Saturday Sewing: A Bag for Diane

Yesterday, I finished a Chubby Charmer tote bag for my wonderful sister-in-law Diane. I will see Diane the first week of January so I will be able to give her the bag in person. Diane is a redhead and she loves autumnal colors.

Chubby Charmer is one of my favorite patterns. You can read about other Chubby Charmer tote bags that I've made here and here. The batiks I used for Diane's bag were in my stash. They were left over from a quilted jacket and a queen size bed quilt that I've made for her in pre-blogging years.

Here is the finished bag.

A close-up of the quilting. I stitched 1/4 inch in from the edge.
It frames each of the fabrics and I love the way it came out.

A slightly blurry photo of my brother Jeff and my sister-in-law, Diane.

Lining fabric at left and bag handles.

A close-up of the fabrics in Diane's bag.

I really enjoy making this pattern. This time when I made the bag, I made a list of "extras" that have become standard for me when I make the Chubby Charmer. Below I've tried to capture some of the special details in this bag. Not pictured is the interior of the bag which has two large inside pockets. One other thing I do is make the handles longer (30 inches) than the pattern calls for. This way you can put it over your shoulder.

The bag has snaps on the side so you can make it larger or smaller.

This is part of the pattern. You can also use Velcro or make fabric ties.

A view from the side with the snaps open.

This is one of my "add-ons." This is a small strap with a clip.
I will also make a matching zipper bag that will have a
D-ring on it. Diane will be able to clip it into her bag.

I put another loop on the opposite side of the bag with a
removal carabiner. Diane can use this for her keys.
They won't fall to the bottom of the bag and get lost.

Marion and Joannie came over on Saturday to sew with me in the Studio despite that fact that I have a lousy head cold (all I've gotten for Christmas so far). Hopefully they sprayed themselves with Lysol when they got home. Joannie was hard at work making six pillowcases for a party that she was going to yesterday afternoon. Marion finished a quilt top.

This was kit that I brought home for Marion from the
Houston Quilt Festival quite a few years ago.
I have the same one. I gave it to Mike a couple of years
ago for Valentine's Day. I love the colors in this.

I also finished a flannel Scotty dog pillowcase for my friend
Eleanor and a cowboy dog pillowcase for my friend Cindy.

We left Joannie in the Studio to finish her pillowcases. Marion and I went to the Asian Deli for lunch. Marion believes that Hot and Sour soup will cure everything. She is probably right. We went to All About Quilts and ran into our friend Margaret who is one of the co-owners of the shop. She had her puppy, Ike, in the car so I got to meet him. Ike is a five month old golden retriever. He likes to jump on you and give you kisses. He is very sweet. Marion bought her fabric medley for our Christmas party in January. I admired all the lovely batiks, but was good and didn't buy anything.

Margaret and Ike. It was a freakishly warm day for the
first day of winter in Massachusetts, around 60 degrees.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

Adding a link on Tuesday to Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River and to Brag Bag Tuesday at ChrisW Designs. Merry Christmas!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy