October 2013 | Go-Go Kim

sewing + social media + so much more

Monday, October 21, 2013

And just like that...



The summer here was fantastic!  It may have been the best summer ever.  Not too hot, nice amount of rain and had tons of fun with the kids! And just like that...

It is now FALL!  I must have forgotten to check my email for the message it was coming or with all of my visitors or I perhaps just lost track of time. The latter is the more logical answer.

The day after my mother in law left,  I went to NYC to attend the Quilt Alliance Quilters Take Manhattan event!

Hard to top last year's event but this one was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

It is always a pleasure to hear Meg Cox and Amy and Emily always keep things running so smoothly!

This year rteh


 Mark Lipinski was in excellent form this year and with Beyonce's ( his new kidney) help he was going  through Hollis Chatelain's short ( LOL)  resume.  It was pretty impressive!

I fell in love with this quilt


By this very talented lady.

Then there was an after hours party...

Victoria Findlay Wolfe hosts the most fab party at her lovely loft.


Denyse Schmidt was on Team Heather for the smack down

The AB FAB Mark Lipinski was showing off his soft side ;)

The very serious Team Luke with the stunning Earamichia ( LOVE HER)



Everyone was a WINNER in the competition


And look what was discovered in Victoria's sewing room...YUMMY!


When I returned home, I had a call from Rachel from p.s. i quilt with some news...she was coming a day early...EEEEEPPPPP!!!!!

Good news for ME since I was going to be able to see more of her :)

We had a blast, Saw Amy Lou Who and Sarcastic Quilter and the OFF to the Fredericksburg Expo!!!!

OMG, seriously a mini Market.


I found this beautiful girlie right away!

Weather Kim and Becky trying out Vanessa's perfect pose...and it WORKS!


Victoria Findlay Wolfe's awesome quilt!


All the kids in tow ( early out that day)

Adam working on his IG skills


Super cool zipper guy!


The 20 quilts...

This is a whole separate post so stay tuned...


This is the final reason that I have been swept away...the guy on the right came home for one last visit before he leaves  for deployment.  So if I am quiet a bit longer I hope you will understand.


I do have some great thing planned. At least five new tutorials in the next few months and some other cool fun things ( including giveaways!)


SHARE:

Friday, October 11, 2013

The Katydid Bag

This is my bag review for the AWESOME Purse Palooza event going on over at Sew Sweetness!  I was supposed to have this completed October 1st...did not happen.  Did not even come close to happening.  I was planing on making the Lilium Laptop Bag but in my mind I had envisioned that the compass I made was going to fit on the flap and I was WRONG!  I looked through all the other bags and then called Sara.  This happens every time I make a bag  since I am not a bag maker and she knows everything there is to know about bags.  I knew she would walk me through finding the "right" bag for my block and not make me feel like a complete idiot.

Unfortunately for me there was no other pattern that would work...sigh...so Sara said "I have an idea..." and The Katydid Bag was what came out of my inability to conform and my having the best friend in the world!




Now, if you know Sara, you know that she has been CRAZY busy with not only her business but other stuff too.  I sent her a message telling her NOT TO design a new bag and that I would make something else and this one can wait.  I woke up to an email saying " I know you told me not too but I love you too much".  GAH!  And she named it after her mini me Katy that LIVES with me so I could not be totally pissed.

Sara sent me the pattern with all the directions I needed.  There were limited photos which made me consider biting my nails again.  I am so very visual and need lots of actual photos, with Sara's instructions, I did not need the usual picture for every step.

The only adjustments I made to the original pattern were the handle holders were bias folded and I changed it to make holders that were flat on either side. I also needed to sew with a 1/4 in seam instead of the 1/2in suggested.  I wanted for my compass points to show.

I made the front panel using the pattern on Quilting on the Square .  I want to make them all. Really great patterns.  I made the block scrappy using many different designers including Kate Spain, Heather Ross and Joel Dewberry. The lining fabric is Alexander Henry Mirabelle, one of my all time favorite prints. I would do a happy dance if they would send me 20 yds of that print!  The background fabric is from Joann's.  It is not 100 percent cotton and is more like a microfiber.  Stretched a bit more than I would have liked but the fact that it is a perfect black made up for the slight difficulty in handling. For the interfacing I used the recommended Pellon sf-101 and Annie's Soft and Stable. The thread used was my trusty Aurifil.  I used 50wt for the topstitching and quilting and the 40wt for the bag assembly.


The features of this bag are what make me want to make another.   The recessed zipper is easy and creates a finished look.





SO MUCH ROOM!!!! If you have even been with me anywhere, you know I carry a ton of crap.  Still not sure what it all is but it is ALL in my bag.  This one will meet my needs for sure!


The pattern called for two zippered pockets.  I chose to do one.  I only had this one fab vintage pink zipper from Lindsay  to use and well, it is just perfection.  Do not be afraid to do zippers.  It is easy and the method Sara uses is one of the most simple.  If you are doing it for the first time, try it out on  a scrap first.  Get comfortable with it and you will be a pro in no tome!


Inside is a fun bit of Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt.  It looks so great with the Alexander Henry Mirabelle


I am not even sure when Sara plans to release this pattern but when she does...GET IT!!!  It is easy and AMAZING!!!! If you are going to Quilt Market please look for this bag, it will be there with me :)



Linked up to 
Pin It
SHARE:
Blogger Template by pipdig