Boho Flower Child & Herringbone Patchwork Zipper Bags!

Ever since I found this amazing deal for a bulk order of colorful 9" zippers I've been on a zipper pouch kick, making the occasional batch whenever I get the urge and time. Now, whenever it comes time to begin making new items to offer in my yearly holiday sales, zipper pouches are #1 on my list!



Inspired by my love of Sharon Holland's brand new collection for AGF, Spirited, I pulled together a pretty boho fabric combination that includes her new prints with a few of my own and whipped up TWO dozen bags over the past week, and I LOVE how they turned out!



The front side of one dozen bags feature one of my Flower Child Flown Crown ladies and the second dozen is the herringbone qayg pattern I teach in my Craftsy class and use so often in a variety of the projects I make from bags to pillows to full size quilts. It will forever be my go-to for pretty much everything! I love sewing using this technique and I love the scrappy style of this pattern, especially when using thin strips of prints the way I did for these new zipper bags!



Each bag has a cushiony layer of Hobbs cotton batting, a colorful zipper, denim side loop to add your own embellishments to the Flower Child bags and the Herringbone Bags come with an amazing Anthropologie Tassel Charm attached, suede zipper pulls and each bag is lined with an AGF cotton denim for a really nice finish!



Each bag reverses to a striping of the same prints used for the bag fronts. I just can't get enough of this fabric combination. I think I'll make a few Spirited fabric pillows next!





Both the Flower Child and Boho Herringbone bags measure a little bigger than 8" x 8" finished and have a boxy bottom making them perfect for makeup, travel, art supplies, knitting & epp project, and more!





I've added all the bags that remain to My Etsy Shop and you can also email me at maureencracknell@hotmail.com if you're interested in ordering directly from me anytime and I'm more than happy to avoid the etsy fees by sending a Paypal invoice! :)

As always,  a BIG thanks to everyone who purchases my handmakes this holiday season! I appreciate your support more than I can ever share!

xo Maureen

New Bags!

I 've mentioned before that this year started off rough with me badly injuring my right knee. In between my sprained ligaments healing and reconstruction surgery, there were a couple of weeks where I was able to sew, very slowly, and during that time I had challenged myself to try my best to make a bag a day. I came pretty close to that goal and it was just what I needed to stay creative and feeling somewhat productive. The bag challenge was helpful and I realized just how much I love to make them, which absolutely kept my spirits up during such a difficult time! The bags I make aren't very complicated, which makes them fun. Often times they're made from scraps leftover from larger projects which feels good to use, the construction is simple and they're always quilted. Today I thought I'd share a few of my recent quilted bag finishes!



Inspired by tomorrow's Friday Fabric Giveaway with my new sponsor Fabric Stork for Alexandra Bordallo's adorable Dew & Moss collection for AGF, I pulled a few favorites from my Dew & Moss bundle and added in some colorful prints by Sharon Holland, Pat Bravo and Amy Sinibaldi to make a cheerful new drawstring bag!



I love the way the photo of my fabric pull was arranged so much that I decided to keep the prints in the same order while piecing my bag. Such a pretty ombre effect, don't you think!? You may have seen the drawstring bag I shared last week made in this same style and I should let you know that I've decided to make at least six to display on a vintage accordion peg rack that I have in the shop side of my studio that I've been working on filling with inventory. Besides the zip bags I often make, I love making these non-zip, drawstring bags with handles!



I still haven't sourced or made the perfect drawstrings just yet, but I'm getting closer! For these I used an AGF denim and finished the ends of them with Dritz Fray Check, to seals the unfinished ends of my drawstrings. When the Fray Check dries, which I left over night to dry after they were threaded through my bag, the ends harden slightly and think this may be the way I go from now on. I'll definitely keep you updated on that!



The other three bags I made are zipper pouch bags using my Quick Quilt As You technique. This first one I shared on my Instagram yesterday and received lots of love! I've made several using this pattern that's a modified version of a qayg quilt block I made for my Craftsy (now Bluprint class). I love the combination of the flying geese with fabric strips. This is definitely a pattern I plan to make into a quilt!



