Today is the first day of this month’s Sew it- Show it Challenge which is the brain child of and is being hosted by the amazing Joan from MooseStash Quilting. The theme is Say What? Can you guess the theme of this one?
“You can share a story, or show us a project or technique that you can’t believe you tried. Or how about a quilty word project.
There are so many different ways you can interpret this hop.”
Joan Kawano
As soon as I saw the theme I was remembering a couple of books in our Guild library. One of them had a technique that I’ve never tried but was intrigued by.
I dug in my fat quarter bins to find a fabric piece I remembered having to use as my focal fabric:
I knew I had a few pieces of hand and ice dyed fabric that I wanted to use in my project that would coordinate with my focal fabric:
I also had a practise embroidery piece that I had done at the studio. (Don’t look too closely or you will notice my error 😉).
The fun began when I sliced and diced same sized pieces of my focal and one of the hand dyed fabrics. Then I wove the two fabrics as instructed in the book. I spray basted the back of the fabric, fused it to a piece of batting and then had some fun quilting it with a zig zag stitch.
I then sandwiched, basted and quilted my embroidery piece and then both panels were squared up. I added some quilted panels to the side and bottom. I constructed a zipper top piece and then put it all together with a strap across the back and machine stitched binding to the top and back panels.
I made this intending to use it on the handle of my suitcase to carry our water bottles and tech devices on a vacation we had planned since I get to maneuver suitcases, my purse and everything else now that DH is using a walking stick! 😉
Once again this project was inspired by a need and the wish to try something new. I’ve been pushing myself to try new techniques and eventually want to try to do some improv quilting, so this seemed like a good way to practise being more random! 😉
Here is the list of the first day participants;
Monday April 17
Quilt Schmilt. That’s me!
I really want to thank Joan for a fun theme that encouraged me to step out of my normal projects and try something new! Thank you for stopping by to read my post. I do enjoy reading your comments and replying to every one. 😉 Carol
ps. Now I’m off to check the other sites and leaving a comment to show how much I appreciate their efforts to inspire and entertain us.
Quilt Schmilt 
Your project is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it and its inspiration!
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Thank you Elizabeth 😊
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What a great finish (and useful) for this piece. The weaving is a wonderful idea and it looks great. Congrats on trying and succeeding in doing something new.
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Thank you Selina. It was a really fun project. 😊
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How neat to challenge yourself with a new technique! I had not heard of woven quilts and find the process fascinating. The bag is so pretty and very clever the way it fits on the luggage.
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Thank you Linda. I did enjoy it and have a couple of more ideas to use these woven backgrounds. The bag works perfectly and is tall enough to hold my water bottles, etc 🤗
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Say What? You really came up with a brilliant way to customize that fabulous bag for your travels, and stash busted as well. I Love it! That same book is on my bookshelf and I know I started a weaving project. Wonder where that is, because I’m pretty sure I never finished it, but you have inspired me now! I just ordered some ice dyes last week and I’m ready to play! LOL!
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Thank you Joan. This challenge was a fun one and I really enjoyed the weaving part of the process. I think you’d really enjoy it and ice dyes are fun to play with, too! 😉
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The weaving is a really neat idea! I love your bag and the story behind it. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you. The weaving is fun and really makes an interesting background. 😉
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What a fun, creative and useful project too!
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Thank you Daryl. It was fun to do 😉
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Thank you for the engaging new techniques. I love your inspirational work though ‘slice and dice’ is something I haven’t quite had the gumption to do. Hats off to you.
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Thank you so much. It was so fun to do something new and don’t we all slice and dice when we cut our squares, hsts and other pieces? 😉
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That’s a neat design, and such a useful bag! I love the idea to put the strap on the back so it will hang onto your suitcase handle. There’s always so much stuff to manage when you travel!
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Thank you Diann. It just seemed to come together so well and was so much fun to do. 😉
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What a great useful project! Thanks so much for sharing!
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Thank you Karrin 😉
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Your bag turned out really beautiful and I love that strap on the back to hold it to your suitcase. Thanks for showing the techniques you used.
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What a nice job~ and great idea!!
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Thank you Sandie. It was lots of fun 😉
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Such a fun project!
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Aren’t you clever? What a great idea and so very practical! And beautiful as well!
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Thank you Gail. It was fun and it works as planned 🤗
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Practical, beautiful and seems so complicated. I’m duly impressed!! Thanks for sharing the beauty with us all.
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Thank you Elena for your lovely comment 😉
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Very cool, and handy for vacation time! Thanks for sharing your project.
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Thank you. It was fun and does keep water bottles and iPads all together and safely upright 😉
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What a great idea! Love how it slips over the luggage handle. One less thing to sling over your shoulder! Wonderful project!
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Thank you for your lovely comment Charlene. This was fun to make! 😉
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Thanks for adding a link directly to the post. I often have trouble finding a post I’m looking for on here. I love this idea, and that its time came exactly when you needed it.
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Thank you Susan for your sweet comment. I’ve been trying to remember to put the links in my posts and now I’ll remember to do it more often. 🤗
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it’s a beautiful bag. Even better you used some odds and ends.
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Kate I am happy with the bag. It turned out as I’d hoped and works perfectly to hold water bottles and odds and ends. Thank you for your sweet comment. 😉
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Great job on this project. It will work beautifully! I always try to be able to maneuver my own stuff, but it is harder with my ankle. I hope it works perfectly on your vacay!
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Kathleen I used it when I went to the studio and it works like a charm. Thank you 😉
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Such a fabulous project and fun too!
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Thank you Carla 😊
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