Zipper bags

I have been obsessed with these zipper bags since I learned how to make them on Craftsy. It's a free class with Kristin Link of Sew Mama Sew. They are easy and take up very little fabric, about a fat quarter of fabric. I made 3 more the other evening in about an hour. I use scrap leather for the little handle on the left of the bag. Though I really like these bags they are a little large for my purse. I needed something to hold change instead of just dropping quarters into my bag. Then I found this tutorial!!! on making small triangle pouches. 

I made 2 pouches.  The first one is the tan one made from scrap upholstery fabric. The fabric was a little heavy so I had some problems sewing it all together. Also the original tutorial called for a 4" zipper. I had a 6" zipper so I just increased the size of the bag. It turned out a little too large, not to mention that it also was too bulky. I had some problems turning it inside out too as I forgot to unzip the zipper. I decided to try to make another one. I had taken a zipper out of a dress a couple weeks ago and I cut that red zipper to 4". I used some more scrap material, it was a heavier fabric but not a heavy upholstery fabric like the tan fabric. I whipped this little blue one up in about 15 minutes. The best thing is when you unzip the pouch you can see everything inside. The other change purse I had was problematic because the opening was so small I could not see inside and often had to dump all the change out on the counter. It was a little frustrating for folks in line behind me at the grocery store. I love these little pouches. I want to make a bunch of them using crushed pennies as zipper pulls. 

I saw this quilt hanging on the wall at Modern Domestic when I was in there to sign up for a class. I really like the quilt. The quilts that are currently on the wall are all made by instructors at Modern Domestic. I forgot to look at who did this quilt but I wanted to share it because I really like the design.  I love the deer head and the quilt is quilted all over with a tree pattern, a very Northwest quilt. 

Halloween Bag

I made a zipper pouch for Halloween. I was trying a product called Screen Ink Discharge. It's mixed with screen printing ink and bleaches out the dark fabric and replaces it with the color of the ink. I wanted a nice white so I used white ink and I think the skull & cross bones came out nice. I have used soft scrub in the past but I have had some problems with the image not completely bleaching out. The other thing about his Ink Discharge is I can add a color like yellow or pink and it should stand out. I will do some more tests and let you know how that turns out. As for this product as I used it, it worked. I would use it in an area that has ventilation as the label suggests, the stuff stinks. You have to iron the product to make it react, which is fine but it stinks. So be prepared. I would also suggest that you wash the item because it stinks. I did not wash this item and I wish I did. It doesn't smell  any more now but it did for about a week. I also added a leather handle on the side as I receives some nice leather scraps from a friend and I thought this was a nice place to use some of that gift. I want to make some more of these as I have some more of the skull & crossbones, as well as the skeleton heads. The red fabric on the inside is a lining that I bought at Scrap in Portland. I bought a used bolt of abut 15 yards for $25 a couple years ago. I have used a lot and still have a lot left. 

This year was a good year for me and tomatoes. I grew a lot and was able to put up about 13 quarts and several pints of tomatoes. I also found a quick way to make tomato sauce and when I had too many tomatoes I would take the ones getting too soft and cook them up in a sauce pan with about 1/4 cup of water and some garlic. When the tomatoes were mostly liquid I would pour the sauce into a food mill removing all the seeds and getting a nice thick sauce. Last week was the last of the tomatoes and I was able to get about 4 pints of sauce. 

I drove up to Brightwood to put my car away last weekend, I kept looking for fall colors. A lot of the trees are still quite green except for this bright red tree, when I saw it, it was almost like it was on fire…the tree really stood out against all the green. 

I also made a couple more zipper bags from the free class on Craftsy with Kristin Link from SewMamaSew. It takes me about 45 minutes from start to finish. They are really handy for pens and pencils, sewing supplies or just a small zipper case for all those things that roll around in the bottom of a purse. The pattern uses a 13"x10" piece of fabric for the outside and the same for the lining. So it's very  easy to use up scrap from other projects. 

It's very windy here today….so far we have had a branch from the walnut tree drop in the back yard and our car port blow over landing on our truck in the driveway. Thank goodness there is no real damage.