The Winner of the Stella Weekender Bag Pattern

Once this weekend is over, I will be able to resume my regularly scheduled life, and I am truly looking forward to getting back to normal, at least normal for me :) 

Next week I will be doing a little video post on attaching the Inspired Lighting sewing machine light kit to my machine. Just in case you missed it, Inspired Lighting has given me the awesome opportunity to give away 5!!!, yes, 5 light kits, so be sure to pop over to THIS post and get your comment in for a chance to win. The drawing will be September 1, 2016. Can you believe that September is right around the corner?

Now for the Swoon Patterns Stella Weekender Bag. 

I added a couple of pictures to the collage below that show how the front pockets actually sit away from the bag. Fabulous feature. If you do decide to make the bag, don't worry, the pockets are easier to make than you might think. The handle is featured in the bottom right picture. I know that the small curves may seem intimidating, but again, easier than you may think. All in all, a super fun bag to make!

Now for the winner...

Sue@A Colorful Canvas

Congratulations Sue!!!  
Please email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com  so I can get your pattern off to you.

Thanks so much  to all of you for stopping by. The sew along will begin the first week of September and I think that you are truly going to enjoy putting this project together.

If you have not purchased a pattern, You can find it HERE on the Swoon Patterns website, or HERE on the Shop Sew It All website.

Win The Stella Weekender Bag Pattern From Swoon Patterns

It's Sunday, and I do have a great recipe to share, my homemade tomato sauce. It's delicious by the way :), but since my blogging has been a little lacking, and I don't want everyone to think that this has turned into a cooking blog, I thought that I would share a sewing item today, and save the sauce for later. 

My Swoon Patterns Stella Weekender Bag sew along will be starting the first week of September on the Sew News blog, so it's time for a give away!!!

This is such a great bag with lots and lots of pockets. The front of the bag features 2 pockets with flaps and a big zippered pocket.

The back has 2 pockets, each big enough to hold an I-Pad.  

There are pockets on either end of the bag.

And, as if there weren't enough pockets on the exterior of the bag, there are more pockets on the interior. The only issue you may have is which pocket holds what!

Here are the pattern specs;

Product Description

SIZING / FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:

• 18” wide
• 11” tall
• 8” deep

MATERIALS:

• Exterior: 2 yards 44” home decor weight
• Lining: 1.5 yards quilting weight, 44”
• 3 yards lightweight fusible interfacing
• 2 yards fusible fleece (i.e. Pellon Thermolam TP971F)
• 1 yard stiff fusible stabilizer (i.e. Pellon Peltex 71F)
• Two 1” D-rings or strap loops and two 1.5” swivel clips
• One 24” all-purpose zipper
• One 14” all-purpose zipper
• Two magnetic snaps

The pattern is a PDF pattern. I like to call PDF patterns instant gratification patterns since there's no getting in the car to go shopping and you can print it out anytime, even in the middle of the night :)    

If you think you might like to win a pattern, just leave a message here on this post. I'll announce the winner on  Friday, August 26, 2016.

Good Luck!!!

Rhonda

Butterflies And A Winner

It's Monday and it's the first day of the month...Rabbit, Rabbit!!!!

What in the world is Rabbit, Rabbit? A few months ago I shared that this is I guess, a superstition that if you say Rabbit, Rabbit on the first day of the month, good luck will come your way. Hey, why not? :)

I took a bike ride up to the Chicago Botanical Gardens yesterday and was surprised to find a Butterflies and Blooms exhibit. If you are anywhere near Chicago, I highly recommend visiting the exhibit. I felt as though I was in a fairy tale story with all the butterflies flying about. 

For some reason, they really liked me as they kept landing on me.

This one hitched a ride on my leg and would not leave. When I was ready to go, I had to get one of the people from the garden to remove him as we were not supposed to touch them. They told me that I am going to have tons of good luck as another superstition I guess is that when a butterfly lands on you, they bring good luck. Again, I'll take all I can get :)

I thought I would share a few other pictures that I took. I could really bore you as I took tons, but I will refrain :) 

This one doesn't even look real!

On this first day of August, I'm so happy that I can send out a little good luck with the announcement of the Swoon Patterns Evelyn Handbag and Market Tote pattern give away.

And the winner is Ginger!!! Congratulations Ginger. Email me at Sewbussted@yahoo.com and I will send your pattern out to you. It's a PDF pattern, so you'll get it right away!

