Random October Musings

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn

My dear daughter is traveling through Sweden, Finland, and Estonia right now.
In the rainy, starting to get chilly, Scandanavian October.

She landed in Stockholm, met up with some friends (the only way to travel!), and then took the ferry to the Aland Islands to visit her paternal family of second cousins in Mariehamn.

 

***She has now been designated the genealogy consultant of the family.***

She then ferried off to Helsinki and stayed with my host-sis - who had just gotten back from visiting me, here in Oregon.

Today, she is in Tallinn, Estonia. She is used to traveling alone and, frankly, it's easier in some ways, doing what you want to do and not having to endlessly debate going to yet another museum. She's been able to stay with people which helps with her travel budget and also grants access to local yokel sightseeing.

Helsinki

Mariehamn

No sewing going on. I'm working two solid weeks of serious overtime and even double time on two days.
Occasionally, I have time for some random pop-up thoughts, I thought I'd share.

1. Delirious that the ballots were delivered today. I can mail it in tomorrow and be done.
2. I'm sad about not being able to bike to work anymore. It's too  dark to be safe.
3. I must do a post about biking and doing something others think is too dangerous to even try.
4. My supervisor is off for two weeks, decreasing the toxicity at work by 74%.
5. I've made a new local acquaintance who sews pendleton too. Excited to get to know her better.

6. My schedule, barring any people being sick, allows for garage saling next Friday morning.
7. Creative Girl also has Friday morning off!
8. The new library opened recently and my first impression is echoing acoustics and gray.
9. Trying to coordinate dry weather with me being home in the daylight to get the yard straightened up.
10. I'm pretty sure I failed to finagle the weather gods last autumn.

11. I miss Rusty with his face pressed up to the door.
12. We have a teeny tiny mousey in the house who can run faster than me.
13. I did catch him under a mixing bowl but he managed to escape via the pour spout -- somehow.
14. This two weeks of 12-hr split shifts is very hard on my body.
15. I've got three more Christmas seasons to get through before I can retire.

16. I get way less political ravings on my IG feed. I am turning FB off for a few weeks.
17.  I live in a community with a significant latino population. I know many of them and they come see me because they know I treat them equally --the same as any other customer. I do not want a wall built. Most of my friends came to the US for a better life. And they are making their dreams come true.
18. I feel our rights as women to make decisions are very shaky. I don't want to go back to the days when a woman had to have a man co-sign a loan. She couldn't buy a car on her own. She couldn't make life decisions without someone's okay. No matter what you believe about anything affecting a woman, She is the one going through whatever and there isn't a blanket law that covers every situation. Be in control of your own life. Let others make the best decisions they can, at their particular moment of crisis. We don't always have to be right.
19. I want to go see the movie,  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I have not read the book and my library is taking holds but has not bought the book yet. The title just draws me in.
20. I'm watching Indian Summers (season 2) on PBS, as well as Poldark (season 2) via the internet.

21. Also binge-watching Ugly Betty - the entire four seasons is on abc.com.
22. I need to send some Halloween care packages. One less niece as she is studying abroad in Ireland and Berlin.
23. I've won two giveaways lately. One for a quilt book and another for a pattern that I've been eyeing enough that I thought I'd have a go at figuring it out myself. Now I can just use someone else's pattern.
24. I gave everyone Smarties today at work.


25. Off to bed. Goodnight. Sleep tight.

Sewing Ideas On The Passport Wallet - Final Post

Travel Set of Purses

If you are one of my regular readers, this post is super heavy on sewing stuff. I wanted a place to put all my hacks so I can remember how to do them again.

My dd is traveling to Sweden and Finland and I decided I would sew her this set of travel purses so I could avoid looking at photos. She needs the photos because she is visiting some of the relatives from there and it's helpful to carry photos.

Photo avoidance is my middle name. Even though I take a million photos a year, I hide from them. The ones that get into the blog are the lucky ones, the others go onto obscurity and forgotten place names. It's embarrassing - but I will say, when I procrastinate, it might be my super power - look what I made!

