Bags That Make Travel a Breeze

Over the weekend of September 30th, and October 1st, I will be in Peoria, IL doing a 2 day seminar. The first day will be an entire day of sewing. Fun!

I was asked to do a bag where the participants would insert zippers as many are just not that comfortable with inserting zippers,after all, zippers can be a little intimidating. The large bag will be our primary project.   

The bag is fairly basic, but very user friendly. I have always wanted a truly coordinated traveling set, and now I have one! 

To give a little more stability to the bag, there is a facing along the top. Hanging free from the facing is a large interior pocket with a zipper.

On the front of the bag is a slide pocket, no zipper, that will easily hold your I-Pad.

And here's my favorite feature...

The back of the bag has a zippered pocket that will slide over the handle of a rolling suitcase. So no more killing your shoulder trying to carry the bag.

As I said, the pocket has a zipper, so easy access to your boarding ticket and identification.

To coordinate with the larger bag, I made a toiletry bag and what I call a lipstick bag. The small bag is really meant for anything small that might get lost in a larger bag.

The toiletry bag features an outside zipper, great for combs, cotton pads, etc.

Both bags have a wide bottom.

The challenge with each of these bags is inserting the zipper where there is a piped edge. It's really quite easy to do.

If you live in the United States, I purchased everything for my bags at Joann Fabrics, even the fabric. They have some super fun prints in the Home Dec section.

I will be giving you the pattern dimensions, and a how to in an upcoming Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. The pattern for the small bags will soon be available for purchase.

The Friday class for the Peoria ASG Sew Special '16 is full, but if you are anywhere near Peoria, and have a little time on October 1st, pop on over. You can read all about the day and sign up HERE. 

Sew Special 2016 and More

The last 24 hours have been like a tale of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Let's start with the good. My niece came last night for the first fitting of her gown. Other than a few tweaks, it looked amazing on her. This fitting was just a basic fitting to get the bodice just as it should be and to decide what we would like to do with the skirt. You may remember the picture I shared from our day at the bridal boutique;

Her gown will not have a train, so rather than the points that come up in the front and back, the lower skirt will have a graceful curve that dips down in the back. We're keeping the back neckline drape, but just not quite as low. I'll share pictures from our next fitting. 

Now the bad. My precious Little Bit was recently diagnosed with cancer. Of course my heart is heavy. At almost 16, we have decided that rather than surgery or chemo, we will do all we can to keep her as happy and comfortable as we can, but not allow her to be in pain. Of course, my heart has been so very heavy. Friends, as well as my husband have told me how fortunate she has been to live with me. Funny, I feel just the opposite, I feel so fortunate to have had her in my life. As difficult as it will be to let her go, I would not have missed the last 15 years for anything in the world.

Now the ugly. I don't know what today will bring, but then we really never do. I was up most of the night with Miss Little Bit. There were moments last night that were far from pretty. As I was cleaning up from an accident, Little Bit came over and nuzzled under my arm as if to say, "I'm sorry." I kissed her on the head and told her it was okay. After all, when we love, we really don't mind. So we are off to the vet in just a bit. We'll see if she will rally once more. 


Now for something fun.

A few months ago, I shared that I would be the featured speaker at the Central Illinois Peoria Chapter American Sewing Guild's annual Sew Special event. I am so very excited!!
Here's a little about the event;

