A Summer Bag for Sharon Holland's Everlasting Blog Tour!

Today I'm excited to share my project for my talented friend, Sharon Holland's Everlasting Blog Tour!





Sharon is a dear friend, who I've mentioned quite a bit here on the blog as we've co-hosted a few different events together, and she's also a fellow Art Gallery Fabrics designer. Everlasting is her seventh fabric collection, full of romantic, summer-inspired prints with a classic palette of navy, red, turquoise, and blush. It's so pretty!



I had the pleasure of sewing up a few different samples for the Everlasting LookBook back in May and for this blog tour project I chose several of my favorite Everlasting prints to make a variation of this Summer Bag using my go-to Quick Quilt As You Go and I love how it turned out!



Following the Summer Bag pattern, I used the same size blocks that are suggested only I had I to use different size pieces of Everlasting fabrics since I was working with what I had left from making the LookBook projects. Using qayg, I densely stitched each fabric to a cushiony layer of Hobbs Tuscany cotton batting with a pretty turquoise Aurifil 50wt, assembled the bag according to the instructions with just slightly wider bag straps, and then I finished with a lining made in my pretty Sun Kissed Canvas!



This pattern makes a HUGE tote-style bag that is perfect for Summer outings! The extra quilting, layer of batting, and canvas lining make this a sturdy bag while keeping it still very soft. I just LOVE how good Sharon's Everlasting fabrics are for quilt as you go patchwork!



I hope you're inspired by my stop on Sharon's Everlasting Tour! It's such an honor to be amongst this amazing line up of designers:

THE EVERLASTING BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Friday, July 12 - Sharon Holland
Monday, July 15 - Marija Vujcic
Tuesday, July 16 - Carolina Moore
Wednesday, July 17 - Dana Willard
Thursday, July 18 - Lisa Ruble
Friday, July 19 - Dritz Sewing
Monday, July 22 - Eleri Kerian
Tuesday, July 23 - Marisa Wilhelmi
Wednesday, July 24 - Sharon McConnell
Thursday, July 25 - Modernly Morgan
Friday, July 26 - Alexis Wright
Monday, July 29 - Priscilla Geissler
Tuesday, July 30 - ME
Wednesday, July 31 - Elina Temmes
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xo Maureen

Love Story Canvas & Patchwork : :

Today I have a new Love Story canvas and quilted patchwork tote bag to show you...





I made this project up as I sewed, so I don't have a pattern to share just yet. I was looking for a way to use up my single piece of Love Story canvas Daring Tribal Noir strike off, a fabric swatch measuring around 14" x 33," and my tiny patches of Love Story quilting cotton strike off scraps. What I ended up with is this pretty simple, basic tote bag with a deep front and back quilted patchwork pocket featuring tiny Love Story patchwork squares.  Rusty red, heavyweight AGF Denim for the handles. Fully lined with a lightweight, dark solid smooth AGF cotton denim.  A finished tote made with lots of LOVE, that measures approximately 12" x 16," that I'm pretty happy with! I'll definitely give this bag pattern another go, when I get a chance, with hopes of sharing a tutorial with you all!









Just a reminder that the fabrics used here are my upcoming collection with Art Gallery Fabrics, Love Story. This collection ships in November, which is coming fast! I've been busy stitching up lookbook samples using my strike offs while I wait for my advanced yardage to arrive, which should be very soon. I'm working ahead these days because I'll have a brand new collection to share with all of you at International Quilt Market next month, I can't wait! These days are busy and I've been so inspired to sew with these new fabrics. Let me know if you're interested in making a tote bag with me and I'll see what I can do!

xo Maureen

In Garden Dreamer Canvas : :

Since my last blog post I have been sewing nonstop with Garden Dreamer! Bags and pouches and pillows and even a completely finished quilt, all in just two days! Today I'm taking a little break to quickly share the last remaining member of my Garden Dreamer family -- the canvas!

With each new collection comes one new canvas and this canvas, named Moment in Time Dim, is my favorite one yet!