Before I go, I thought I would share a few pictures of some of the Evelyn Bags I found. 

I thought both of these were especially cute. A little bit of an eye teaser on the left and a little Lilly Pulitzer on the right.

This photo gives you an idea of how large the market tote pattern is. Good size bag.

Have a wonderful day and I wish you a month full of the best of luck!

Rhonda

And The Winners Are....

What a great response I had to the Sew News magazine give away. It seems that many of you are especially interested in the "Fitting The Aging Body" article by Joi Mahon.  

A little side story. I had a wonderful friend who sadly passed away a few years ago. She was considerably older than me, but we had so much in common. When she was in her 80's, she one day shared that she wasn't remembering things the way she did when she was in her 20's. My reply was that when she was in her 20's, she didn't have as much to remember :) My comment really made her feel so much better. 

So in the same vein, I don't like the "aging body" label in the article. The thing is, from the moment we're born, we're aging. There's no magical moment when we are not aging and then suddenly we are. What I prefer is simply the ever changing body. And that's all that it is. As long as we are blessed to be alive, we are changing, mind, body, and soul :)

Okay, so get off my soapbox :), and announce the winners!!!

The winners of the Sew News August/September issue are....

Kristine Balinski

Sew Do U Quilt

Cyndy

Congratulations!!!
Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing info so I can get your magazines off to you.

In case you missed yesterday's post, I'm so fortunate to be able to offer another give away, the Evelyn Handbag and Market Tote pattern from Swoon Patterns. If you would like a chance to win, be sure to pop over to THIS post and leave a comment. 

Have a wonderful day! I'm off to give a sewing lesson to our student that we are hosting this week.She's super excited :) I'm so happy!

It's A Lollapalooza Kind Of A Week!

Today is actually the kickoff of the huge Lollapalooza concert extravaganza here in Chicago. If I'm not mistaken, I think they said that there will be over 100,000 attending the concert and tickets are completely sold out. It's kind of a Woodstock experience for those of you old enough to know what Woodstock was ;) I will not be attending. Huge outdoor concerts where anything can happen is just a little more than I can deal with. 

So what's the connection with the blog today? Well, nothing really, but it's a crazy giveaway week!!!

Quite a few have thrown their name in to win a copy of the brand new issue of Sew News magazine. I'm drawing the winning names tomorrow, so be sure to pop over to THIS post if you would like an opportunity to win 1 on the 3 magazines that I have to give away.

In the new issue of Sew News, you can also see the Swoon Patterns Stella Weekender Bag that I made for the upcoming sew along that will begin in September. 

When I initially contacted Alicia, the designer of Swoon Patterns, about her bag being considered for a sew along article, she was SOOO excited. Rather than send me just the pattern for the Stella Weekender Bag, she sent 2 others that she thought I might like. The first is the Evelyn Handbag and Market Tote.

There are 2 bag sizes included in the pattern. Here are the specifics of the pattern and the supply list.

Product Description

SIZING / FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:

Handbag: 12″ wide, 10.5″ tall, 4.5″ deep
Market Tote: 15″ wide, 13.5″ tall, 5.75″ deep

MATERIALS:

• 1 yard 44” wide quilting weight exterior fabric (1/2 yard for Handbag size)
• 1 1/2 yards 44” wide quilting weight lining fabric (1 yard for Handbag size)
• 1/2 yard foam interfacing (Soft & Stable, or 1 1/2 yards Pellon Flex-Foam)
  You can use Pellon Thermolam and Shape-flex SF101 in place of foam interfacing
• 3 yards fusible woven interfacing (2 yards for Handbag size) (Pellon Shapeflex SF101)
• 1/4 yard fusible stiff stabilizer (Pellon Peltex 71F)
• 16” (or longer) handbag zipper (14” for Handbag size)
• 9″ all purpose zipper (7″ for Handbag size)
• Four 1 1/2” rectangle rings (1” for Handbag size)
• Coordinating thread
• Erasable marking pen
• Fabric glue, optional (Beacon Fabri-Tac)

Now for the good news!!! Alicia would like to give away an Evelyn Bag pattern to one of you. How generous!

So just leave a message on this post and let me know that you would like to be considered. I will draw the winning name next Monday, August 1, 2016. 

I'll have my construction of the bag up on the blog next week, so you can take a look prior to making your own.  

Good Luck!