Still Playing With Denim

I'm not sure why, but I'm still in the mood to play with my denim scraps. I decided to make three more of these circle denim tote bags. I've finished cutting out and sewing together the panels but I haven't decided what fabrics I'll be using for the "windows." I'm not sure why I'm struggling to decide this time.

While I was trying to figure it out, I saw the big pile of odd-shaped scraps that were leftover from cutting out all the circles. I was inspired to start sewing them together to make crumb blocks. I'm not sure what they're for (yet). Maybe I'll use them as external pouches on more of the insulated shopping totes.

We've signed up for Costco so now we'll be doing less frequent, large shopping trips so it would be handy to have at least a couple more totes. I'm starting to run out of tired, old jeans so I might have to use other fabrics.

Ultimate Travel Bag Finished!

I finally finished the Ultimate Travel Bag, and what a journey it's been! I started this project back in January 2024, aiming to create an insulated shopping bag. I used the Modern Peacock pantograph by Kim Diamond for quilting and, as I recall, it used a crazy amount of thread: 5 bobbins for just 1 yard of fabric. I went all out with the batting—using one layer of Pellon Insul-fleece and a layer of Quilters Dream Blend 70/30. This combo made the bag really thick and insulated, which is great, but sewing it? Wow, that was an unanticipated challenge.

Getting those thick layers under the sewing machine foot turned into my own personal sewing ordeal. It was so bulky, I couldn't even fit it under the foot of my old machine. In my quest to find a machine that could handle it, I ended up buying two used machines this past year, but no luck—neither could manage the job.

Then came the Sailrite. Even with this new beast of a machine, it was tough. I mean, it could squash those layers down enough to sew, but I had to wrestle with it every step of the way and use some really heavy thread. After all that, I’ve decided I'm not going through this again with the same insulated batting. But hey, now I have a travel bag that's ready for just about anything!

And it's already been put to the test! My husband took it on a business trip to New Jersey and it worked out great. He was really impressed with how much he could fit in it and how well it held up through the trip. Looks like all that wrestling with fabric and thread paid off!

Linking Up With:

Brag About Your Beauties
Finished (or Not) Friday
Off the Wall Friday
TGI Finished Friday

New Sewing Machine

I found a machine that will sew bags! It's a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ. I'd never heard of this brand before, but I saw it on Adam Savage's Youtube Channel so I ordered one! This was the third machine I've purchased because I want to make bags.

It took a bit of time to get it all set up. (Sorry, I haven't yet managed to get a good photo.) The machine is crazy heavy, over 50 pounds, and I don't trust it won't break my sewing table if I put it in the cutout, so I am still waiting for the new sewing table to set it up in a permanent location. 

I decided to give it a test drive by sewing a new purse. I spent a couple of days measuring my favorite purse and reverse-engineering the pattern. I decided to cut up some old, dead jeans for the fabric.

I made a few minor changes from the original purse but I think it turned out really well for the first try. And the sewing machine performed great. Now that I've figured it out, I think I'll make another in purple, my favorite color.