A Girly Pipe Bag?

Wow. It's December already. Every year it sneaks up on me. I've got a LOT of sewing to do this month but I won't be able to show most of it off until after December 25th. I don't want the kids peeking. My sewing skills are a bit rusty since I haven't been sewing in over a month. I'm going to get them limbered up by working on a quick project for me. I've been thinking about making a feminine pipe bag for a while now. I have a couple of really fancy leather bags but it would be nice to have something both pretty and washable. When I saw the Craftsy.com Bucket Bag I thought, ah ha! This will be perfect for toting to pipe club. I can put a few pipes and my accessories around the outside and tins of tobacco in the middle. The Bucket Bag and Drawstring Bag are FREE Craftsy classes. Did I mention I love Craftsy? Here are the fabrics I pulled from my stash for this project. The only thing I had to buy was the solid green cotton. That will be the outer body of the bag and the handle. The purple oriental print will be the outer pocket and the 2-tone print will be the bag lining. There is also some dark green fleece for coordinating pipe bags. The plan is to make the bucket bag, 3 drawstring pipe bags, a rub-out mat and a zippered accessory bag. All before next pipe club.

The husbeast worked a double shift last night which meant he slept most of the day. While he snored, I sewed. Or attempted to. Maybe I am destracted or something, but I have been making stupid sewing mistakes all day. It didn't help that I had never used my Deluxe Monogrammer before. I really, really wanted to monogram this bag. I love the monograms that have the large letter in the center, for the last name, with smaller letters to each side for the first and middle names. Luckily I have 2 Singer monogramers and each makes different sized letters.

First things first, figure out how to use the deluxe monogrammer so I can make the "W". Turns out it was very simple to operate.

The sample was made with off white cotton thread but I wasn't happy with the color. It was too light. I did have the perfect color but it was rather ancient silk thread. I don't know exactly how old it is but I think I found it in the drawer of one of my treadle sewing machines. You'll notice it is on a wooden spool.

Old thread can be weak but I decided to chance it. The color and sheen were so pretty. I think it turned out well.

The small "R" and "L" were made with the non-deluxe monogrammer. I applied the fusible fleece to the back of that piece and set about installing the pocket. I took great pains to measure where the pocket channels would be. I opted for the 3 pipe pockets to be on the back of the bag, opposite the monograms. The front pockets will hold the mat and bag. I carefully sewed the pocket to the bag front. As I was clipping the threads and admiring my handiwork it suddenly dawned on me. I had neglected to fuse the interfacing inside the pocket. Oh well, I'm not ripping it apart. It will just have to do. I doubt the Pellon police will come after me.

I think I am going to exit the sewing room for tonight and try again tomorrow. This just isn't a good day for me to sew. Oh, but I did get to use one of my Black Friday weekend bargains. I pressed the bag seam on that little sleeve sized ironing board.