On the road again

Hi folks, and welcome back to summer!  It isn't raining here today! Apparently we get to have a little bit of summer before it's back to rain and lows in the 40s.  In related news, I now live in the middle of a jungle.  Seriously, suddenly all the plant life around here is totally out of control. Must be all that water. I feel like I should have a machete going into the back yard. But the soft soil makes the weeds easier to pull, so that's good.

Today I have a non-quilty finish to share.  Here it is:

Isn't that fun-looking?  This is a small duffel bag that is just the perfect size for a change of clothes and a book. You know, if you're going away for a weekend or something.  This turned out  to be about 20 inches long, 9 inches wide, and 9 inches high.

This was made with a piece of double-sided pre-quilted Moda fabric from a line called Fresh Air that is more than a couple of years old.  I used this same fabric to make a larger bag for my daughter and made this from the almost-yard that was left over.

This duffel bag was easy enough to make, even though it seemed to take me forever.  Don't know why, but it did.  I used French seams instead of enclosing everything in bias tape, which saved a lot of trouble.  I also added a few details just for me.  On the inside are these pockets:

Yes, there are threads. Sighhh. But look at the pocket! I took a bag-making class at least 10 years ago and the instructor called this "stacking the pockets."  I just like how the zippered ones turn out.

Because I stitched this on the inside, I covered it on the outside with another pocket, even though I didn't really need to because the stitching was pretty much lost in the fabric print.  Looking at the pictures, I'm really not sure I should have put that rust color out instead of the print. But it did give me another opportunity for a pocket!

I am super-happy with that! A place for my change or maybe some chocolate or something. The button is just decorative, by the way.

I used up almost all of the fabric I had, but with the biggest piece I had left I made this matching little bag:

I was going for a glamor shot, but didn't quite make it.  This little pouch is about 6 inches square and is for holding my cords and such.  I even tested out a new technique by putting a vinyl window in it. It worked okay. Here's my one tip for putting vinyl windows in:  the vinyl comes wrapped in tissue paper.  Keep that paper stuck to the vinyl until it's stitched in to the piece:

It keeps the vinyl from sticking to the machine, and you can just tear it off when you're done.  It actually turns out great.

Also, if you ever come across these, buy them in every color:

This has saved my bacon more than once! Easy to use and extremely useful!

So, that's my big finish for now.  I am off again for the weekend on a secret mission.  There may be fabric involved, but probably no quilting. Lots of fun, though!

Everybody have a great weekend.  Hope you have some secret missions of your own to keep you busy!

Linking to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and also Finish it up Friday.