We’ve already started shipping our new Girl and I have to tell you, I get excited every step of the way with a new design. Culminating in the arrival of a freshly printed product at my doorstep, creating a new design is like spending months planning a party and finally experiencing that magic moment when the guest of honor arrives and everyone joins the fun.

My excellent and trusted pattern tester Regina made this cute Lily. Here she is enjoying some beautiful surroundings in Regina’s yard. The fabric is ‘Happy Camper’ by Moda. It’s an adorable fabric line and looks great on Lily. Regina fussy cut the fabric to feature the tent motif.

Back view of Regina’s Lily Pocket Purse. Love this fabric collection. Great job Regina! Lily is perfect for directional prints like the camping scenes and basket weave.

My Big Weekend
Goodness, talk about a ton of fun – family and friends celebrated Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. It was fabulous! My three siblings and I divvied up the duties, put our thinking caps on and pulled out all the stops. We hosted a cocktail-style reception with a light buffet, following a Mass said in Mom and Dad’s honor at the church where they were married so long ago.

Robert and Ruth Weingartner, November 19, 1960

My trip started by strapping 50 helium balloons down in my car for the two hour ride to Cincinnati. Yes, I fit all of the decorations for the entire event in my car. There was just enough room left for our toothbrushes and jammies.

Music by a bass player and keyboard duet provided perfect atmosphere for our evening. The photographer captured our special moments and brought in a backdrop to get portrait pics of everyone…some under duress, but we wanted pics of every loved one. Hey, it’s our party and you’ll smile if we want you to.

Two members of their bridal party attended. Mom’s precious friends from high school totally owned their part of the room. And you’ll be happy to know there were at least half  a dozen Lazy Girls in attendance, too. We may have even converted a few new Lazies as well.

We all mixed, mingled, kissed and hugged. Reminisced about old time and caught up on news. Mom and Dad cut the cake and shared a dance. I cried as the entourage of our loved ones and life-long friends arrived to share in our joy and I savored the evening as we said our goodbyes.

Enjoy!
Joan

Lily Pocket Purse made by Carolyn Griffin.
Fabric is Metro by Michele D’Amore for Marcus Fabrics.

Interfacing
I absolutely adore Pellon’s Stacy Shape Flex woven cotton fusible interfacing. Love it. It is easy to work with, fuses quickly and offers nearly invisible and lightweight support while still offering substance.

Pellon’s Stacy Shape Flex, item #SF101, comes in a 20″ width (selvage to selvage) instead of the more popular 45″ width of other products. What that means to me is that it is easy to manage in my workspace.

For Lily, interfacing is fused to the fabric before cutting her shapely pieces. Each of the two main pieces is less than 10″ tall. If you cut the Shape flex right down the middle, you’ll get two 10″ strips which are large enough for Lily’s pieces. Nice!

Batting
I tried batting on the front lining and it immediately reminded me of the horseshoe crabs I remember washing up on the beaches of Sanibel Island during childhood vacations. Ewwww. Trust me, the batting was too much support for our delicate Lily. I still have this crab image in my head and, well, you probably do, too. Sorry about that.

Horseshoe crab, image by Dan Collins

I highly recommend fusible batting for this project. If you haven’t tried a fusible batting or fleece, consider giving it a go on this project.

The biggest issue I hear about fusible batting, also called fusible fleece, is that it wrinkles or puckers the fabric. Yes, I’ve encountered that myself in the past a few times.  Here is my theory on that. You don’t have to fuse it to within an inch of its life. I think the longer you press with your iron, the more chance there is of shrinkage – either the fabric or the fusible. However, you can fuse for a short period of time and it will adhere to your fabric. Think of a short fuse time as ‘basting’ and a long fuse time as cemented in place.

Click image above to enlarge.

Lily is a small project, the pieces of batting are tiny, they don’t have anywhere to go once they are sewn into place. What I’m saying is, you can’t go too wrong here. A light fusing works.

Back view of Carolyn’s Lily

The batting is on the inside of Lily, where it will be seen less – that makes this a great time to experiment with a fusible batting. If you choose to use a non-fusible batting, you can always stitch close to the edge to hold the fabric and batting together. Or use a spray adhesive to hold the layers together during construction.

Enjoy!
Joan

Lily’s front pleats make geometrics and large prints even more fun. The long ovals of the waistband fabric creates great direction, creating a fun fragmented line pattern.