My roll arrived a few days before the quilting cottons and over the busy holiday Haila, my niece Ceci, and I found just enough time for us to stitch up new Easy Tote bags featuring this new canvas. The girls each made a slightly smaller version, paired with a Nightfall Moon Stories quilting cotton, and had such a blast sewing together!





I chose to wait to finish my bag once the rest of Garden Dreamer arrived, and paired the medium weight canvas bag exterior & pocket with my quilting cotton print Climbing Posies in Blush for the lining, and used a heavy weight, solid textured colored denim in Scarlet Brick that I had on hand for the handles.







Once again we followed the wonderful bag tutorial on the Purl Bee Blog for their Easy, Easier, and Easiest Totes, opting for the "Easy" one that includes French seams, a tote bag lining fabric, a handy pocket, and roomy boxed out bottom. I prefer to finish my bags with a boxed bottom, but mostly chose this Easy version so I could combine two pretty Garden Dreamer fabrics into one bag!



I am loving sewing with this new collection and I hope you'll love it, too! I'm excited to share that both of my sponsors Circa 15, Lady Belle Fabrics & Llama Fabrics are already carrying the entire collection and I'll have lots of Garden Dreamer inspiration to share with you all next week!

xo Maureen

p.s. I'm having a Flash Sample Sale in my Etsy Shop! Use coupon code: FLASH20 for an additional 20% off on Easy Totes, handmade stockings, pillows, scrap bundles, and even a few quilts!! https://www.etsy.com/shop/maureencracknell

The Nightfall Parade | | Nightfall New : :

It's a dark and cold and wet Thursday in Potter County, a good day to stay bundled up, with lots of hot coffee, while working on my next collection. Since I'm not attending this weekend's Fall Quilt Market show in Houston, where Garden Dreamer will make it's debut, dreaming up new fabric creations seemed like the perfect thing to dedicate a little time to this morning. I really love designing for AGF! I can see the growth in my work and that's so exciting! I'll have lots more to share about Garden Dreamer very soon, but first...



I hope you've been enjoying this Nightfall Parade these past two weeks, it certainly has flown by! I have two, brand new finishes to share today, well new versions of two of my favorite projects -- a Mystical Woods Easy Tote and a Birds of Night Pillowcase!

First up, my new Nightfall pillowcase!



I loved those pillowcases that I made earlier this week so much that I decided to offer them as a made-to-order item in my little Etsy Shop! You can find the listing right HERE, for those of you interested (US residents be sure to use coupon code: FREESHIP to enjoy free shipping on your order!)



This custom order request for my Bird of Night Slate + Lunation Bright + Nox Iridescence Aglow made such an amazing combination. I just love it!





Next up are the two, new Easy Tote Bags that I recently made both featuring my Nightfall Canvas, Mystical Woods in Solar!



Art Gallery Fabrics Canvas is a heavier weight Pima cotton, making is suitable for home décor and all kinds of bag making! This was my first time using it for a tote and it worked so perfectly. This canvas print became the pillow backing fabric to so many of the Nightfall samples I made for Quilt Market last Spring, it's so nice to add this useful pattern to my canvas project list!

I love using AGF's denim whenever possible and these Wicked Sky Solid Smooth bag handles pair so perfectly with the pinks & peaches of the Mystical Woods canvas!



Once again I reached for my Bird of Night in Slate print, this time to be used as my Easy Tote bag lining!



I hope that both of these projects inspire you to sew with Nightfall! It's been a ton of fun getting creative while making all the new Nightfall project these last several days. I still have so much that I want to make and share, which means the Parade is likely to continue until Garden Dreamer arrives next month!



I'll be sending off the BIG Nightfall Parade Giveaway prize in one of these Easy Tote bags, so be sure to enter on Monday!

♡ Maureen

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* You can find the list of online retailers currently carrying Nightfall under my SHOP my Fabrics page -----> https://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

A Night Sky Easy Tote : :

Confession: I've become a little consumed with making these bags. I've already made SIX since Thursday! If you've been following long you'll know it's not in my nature to make the same thing twice, so this is quite an achievement for me! So far I've only photographed two, the first one I blogged at the end of last week and this one for today. The others I'll hold off on sharing one day during the Nightfall Parade I'm planning. I think whomever wins the BIG Giveaway I'm scheming for the finale will receive their prize in one of these handy Nightfall Easy Totes. I just love em'! And, making them apparently!

