the Charlotte purse

Pattern coming soon!

Whew...I hope I'm not the only one who puts off the important work until the last minute...but, here is the second bag we designed for Blend Fabrics.  This one uses Preeti by Jessica Swift {you can find the fabric here}.

When my mom and I were choosing fabrics, she suggested we choose neutrals to go with the brights...I'll admit, I was hesitant, but am so glad we did!  I think the neutral dottie is my favorite print of the whole bag {maybe the whole line - do I need to stash some yardage?!}

I've been wanting to design a cross-body, adjustable strap bag for a long time {once upon a time I had a favorite cross-body purse that I used until it fell apart}, and this seemed just the right fabric to do it with.  I added a strip of Kona Stone bring a soothing tone to the bag.

When designing this bag, I actually had a bit of trouble getting my idea to turn out right, first I made this pocket, but then felt the middle piece was just too large:

I also didn't like the way I had sewn the darts down on the bottom, so I did a little seam ripping and re-sewing {and discovering I  had sewn it upside down...and more seam ripping and re-sewing} to get it right, but I am glad I did.

And, if you'd like to get your hands on some of this fabric, we're giving away a fat eighth bundle of  all the prints we have {to include a few that didn't make it into this bag!}.

Want to enter?  It will be the first prize in our Summertime Adventures Blog Hop and Tutorial Series.  So, get started with those travel sewing kits {more details here}.

the Stella bag & Blend Fabric

Have you heard of Blend Fabrics?  They're the licensing division of Anna Griffin {I've known of Anna Griffin for years...thanks to my stationery hoarding loving!}.  So, when we were contacted and asked if we'd like to design some bags with their fabrics, we jumped at the chance {you can learn more about Blend Fabrics at their blog too}!

When the fabrics arrived, we were so pleased with the lovely sheen of them, and the colors, though softer than we often use, are also beautiful.

the Stella diaper bag {pattern coming soon}

Here is our first design: the Stella diaper bag.  This one is more traditional in size than our regular diaper bags, but we thought it would be a great addition to our pattern lineup {didn't my mom do a fabulous job?  When it arrived in the mail for me to photograph I was so impressed!!}.  The fabric line used is Magic Garden by Sabine Reinhart for Blend fabrics {you can find Magic Garden here, here, and here}.

This bag is nice and roomy, and has lots of pockets on the outside {and a couple on the inside too!}, so it is easy to keep everything sorted.

We've put a tie on the side of the bag, so it can be expanded or cinched up, depending on your daily load, that way you don't have to switch bags!

And here's a better shot of it untied, as you can see, there is plenty of room!

We should be releasing the pattern soon, but were too excited to wait any longer to share.  And we have another Blend Fabrics bag in the works too!

In the Meantime

**I will have the first embroidery for Garden Steps tomorrow...sorry for the delay, in the meantime...**

A few people have asked how I manage to get so much done with little ones, and about time management...well, let me tell you, I do not have any sort of method or plan going on over here.  However, my sewing area is in the family room, right next to the toys and I leave everything out {sewing and toys!}.  So, whenever I can, I sneak in five or ten minutes.

I'd like to say that I'm super productive during naptime, but that would be a lie...usually I surf the web, make myself lunch, and drink coffee while they sleep!  Sometimes I sneak in some sewing, but I think the sound of the machine wakes them up!

There are two real reasons I get so much done: my husband and my mom.

My husband because he plays with the kids when I'm sewing madly against a deadline {I'm a major procrastinator, or I work well under pressure - I prefer the latter because it sounds better!}.  He also helps clean on the weekends and doesn't mind eating the same old PB&J for lunch and quick, easy dinners.  I know, he's a keeper!

My mom because a lot of the pretty things you see here are made by her {especially the bags...while we design them together, she does the majority of the actual labor...and there are a few new ones that should be appearing soon!}.  We also work together on inspiration and ideas, so we've usually talked out most of the errors before the sewing begins!  And she's always there to be encouraging and to Skype with Silas when he's driving me crazy!

And, because every post needs a little eye candy, here are some new fabrics we've been working with:

The line is Preeti by Jessica Swift for Blend Fabrics.  We're newly working with Blend Fabrics, and it has been fun developing new designs with their fabrics!  These are my favorites:

Back to stitching!