Amy Butler Weekender Reveal and Modifications.

Amy Butler Weekender Bag @ QuiltCon!

Here's the pinterest board where I gathered all my inspiration and tips.

These are the changes I made to my weekender.

• I used Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial for "Quilt As You Go" style outside panels. I used cotton duck from Joann's. This was time consuming but worth it.
• I used Pellon Shape Flex SF101 to interface all the lining pieces, and all the interior pocket pieces. 
• I used Wonder Under tape to make my piping (5/8" wide tape). Here's a tutorial for that.
• I prepped the piping and made the handles first - it makes the actual assembly go quicker once you're to that step.
• I lengthened my straps to 57" each, and used a strip of duck cloth inside them for sturdiness. After using the bag at QuiltCon I'll say that I should have used a layer of Shape Flex (Pellon SF101) inside those handles too - and I should have added two strips of Duck (or a wider strip folded in half). My handles warped a little teensy bit. The added interfacing should help prevent that.
• I used a shorter zipper 24" I think? I'll have to check back on that one. I just centered it on the top panel and sewed/basted accordingly. 

• I added on pocket to the lining just like the outer pocket. (I literally traced the pocket piece twice and interfaced with SF 101, and sewed the pocket to the one side of the lining.

• I added a zippered pocket to the interior - the lining of that pocket was 12" x 9" using this tutorial.

• I added 6 feet to the bottom - found at Joann's.

Last minute addition - a cute pull tab for the zipper!

I used the red Clover Wonder Clips during assembly. I couldn't imagine making the bag without them. Buy those suckers on amazon.com you can find some good deals on them there.

I even remembered to add my little prairie points in there in the lining.

I can honestly say that this bag wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I really was expecting something crazy. It was challenging, and it took a long time, but it wasn't hard.

My best advice to anyone starting this project would be to take it one step at a time. Cut and prepare your pieces first, go slow. Set small goals each day and you'll be done in no time. The quilt as you go panels took the most time, and wore me out - but they're completely worth it!!

Julie and I with our AMH Weekenders!

WIP Wednesday - The Weekender Update!

(haha does it show what sort of week I've had already, that it's only Monday and I'm screwing up my days? I thought I was posting a little early - on Tuesday night... nope.)

Amy Butler Weekender QAYG Detail

I've been plugging away at piecing and quilting the outside panels of my Amy Butler Weekender. So far the Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method of piecing and quilting is going nicely but slowly. I am considering piecing the final two panels (the ones behind the big outside pockets), then quilting each side down as one piece.

Large front pockets and small side pockets.

I have all the outside pockets pieced and quilted, and one of the top pieces quilted. I also have the handles and the piping prepared. I'm really loving the way it's looking so far. The colors are really fun.

Wonky star in AMH Bohemian!

I'm a little nervous about assembling this bag, but I think it'll be ok. I'm sure I'll get frustrated at points. lol. Right now I'm really excited to start assembling it all!

4" sawtooth star & 3.5" zig zag

I've also made a little bit of progress on my Doll Quilt Swap quilt. I pieced a tiny sawtooth star (4" finished), and a strip of HST zig zags. These will be only a couple of the elements of this quilt. I need to get piecing! I'm planning on some micro paper piecing too! I hope my partner loves it as much as I do!

I haven't worked on much else this week. So here's the list of no progress:

1. Michelle's Quilt - no progress, but the batting arrived this morning. So quilting soon! (still waiting for the thread!)
2. {Modern} Robin - no progress. 
3. Bubble Quilt - no progress.
4. Sabrina's Quilt - no progress.
5. Harry Potter Patronus/Dementor Mini - no progress.

By the way, if you missed it last week - here's my BIG finish. My Bella Quilt is finished, blogged, and delivered to it's new owner! It's by far my favorite quilt I've ever made! 

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday.

A little sneak peek at my Weekender Bag

It's a pretty poor quality picture, but this pocket panel took about 2 hours to piece and quilt! Whew! I'm loving it so far though!! More of this to come!