Test Drive

Ready for a test ride! My bag is finished!

I added grommets to the bottom of the bag and threaded the bungee cords through them. I never did find purple cords, but the green coordinate well. I added a strip of fabric to hold the hooks when not on the bike. I can also push the cords into the bottom of the bag so they won't catch on anything.

This bag is huge! I tested how much fabric I could put in it on a Shop Hop.

I might even be able to fit some clothes in it as well, in case I have to stay overnight somewhere.

Here's how it looks on my bike. Looking pretty good I think.

The final adjustments. I made a little do-hickey thingy to hold the straps together so they don't flap in the wind. I shortened the bungees a few inches so they are tight over the fender.

What do I have left to do?

Take it for a test ride and fill it with new fabric!

Progress

My mother is a knitter. If you read her latest post, she talks about knitting rows and rows without the project seeming to get any longer. http://lorrieknitsandsews.blogspot.com/ That's the way I feel the quilting has been on my bag. Then...all of a sudden, it's finished. I quilted the fabric in a cross hatch, using a quilting arm on the smaller pieces. I marked the larger pieces. I have a tendency to wander on bigger pieces. Once you start to wander, each row follows the last. It looks like I've been drinking. So, I marked the lines 1.5" apart.

I lined the pockets with matching fabric and added velcro closures so I don't loose things as I ride down the road. That would be very sad! I also added a band of Timtex. Timtex is a very heavy weight interfacing that added considerable body to the top of my pockets, right where the velcro is.

One pocket went on tonight, the other will wait until tomorrow. There are also side pockets that will get similar treatment. This is the pocket. I wasn't even trying to match the fabric on here and I find it difficult to find the pocket top. Lucky me! I'm sure that won't happen again.

Here are the little boys trying to help me out.

Off and Sewing

Although I have been distracted by class projects for this fall, I have also been assembling supplies to begin my motorcycle bag in earnest. Here are the changes I am planning in a little more detail.

First, The bag must have a way to attach to the motorcycle. I am going to use bungee cords attached to the base of the bag. I have metal grommets to put in the floor of the bag and will feed the cords through the holes and tie knots inside the bag. I also have a panel on the outside of the bag so that I can tuck the bungee cords with hooks inside the panel when it is not on the bike. I am contemplating putting zippers in to zip those pesky hooks inside. I've had bags before that got hooked on just about anything because the hooks did not have a safe home.

I have cut out the pieces roughly so that I can quilt first. I suppose it might have been easier to quilt the whole thing and then cut it out. Ah well. I have chosen a variegated purple thread for the quilting. It is a King Tut Cotton from Superior thread. The light purple dragonflies are the contrast fabric and the lining. I am using a fusible fleece as the batting and Decor bond interfacing to give the bag body. The quilting will be a simple grid about 1.5" apart. So, for a day or two I will be quilting, quilting, quilting!

My local quilt had their quilt show this weekend. I worked the admissions table on Saturday for a few hours. I also had 6 quilts in the show, mostly because of my absentmindedness. I turned in my list of 3 quilts at last months meeting. I was having a little trouble remembering the sizes of each quilt. I promptly forgot all about the list. After a gentle reminder in the newsletter, I called one of the kind ladies that was accepting quilts to take to set up. I had 2 of the quilts ready, I told her, but I couldn't remember the third quilt. When I dropped them off she told me who to call to find out what was on the list. So I called. Neither quilt I had dropped off was on the list. (Sigh!) I called another kind friend who was accepting quilts to take to set up. "I'll bring them right over." I said. Now, it also seemed a little silly to me to make them go through all the quilts in the show to find my quilts. So they ended up in the show anyway. Guess I had better pay more attention next time.

The Sewing Gazette

It's official. I sent out the first issue of the Sewing Gazette. It is a newsletter in a PDF format that I hope to send out monthly. It is general sewing related information, not just quilt things. You can sign up for your copy at http://www.sewinggazette.com/. There is a great interview with Laurie MacDonald from Chili Pepper Quilts. She is doing some amazing things with paper piecing. Check her website while your browsing. www.chilipepperquilts.com If you have other people you would like me to talk to or little tidbits you think I should include, please send me an e-mail and I'll do my best.


What else am I working on? Placemats and table runners for my fall classes. I'll share these when I get them finished. I've been playing with paper piecing more and a few simple curves. I've been working through this idea that you can create any shape with a few simple lines and curves. This time of year I'm really thinking ice cream! You'll have to wait until next time for more on that.


My motorcycle bag. I've been collecting supplies. The fabric arrived for the exterior. It's amazingly beautiful. Love that Kona Bay fabric! I bought the fusible fleece and the decor-bond interfacing to give it body. I still need purple bungee cords to strap it on the back of the bike. Black will do, but I would love to find purple. I have D rings, zipper, grommets and fasteners. I still need a little bit of webbing.

I was originally thinking saddle bags, but my tailpipe is too high and I haven't been able to find a frame to keep the fabric away from it. I decided on a bag to attach to the passenger seat. I am using the Butterick 3934 Duffel to get started. It is the right shape and about the right size. I will have to shorten the straps, add cinch straps to the top and a panel on the bottom for the bungee cords. More pictures to follow soon.

