it for you :).

I gained some weight while working on this Professional Tote.  Don’t the donuts look yummy?  Seriously, I had to go to Dunkin Donuts to get a strawberry glazed donut after I finished this.

I am made this delicious looking tote for Arlene – she picked out the fabric and thought it would make the perfect bag for her trip to California.  She had taken a professional tote class from me last fall and wasn’t too keen on making up another tote, but she really loved the fabric.  She asked me to make it for her, and I was more than happy to!

I was out of town for almost two weeks on a business trip and haven’t had much chance to sew.  I did bring some wool applique with me on the plane, but didn’t really get much done.  There is only so much room in the middle seat.

I have some things in the works as far as sewing/quilting goes and will be giving more details in the next few weeks.  I am still plugging away for the November sewing club pattern – it should be ready this week.  It’s an apron pattern, and if there is time, it will include dimensions for a child’s size as well.

In the meantime, here are some bags that I completed last fall.  Which one do you like best?

This is the Black Forest bag (pattern by Melly and Me).  I resized the pattern so it was more of handbag size.  This is one of my favorite bags – I love the fabric and the color combinations.

The Miranda Bag pattern is by Lazy Girl Designs.  This is a roomy tote with 12 pockets inside.  People always like this bag because it is the perfect size for carrying books and files, but it looks very stylish.

This is a tote made from a charm pack.  I can’t remember who did the pattern, but will let you know when I do remember.  Charms are a lot of fun to work with and they are so versatile.  It took more time for me to decide how to arrange the charms for this bag, then it did to actually sew it!  This is a good bag for taking to sewing class since it is roomy enough to hold fabric, pattern, notions, rulers, etc.