First make was a Two Zip Hipster, a pattern by Dog Under My Desk (Dumd). I love this pattern. It's so easy to switch it up. I made a Pendleton one for my Japan trip and widened it out a wee bit. Just over an inch.
The Pendleton Wool was thick and adding a little over an inch to the sides gave me the extra room I wanted. I felt the depth was perfect.

For this version in Cork, which isn't as thick as wool, I think I could have gone back to the original size. And I get a chance to do so. I have an order to make another - woot!

For the strap, I used one from a garage sale purse. Well - I used it first on my pendleton. It's beefy webbed strap that perfectly offsets the pendleton and the cork. Not sure what I'll do for the next one.

For all my two zip hipsters, I add a zippered pocket to the inside making this a very secure traveling bag with the cross-body strap. I don't put the slip pocket inside anymore.

Otherwise, I make as directed with Erin's excellent directions.

 2nd; The Coin Purse.
This came in handy in Japan. I didn't have one with vinyl though. In Japan, you see a lot of coinage. You want to move the lower denominations on as quick as you can or you can easily weigh five pounds more.

I started with some rough cut 5 x 6 inch pieces for the back and quilted them. This gives the coin bag some substance if it does get full of coins. Alternatively - you could interface but I like the diagonal quilting lines. I've done this little bag a couple of ways and totally forget each time how to hide the seam.

This is what I did this time with an exposed seam.  Make the quilt backing. Cut vinyl roughly to 4 x 6 inches.   I butted the vinyl up to the lower teeth of the lace zipper and top-stitched the zip in place. On the top side, I used an inch wide scrap of cork and top-stitched the zip in place.

I trimmed everything down to 4 1/2 x 5 1/2- or so. Then I sewed around the entire outer edge. Then I zipzagged to finish that seam. Turn and top-stitch. Whenever I was sewing on vinyl, I just laid the thin paper that comes with (or tissue paper) and then ripped it off once seam was finished.

Neither my daughter nor I are super frilly girls. I think this lace zip gives this small bag a feminine vibe without going over the top.

Oh - and I forgot to add a d-ring. I took another scrap of cork and just sewed it on top of everything and I love it.  I'm in love with cork now - almost obsessed. It doesn't fray, it's strong but lightweight. The texture is amazing. And you can add a strap attachment on afterwards.

And Finally - The Passport Wallet.
Up, Up & Away
This is a pattern by Liz of Moments blog and this is her pattern design name. She's tested a lot of bags and learned a bunch of tricks.
You can find her pattern on Craftsy.

This is a big Family passport wallet holding 4 -6 passports.
I just wanted one for my single daughter.

I've made a passport wallet for me. This one went to Sweden, Aland Islands, Finland, Estonia, & Japan.
This one went to Ireland and Schiphol Airport.

When I designed mine, I wanted something small for airport screening. It would hold my passport, 2 -3 credit cards/drivers license and some EURO cash. And this worked out very well for my needs. But it doesn't hold Japanese Yen flat nor American dollars flat.

Fast forward 4 years; I would have to find my notes on my passport from then or open the PDF file on my computer with Liz's Passport Wallet as a starting point.

I thought about this new pattern for a good three weeks before I started cutting. First of all at 9 inches tall, it's big. I wanted it a tad shorter. Liz offers a zippered pocket alternative for the right hand side - this was all good, but I had to size down on every little pattern piece.

80% solution: I printed my pdf out at 80%. 

I wish I had known this before I started but I'll say it here. This design has you make the pocket pieces, then have you sew them to the lining, then you sew right sides together and turn.
Make your pockets but don't cut the lining and main fabric yet. More on this later.

For my zippered pocket, I wanted to be able to put my iphone inside the back slip pocket so the pocket needed to extend to the edges to accommodate my phone. More calculations. Did you know there are websites that will figure out what is 80% of 7.2"?

The left hand pocket will hold three passports plus one business card slot. In the pattern this is repeated onto the right hand side. For a total of six passport sized slots and two business card slots (driver's license).
Right now is good time to go into the problems in this pattern.  If you have aspirations of becoming a pattern designer; things to reflect upon.


#1. Take good photographs with high contrast fabrics and contrast top-stitching. The left hand pocket is made from five pattern pieces that look identical with similar sounding names and all in blue on the pattern. Was I confused?
#2. Use photoshop or something to name things in your photo.
#3. For similar sized pattern pieces, using the alphabet might have  saved me some time.

 Liz's written directions are excellent. Just her photos need some work. If you cannot figure out how to place each of the five similar sized pieces then just trust the directions. Erin from Dumb patterns labels each photo with step # so you know where you are. (#4. Link steps to photos)

After figuring out the left side pocket 'bag', I tackled the zipper compartment. This is constructed to enfold the raw edges so this seam allowance isn't cluttering up your outer seams. I thought it was genius on how to attach the slip pocket behind the zip pocket. And there's two behind the zip - one for your phone, one for bills.

My iphone measures 7" high so I needed that slip pocket to be 7 1/2" or so. It's all on me making this way more difficult but I wanted the option.
I also wanted some credit card slots on the front of the zipper bag. This was easy to do when installing the zipper -- when it's still all flat.

Before you cut your main and your lining, lay your pocket "bags' in place.
I found I needed to add 3/8" in height to accommodate the "bags".
Your goal is to be able to sew  RST together without hitting the "Bags". With the exception of the left hand side of the the passport pocket which is sewn into the seam.  You also need some room to top-stitch. Using your needle in the far left position will help keep the top-stitching even - the pocket "bags" are vying for room and they push back.

I like her hint of trimming 1/4" off the lining and easing it in when sewing RST. It helped keep the lining from getting baggy.

This is the time to put in your magnetic snap on the outer piece and also on the inner lining.
Do you need to embellish the outside? This wasn't covered in depth as the original pattern uses velcro. She has you go elsewhere to get directions for magnetic snaps. No problem for me.


This wallet finished up about 8 inches high. Enough to easily hold my iphone. It's more typical wallet size than the original patterned one at 9 inches.

Overall, I liked the pattern. It had some genius tips and if you're keen on reading directions, this pattern is an A+. The photos don't give you visual clues on the multi-layers parts and make this pattern an Intermediate sewing pattern.

I had this discussion with one of my FB sewing groups about where to put alternative construction ideas. Place them with the pattern. For the zippered bag on the right, I had to go somewhere else and print them and try to segue them into the general directions. None of her pages had numbers making this a fun project if the wind got to them. It's not like it's a paper pattern. Its a PDF file which can be updated. There could have been page numbers on the directions but my computer did not print them. #5 Number your pages prominently.

I nearly went crazy with trying to figure out where I was in the pattern because I was doing some sewing hacks. Part of this is my fault (for not sewing things as written. )

"...If you have chosen the zipper pocket version.. attach your zipper pocket to the right side now as described in the Double Up Passport (page 9)...."
Gah - where's page 9?


If you only want one side for the passports, you go to her Upgrade pattern, but you don't cut out all the pieces and since they all look alike, I would add
#6 add cutting diagrams like on old commercial patterns. A pen and ink drawing.
Cross-hatching to indicate the main, the lining, the coordinating fabrics. Cutting diagrams for each variation of the wallet would have been fab.

 I wanted my pocket on the left (passports) to have an second fabric in the middle but I was unable to replicate. I tried. She gives written directions on how to do it. But the photos were no help. I did manage to get my third fabric (coordinating lining - running short of my two main fabrics) in the correct no-show place though.

This hacked wallet will hold three passports, one piece of ID, two credit cards, Coins in zippered compartment, paper bills and smart phone. It's gorgeous in cork.

I just noticed in researching info for this post that Liz has another Big Pocket version here. This version is more like mine to accommodate the big phone and extends the entire height of the wallet.

This would put those seams into the sides seams of the finished wallet, adding  some bulk. It would have been easier...Some of these notes are here just to make my life easier if I make this again.



****update -- Dear Daughter just received them up in Alaska and loves them. Be still my heart.
This is the last post on these travel purses. Thank you for bearing with me and reading so far.

I've had guests all week from Finland with no time to blog but I did take another million photos so I will try to share some soon.

All photos for dd have been put in the Shutterfly queue. Sigh of relief.

Travel Purses; Passport Wallet Finished

I've got another post planned on this trio of travel  purses with all the pattern info and my hacks in one place. For right now, it's getting mailed today up to dear daughter for her upcoming trip to Sweden and Finland.

I am still hiding from my photos as she will be visiting some of the relatives there as well as possibly one of my friends who is visiting ME tomorrow! 

The travel set consists of a messenger style bag, a coin purse, and a passport wallet.

The Messenger style bag is sewn without the flap but with a recessed zipper to keep items secure while in strange places. It also contains a zippered pocket inside for extra security. The two outside pockets  stack on the front - one zippered, one a slip pocket.

The coin purse was my own design but loosely based on some small bags sewn during BagIt, hosted by ElmStreetQuilts last November. BagIt for 2016 has already started and will go on for three months this year.

The passport wallet is from a new-to-me pattern but was seriously hacked by me. I downsized the wallet to 80% of original. I added some credit card pockets inside and I also added the alternative pocket option. It also fits my IPhone6. I'm showing it with my old android which is a bit smaller.

I like the concept of this wallet but it gave me 2am nightmares trying to figure out the next step. Now that I've sewn it, I love the concept. You make what type pockets you want, then cut the outside and lining so those pockets will fit inside. Definitely my style of sew as you go.  I'll be blogging more about the pattern difficulties later.

On the main bag, I like the length of the tassel but it was a trial one out of thinner fabric. I may re-do the tassel but my brain says it's done.

I don't know if dd will want to carry all these as she usually travels via small backpack. I think she will like the passport wallet as I like to have my drivers license/ID and passport in the same place and readily available for airport screeners. She probably won't need to pull it out too often. In Japan, I felt like I was showing my passport about five times a day.

In other good news, one of my cousins saw the bigger bag/purse and ordered one exactly like it for herself. Thank you for helping to pay for new cork fabric addiction.

Travel Purses: Coin Purse

 I sewed this coin purse to attach to my daughter's 2 zip hipster bag. For this little purse, I brought out the lining fabrics. On this side, you can see Alaska - where she currently lives.

On the opposite side is a street map of Paris with the Eiffel Tower. DD traveled there a couple of years ago along when visiting Budapest, Germany and England.

 Cute and tiny. This coin purse is about 5 1/2  inches wide by 4 inches tall. On the front is a piece of vinyl to easily see which coins you have 'collected'.
 
I even found her some Swedish (Sverige) coins as well as my paltry collection of Euro coins and her more substantial stash. We can't spend Euros here in Oregon  - so take them back.

The bling includes a Eiffel Tower frippery (Daiso in Japan! Yay!) and a lace zipper.
 There are a couple of scraps of cork to pull the set together.

I am still hiding from those photos and getting addresses for DD.
Sewing is sew much more fun.



Part one of Travel Purses is here.

Travel Purses; Part One

 My daughter is traveling soon to Sweden & Finland. I think Russia too. Instead of looking through the family photos and finding the Swedish relatives and addresses, I chose to make her a purse set.

This first purse is the 2 Zip Hipster sewing pattern by Erin over at Dog Under My Desk Patterns.
I haven't made one since my trip to Japan over a year ago.

At the time, I wanted the bag to be a bit wider and I thought I took good notes but found I could be more specific about writing down which changes I made. A couple of mistakes in cutting were easily fixed because I sewed this in Cork fabric.

If you haven't worked with cork fabric yet, order some. Very easy to cut and sew. The edges don't fray. It's easy to add a short piece on if you made a cutting error.
Cork fabric is also weather resistant & mold resistant. This cork fabric comes from Portugal and is a sustainable natural  product. It's seriously awesome for bag making.
I bought mine here.

I had to pet it for a year before I could bear to cut into it. I have mostly used up my natural color cork and still have some of this sea foam color. I need to order more but it's pricey.

 I found some Paris map fabric last year with dear daughter (the traveler) in mind. Along with it is some world map fabric that coordinates. I hadn't bought the seafoam cork yet so it all added up to serendipitous sewing

.

This bag has an outside zippered pocket and behind that a slip pocket - perfect for traveling. It also has a zippered pocket inside - the pattern only calls for a slip pocket but I add a zippered one inside because it's more secure.
The top zips shut easily with a big purse zipper and the strap can be worn over the shoulder or cross-body.

In fact, I didn't have enough natural cork for the strap and I didn't want a seafoam color strap, so I robbed the strap off my Japan bag ( which I had robbed from a garage sale bag). Never say I am not into recycling.

Yesterday, I received some small tassels - God bless Daiso - from Janine in Japan. They are too short for my bag. However, Kyle's turquoise tassel is too big. Need to make one. Then this bag will be done.

Except, I'm making two more bags as a set. The coin purse which attaches to the inside dangly strap (airplane ribbon) and a passport wallet.
I have the coin purse done to blog about another day. Need to cut out the passport wallet tomorrow before work.

Does anyone else hide from their trip photos? I probably took 1600 photos when hubs and I went to Sweden and Finland 4 years ago (Summer posts in 2012). I was supposed to put the family ones in a photo album and send to the 2nd cousins in Mariehamn (Åland Islands between Sweden & Finland).
Did I? ..ahem...shhhh...I'm sewing.

If I can get them printed, I could send them with dd and save on postage.

Don't even talk to me about  my Japan photos.

And here's a gratuitous photo of my work apron. Pencil Girl sewed a front panel for me as a birthday gift. How sweet is that?

Of course, it will be ripped to shreds in a few months (unsafe equipment).
Don't look too close - this is the guys restroom - it looks marginally better than the gals bathroom.

Formula 1 Lunch Bag

The third and final piece of my Formula 1 gift set is done.
I blogged about the first two pieces; a key fob and an ID zippered purse here.

I really like the lunch bag with the vinyl. It will be easy to see what is inside, whether it be food items or a place to store yarn.
I'm making two of these for my great-nieces when they get back to me on which animal fabric they want.

I'm going to add a D-Ring to the side panels and attach a cross-body webbing strap.

The clear lunch bag tutorial had very good directions and it took as long to cut the pieces out as it did to sew all the bias tape on.

My good friend in Sweden - who loves Formula 1, bought herself a new sewing machine last Christmas. I  will stuff this bag with her other two Formula 1 fun things and add Clover Wonder Clips and a few other sewing notions. I have to get more Wonder Clips myself! This is the best way to hold your bias tape, short of hand-basting it, to sew up  easily and neatly.

Formula 1 Sewing

I have a long time friend who lives in Gothenberg, Sweden, who is mad about Formula 1 racing.
As someone who also loves her hobby (airplanesairplanesairplanes), I can totally get on board about her obsession.

Even though she had to explain, patiently, the extreme difference between Formula 1 and Nascar.


It's been two years since I discovered Tuike's obsession.
 It's taken two years to find Formula 1 fabric.

I thought I'd have to print my own.
Which is problematic, since all of her favorite Formula 1 race drivers have their photos super copyrighted.


I discovered this Formula 1 fabric in Ireland (of all places!) on Etsy and the shop owner was happy to post some my way. 

Ironic? Fabric travels West 6000 miles to be cut up and reassembled and then posted East 6000 miles. And it might have come from the USA originally.   Well traveled fabric.

I made her the key fob straight away. Very easy project if you have the hardware. I bought mine on Etsy and then the key fob hardware sat in my hardware drawer for the better part of a year.

Then I sewed her this little wallet/purse with my Formula 1 fabric. I made one a week or so ago off a long-ago-posted tutorial.
A little small for Smarty pants phones of 2014, I slightly enlarged the dimensions by 1/2" longer and 1/4" wider. This allowed me to put my phone in the back pocket.

My fabric is home dec weight and worked just as well as quilting cottons in this wee little ID purse.
I made several changes to the original pattern. Number one was losing the double fold bias binding to cover the raw edges inside. I changed it to single fold  for less 'density' at the corners. In fact, I might even just serge the raw edges and leave off the binding next time.

I actually have, somewhere, in my sewing room another fabric I  bought to make pillow cases for Tuike. It wasn't totally Formula 1 but I had plans. It's now lost in the invisible special place. However, the good news is, while tossing the sewing room this time, I found my pink chalk pencil marker I had misplaced a good while ago. As in, I bought another one because it is one of my favorite notions.