I picked up this bundle more than a year ago and I don’t remember the name of the line, but it’s by the fabulous Michele D’Amore – love her designs!

This Lily is an early prototype. The back pocket is a bit deeper on the final design to offer more security, great for a phone or small digital camera.

You know we all like to see inside, so here you go.

In case you missed it, we introduced Lily last week with some notes about design features and supplies. Here’s that blog post: Coming in September: Meet Lily!

These retailers are already offering Lily on their websites. If your store is taking orders, please post a comment with a link below.
Sew Thankful
Quilter’s Warehouse
Mon Aiguille
Fabric Lovers
Email to Rush’s Dry Goods (Canada) to inquire

Fabric requirements for yardage from the bolt:
1/3 yd of two main cover fabrics
1/2 yd handle and pockets
1/4 yd waistband

Lazies, round up your fat quarters. Lily will be here soon! Lots more details and discussions of Lily to come…

Enjoy!
Joan

Lily (LGD128) shown in ‘Fandango’ from Moda.

Handle
A long handle (42″) is great for wearing Lily cross-body to hang securely at your hip or hang straight from your shoulder. A medium length handle (27″) will allow Lily to tuck nicely behind your elbow when worn at the shoulder. Make the handle any length you like.

Pockets
Lily has several inside pockets and a couple of handy pockets on the back for your cell phone and a pen or lip gloss. The pockets are located at the widest part of the bag, making them surprisingly generous.

A peek inside shows two pockets large enough for a Wonder Wallet (LGD211), sunglasses or checkbook, divided by a handy pen pocket. The pleated front allows for a few other essentials to nicely travel along with you.

Three pockets along the back wall.

Size
Lily is about the size of a sheet of copy paper. She is 9″ wide at the top opening, gracefully widening to just over 10″ at the pockets, 10 1/2″ tall and just 1″ deep. Lily has a slightly rounded shape, making her a bit wider at the middle than the top or bottom. The back of the bag is flat. The front has both pleats and darts, offering depth.

Velcro Closure
Lily’s 9″ wide opening offers a Velcro closure. If you prefer, a magnetic snap would work well for Lily, too. I tried a zipper and it simply is too much for this size opening. A zip cuts down on the usable width of the opening and adds bulk at the shoulder strap and side seam.

The back view shows Lily’s gentle curves.

Fabrics
Four fun and fabulous prints are all you need to make the most of Lily.

1/3 yd of two main cover fabrics
1/2 yd handle and pockets
1/4 yd waistband

For a more varied look, use a handful of fat quarters. Keep in mind that you’ll need to piece the handle to the desired length when working with smaller cuts of fabric.

Back pocket panel is large enough for a cell phone and pen.

Interfacing and Batting
Lily’s delicate pleats are supported by a lightweight fusible interfacing, keeping them soft and feminine. A fusible batting or fleece offers structure for the bag lining, giving Lily just the right amount of invisible support.

What do you think of Lily?
Post a comment below and tell me what you think of our new Girl. I’ll have more info and notes for you in future posts as we await the arrival of our sweet Lily. She’s expected to arrive in September!

Enjoy!
Joan

Here are two gorgeous Margo Handbag (LGD127) zip top purses in scrumptious
teal and black Andrea Victoria line from Riley Blake.
Patti might have to send these to me for closer inspection!

Lately, Patti has been enjoying our Margo Handbag pattern. I asked Patti to tell us a little about herself and share some of her creations.

Here’s Lazy Girl Patti
It is an honor to be asked to share a little about myself with you! I enjoy shopping for fabrics and putting them together – yes, I’m Patti, and I’m a Fabriholic! I had sewn off and on for 28-29 years, making little projects and tons of aprons for gifts.

I didn’t attempt a purse pattern until your Claire Handbag (LGD125) pattern came out. I quickly caught the bug and went nuts with that!

Patricia and two of her grandchildren.

I am a single (divorced) mother of 3 grown daughters, and the grandmother of 4, with 1 on the way (I just found out). I have lived in Mid Michigan all my life and worked at the local hospital on and off for 34 years. The last stint for 16 as a Registered Nurse. The first year was a co-op when I was a high school student.

I went to Mid Michigan Community College and graduated in 1994 with my RN degree (with 3 children, a business to run and a marriage that fell apart soon after). I work in the operating room as a Circulator, PACU nurse, and a Scrub. I love my job and the people I work with.