SEW SPECIAL ’16 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016

 UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 

PEORIA, IL

The featured speaker for Sew Special ’16 is Rhonda Buss of Chicago. Rhonda is president of the Haute Couture Club of Chicago. The event will feature a hands-on handbag workshop for 12 participants on Friday. Rhonda will be designing this project that will teach participants about zipper application, pockets, hardware and other handbag construction techniques. We will end up with a finished bag created just for us. The size is appropriate for a weekend trip or a sewing bag. The cool feature is a separate zippered compartment at the bag bottom to separate contents, like shoes from clothes, or fabric from sewing supplies. Saturday will feature all things sleeves including how to change garments by restyling the sleeves. Samples will be available for different sleeve variations. Rhonda will demonstrate how to draft, cut, slash and construct each sleeve variation. You don't have to be an expert because these techniques can apply to even a simple t-shirt style garment. There will be a trunk show of some of Rhonda's fashions. The afternoon will conclude with two make-it take-it wool flowers suitable for a lapel, hat, bag or wherever. The kit fee for the fabric flower will be $10. All materials and supplies are supplied. However, attendees should bring scissors to cut out the paper pattern and the felted wool for the flowers. In addition, the Saturday Sew Special ’16 will feature a noon style show by the state Make It With Wool contestants. 
A little about Rhonda. 
Some would say that Rhonda was born with a needle in her hand. Her first project was an embroidered handkerchief that she made with the help of her grandmother at the age of five. Once in high school, she took every sewing and design class that her school offered. With nothing more to offer, she attended the local community college where she had the opportunity to study fashion illustration and costume design. While in college, she took the limited fashion design classes that were offered. She had the opportunity to truly hone her skills at Ray College of Design in Chicago where she graduated with a degree in Fashion Design. In her final year, Rhonda won numerous awards for her designs, including fur and millinery awards. After graduating, Rhonda worked as a designer for a dress manufacturer. From there she did costume design and returned to teach tailoring and design at Ray College. In recent years, Rhonda began writing for Sew News magazine. She has also been featured in Threads magazine, Sew It All, and Sew Stylish. Her design was on the Spring 2014 cover for Sew Stylish magazine. In 2012, Rhonda won The People’s Choice Award in the Passion For Fashion competition at the American Sewing Expo. In 2013, her design won third place. In her popular blog, Rhonda’s Creative Life, Rhonda features easy to make designs made from simple shapes. She has a passion for sharing her knowledge and believes that everyone can sew and create. They just need the basic knowledge. 

From what I understand, the Friday workshop has been sold out, but if you would like to come to the Saturday event, here's a copy of the registration form;

THE CENTRAL ILLINOIS/PEORIA CHAPTER 

Sew Special 2016 FEATURING RHONDA BUSS 

ILLINOIS STATE MAKE IT WITH WOOL CONTEST 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 

8:30 Registration 9:00 am – 4:00pm 

United Presbyterian Church, 

2400 W Northmoor Road, Peoria, IL 61614 

Rhonda’s all day session (lecture/demonstration) will focus on : 

Sleeve Variations Demonstration (draft, cut, slash & construct) 

Trunk Show with Rhonda’s fashions 

Make It- Take It Wool Flower Accessory- suitable for a lapel, hat, or bag $10 kit fee. 

Chapter website: www.peoriaasg.org 

Questions? Contact Gisela Schuman (309) 245-4884 gschuman93@gmail.com 

ILINOIS MAKE IT WITH WOOL: Marilyn Donoho (815) 627-9422 black1959@aol.com 

____________________________________________________

REGISTRATION FORM 

Complete checks to Central IL/Peoria ASG and mail by Sept. 21, 2016 to Gisela Schuman 432 E. Pearl, Box 282 Farmington, IL 61531-0282 Registrations postmarked by September 9, 2016 will be entered in a special drawing to receive a free one-year membership $60 ASG Members $70 non-ASG members $35 Students NO REFUNDS AFTER SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 Join ASG now (1 year $50) and attend at the member price Contact Margaret Youssi (309) 369-9866 or mmyoussi@comcast.net Includes Continental breakfast & box lunch from McAlister’s. Beverages, cookies & chips provided Please select one Veggie on Pita ___ Roast Beef on Sourdough ___ Turkey on Croissant___ Salad with Chopped Chicken ___ Those with dietary issues, please feel free to bring your own lunch 

 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Address: _________________________________________________________________________________________ 

City: __________________________________________ 

State: _______________________Zip: __________________ Phone: ______________________________________________________ASG Member? Yes____ No____ 

Emergency Contact: ____________________________________________

Phone:______________________________ 

$60 (ASG/student) ________________ $70 (non-ASG member) ______________ 

Kit fee $10__________________ 

Amt. Enclosed: __________ 

Email: ______________________________________________________

I would love it if you could attend! 