Check it out!

I stopped in the quilt store today. I know, no surprise there. The new issue of Quilter's Home is out. Guess who's Watermelon Buffet quilt is in this issue. The new issue is not online yet, but I'm sure it will be shortly. My quilt shop always seems to get their magazines before anyone else. I think they have a special connection.

I ordered the fabric for my bags for the bike. I can't wait until it arrives. I have a little planning to do in the meantime. I have a few measurements to take of the bike, and see how I am going to work around the tail pipe. Heat and fabric don't usually do well together. I wonder if I can get purple bungee cords. I'll need grommets, velcro, webbing for the straps, and at least 1 zipper. Time to search the internet for sources.

My Latest Challenge

I'm giving myself a challenge project, stepping outside my comfort zone a little. First, a little background. I have been riding motorcycles for about 20 years (Yes, I started riding before I could walk, haha.) One of the things I learned over the years it that it is very helpful to have a place to put all your stuff. Riding motorcycles requires stuff. You have several different pairs of gloves in case the weather changes, hot weather gloves, cold weather gloves, waterproof gloves. I always carry a sweatshirt in case the temperature drops. Honey gave me a heated jacket liner for Christmas. I have to bring that. A rain suit is a good idea if you have the room. There always seems to be lots of stuff before you even begin to bring anything along or (heaven forbid) purchase something like fabric along the way.

My current bike is a 2005 Kawasaki Z750s. It is a great little bike. Fast when I want to be fast. It looks fast all the time, so I must be fast. Blue is a good color. Other drivers seems to see me coming. Always a good trait in a motorcycle. It is comfortable to sit on for long periods of time. Great for those 14 hour trips to Florida, or 10 hours to Tennessee. My bike has one major downfall. There are no bags. No place to put all that stuff. I have a bungee thing to tie things down on the back seat. That works for the larger items. It does not work so well for fabric. I have looked at every motorcycle bag that is out there. There are some that are very nice. They tend to be very black. Maybe black and red and black and yellow, but always black.

So, now to my challenge. I am going to make a duffle bag out of very pretty, girly fabric that I can attach to the back of my bike so I look like a girl (a fast girl) going down the highway. I want bungee thingys on the bottom to fasten around the back seat, but I want to be able to put them away so I can carry my pretty bag in to where ever I'm going. So. Follow along with me on this new adventure. I'm picking out the fabric now. I like the green ginkgo by Kona Bay, but I would have to paint my bike green or get a new one. I know, I know I have said lime green is a neutral. I think I'll try to stay in the blue/purple family this time. Maybe I'll use the Ginkgo to make a bag for Honey's green Goldwing. Like he needs more room to put things. Ha! I love the Lavish Florals by Kona Bay. I think maybe the Lavish Florals April in violet. The challenge is not so much the making of the duffle bag. I have done that before. The challenge will be the outfitting it for the motorcycle. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it's coming along as I work on it. I wonder if I should make a rain cover for it also. Hmmm..

Market Days

For those of you that are not familiar, Quilt Market is a vendor show where the Quilt Shop Owners attend to learn new techniques and products to bring back and share with their customers. I had a booth to share my new designs with the shops. The spring show travels around the country. The fall show is always in Houston. This spring we were in Pittsburgh, Pa. For me, Pittsburgh is a two hour drive.

We arrived on Thursday to set up our booth. It took us several loops around the convention center to find a place to park. The garage was full. After much grumbling, we realized it had worked out better than being in the garage. We were parked right by the elevator. We unloaded the car and got everything up and looking great in a few short hours. We even met some of our booth neighbors.

Friday morning we arrived at the convention center early. I wasn't sure how long it would take to drive in. The show opened at 9:30, we arrived around 8:30. It gave us a chance to walk around and see some of the other booths and make notes about where I needed to get back to. There are classes offered all weekend and the shop owners will come down tot he convention floor in between. On Friday, they typically walk the floor and decide where to spend their time and who they need to get back to. They shop for all the wonderful things they bring back to you, Fabric, patterns, rulers, templates...everything.

I talked to so many shops in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. There were quite a few Canadians there as well. We talked about quilts and teaching classes and what cool new things we saw. It didn't take long for my head to start spinning. I made many new friends and have many new ideas. While 3 days of standing and talking and walking and standing and talking and walking can wear you out. The excitement and flow of ideas is amazing. I will bring you some of the cool new toys I found as I go through all of the things that followed me home.

Make sure you check out http://www.quiltinggallery.com/ also. Michele has a great site with loads of information to share. I was lucky enough to have a booth across from her.

I picked up this pattern while at Market. It's by Purse-O-Nalities of Palm Harbor. I used Kona Bay fabric and am thrilled with the results. The front of the bag is pleated and it's huge! I did change the handles slightly. The directions were easy to follow. I did make a cutting mistake right off the bat. It was my own fault for not reading the directions thoroughly. The pattern fort he back comes in 3 pieces because it won't fit on one piece of paper. Silly me, I put two of the three pieces together. It was easily fixed. I cut other pieces out of the bad cut. Now I'm looking for something to put in the bottom. I could use cardboard, but I'll look around a little first.