A Wee Bag

Last week, my granddaughter asked if I could make her a crossbody bag. During Facetime, she demonstrated with her hands how big she wanted it. Well, of course! That's what Grammas do! She asked if it could be pink and blue and maybe have mermaids on it. I looked at a lot of pictures of bags online but was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to do, and because it was going to be very small, I drew plans on graph paper rather than using an online pattern which would have needed to be re-sized anyway. I'm not going to include a tutorial, because there are tons of those online. But here it is!

I decided not to go all-out mermaid, but I found this cute iron-on applique (it looks like her) for the front--and the back:

That blue lower section is a pocket.
And when she opens the purse, there are more mermaids:

I didn't use the mermaid fabric on the outside of the purse. It had more red than pink on it and just didn't look right to me with the other fabrics. But I think it makes a great lining. And hey, that's my first go at installing a magnetic closure. I didn't know those were so easy.

Here's the purse, hanging up. I'd model it, but it's a bit too wee to fit over me.

The adjustable belt was a challenge to rig up, but with lots of fiddling it worked just fine. 

I had one little mishap. My iron died. Kind of a slow death, I think, because I had a little trouble getting my interfacing to stick evenly to my fabric before it quit altogether. Ironic situation (ha!) because I had just ordered a little travel iron, but it hadn't arrived yet. I ended up running to the store for a new full-sized iron because I'm sure that travel iron won't be big enough for all my pressing needs. I went over the interfacing again with the new iron and reinforced it a bit with a few "quilting" lines to disguise some residual bubbles in the fabric. Anyway, all is well. And in a few days I will have 2 new irons (that will rarely be used on clothing).

The whole bag is roughly 5 1/2 by 7 inches by 1 inch--just the right size for little treasures. The pattern pieces were about 1/4 inch bigger in width and length (plus seam allowance) to allow for the thickness of the layers. 

This was so much fun, I just might have to make one in a little bigger size for myself. Minus the mermaids, though. And probably not pink and blue. I'll be sure to share if I make it. 

My other project this week was finishing up the piecing on the Lake Michigan quilt. Here's a bit of the foreground:

Now I have a decision to make. My original plan was to somehow applique/thread paint trees along the sides so that the lake would be seen as if viewed from the forest. But I've abandoned that plan. It would be a lot more work, and after being at the lake this summer, I think I want it to be an open beach scene. I do want to add some beach grass--some long stems along the left side and tufts in other areas to give it depth. I'd like to do hand embroidery for this, but I'm not sure how that will work with the machine quilting I want to do. I will need to either carefully work in the quilting with the grass after embroidering or quilt first and then embroider, with the embroidery showing on the back (which could look a bit messy). I suppose I could put another piece of fabric on the back after quilting (sort of like the paper on the back of an art print) before binding. Hmmm. Have to think about all this a bit. Any ideas?

I'll leave you with pictures of a ride we took on Labor Day in our little town--a new trail. It's only a mile long, but so pretty, and with the riding we do to get there and an extended trail that links up to it we can get a nice ride of about 10 1/2 miles--just right for fall evenings when it gets dark too early for longer rides. 

Hills,

curves,

and ponds, all in one mile.

And the fields by the linking trail:

Fall is definitely in the air here.

I hope you've had a good week. My thoughts have often been with people, not only in our country, but all over the world who are dealing with natural disasters. There will be lots for all of us to do to help in the months to come. I am so afraid that when the news coverage eases up, we will forget. Let's not, okay?

I'm linking up today with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social and on Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday. Oh, and because this is a DrEAMi (Drop Everything and Make It), with Mmm Quilts at the end of the month.