Noodlehead Bag

This is a bag I made for my friend Sheryl back in January. She and I had been looking for a pattern that was just right (not too big, not too small, pretty easy to construct) for quite a while. We both saw a picture of this bag come across our email on the same morning and knew this was it. 

Sheryl picked out beautiful fabric and the Noodlehead Runaround pattern was very easy to follow.

 

Not only was it the first bag I completed on my own, but also my first zipper and magnetic closure. All super easy!

 

The only thing I'd do differently next time, is to just generously pin the bottom to the body of the purse to sew it on. I used a long basting stitch that I pulled to gather and I just couldn't get the fabric to stay nice and even all around. I may be too much of a perfectionist but I really wanted to have a little more control over where all the gathers were stitched. I have another bag for myself cut out, so we'll see how smooth it goes. Overall, I really thought this was a great pattern. I'd like to try one of her zipper clutches soon.

{Sharon and Kristin won the Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio giveaways from the last couple of posts! You should have emails waiting in your inboxes.}

A Fall Dress

My mom made Miss J a few dresses this summer and my very good friend commented on how much she liked them. When I told my mom, she sent enough fabric and a pattern so we could have a sewing day to make dresses ourselves for our girls. The fabric is Spirit by Lila Tueller for Moda.

We started about 9:30 and I took a break to pick up Miss J from preschool and grab lunch for us all. We finally finished around 4:30. The three kids played so nicely together while we sewed. My friend's mom popped over to help us figure out the pocket which used elastic cord to gather the top. We both swore making clothes took more time than it was worth but in the end we were happy we did it. In fact, I had a little giggle of excitement when I sewed the pocket. It was so much fun to try something new. My friend made a couple more since then and she said the others went much more quickly.

Have you ever enjoyed sewing with a friend? I've been sharing quite a few sewing experiences with friends lately and it's a great deal of fun!