The back features prints from my Mystical Land and Nightfall collections combined with a few prints from the Lugu collection by Jessica Swift. I adore Jessica's moths and owls!



The final two bags include many of the same fabrics but this time I used my Friendship Braid QAYG! Each strip is pieced and straight line quilted to a layer of Hobbs cotton batting with an aqua 50wt Aurifil thread that I finally just ran out of. I swear those large spools last forever!



The back is just a simple striping of the same fabrics but this time I used a wavy stitch that comes as a built-in stitch on my Janome. I set the stitch length and width at the greatest options and it goes super quick and looks great!



Now you'll all have to let me know which of these new bags is your favorite? It will help me decide which to make more of for my shop, which I really appreciate!

xo Maureen

Inspired by Svetlana Sotak

Before I continue this week with more Sun Kissed fabric goodness, I want to first recognize a fellow artist and sewing pattern designer, Svetlana Sotak of s.o.t.a.k handmade, who I have been immensely inspired by and learned so much from over the years! When I started this blog in 2010, for the first couple of years I was quite the fabric hoarder and prolific pillow maker, but too insecure to attempt to turn my beloved fabric stash into the quilts that I dreamed of making, and I also lacked the skills and knowledge needed to make many of the small sewing accessory projects that I loved seeing so many fellow bloggers making. In a nut shell, quilts and zippers scared me. I was, however, an improv sewist from the very beginning. Each project began with a unique idea, almost always inspired by the fabric themselves. It was through the trial and error that comes from simply trying that I discovered my style and this wonderful community to share and learn with. During those early years of sewing and blogging, Svetlana was one of the bloggers I followed who always created such perfect looking projects, who had the skills and knowledge I was hoping to gain, and who was so extremely generous with sharing tutorials and patterns for so many of her projects. I've probably learned more about sewing from Svetlana than any other person in this industry. So today, before I share some of my recent Sun Kissed fabric projects, all of which were inspired by Svetlana, I just wanted to share with all of you, and Svetlana most of all, how grateful I am to have discovered her work!



For the Sun Kissed LookBook I made several Quilted Zipper Pouches in a variety of sizes depending on the zippers and batting scraps that I had on hand. You can find so many helpful tutorials for making similar bags with just a quick Pinterest search, so I haven't created my own tutorial to share just yet. I do think I've discovered some tips and skills that are worth sharing from making so. many. bags. this past year, so I may put together a Janome Sewing tutorial sometime toon. For LookBook I linked to Svetlana's Mini Quilted Zipper Pouch Tutorial, with step by step instructions that are clear, easy to follow and can be easily adapted to make any size bag. If you're looking for a wonderful zipper pouch pattern, The Essential Pouch measure and cut pattern by Svetlana with help you make perfect pouches in four sizes!





The Quilted Zipper Pouches that I made using my Sun Kissed Summerdress Dreams prints in both quilting cottons and in the lux AGF rayon are my new favorites! This bright floral looks so pretty left whole cloth and simply quilted with this scalloped stitch. I love the subtle contrast of the coral Aurifil thread against the yellow fabric on this one, and the Dritz hardware and store-bought tassel makes this simple bag look fancy!



Last Summer I shared a tutorial for Whole Cloth Quilted Journal Covers during Janome's Summer Camp sewing event, a project that's become a favorite of mine that's perfect for enjoying favorite prints and gift giving. My tutorial gives instructions for creating journal covers by quilting fabrics to a layer of Hobbs Tuscany Cotton batting with decorative stitches that are lined, washable and can be used again and again. Svetlana has a Notebook Cover tutorial on her blog as well, that's great for mixing several prints & using interfacing, that I learned a lot from using several times before I started making quilted journals. Be sure to check it out HERE!



Another great s.o.t.a.k handmade pattern that I link to in the Sun Kissed LookBook is Svetlana's Drawstring Bag Pattern that creates beautiful drawstring bags in four different sizes. I couldn't resist making the mini size in my Sun Kissed Basking Buds print. Look how cute!



Be sure to visit the Blog, Tutorial Page and Pattern Shop for more wonderful sewing projects! I hope you love these Svetlana Sotak inspired projects as much as I do!

xo Maureen

New Boho Quilted Bags!

