I finished putting this Frankenbag together tonight. And I like it a lot more than I thought I was going to.

I think the black and white jumble, crease, and the swirly background fabric help these crazy fabrics make sense.
Here’s the other side of the bag.

And I love the black and white crease lining on this bag. I think it works much nicer than a bold print would have.

And that pocket made out of jumble. Well, it’s kind of fabulous!
Two of my blog readers made bags from my Frankenbag Tutorial and sent me photos of what they made. It was really fun to get to see them. I asked them if I could share them here and they were on board!
Poppy MacLean made this one that includes what looks like stack and whack KFC orphan blocks and some fun checkerboard piecing on the other side. I love all the color on this one! Those pops of orange are pretty fabulous!


Sharon Osborne also made one from KFC scraps. She included a really fun paper pieced plant in a pot, with lots of orphan nine patches. That green jumble is really bold and I love it!

Here’s the back with some great little nine patches.

Sharon’s paper pieced plant reminded me of a book I purchased a few months ago that features some similar blocks.

She’s gotten all kinds of creative juices flowing for me! You will probably see a little potted plant in a bag very soon.
I’m thinking my next bag will include some border collie and sheep fabrics surrounded by a variety of black and white fabrics.

The crumb piecing will be made from the various black and white fabrics and the accent blocks will use the border collie and sheep fabrics. Haven’t decided yet what those blocks will be. I made some zipper pouches out of these fabrics a few years ago.

I have a lot of black and white fabrics. They are some of my favorites.
I celebrated my 11th anniversary of starting work at Oregon Public Broadcasting today. My job there is heading up the membership fundraising team. I’m so lucky to work with a group of really amazing people. I can’t believe how fortunate I am.
This job was the reason I picked up my life and moved to Portland from Salt Lake City. I’d had my eye on this job for quite a few years and when I got a call asking if I’d ever considered a move to Oregon, I jumped on it. I’ve never regretted the move. I can’t believe it’s been 11 years.
When I celebrated my tenth anniversary last year, sitting alone in my guest room office, I never had any idea that I’d celebrate the next one in the same way. I’m hoping for good things to come and that I’ll be celebrating with friends and co-workers in person next year.
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Portland. It was in the mid 60s and sunny. A truly glorious spring day. My yard guy came by to plant the trees he brought by a week or so ago. But before that he wanted to dig the bamboo out of the stock tanks on my patio so we could get a clear view to position my new trees. The tanks were terribly root bound and the bamboo removal turned out to be a huge job. Five hours later he had gotten out four clumps.

This is really tall bamboo. We had hoped it would grow and fill in to provide much needed shade to my patio on summer afternoons and evenings. But it failed to thrive so we’re abandoning that hope after several years. I will use the stock tanks as raised garden beds this summer. I’m looking forward to fresh lettuce throughout most of the summer.
A friend of mine will come and pick up the bamboo and plant it in her yard. She is also bringing me a clump of smaller bamboo that I’ll put in a pot on my patio. My yard guy will come back tomorrow and we’ll finalize the location for my new patio shade trees and he’ll get them in the ground.
Congratulations on your 11th anniversary. It’s something to celebrate when you find a job you love!
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Thanks! I’m really fortunate in my employment!
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These bags are all so cute!! The black and white stripe is perfect as an accent. I’m amazed you can grow bamboo- seems too tropical to me.
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There’s bamboo all over the place in the Pacific Northwest. There are even nurseries that specialize in bamboo. We are quite temperate. We do occasionally get snow and ice, but we don’t get a lot of freezes in the winter.
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I absolutely love your Frankenbag! Looking forward to making my own. Thank you for your inspiration!
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Cool! please do send me a photo when you make one!
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Anne, I love your new bag design. It is so much fun to watch the variety you produce. I do have a quick question. I have made many of your zippered pouches with the pieced panels. I love them. You had mentioned a long time ago a chambray fabric you used for the pouch body. I have tried mail ordering some fabric but without being able to feel the fabric, I am not getting what I had hoped for. Do you remember the brand or source for the fabric you lived? Thanks. I look forward to every post from you.
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I bought it at a local store, and unfortunately, it doesn’t have a selvage. The one I use is relatively light but not soft. It has a bit of stiffness and structure to it but it’s not thick. It would be really difficult for me to buy this online because when you see it in the stores, there are so many different options. Some are thin and almost like gauze. Others are thick like denim. Sorry I’m not more helpful. Good luck on finding what you want. I’d be happy to send you a swatch if you want me to.
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