Beautiful Margo Handbags made with ‘Cherish’ line by Deb Strain for Moda.

My first sewing machine purchase was a Viking when I was pregnant with my middle daughter. She caught the bug for sewing from me and has her own website and business, “Snuggle Monkeys”. She makes wraps, slings, and other baby items. (She’s on facebook here).

Simply gorgeous!

My kids are all spread out throughout the US  and I only get to see them occasionally. I have a big “empty” house and a boyfriend who is still raising his own children in another town, so I have time for my crafts. In addition to sewing, I also knit, scrap, rubber stamp, do paper piecing and soon want to learn to make quilts!

I spoiled myself recently with a Bernina 630E with BSR and have been taking classes from pattern designer, professional quilt appraiser and seamstress, Margaret Rouleau, at Fabric Fair in Bay City MI. Wow, I thought I knew how to sew until I attended my Bernina classes! By the way, I had to have a machine with embroidery after seeing your feature on those black personalized makeup bags. Here’s a link to that post.

On the job. I’m 51 and have never felt younger!

Thanks Patti for sharing your story and beautiful creations with us! I was bowled over by the Claire Handbag pattern, too. I’ve lost track of how many I’ve made, but it’s closing in on three dozen. And Margo is screaming to be made in more fabric combinations than I think I have time for.

Join Patti along with nearly 8,000 Lazies and post pics of your Lazy creations at our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/lazygirl

Try something new when you have a chance, it may lead to an obsession! A colorful, expensive, wonderful, creative obsession.

We’re trying out the Facebook ‘Like’ button below my name. Give it a click if you like the post or leave a comment with a note for Patti below.

Enjoy!
Joan

Above is a view inside my Miranda Day Bag (LGD123). I added a water bottle pocket near the side seam. This pocket gets used all the time. It works for corralling anything from my stainless steel water bottle or travel mug to food and snack-i-poos.

I’ve included instructions and notes for adding the pocket during construction, after construction, and even an advanced Lazy approach using only the existing pockets during construction.

The Water Bottle Pocket
Our goal is to add a finished strip of fabric that goes across the bag interior, effectively creating a pocket to go around your water bottle. The strip will attach to the existing pockets with Velcro. To accommodate the bulk of the bottle, the bottom of the strip is free from the bottom of the bag, unlike the side pockets which are sewn in place at their bottom edge. Use this technique to add a water bottle pocket to many of our designs during or after construction. See which ones later. When not in use, I simply push the pocket against the inside of the bag where it rests comfortably out of the way.

Let’s take a quick look a the pocket without the bottle. Here we can see the extra strip of fabric situated in front of two small pockets near the side seam.

Materials Needed
- 11″ of Velcro (Fusible Fusion Velcro works best. Sew-in Velcro only works well if adding pocket during construction)
- Fabric strip for pocket, approx 12″ x 8″
- Bag in need of a water bottle pocket.
- Optional: fusible interfacing just a bit smaller than the folded stitched pocket in the first picture below.

Make the Pocket
To start, cut a strip of fabric the same height as the inside pocket fabric so everything is all matchy-poo. For Miranda as shown here, cut the strip 12″ high x 8″ wide (10″ x 8″ for Margo, Mini Miranda and Claire). We need to finish the raw edges and add some Velcro, simple as that.

Fold the fabric right sides together and stitch the 8″ edge at the bottom, making a tube. Optional: for more stability, cut and add a piece of fusible interfacing just smaller than 6″ x 6″.

Turn right sides out and press. Topstitch along the folded edge.

Fold over 1/2″ – 3/4″ of the raw side edges and press. Optional, stitch along folds to hold in place.

Cut the Velcro to just a little shorter than the height of the pocket. Fuse rough half of Velcro on top of the raw edges. Stitch in place if using sew-in Velcro.

Add Velcro to Bag
Ideally, this is most convenient to do during the construction of your project. But it’s still pretty simple to add after the bag is done using fusible Fusion Velcro.

During Construction
Attach the soft half of the Velcro to the inside pockets, about 2″ from the side edges. For those of you with any of my patterns that attach inside pockets in this manner, check the directions for attaching inside pockets, and place the Velcro near the first pocket separation or about 2″ from the side edge. The pocket separation is stitched through the lining which will help anchor your water bottle pocket.