Sometimes when I'm not sure what to sew, I'll pull from my scrap basket pieces to make a stack of 5-¼" squares and four x's as many 2-⅞" squares in contrasting prints to make four-at-a-time flying geese that measure a 2-½" x 4-½" rectangle once trimmed. A very useful size for patchwork with endless possibilities. Recently I used my most recent batch of flying geese, along with prints from Flower Child, Soulful and various recolored prints of mine from Art Gallery Fusions collections, to stitch up some quilted zipper pouch bags and I LOVE how they turned out!





These prints and colors together are so pretty and cheerful!



I use Hobbs Batting for everything I make now and these quilted bags were made with Heirloom Natural Cotton. Because I use quilt as you go when I make my bags, I always choose a 100% cotton or natural fiber batting that can handle a hot iron with steam, and Hobbs brand quickly became my new favorite this past year. I love to use batting to foundation piece the bag fronts and backs and finished these with a little additional wavy quilting.



How fun are these yellow zippers with coral pink faux suede zipper pulls!



Each of the bags I made are lined with my Swifty Flora Boho water color floral, for an interior just as pretty as the exterior!



I love makin' stuff, and these days there's a particular excitement for putting gift sets together that include a handmade bag, fancy bag charm and handcrafted journal that tucks perfectly inside each bag. I think this harmonious set would make such a lovely gift!

I already have plans for my next batch. More on that soon!

Thanks for visiting! xo, Maureen

Loved to Pieces Blog Party!

Busy, busy, July was quite the month! In my last blog post I shared how happy I was to be back in this space and I had a major backlog of news and projects that I was planning to share. But the day after that last post, my husband woke up early and knew right away that things weren't right after not feeling well with flu-like symptoms for several weeks. He had Bell's Palsy, temporary face paralysis on the right side of his face and we learned shortly after that, that he had two tick-borne diseases, Lyme and Babesiosis. He's been taking the appropriate medications and today he's doing much better and is back to work. So here I am, excited to share my project for my talented friend, Mathew Boudreaux aka Mister Domestic's Loved to Pieces Blog Party!





This year Mathew joined the Art Gallery Fabrics family as an Angles by AGF designer and released his very first fabric collection, Loved to Pieces. Inspired by his daughter Helena's love for flowers and his love for paper piecing, Loved to Pieces is florals meet EPP geometrics in an array of blues with touches of vibrant pinks and subtle greens. It was an absolute joy to sew with! So much so that I couldn't stop. With everything that had been going on in my life I didn't want to commit to a big project that I couldn't finish in time to share as part of this blog tour, so I started by making one of my favorite go-to makes -- one quilt as you go flat bottom lined zipper pouch, and then I made nineteen more!





The front side of each bag is made with 2" strips of Loved to Pieces and the friendship braid Quick Quilt As You Go pattern that I've been experimenting with more recently, that I hope to share a tutorial for soon. Each bag has a cushiony layer of Hobbs cotton batting, a colorful zipper, a fuchsia faux suede zipper pull and is lined with a Loved to Pieces print or coordinating solid for a really nice finish!





Each bag measures a generous 9"x 9" and reverses to a striping of  Loved to Pieces prints. I made sure that both colorways of this new collection are used for each bag. This collection is so good for 
scrappy patchwork!





The zipper colors I chose were inspired by the blues and greens in this pretty collection. I added a silk tiered tassel charm to this one and I love it!





One bag has been filled with goodies and will be offered in a special Giveaway today on my Instagram, one I'll be sending to Mathew as a thank you/congratulatory gift, and the remaining eighteen bags will be available for purchase in my Etsy shop! Each bag in my shop will come with a surprise freebee gift and a small scrap pack of leftover Loved to Pieces 2" strips! I also have ten silk tassel charms available if you'd like to add one to your bag purchase, just be sure to let me know on Etsy when you order!



