Sunday, May 13, 2012

the secret of the very old ufo



I fell in love with the fabric first. It's got such a great, Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion feeling to it. I loved it, but I couldn't justify buying it. Not until I went to the monthly Quilter's Party at Craft Warehouse and fell in love with the Newport Tote pattern. I bought the pattern and headed straight back to Joann's for just enough fabric to make the tote.

And I did start the project almost immediately. I figured out how to free motion quilt on my machine, I remembered lessons from high school home ec about how to work with directional prints, I was doing great.

And then, with only the handle left to finish, my sewing machine broke. I got the machine fixed, but never finished the tote bag. In the seven years since, I've misplaced the bag itself, misplaced the pattern, found the pattern but not the bag, found the bag but not the pattern...

Both the pattern and the bag surfaced during my sewing room clean up, so I decided to finish the bag before I could lose anything else.

If I was starting over today, I'd figure out how to add a zipper. (Not that I'd have even bought a pattern for a bag with a zipper back then.) I'd have chosen a different house for the pocket, because I've changed my mind about which one I like best. And I think the quilting would probably be a bit smoother.

Weekly Stash Report

No fabric used this week, since I'm not counting the fabric from projects that were already mostly finished. I got some scraps from a nice lady on Freecycle and flung another 36 yards. It's the middle of May and more fabric has left the house than has come into it -- can you believe that?

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 27.75 yards
Added this Week: 4 yards
Added Year to Date: 97.25 yards
Flung --36 yards (96 yards total ytd)
Net Added for 2012: 65.5 yards

To see more weekly stash reports, click over to Patchwork Times.

6 comments:

Allie said...

As soon as I read your post title, I thought how it sounded like a Nancy Drew book, lol - and then, there was the moss-covered mansion! Love it! Gorgeous fabric and the tote is very cute!

Heather said...

I too have projects like this. Sometimes you just gotta finish them. Nicely done!

Nann said...

Nice finish, and you could continue the mystery theme....heirloom tote found and brought to the light of day....I've made the Newport Tote a couple of times. I like the "scoopy" handle loops. I've also adopted the construction method to enclose all the seams. Mind you, I have about 6 of the Lazy Girl patterns and Newport is the only one I've made. In 5+ years.

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

7 years later and you still have a beautiful tote! Congrats on the finish and thanks for sharing!
Quilting at the River Linky Party Tuesday

Beyett said...

I too have projects like this. Sometimes you just gotta finish them. Nicely done!

Mccoylmdc said...

I too have projects like this. Sometimes you just gotta finish them. Nicely done!

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