Lined Drawstring Bags - Last Group and Wrap Up

Here's a photo of some of the bags in action

as we prepared for our early Christmas with 

Little Man and his parents last weekend.

The bags work SO well . . .

Re-purposed crumpled packing paper and/or 

air pillows/bubble wrap work great to "plump" up the bags

so the contents aren't quite so obvious.

I used shipping tags attached with large safety pins

for name tags - they also worked well.

And finally I have finished the last eight bags.

This is the smallest of the sizes I made.

The pattern calls this one the "CD bag" -

I named it the XXS size.

Here's another XXS lined with the

same fabric as the bag's body.

This is the third XXS bag - gotta love those lemurs.

This bag is the XS (my term) or the "DVD" bag (pattern term).

It is actually a very useful size

which surprised me.

A second XS bag made.

Elephants on the next XS bag.

A cool blue striped XS bag.

And finally the Perfect Treehouse XS bag.

* * *

Several of you asked about a tally of all the sizes.

There are ninety-two in all:

8 Extra Extra Small (CD)

10 Extra Small (DVD)

12 Small (Snack)

16 Medium (Everything)

15 Large (Project)

17 Extra Large (Artist)

and

14 Extra Extra Large (Laundry)

Now that they are finished,

I cannot believe I made THAT many!

The pattern I used is by Jeni Baker of In Color Order.

If you want to know more about her bags,

click HERE for her dedicated blog page.

* * *

I know I'll make more 

if these wear out or 

a custom bag is needed but

it feels SO good to be finished

with this year-long project.

If you want to see any of my other bags

you can click on the lined drawstring gift bag

label at the end of this post or in the sidebar.

Quiltdivajulie

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“The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.”

Coco Chanel

More Bags - Medium and Small Sizes

First up are the "Everything" size bags

which I have named the Medium size.

This one offers a nod to DIL's work travels.

No real story behind this one except I liked the fabrics together.

Keiko Goke lining with the

exterior parts made from the same fabric.

Made using the leftover portions of a panel.

Lynne had fussy cut what she needed

and I asked her for the remainder.

Too bad these are rhinos and not hippopotami

since this is prime season for 

one of my favorite silly seasonal songs -

"I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

Another bag for DIL and her travels to the Orient.

I am so tickled with this LOVE print as a gift bag.

Leftover backing from Copacetic

paired with another bicycle print for the lining.

Shifting now from Medium to Small (Snack) bags.

This photo shows the size difference.

Strawberries are always in season with this bag.

Suzy's sheep leftover from See Rock City's April block.

Another kangaroo print for younger son.

And finally a few more llamas.

* * *

There are only eight more bags to make - 

the XS and XXS sizes.

I know it seems as though I'm "on a roll" 

or "on a tear" with these but there's a reason.

They were supposed to be a monthly project

as part of this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I kept up for the first few months

but then veered off on my own to work by size

rather than color - and then life intervened and

nothing happened until year end was fast approaching.

I am determined to finish the ones that are cut out

before Christmas -- so there will be one more post

for those and then a wrap up/tally post.

The end is approaching . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.”

Paul Klee

Size Large aka Project - Lined Drawstring Gift Bags

Ten more Project size (aka Large) 

lined drawstring gift bags are finished.

(see photo link in sidebar for pattern)

This one features llamas and more of one of those

I'm-going-to-get-it-used-up metallics.

Leftover backing from For the Birds (body)

mixed with a marvelous red rose print (accent section) 

and one of my long-stashed low volume prints (lining).

This one features a wonderful folk art print

that I've never found a good use for.

I love the plaid used for the lining -

in fact I bought an extra yard a while back

after seeing how well it works.

Younger son volunteers seasonally at our zoo.

This past season he assisted in the special Kanga-Zoo area

hence this aboriginal kangaroo print.

More purple metallic (honestly, it does get used up)

paired with a marvelous orange print.

You may notice that in many of these bags

I've used the same fabric for lining and the upper accent

and sometimes even the drawstrings.

No particular reason other than the combinations work.

The squirrels make another appearance in this size bag.

(I added the measuring tape as a nod to those

who have commented it is hard to tell 

what size these bags really are)

I grew up with gingham but this particular one

has languished in my stash.

Paired with this fun astronomy print the gingham sings.

Another great plaid fabric paired with leftover backing 

from Catharsis - Dumpster Diving 5.

I love paisleys and this darker one is no exception.

I really like it paired with the lighter plaid.

More Keiko Goke, a soft purple solid,

and a stiff metallic Cotton and Steel that has 

always been problematic and in the stash way too long.

* * *

And there also was this custom size gift bag

which is currently on its way to New Hampshire.

