241 Bag With a Friend

I have needed a new purse/carry everything tote for a long time!  I have wanted to make myself a special one for an even longer time!

A while back, I made two purses that were donated to silent actions for fund raising purposes.  I enjoyed the bag making process and loved the finished products!  Somehow, I never got around to making one for myself.

I managed to choose fabrics I loved.

They match my phone and planner!!! Love!

Even settled on a pattern.
But, no bag.

Thanks to a new quilt blogger friend, however, that is about to change!

I first "met" Bernie when I stumbled upon her blog, Needle and Foot and was chosen as the lucky winner of a giveaway she was hosting.  What great luck!  Lovely fabric and a lovely new friend!  She sent a sweet message letting me know I had won, and we exchanged a few e-mails .

Since then, we have visited each others blogs and left comments.  That the best part mm of blogging for me, finding a few bloggers to exchange comments with on a regular basis.  It truly is like having a circle of sewing friends!

Bernie mentioned in this post that she had plans to make a 241 tote from Noodlehead.  That's the same pattern I had picked for my bag!  Oh, I thought!  Wouldn't it be fun if she and I lived in the same town  and could get together to sew our bags??  Well. I said something to that effect in a comment, and Bernie responded with an idea: "Let's have a virtual sew along!"  Yaaaay!  I'm in!

So, she outlined a few guidelines for us.  We will both blog about the process, link to each other's posts, and support each other in the process as we go.

Today is the first day of our 241 Sew Along! I have managed to get my pattern ready! I've not used many pdf patterns.  It was a breeze to download, print and prep this one. My pieces are cut, interfaced and ready to go!

Before I was brave enough to cut, I read a good number of reviews of this pattern,  as well as lots and lots of blog posts about it.( Isn't it great that we can connect with each other and learn from each other in so many ways???)   Many of the makers mentioned using fusible fleece on the lining pieces to give the bag more body.  I've made bags with fusible fleece before, and decided this was the way to go.  My outer pieces are interfaced with a lighter weight fusible that I had purchased for a different project.  I hope it all comes out OK!

Decided to line with this dot.
It's perfect! 

One of the tutorials I read referenced cutting the bag pieces with a rotary cutter.  I was nervous to cut any thing with my cutter other than straight lines with a ruler.  But, I gave it a try.  Yikes!  Scary! I was sure I was going to lose a finger!  As far as smooth and accurate cuts go, I'd give my self a B or B-.  I guess we will see when it comes time to piece this bag together!

There is a good tutorial here with pictures that I will be using to help me through the sewing process. It appears to have been written quite a while ago by Katy of The Littlest Thistle for Sara's blog Sew Sweetness.  Again, I'm so glad to be crafting in this day and age.  Both these ladies offer a wealth of information and I could get lost for days at either of the links above!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts from Bernie and me as we make our 241 totes!  I am so excited to have her support, and the push to get this bag done and off the list, finally.


I am linking up to Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts!