Latest Project - Handbag for Charity Auction

I just finished my latest project, a handbag that I am going to be donating to DSI for a straw auction that they will be having at their upcoming charity event (February 28), D'Vine Winter Wine Festival (get more informaiton here: http://www.dsiservices.org/).

This was a fun bag to make. I used the Clover/Nancy Zieman Trace'N'Create bag template for the first time. I really liked using it and it made making the bag super fast and simple. I will definitely use again.

I used an upholstery fabric for the outside, and lined it with a batik. The emboridery was done on my Janome 11000SE, combining two designs from Hatched In Africa (Elegant Scrolls), and I added hot-fix crystals to give it some more bling.

I also made a matching zipper pouch (using my sample stitch out with no bling).

Here are more pictures:

About My Stash

Sew, Mama, Sew is one of the sewing/quilting blogs that I follow. They posed a challenge today to tell about your stash! Here are my answers:

• What do you usually sew? Anything and everything. I love to sew, be it garments, lingerie, home dec or quilting. I’m more into smaller projects that I can actually accomplish given my busy work schedule and activity with the American Sewing Guild (Indianapolis Chapter).
• When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?) My rule is always 3 yards. I’d rather have too much than be a little short.
• Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? A little of both.
• Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? Don’t usually prewash, but it depends on the project/intended use.
• Do you iron it? Only before I am cutting for a project (unless it is really wrinkled before I store it.
• How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) Color.
  Do you have any special folding techniques? Fold and store on fabric sheets to store vertically in cabinet.
• How do you store your fabric? Vertically in cabinet. (See pictures from previous entry.)
• What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? Blenders, tone-on-tone and batiks are always good to have on hand.
• When do you say enough is enough? I’m not sure I know the meaning of “enough.” There’s never enough!