What's Sabra Up To Now?

Hi everyone! Even though it’s been a few months since FabricLovers has transitioned from my hands to the new owners’ hands, I wanted to “pop in” and let you know what has been going on.

Wonder Wallet for Mexico

First off, for those who don't know me, I'm the original owner/creator of FabricLovers.com. I’m really excited about the energy and creative ideas that Beth, Dean, and  Yasmine have been incorporating into the company. They are bringing some fresh perspectives and are working hard to find the best fabrics and patterns to offer you. I like where they are headed, and I think you will, too! I know they are always looking for your comments and suggestions, so if you have something you’d like to say, be sure to leave a comment below.

Love my Wonder Wallets!

Even though I’m no longer running FabricLovers, I am still involved with it--it is my baby, after all!  I’ve been helping to bring Beth and Dean up-to-speed with the business, discussing how to make things run smoothly, and offering support in any way that I can. I am very thankful that they are serious about making it work and are committed to the business. It’s nice to know that FabricLovers will be around for a long time, and I look forward to shopping there myself!

 Now that I'm not working full time at FabricLovers, I’ve been able to get back into sewing, and I’m enjoying finishing projects that have been waiting too long to get done. Take this quilt for example.  This fabric came through the shop many years ago, and I just loved it, and now I’m finally able to do something with it. I’ve finished the top, and will be using this as a wall hanging.

Tried some fancy trim and stitches

I’ve also completed the Wonder Wallets pictured above and to the right.  I must say the Wonder Wallet pattern by Lazy Girl Designs is one of my favorites! It's so fast and easy, and uses so little fabric, I make one to go with every purse from the scraps I have left over. I also love that they hold loose change, and the change doesn't fall out! They are great travel wallets, but I find I use mine all the time, since I prefer to have less stuff to carry around. If you haven't tried a Wonder Wallet yet, you can get the pattern here; however, I must warn you--they are addictive! But they do make great gifts, so you'll always have a reason to make more. :-)

For my two newest purses, I thought the pink fabric would be perfect for our frequent trips to Mexico, plus I just loved the colors of the main print. I made the purple purse for our most recent trip to Costa Rica. Most of this fabric has been sitting in my closet for at least a year, so I’m happy to finally give it a new home!

One of the reasons we decided it was time to transition out of FabricLovers is that my husband and I will be moving to Costa Rica in four years—we’re just waiting for our youngest to graduate high school. We’ve fallen in love with Costa Rica, and have started up a new venture helping people discover how to live better for less in that beautiful country. That’s where our focus is now, and we’d love to have you stay in touch with us, and share in our journey, on our Facebook page, Blog, and/or Website. I know many of you already have, and it’s so special to see familiar faces—thanks! Also, we’re holding a Sweepstakes now through August 7th, so be sure to head over to our Facebook page and click on the “Win A Happier Book” icon to enter!

We just got back from another trip to Costa Rica, and thought you might enjoy this video we took at an animal rescue center there. The video is of our daughter and her friend holding baby Capuchin and Howler monkeys--and it ends with a surprise!

Well, that’s it for now, but I’m sure it won’t be the last you’ll be hearing from me as I will be commenting occasionally on the FabricLovers blog or Facebook page. I look forward to continued interaction with all of you! 

---Sabra

Featured Crafter: Sally's Crafts

The mustache trend is still going strong and no one knows it better than Sally from Sally's crafts. Offering a range of baby items like fabric diaper covers to bibs made of mustache fabrics, Sally knows what a hip new mom wants!

Sally describes herself as a mom and grandma who loves to craft. Having crocheted and sewed for more than 30 years, she's recently discovered the art of photography.

Looking through her store, I found the perfect bibs! I would have loved using this when my daughter was younger! These are made of 100% cotton from Fabric Lovers. I never thought to use the pattern like this but it's a perfect fit!

The black and white one looks so classy but my true favorite is the colorful mustache print. The repetitive and colorful pattern is perfect for any baby and their spills!

Having recently purchased fabric from Fabric Lovers, Sally had this to say:

"I really am in love with this fabric. Real easy to work with, and its my favorite of the Geekly Chic mustache fabrics. Order came very quickly too! I will be back for more! Thanks again!"

Follow Sally on Etsy or like her on Facebook!

Want us to feature your projects? Send me an email at Yasmine@FabricLovers.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, follow our Pinterest, or just stay tuned for more! From fabric to patterns to tutorials, we're here to share ideas!