If you would like a copy of the newsletter with all the info, just email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com and I'll be happy to forward it off to you.

Have a wonderful day :)

Rhonda     

Sew Special 2016/Come Meet Me In Peoria

I was surprised and delighted when I was contacted by the Peoria, Illinois American Sewing Guild to be their featured speaker for their yearly conference. The conference will be held the weekend of October 1, 2016.

To kick off the conference, I will be doing a hands on class on Friday, September 30th,  where I will guide the participants through making a bag that I have specially designed for the conference. Sadly, their are only 12 spots available, so I've been told that the class will fill quickly, and is only open to members of the Peoria ASG chapter. The good news is that once the class is over, the pattern will be available to all. 

The Saturday program is open to all. So if you are anywhere near Peoria, Illinois, I would love to have you join me for the day! Sign up information will be posted later this summer. In the meantime, if you would like to check out their newsletter, you can find it here, http://www.peoriaasg.org/files/SewCiety_News_WinterUpdated.pdf

Below is the article that was featured in their newsletter that tells a little about the conference and a little about me too.

Sew Special....16

Featuring Rhonda Buss

The featured speaker for Sew Special…16 is Rhonda Buss of Chicago. Rhonda is a past president of the Haute Couture Club of Chicago. The event will feature a hands-on handbag workshop for 12 participants on Friday. Rhonda will be designing the project that will teach participants about zipper application, pockets, hardware and other handbag construction techniques. Saturday will feature all things sleeves including how to change garments by restyling the sleeves. Samples will be available for the different sleeve variations. Rhonda will demonstrate how to draft, cut, slash and construct each sleeve variation. You don't have to be an expert because these techniques can apply to even a simple t-shirt style garment. There will be a trunk show of some of Rhonda's fashions. The afternoon will conclude with a make it take it wool flower accessory suitable for a lapel, hat, bag or where ever. A small kit fee will apply. In addition, the Saturday Sew Special….16 will feature a noon style show by the state Make It With Wool contestants. Some would say that Rhonda was born with a needle in her hand. Her first project was an embroidered handkerchief that she made with the help of her grandmother at the age of five. Once in high school, she took every sewing and design class that her school offered. With nothing more to offer, she was sent to the local community college where she had the opportunity to study fashion illustration and costume design. While in college, she took the limited fashion design classes that were offered, but finally had the opportunity to truly hone her skills at Ray College of Design in Chicago where she graduated with a degree in Fashion Design. In her final year, Rhonda won numerous awards for her designs, including fur and millinery awards. After graduating Rhonda worked as a designer for a dress manufacturer. From there she did costume design and returned to teach tailoring and design at Ray College. In recent years, Rhonda began writing for Sew News Magazine. She has also been featured in Threads magazine, Sew It All, and Sew Stylish. Her design was on the Spring 2014 cover for Sew Stylish magazine. In 2012, Rhonda won The People’s Choice Award in the Passion For Fashion competition at the American Sewing Expo. In 2013, her design won third place. In her popular blog, Rhonda’s Creative Life, Rhonda features easy to make designs made from simple shapes. She has a passion for sharing her knowledge and believes that everyone can sew and create. They just need the basic knowledge. 

"Come meet me in Peoria," sounds a little like a line from a country  western song! I grew up listening to country western music and thanks to Tammy Wynette, it's how I learned to spell, d-i-v-o-r-c-e!!! That's really true! But, all jokes aside, if you aren't too far from Peoria, and you have a little time to spare, I would truly enjoy spending the day with you.