(no tape measure so as not to give away

any hints about the size of what is in transit)

* * *

There are only 20 more bags cut out -

8 medium (Everything), 5 small (Snack),

 (both with boxed bottoms)

4 XS (DVD), and 3 XXS (CD).

(both with straight bottoms)

I know down the road I'll make more bags 

on an as-needed basis, but it feels awfully good to

begin to see the light at the end of this year-long tunnel.

(you can see earlier posts for this project

by using the label at the end of this post

or the one in the sidebar list)

Quiltdivajulie

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“I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.”

Joan Miro

Where Things Stand

Little by little, between rest breaks,

things are being moved forward.

(at least some things anyway)

I've stopped working on RUSKA  INGLENOOK(my Gridlock project)  for now but you can see the first six blocks the design wall.

The ten Size L (Project) 

lined drawstring gift bags are waiting for me 

to stitch their casings and insert the drawstrings.

(pattern link in my sidebar)

And Merry and Bright has been pin-basted.

(it needs to be ready for action on Dec. first)

A couple of days before my COVID booster,

Optic Strings was pin basted, but having lost 

a full week of focus, the FMQ will have to wait 

until after Merry and Bright is quilted/finished.

(this is the reproduction binding I made

back when the top was completed but

I'm now leaning to a solid pink instead)

The remaining Dr. Seuss fabrics arrived late last week.

The additional tumblers have been cut 

but I don't feel energetic or focused enough yet

to adjust the layout and add the two rows.

I did have enough energy one afternoon

to trim up the big stack of 6" strip ends left

after die-cutting the original batch of tumblers.

Those strips made for an evening of mindless stitching

resulting in a long strip to insert into the seam

of the quilt's backing (the green Jumble).

Meanwhile, Mother Nature continues to thrill us

with some of the best leaf color we've had for several years.

These are the two Japanese Maples in our back yard.

Glorious!

Quiltdivajulie

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“Everyone knows that yellow, orange and red suggest ideas of joy and plenty.”

Eugene Delacroix

And the XL Lined Drawstring Bags are Also Done

Four of the XL (Artist) bags from earlier this year.

Three from the RSC green month.

Lemurs - many of the animal prints were inspired

by younger son's volunteering at our zoo.

I bought 1/2 yards of several animal prints

specifically to make these bags.

I tried something different with this size group.

After boxing the corners and turning things right-side out,

instead of pressing the upper edges, I clipped them 

and hung them the design wall for a couple of days

before stitching the casings and inserting drawstrings.

VOILA - no ironing required.

This bag came from the leftover backing 

of a gifted quilt named Circumspect.

The shoe portion is a heavier not-quite-canvas-weight.

Cool print with great body but not as easy to sew/turn.

Finally found the perfect use for this 

deep-discounted Keiko Goke fabric -

showcasing it to its better advantage.

The lining features many women's names related to

the 19th Amendment but the designer spelled the word

amendment wrong and it wasn't caught before printing

so the yardage was sold for $2/yard to get rid of it -

perfect for lining a bag.

More squirrels for our family's running gag.

This time the Keiko Goke print is the lining.

I love the folk art print - that remnant was just the right size.

The stripes on this one were bolder than I anticipated

but they are perfect for a gift bag.

The metallic on this purple is really thick -

totally not okay for a quilt in my world

but it made a great gift bag.

Classy and elegant.

Gotta love Laurel Burch fabrics (bottom portion)

and using up even more metallic fabric (lining).

* * *

For those who are wondering about gift bag overload . . .

I have made forty-six bags so far and there are a total of 

twenty-five bags in five sizes cut out and waiting.

My two-prong long term goal with this project: 

(1) rid ourselves of the need for boxes/wrapping paper/ribbons/etc.

and (2) USE some of those fabrics lingering in the stash.

The animal prints are the only ones purchased for this project.

All of the others were mis-fires from online orders,

well-aged but harder-to-use yardage,

quilt top/back leftovers, and/or metallics.

So yes, there will be a lot of bags over the seven sizes

meaning lots of choices when "wrapping" a gift.

(there's a permanent link in my sidebar for

Jeni Baker's multi-size lined bag pattern)

Note:  Within our immediate family, 

the bags stay here to be used again and again.

(they have been very well received 

and have already proven their value)

For gifts outside the immediate family,

the bags are part of the gift.

As a side bonus,

I can see glimpses of the bags and their many colors

 sorted by size on two shelves in my studio closet.

And THAT makes me happy.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Imagine a glorious full moon coming over the tops of the spruce, big and yellow, shedding a mysterious light on everything – the moonlight had colour, you could see to paint and be able to appreciate the colour of things.”

Arthur Lismer