For today's special Giveaway prize I'm offering everything shown below -- a Loved to Pieces flat bottom zipper pouch bag with a silk tiered tassel charm, a six-piece bundle of Loved to Pieces prints, a spool of fuchsia Aurifil 40 wt perfect for hand piecing, an Omnigrid ruler, Dritz seam ripper, vintage needlecase kit, fabric quilt labels, a variety of EPP papers from Love, Patchwork & Quilting magazine and Dritz, plus a notepad, quilters graph paper notebook and sticker set from Art Gallery Fabrics!



Can you believe that everything shown here fits inside one of my bags!



I hope you've enjoyed my stop on Mister Domestic's Loved to Pieces Blog Tour! It's such an honor to be amongst this amazing line up of designers:

• Monday July 16: Amanda Woodruff of A Crafty Fox
• Tuesday July 17: Sharon Holland of Sharon Holland Designs
• Wednesday July 18: Angela Wolf of Angela Wolf Pattern Collection
• Thursday July 19: Brittany Jones of Brittany Jones
• Friday July 20: Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts
• Saturday July 21: Elina Temmes of Elina Temmes
• Monday July 23: Meghan Buchanan of Then Came June
• Tuesday July 24: Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft
• Wednesday July 25: Cristy Stuhldreher of I Love You Sew
• Thursday July 26: Kate Basti of Quilt with Kate
• Friday July 27: Courtney Davis posting at Melly Sews
• Sunday July 29: Mimi Goodwin of Mimi G Style
• Monday July 30: Kim Niedzwiecki of Go Go Kim
• Tuesday July 31: Tara Curtis of Wefty Needle
• Wednesday August 1: Saija Kiiskinen of Saija Kiiskinen
• Thursday August 2: Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth
• Sunday August 5: Brett Lewis of Natural Born Quilter
• Monday August 6: Karen Tripp of The DIY Addict
• Tuesday August 7: Tracy Martin of Tracy Bug Creative
• Wednesday August 8: Sharon Burgess of Lilabelle Lane Creations
• Thursday August 9: Maureen Cracknell of Maureen Cracknell Handmade
• Friday August 10: Kylie Gersekowski of Little Moo Designs

I hope that we all inspire you to sew with Loved to Pieces!

Be sure to visit my Etsy Shop if you're interesting in ordering one of my Loved to Pieces Bags and be sure to visit my Instagram today at noon EST to enter my special Loved to Pieces GIVEAWAY!



xo Maureen

Boho LOVE!

Happy Monday, friends! In addition to blogging about the Community Sampler sew-along, I'm going to try my best to keep up with sharing here all the other things that get made each week!



Last week I finished up several new projects, more zipper pouch bags and a special dreamcatcher for my Goddaughter Sylvia, all made using my favorite boho fabric combo -- Love Story & Indie Folk!



A few months back when Love Story and Indie Folk both arrived, the first thing I did was cut a half yard bundle of each into a variety of strips measuring one to two inches by the width of the fabrics, and I piled them high into a larger woven basket in my studio. From this basket I have made dozens and dozens of these boho zipper pouch bags. It's amazing how far these strips have stretched!

Three of the zipper pouch bags from last week's new batch got a fun, red, wooly pompom zipper pull and I love this new added decoration! The front side of each bag is my herringbone qayg that will be my go-to pattern for making the bags I sell. It's by far my favorite pattern to use for these kind of projects.



The reverse side is a simple stripe including several Love Story prints from the Enamored colorway, full of pretty peaches and coral, aqua and teal, and white and black!



A couple of the bags were finished with a red or baby blue suede zipper pull instead of the pompoms, which I love just as much. In additional to the new zipper pull options, I also added a side loop of an Anna Maria Horner Renaissance Ribbon!



The colors and pattern of this Postage Due Ribbon go perfectly with the boho style of these new bags!



A few weeks back, my super creative little niece/Goddaughter Sylvia told me over the phone about a terrible dream she kept having about vampires. She asked if I could make her a special dreamcatcher using fabrics to match the other things I've made for her that decorate her room. Today this dreamcatcher should be arriving to her in Hawaii and I can't wait to hear how she likes it!



I ordered enough dreamcatcher supplies to make a few more that will likely end up in my Etsy shop! I'll be back later this week to share which fabrics I'm using for my next set of zipper pouch bags and how those are coming along, so be sure to stop back!

xo Maureen