Swedish quilters association Rikstäcket's annual meeting and 30th anniversary

I had the pleasure of being invited to release a special pattern especially for the swedish quilters association Rikstäcket's 30th anniversary and annual meeting a little over a week ago. The pattern was kept secret (except for to my amazing pattern testers whom tested and then hid their bags until the release, love you all!) up until the first day of the event and only then revealed to the attendees and the world, including those whom had signed up for the "Secret Bag Class" on the Sunday.

The Beijing Bag was revealed and a special Rikstäcket 30th Anniversary Edition of the paper pattern totally sold out during the event. Thanks everyone who bought it! And I'm so sorry to those whom wasn't able too, I totally hadn't anticipated how appreciated it would be.

We ended up being 17 (!!!) people sewing the Beijing Bag on the Sunday (a few more than I normally allow in my classes) but we still had an amazing time! Such amazing students!

My awesome mother was helping me the entire weekend with the classes, and as we had brought the store with us, dad was working one floor down selling fabrics. We had a great weekend all three of us!

All fabrics, hardware and interfacing is from my parents store: Borlänge Sycentrum

Here are the beautiful, finished Beijing Bags that I managed to photograph. Sadly some were in a bit of a hurry to get home so I didn't manage to take a photo before they had already packed their bags.

Look how great they look with their lovely bags!!

But we didn't just sew Beijing Bags this weekend, we also had a Loule Bag class! In this class we were 10 people, but sadly I didn't manage to photograph all the bags finished as a few had to run and a couple had a few seams left when we had to end the class. Here are their stunning bags!! 

Thanks everyone for an AMAZING weekend!! <3

Beijing Bag Pattern release!

This little bag has been secret for soooo long now and I've been DYING to show it off!

The Beijing Bag was made special for the Swedish Quilters Associations 30th anniversary event this year! It's a bag I designed especially with quilters in mind, however, it's just as great for the non quilting bag maker. The totally smooth front and back lends itself beautifully for orphan quilt blocks, machine/hand embroidery or other decoration. Or why not use that one statement print fat quarter you've been dying to find the perfect project for?

The Beijing Bag pattern has both INCH and CENTIMETER measurements and is available in both English and Swedish HERE

The bag has a lovely teardrop shape from the side which is sure to turn a few heads.

It's the perfect size for the essentials and a few extras at ~11” (28cm) wide, ~8” (20cm) high and ~2.5” (6cm) deep at the base.

The interior has a zipper pocket and slip pockets.

The first Beijing Bag I made was with Katrina Roccellas beautiful Blithe fabric. I'll try to make a separate post featuring this bag once I have my camera back up and running again as it very much deserves it.

Me and my awesome mother before the reveal of the pattern! So sorry for the potato quality of these two photos, my cellphone is not great with dark areas,  or long distances AND dark as in the second photo, but I really wanted to include them anyway =)

Me doing the presentation and grand reveal! 

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My amazing pattern testers has sewn a number of beautiful Beijing Bags naturally and here they all are! Thanks a million everyone, I couldn't do this without you! <3

Anja - whom you can find on instagram here made an absolutely beautiful one with a spare quilt block. That gorgeous butterfly is just the perfect eye catcher for this bag! It beautifully demonstrates how I meant for the smooth front to be used. And thank you Anja for letting me borrow your beautiful bag for the great reveal for this bag pattern!

Annette - Made this super clever (oh how my partner scratched his head before he realized the pun *lol*), machine embroidered, pieced and quilted Beijing bag! Again, this bag is another perfect example of how the front of the bag can be embellished!

Barbara Dörig - Whom can be found here on instagram made this awesome, statement print bag, that goldfish print is just to die for! She made adjustable crossbody straps and made beautiful, red edges and frames for her interior pockets!

Cheryl Wright Simmerman - of Adarra Handmade made this absolutely perfect, cattitude bag! I HAVE to get myself some of this print, that cat is sooo cool!  I love how she made the back in a matching fabric, giving her a totally different look should she choose to turn it around. And just look at that awesome bag bling!

Christine Davis - of Bags by Bags of Style whom can be found here on Facebook and here on Instagram made this STUNNING, freemotion quilted beauty! I just LOVE how the quilting designs just lifts the print and the bag to a whole new level! And that little tassel, lovely!

Eva Arthursson - made this lovely one with a single print, perfect for everyday wear! I love how the cool shoulder strap gives this rather sweet fabric choice a bit of attitude! Great combination!

Kristin - whom can be found here on Instagram made this gorgeous (even more stunning in person), quilted version, it doesn't show well in the photos but each shape is carefully outlined, giving the bag a BEAUTIFUL structure and look. Thank you Kristin for letting me borrow your lovely bag for the grand revel of this pattern!