~Yasmine

Runaround Bag Pattern Review

I'm getting ready to go on a trip, and when I travel, I like to travel LIGHT.  I'm just not the kind of person that packs everything, including the kitchen sink. I'll admit, I used to stress for weeks before any trips wondering what I might forget, but thankfully I'm over that! In fact, we'll be going out of the country for 4 nights, and I'm only planning on packing a carry-on bag. No airline bag fees for me! LOL 

Anyway, for my travels, I just LOVE the Runaround Bag Pattern by Lazy Girl Designs. It's small and LIGHT and holds the essentials like money, drivers license, passport, lipstick (a definite must-have!) with the bonus of being zippered and hanging across my body for extra security.  I've traveled many places with my old Runaround, but I was ready for a new one. So, I thought since it's been about 2 years since I made one, it would be a great time to review the pattern since it would be like making it for the first time.

To start off with, this pattern requires very little fabric. Two fat quarters, and you've got enough! I raided my stash and found a striped fat quarter and about a 1/4 yard of the purple, and after cutting, I had fabric left over for a Wonder Wallet (more on that pattern later!). The pieces for the bag are cut by rotary cutter, instead of actual pattern pieces, so it's really easy. One word of caution--if you have directional fabric, be sure to cut according to her Directional Fabric directions in the pattern. (See NOTE below)

Front of my Runaround

The pattern directions are very easy to follow, and putting the zipper in is a snap! You'll be so proud of yourself with how professional it looks, and how easy it was! When sewing all the parts together the designer, Joan Hawley, recommends a walking foot, and I would second that. It's do-able with a regular sewing foot, but the walking foot keeps everything even as it feeds it through your machine.

There are several ideas for adding some pizazz to your bag. She suggests using one of your sewing machine's decorative stitches for the topstitching on the back pocket, adding decorative buttons to the front, and/or using a fun zipper pull.  If you have an embroidery machine, the front lends itself well to that. I would complete a bag without embroidery first, though, so you know how to orient your embroidery as the bag goes together differently than you might expect.

I should have timed exactly how long the whole process took me, but I didn't. I'm guessing it was about an hour or two, as I had several interruptions while I was working. I love things that are quick and easy and offer a great finished product!

Back of my Runaround--the striped fabric is actually a pocket!

THINGS I LIKED:  Fast, easy, uses very little fabric, great directions, good ideas to add some of your own personality to it.

THINGS I CHANGED:  I always like to double stitch areas that have extra strain on them, so I double stitched the zipper edges and where the strap connects to the bag. I also clipped the corners before turning the bag right-side out so my corners would be crisper.

NOTE on directional fabric:  Why my word of caution on cutting with directional fabric?  Because I forgot it myself! Yes, I had "auditioned" my striped fabric with the stripes going horizontal or vertical. I really liked the vertical stripes and that's how I was going to cut the fabric. I reminded myself of that all day, BUT when it was time to cut the fabric, I cut without thinking. SO . . . now my purse has horizontal stripes. Oh well. I still really like it, but I would have liked it even better with vertical stripes! LOL 

Buy the pattern HERE.

I'd love to hear your comments on the Runaround Pattern if you've used it before!

Pattern Review

Today I'd like to do a sewing review of one of the patterns we carry. It's not a new pattern, but it's new to our inventory. It's the Ca$h and Carry pattern by Atkinson Designs.

I had a special request from my mother-in-law to make something she could carry Splenda packets in so that when they went out to eat, they would always have a supply handy. My father-in-law has diabetes, so it's important for them. I thought the small Strip Zips from the Ca$h and Carry pattern would be just the thing.

The pattern was very easy to read and follow, and uses small fabric pieces. You could probably raid your stash and come up with enough! It does require Fusible Fleece. I used Pellon Fusible Fleece, and it turned out great!

How she has you sew the fabric together was very clever. It made it so easy to do, plus you have the advantage of "quilting as you go" so there are no extra steps to sew the layers together. I did make one mistake--I forgot to zig-zag my raw edges as I was putting in the zipper, but was able to go back and do that once I realized what I had done.

Speaking of zippers, don't let that word scare you away! The way she instructs you to finish off the edges of the zipper and how to add it to the pouch are SO EASY! and so professional looking!

Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience, and took me about an hour to complete. I'm thinking after some practice, or with assembly-style sewing, you could churn these babies out pretty quickly! Here's a picture of my final product.

THINGS I LIKED: Easy zipper technique, finishing on zipper, FAST to make, great directions, lots of great uses, several different patterns in one

THINGS I CHANGED: I didn't change anything other than adding some Fray-Check to the zipper pull ends to keep them from unraveling.

Buy the pattern HERE
Buy the fabric I used HERE
Buy the Pellon Fusible Fleece HERE