New Horizons

Quilt Shop Girl #4 Emily (you know you've been around awhile when you have to number them) is off to Italy this semester, but before she left she wanted to create make-up bags for friends she worked with in Carlisle, PA this summer.

Em is a terrific bag maker, and we tossed around numerous ideas.  At first, she designed her own and stitched up a prototype, but wasn't quite satisfied.  She also decided that she wanted to use iron-on vinyl inside, and she knew that she would use the world-famous, super easy Lazy Girl (http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/) zipper method.

I suggested that she look at the free bag pattern offered as a quarterly challenge on the American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine website http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/ and see if that might work.  She was able to turn it into just what she wanted!

In addition to adding the vinyl to the lining fabric, Emily used French Seams to finish the inside of each bag.  She added her zippers using the Lazy Girl method, and she created fusible letters to personalize these wonderful gifts.

Em was able to use fabric scraps from various quilts and bags in these bags.  She also finished a beautiful strippy-style quilt in green and white batiks for her brother Chris before taking off for new horizons.  We are looking forward to seeing her photographs and hearing about her adventures when she returns in the new year.  Have a great time, Em!