Here’s a view during construction. If stitching in place, you can stitch through all layers. You can even stitch those little pockets shut a the top for better stability if you don’t need them. But I like to keep those little pockets functional so I fuse the Velcro in place.

Completed Bag
Here’s a view of the bag when it is done and turned lining-side out. If you are adding the pocket to a finished bag, start here. Simply fuse the soft half of the Velcro about 4″ apart, on top of the pockets.

Then simply put your pocket in place by lining up the Velcro. Having Velcro for the full length along the sides will make this pocket stay in place.

When you turn your bag right sides out, the water bottle pocket is ready to go.

Advanced Lazy Option
For the more advanced Lazy Girl, skip the extra pocket and Velcro entirely and simply don’t sew the last few inches of inside pocket panels to the bottom to the lining toward one side seam. When finishing that side seam, instead of sewing both pocket panel ends and lining fabric layers together in one seam as shown in my patterns,  simply sew those loose ends of the pockets to each other and finish their raw edges. Then sew the lining side seam without the pocket panels. You’ll sacrifice the two small pockets near the side seam, but your water bottle pocket will be permanent and done!

Use this technique with our designs (see our designs here):
- Margo Handbag (you can still zip Margo closed with a bottle in place) Add the pocket near the opening of the zipper for quick access.
- Miranda Day Bag
- Whimsy Bag
- Gracie Handbag (although the flap closure creates a nice divide and helps harness tall bottles in place)
- Mini Miranda Bag
- Claire Handbag
- City Bag

What to Carry
Consider picking up a stainless steel bottle and filling it at home. I have a 27oz bottle by Klean Kanteen which I use all the time. Go wild and choose a great color. Here’s the one I have. And here’s my leak proof stainless steel thermal mug for hot tea and coffee, I choose the beautiful limey green.

Thanks to Harriet for writing in and asking for this project. I actually prepared this more than two years ago, but forgot to post it! Sorry Girls!

Enjoy!
Joan

Tags: free sewing project, tote pattern, purse pattern, sewing tutorial

The Book of Awesome.
Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket and Other Simple,
Brilliant Things. By Neil Pasricha in April 2010
from AEB/Putnam, a division of Penguin Publishing.

Neil got me to thinking that I could use a little awesome lately since my last few weeks have been a series of challenges. So, from poison ivy to sewing, here’s my short list of recent awesome.

Lazy Awesome
It is absolutely awesome when you share pics of your Lazy Girl creations. It makes my day to see your successes and hear about your enjoyment of my designs. Post pics online at our Yahoo group, Facebook page or your blog. Show and tell is one of my favorite sewing awesomes listed below.

Poison Ivy Awesome
Oh boy, poison ivy – vile weed. Wow, it’s been four years since my last poison ivy adventure. Since then, I’ve hired the guy next door to do the weeding because of the vile weed. Apparently, I’m quite allergic. He’s much less sensitive to it and is a real dear to help this old pathetic soul out.

Well, I lost sight of my own reality, decided the yard was free of poison ivy and set about to do some weeding. This was nearly two weeks ago when our weather was hot and humid and we had pop-up showers most days, so I did a little at a time. No surprise – I have two bouts of poison ivy that started a few days apart. Worse still, I didn’t realize it was poison ivy. It started at my waist and I thought it was heat rash from being caught in the steamy miserable rain a few times. I was naively surprised a week later when my dermatologist proclaimed it poison ivy and gave me a prescription. This is awesome because of what it wasn’t. It wasn’t MRSA, staph, or shingles. My mind had time to latch onto the possibility of worse issues. It’s only poison ivy and I hope to never pick weeds again.

Early Wisdom Awesome
Here’s a dandy little blog post you might enjoy from Mighty Girl (wonder if she’s a Lazy Girl, too). 20 Things I wish I knew at 20.

Around The House Awesome
A light switch blew and I installed a new one. My first time ever. I felt invincible. It only took three calls to Dad, two trips to Home Depot, two online videos and three hours. I know what to do, what not to do and how to do it.

Kitchen sink backed-up and flooded the dishwasher, causing it to stop working – don’t ask. Roto Rooter was here right away and took care of the sink – awesome. The appliance guy came the next day and fixed the dishwasher. He gave me a few insider tips and now I’m a pro on the dishwasher. Rinse aid – for streaks, use less; for spots, use more. To clean the dishwasher, run an empty cycle using lemonade mix in the soap dispenser and throw a little inside the dishwasher, too. Awesome sparkly clean.