These are the fabric pairings I had set aside for my first three Easy Totes!



Today's tote features one color from AGF's new line of Crosshatch Textured Denims in Clouded Horizon for the main bag fabric, a Solid Smooth Denim in Wicked Sky for the handles & inner pocket, and it's lined with my very own Moon Stories in Ash print from Nightfall! I love the night-sky theme of this fabric combination!





The lining is my favorite part of this one! I think it's just a really fun match to the classic look of the bag exterior, and I love the combination of colors. The quilting cotton adds a little softness to the very structured, heavier weight of the Crosshatch Textured Denim, and I love that!



To make and attach the handles and to assemble the rest of the bag I used an Aurifil 50wt from my Bohemian Garden thread set in Medium Juniper and it's nearly invisible. It makes for such a beautiful finish!





I'm going to keep working away on my Nightfall Parade plans this afternoon! I'm putting together some new tutorials to go along with the projects I'm making, so we can sew with Nightfall together. I can't wait to show you!

♡ Maureen  

A Denim & Nightfall Easy Tote : :

This morning I stitched up the first of three Easy Tote bags that I decided to make using my favorite new AGF denim, Crosshatch Textured. I paired up each of the three heavyweight denims with a Nightfall quilting cotton print and a lighter weight solid smooth colored denim. This first tote combo includes Crosshatch Texture in Rainy Night, Magical Gust in Fog from Nightfall, and the pretty peach Nextarine Sunrise Solid Smooth!



For this bag pattern I followed a tutorial on the Purl Bee Blog for their Easy, Easier, and Easiest Totes, opting for the "Easy" one that includes French seams, a tote bag lining fabric, a handy pocket, and roomy boxed out bottom. I prefer to finish my bags with a boxed bottom, but mostly chose this Easy version so I could showcase how pretty my Nightfall prints look with this amazing denim!



I stitched my bag together using the dark blue Aurifil 50wt from my Bohemian Garden thread set. While I love the contrast of the navy thread with the soft peach denim, I equally love how this particular shade of blue blends in so perfectly with the Rainy Night denim I used for the main tote bag fabric, it's nearly invisible!





Making and attaching the sweet little pocket to the tote lining was my favorite part of this bag's construction. The tip provided for creasing the lining fabric to ensure a nicely centered pocket made this step easy and fast!





The tutorial author estimates that this bag pattern can be made in just about an hours time and that was right on for me! I'm excited to make two more this afternoon before school's out!



Be sure to let me know if you give these totes a go!

xo Maureen

A QAYG Tote in Denim : :

Last week I shared a peek of a new quilt as you go project I dreamt up while working on my latest Herringbone pillow using Art Gallery Fabrics' beautiful quality denims. I didn't know then that Fat Quarter Shop was having a special Denim Week, beginning today on their blog featuring a wonderful lineup of AGF denim-based projects, inspiration, sale, and giveaway!! Be sure to stop by the Jolly Jabber blog for all the details if you'd like to join in! My own denim project began with a heaping pile of solid smooth denim scraps leftover from all of my Nightfall Quilt Market sewing and a new bundle of gorgeous Denim Prints!





Back when I started created my Quick Quilt As You Go Craftsy class I began working on bag sketches that would work well for utilizing my qayg method. It didn't take long for me to design several different bag styles to try. In the end those plans were set aside and eventually forgotten about when we decided on the final group of projects for my class, until last week when I remembered them while making my new pillow. I'm happy to report that I LOVED making this bag! Even better, I absolutely love the way it turned out!



You may have already seen it, since I eagerly shared it both on my Instagram and Facebook immediately after finishing it up. Still, I think it deserves a blog post!









I'm happy to share that I took notes throughout it's making and I plan to offer as a pattern soon! I already started a second bag just to make sure I get it right before typing it up. I hope you love it as much as I do!!

♡ Maureen