Lori Peoples - whom can be found here on Instagram made this pretty, statement fabric Beijing! The lovely fabric is absolutely perfect in the beautiful greenery she chose to photograph this beauty in!

Noor Rats - Whom can be found here on instagram made this gorgeous Tula Pink version! This print is one of my favourites ever and just look how perfectly it fits the Beijing Bag! That aqua zipper is just perfection! Lovely!

Pia Jestin - can be found here on Instagram made this gorgeous version! I almost bought it off her! Those beautiful irregular curves matched with that beautiful quilting! The photos don't do it full justice, it's even more stunning in real life! And look at that adjustable, two sided strap, beautiful! Thank you Pia for allowing me to borrow this beauty for the weekends event!

Tania Chanroux - of Smart Made Designs on Instagram made this STUNNER! That little top panel, brilliant!  My mother have had that ombre, striped fabric in her store for a while, and I'd never dreamed of how gorgeous it could be in a bag! Look at that perfect combination with this quilted faux leather!  

Ann-Kristin Kristoffersen - of Kinnas Lappteknik made this breathtaking, machine embroidered one, with beautiful quilting! I wish you could see this live, the colors are amazing! Thank you Anki for letting me borrow your gorgeous bag for the grand reveal of this pattern! 

Eva Halvarsson - of Borlänge Sycentrum made this super cool jeans version! Upcycling is always in style and so is this awesome bag! Love the pant seam down the middle and that little "handmade" sign and that adorable tassel, lovely! Thank you mom for letting me borrow your pretty bag for the grand reveal of this pattern! 

Marita Tjulander - of Valsanhäxan Syr/Quiltar made this awesome faux leather version! It makes such a great visual impact with that simple division down the middle, and that beautiful charm, perfect! And look at the dual color shoulder strap, epic! Thank you too Marita for letting me bring your pretty bag for the grand reveal of this pattern! 

Calgary Crossbody Bag - Pattern Release!

Can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this bag!! I'm so pleased with how my crazy "flip over pocket" idea turned out! But I'm even more excited that my testers liked it!  Now I just sincerely hope you'll like it as much as we do! 

The pattern is available in both English and Swedish and has both inch and centimeter measurements, find it HERE.

The Calgary Crossbody Bag is a medium sized bag with more room than one would think based on it's measurements: 

~11 ½” (29cm) high, ~9” (20cm) wide at the base, while ~12” (30cm) wide at the top and ~5” (13cm) deep at the base. I can fit my laptop and a thin sweater on top of the regular stuff like wallet and basics. 

The panel on the front extends over the edge of the bag and into the lining, there you have a small snap button pocket attached which allows you to use the small snap pocket, but you can also choose to fold it out of the way to the outside of the bag when you want to find something in the bag, like so: 

On the opposite side you have a big zipper pocket, a number of open slip pockets and a key lanyard.

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My amazing pattern testers has sewn a number of beautiful Calgary Crossbody Bags naturally and here they all are! Thanks a million each end every one of you, I couldn't do this without you! <3

Sadly a number of my testers this time around has had health issues, moves and other problems resulting in their bags not being finished for photos despite having tested the pattern, and I want to thank you all too and say that we look forward to seeing your creations down the line.

Pia Jestin -  Who can be found here on Instagram made not one but two stunning bags! The first red cork version is just absolutely beautiful! Can't stop admiring it!

But her second, black faux leather and Marilyn Monroe one might possibly be even more fantastic! She replaced the cross body strap with shoulder straps with a smashing result! I have to make one for myself like this too now!

The straps are 27" (68cm) long each raw, and are placed a scant 2 3/4" (7cm) from the middle of each exterior piece (so just outside the flap and front panel) - if you should wish to make the same edit to your Calgary.

Becky McCoy - of Simply Memorable Bags made this gorgeous sloth and brown suede version!! <3 Look at those little cuties climbing all across the front panel! Absolutely stunning!

Lori Peoples - whom can be found here on Instagram made this absolutely adorable cork combined with 80ies cartoons (can you say - straight up my alley!). Lovely!

Eva Arthursson - made this absolutely lovely all cotton version, love how classic looking it is, while still fun with the front panel, beautiful work!

A clever use of staples

When sewing curves or any other tricky seams which are troublesome to get to stay in place, make your seam allowance 1/2" and instead of pinning or clipping with wonder clips or similar - STAPLE! 😍 Your seam allowance will stay dead put throughout the curve or seam, minimising the risk for folds or unevenness!

First wonder clip the section, to make sure everything is where you want it, and then replace the clips with staples.

Beautiful, smooth curves and seams is the result! After I've sewn the seam I just cut down the seam allowance and with it the staples which I've placed at the edge - making the process of removing them a breeze!