Computer Awesome
New Lazy Girl computers and network – ack! It was a battle to get everything in place and running, but with the help of my awesome tech guys, we did.

Dad Awesome
Dad is doing great since oral-cancer surgery 5 months ago. Good follow-up visit with the surgeon yesterday and a CT scan showed no signs of cancer. Atta boy Dad!

Sewing Awesome
This is an easy list and I bet you can add to it.
- When there is just enough thread on the bobbin to finish. Sweet!
- Threading a needle on the first try. Yes! I can still see!
- Finding the perfect fabric in your stash. Oh baby!
- An all-day marathon of your fav TV show or movies to keep you company.
- Always having your scissors at hand. Always!
- Visiting your fav quilt shop, any time, any where.
- Finding a cool new notion.
- Friend’s show and tell. They do the work, you get to enjoy the eye candy!

Neil, in honor of your awesome inspiration, we are making you a Lazy Girl. Welcome to the club!

What’s on your awesome list? Post a comment and tell me about the awesome in your life.

Enjoy!
Joan

‘Safari’ Margo Handbag by Shelly Stokes
Click image to enlarge.

Shelly devised a simple technique using a set of two square stencils to create a repeat design over a large (or small) piece of fabric. The stencils are a positive and negative for the same design. Much like a doughnut and doughnut hole, one stencil is the doughnut and the other is the hole. In this case, one is the stripe and the other is the space between the stripes which happen to be different stripes. The stripes in the photos below are the same design. The stripes that are dark in the first stencil are light in the second stencil.

Stencil 1 and 2

Shelly used grape colored paint on yellow/orange fabric below.

Block 1 and 2

You can flip the stencils over to the backside to create a mirror image, too. To create an overall design, simply flip and paint, alternating stencils as you go. Easy and beautiful! You can use the stencils for an overall design or do smaller pieces and trim for individual blocks and work them into your projects.

Hop over to Shelly’s Cedar Canyon blog to read a bit more and catch a glimpse of the beautiful quilt she made using theses smart stencils.

Read more about Shelly’s new book ‘Design Magic’ at the Cedar Canyon website here. It is shown with a funky and fabulous chunky wave stencil. The wave stencil won my heart at Quilt Market recently. I hope Shelly will post a few more pics of projects made using these smart products.

Great job Shelly!

Enjoy!
Joan

Tags: embellish, fabric paint, stencils, Shiva Paintstiks, paintsticks, paint sticks

A peek inside reveals this lovely floral print complimented by a yummy green for the pocket fabric. A soft

yellow ‘primrose’ zipper is just the right compliment to this color grouping. A bright mossy green thread, which matched the pocket fabric, was perfect for this project.

If you are attending Quilt Market, look for Margo samples in these booths:
- Benartex (Modern Mix used on the pattern cover)
- Moda (Fandango fabrics)
- Andover (Charisma fabrics)
- Timeless Treasures (Poppy Lane fabrics)
- Marcus (Color Defined fabrics)
- Blank Fabrics (Avignon fabrics)
- Checker Distributors (and catch me there for my zipper demo Friday at noon!)
- Pattern Peddlers (Colleen will demo the zip each morning for an hour)

Here’s the Margo Handbag pattern cover and a close-up of the Dip-Down Zip-Top zipper installation.

That might be it for Margo Quilt Market sample show and tell. I leave for the show bright and early Thursday morning and have lots to do before then. Have a wonderful week and sew something.

Enjoy!
Joan

Click to enlarge.

I chose a cute newsprint style piece for the lining, giving the inside of the bag plenty of brightness. A fabulous Atom Red zip from Coats & Clark matched beautifully! I rounded out the inside with a companion red/white poppy print for the pockets and small red/white dot for the Bag-E-Bottom sleeve. I chose black thread for all of the stitching.

The Margo Handbag pattern (LGD127) has already started shipping. Check your favorite local quilt shop or online for the pattern. Margo uses Bag-E-Bottom size F for the bag support. Supply list and info are posted at our blog here.

Quilt Market Zipper Demonstrations
I’ll be demonstrating my new easy zipper technique at Checker Distributors booth on Friday May 21 from noon to 12:45. Colleen will be demonstrating at the Pattern Peddler’s booth for an hour each morning.

Enjoy!
Joan