Max, Peter Max, Calling Peter Max!

Here I go again. I'm not done with my Peter Max fabric. I've made potholders, a tote bag, and tonight, made another lined tote bag to sell on Etsy. I've got enough fabric to make at least one more. We'll see how this one sells. the Peter Max/M&M potholders sold today. They were fun to make too. But tonight, the house was quiet and I hit the sewing room, taking apart some more of the curtain that I have, and came up with this lovely item.

It's about 15 x 13 and is lined with a cotton blend fabric rather than the Peter Max fabric I used on its larger counterpart. I have some turquoise fabric that matches the turquoise thread and designs on the Max print, so I went with that.

I made the handles out of the hem of the curtain. I cut it off and folded over a hem, then folded the whole thing in half again and stitched three rows of stitching to provide stability and long life of the handles.

I always try to make sure there's a signature showing somewhere on the bag, and in this case, it was front and center on one side and to the left of center on the other. I'll be sorry to be done with this fabric as I've so enjoyed working with it! How can you not love those hippie dippie colors? My bedroom was filled with this stuff when I was a young teen.

The top of the curtain was used to make a large pocket for inside the bag and I cut a small bit of Velcro to use as a closure for that. You can see the lining fabric with this photo of the inside of the bag.

The bottom line is I got some sewing in today. It's been a whacky week and I was hoping to get to the machine for a little while. My next project is a Smurfs dress for a little girl somewhere. I think it's a size 5, but will know for sure the next time I mention it. A friend on the Hippie Sewing email list sent me a white zipper to use to finish it up, so there's no reason for me to not get started on it.

Buh bye Mr. Max.... for now.

Sewing on vacation and now I'm home!

Hexagons. I see them in my waking hours and in my sleep. I took my hexagon quilt pieces with me and worked on them in the airport, in Phoenix, in Los Angeles, on planes, in a hotel room, and now am working on it again at home. It became evident while I was in Phoenix that I'd need new fabrics, so hunting on the internet I did go. I found a few charm collections that were personal and not, say, Miller or Kaufmann collections. I ordered a few and was tickled to open packages of squares when I arrived back home on Monday night.

My sewing plan is to set up the cutting table in the former dining room and do some pattern cutting. I have two Halloween bags that need to be completed. I believe I have one more set of Halloween placemats that need to be finished. Then I can start sewing the items that I cut! Did I mention (or did I post photos?) while hunting for charm fabrics on line that I found three pieces of fabric for myself? Oh, I am such a fabriholic!

Peter Max and Hexagons

The Peter Max tote worked perfectly for my flight from Virginia to Arizona. Besides the fact that it was the most beautiful bag in the airports and on the planes, it held what I needed, fit under the seat and on my lap. I noticed a few folks taking a gander. How could they not? Okay, the arrogance is a little fake, but my pride in the piece is real.

Inside the bag, along with a lot of personal items, were some pieces to be sewn for my ongoing hexagon quilt. I read recently that it will take about two years to finish a quilt like this, so I'm taking my time, enjoying the process, and loving collecting charm fabrics without duplicates. I am working in lengths of 11 hexagons now instead of 10. I made an error early on and had some 11-hexagon rows, so I decided that was my new unit size. I can pull 11 hexagons out of my bag and stitch away at my leisure, and that's exactly what I'm doing. I highly recommend a small hand sewing project for everyone who sews. It's always there and willing to be utilized. Take your time, enjoy the process, and relax a bit. Beach time is coming and a hand sewing project, to me, is as important as a good book to pack!

And, while I have you, Happy Mother's Day to everyone.
My mother passed away several years ago, but she is still fondly remembered. My children all contacted me and we had fun phone conversations (I'm out of town). Overall, it was a beautiful day. That's my mother with the dark hair in the photo and her mother with the white hair, sitting on a bench in Austria, her home.

On a dinner outing Saturday, we saw many, many teenagers in formal gowns. I am thinking it's prom season! Here's hoping your prom experience this year was a fun one and that many of you made those dresses!

Enjoy your day! keep sewing.

Peter Max Tote

I've had a vintage curtain panel, genuine Peter Max, for some time now. I've been waiting for it to speak to me. The fabric is too heavy for a garment. It's too precious for a pot holder. I wanted to make something that would last for a while and show off the fabric. I'm traveling Wednesday. I had a light bulb moment - tote bag! I need a bag with shoulder straps that I can use instead of a purse, and there you have it, the planning began.

I cut the hem off the panel and made two shoulder straps, each about 39" long. I folded them toward the center and stitched, reinforcing with a few more rows. I chose orange thread to keep with the Max and 70s theme.

I used the fabric from the curtain header to make pockets for the inside. I cut four pieces of fabric, about 40" x 40", and made a lined basic tote, adding the pockets to the lining and the Velcro closure for the bag itself after I completed construction of the bag and lining.

I have a large piece of the fabric left and am not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I'm very happy with phase one - the travel tote with shoulder straps.

Smurf day!

Twas Smurf day in the sewing room. I know, it's supposed to be Friday and I should be planning the weekend. But I am not. I am relaxing after having cut and sewn and Smurf'd my way through the day.

I cut the remainder of the 5" squares for the Smurf quilt. That didn't take long, but I used an "I spy" technique so that I could utilize the fabric in the best way possible and get a good image on each square.

I also cut out a little girl's twirl dress using the Smurf fabric. I will be putting a white Peter Pan collar on it and using some white decorative ribbon to fem it up. I have to get that fabric and the zipper for the back, but other than that, it's cut and ready to sew.

With the remaining pieces on the floor, I cut bias strips and made the binding for the Smurf quilt.

Okay, so I did cut a few denim squares and it wasn't 100% Smurf fabric day, but it almost was! Happy Smurf Day!

Thinking about cutting, sewing, and stuff

I have patterns galore. I have an overflowing stash. What I don't have is the desire to cut stuff out. The only motivation I can see for cutting is the sewing that will follow! But oh, how I hate to cut out a pattern.

I was cruising some blogs and saw this pattern, though:

 

It almost makes me want to break out the fabric and the scissors. I love the collar on the cardigan/top. I have similar patterns and could easily fashion a Peter Pan type collar for any of them. I just never thought of it before. Now there's some inspiration. I love the no collar look, but I really like view A here with the collar. My sewing fingers are just a'twitchin'. Could seeing this pattern be the catalyst I need? Might I set up the table and lay out some fabric? I might. If not today, maybe tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow.