Gearing up for the Weekender Bag!

As you probably already know, I'm heading to QuiltCon in a few weeks (eek! It's coming up soon)! So of course I need to travel in style. I'm about to get started on my very own weekender bag!

The fabric on the far left is for the lining. The grey polka dots will be for the piping and handles.

It's been dubbed the "holy grail" of bag patterns, and I think I want to make one simply for the challenge. I'm sure without this trip it would take me ages to decide to actually dive in and try it out. 

With the trip coming up, my best sewing friend Emily and I have decided to give it a try! We're going to to the panels pieced and quilt as you go - like Elizabeth Hartman's. Elizabeth breaks down how she assembled hers in that link there. She uses duck cloth and a layer of cotton batting. 

Emily and I have gathered our materials and started to pull fabrics. I can't officially start on this project until I finish the quilt that needs to be done - by friday! I've been working full speed on this quilt, but I did take a little break from it the other night to pull fabrics for my weekender! 

My colors will be based off of the following Kona colors: Berry, Aqua, Lagoon, and Bright Pink. I only have one of those three colors in my stash - so I'll need to take a trip to the store for them... I think I can get them all locally. I also have a couple fabrics that I saw on my last fabric shopping trip... I'll need to head back to The Needle Shop for them... it's nice having store credit there. I even broke down and bought some Echino last time!

So wish us luck! Hopefully this project goes smoothly and we have fabulous bags to show for it! :) 

You can check out my Weekender gallery on Pinterest. I've listed possible fabrics to add, as well as tutorials for tips etc. If you've made a weekender and have any major tips, please let me know! :)