Posted on by agilejack

It’s Been A While — Another Frankenbag In the Works

I had a quilt guild monthly Zoom meeting tonight so I took the dogs for their evening walk at 5:00, got home and grabbed some dinner and then retreated to my sewing room with my laptop and got logged into the meeting.

The first thing I wanted to do was finish my holiday cards. I had about ten more to write.

And I got them all done and ready for the mail. I just love getting cards at Christmas time. I put them all on the closet door in my entry way when they arrive in the mail. I love walking past them and enjoying them all month.

I get a lot of Christmas cards with dogs and sheep on them!

Once done with my cards I looked around and thought of a few things I could work on during the meeting. Nothing really grabbed me. But I’ve been thinking I really need to make a few Frankenbags for holiday gifts, so I pulled out my Aboriginal scraps and got to sewing.

It took me longer than the meeting lasted, but I finished the front and back panels for the bag and got them fused to the fleece.

I’ll get these quilted tomorrow night and then start on the construction. This one will have several pockets on the inside and will have a zipper placket.

I got my “Christmas” tree up over the weekend. I haven’t had a green tree, either real or fake, for quite a few years. I purchased this new LED birch tree and I love it.

You can set the lights like they are in the photo, or you can make it all one color in any of the colors you see on the tree, or you can set them to all white. So there are a lot of options. I’ll put a few decorations on this little tree this weekend and will put up a few other little holiday decorations around the house, but I’m not going crazy this year.

I purchased my first LED birch tree five or six years ago. It was looking pretty ratty so I set it up on my patio with all my other lights and it’s giving me joy there. This very well may be its last year of service.

A friend of mine has offered up her dog training facility for me to use to do some agility training with Rico. So I dropped by there Sunday afternoon and again last night for some training. The boys had a nice run in her field while we were there.

Rico is entered in an agility trial this weekend. He’s looking good but he doesn’t have much experience in the competition ring. I’m guessing it will be an exciting ride!

He also has two sheep herding lessons this weekend. It will be good to have some variation to our repetitive days.

I’ve gotten a few Frankenbags sent to me by readers over the last few days. This first one is from Beverly Rose. I just love the combo of purple and turquoise, I’ve wanted to combine those two colors for awhile. Might do this combo as a holiday gift. And how cute is that polka dot lining! Who doesn’t love a happy little polka dot?

This next bag was made by Ann Baird’s mother. She didn’t give her mother’s name. I just love the lighter blues in this one and those little peaks of Brandon Mably’s octopus fabric is so good! I’ve been wanting to make something from that octopus fabric but haven’t been able to decide on fabrics to go with it. I really like these lighter blues as an option.

The last bag tonight was made by @bksblingandbags on Instagram. She said she grew up on a dairy farm and had a love/hate relationship with cows. But she’s knocked it out of the park with this cow! What a great use for that little panel! And that black and whit cow looks so good with the pinks and reds. I’m going to have to see if I can find those panels for sale.

Thanks to everyone for sending photos!

One more day until the weekend!

24 Replies to “It’s Been A While — Another Frankenbag In the Works”

  1. On a older post I saw a quilt you had on a design wall called Sunburst. This quilt was made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics. You were planning to give the quilt to your brother.
    I loved the bright colors, the pattern is similar to a 1/2 log cabin and set on point.
    Is this a Kaffe Fasset pattern?
    Happy Quilting!

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    1. I’m glad you like it! I’ve had fun making it.

      It is not a Kaffe Fassett pattern. I basically just made it up, but I think you’re right that it’s basically a half or quarter log cabin block. I start with a sunburst square, and I don’t cut it precisely. Each one is just a little different. Then my strips are all different widths. So it’s somewhat free form, but not completely wonky. Once I get it to the size I want, I use a square ruler to trim it so the block is nice and square.

      Let me know if you have more questions.

      anne

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  2. Happy Friday! Love this recent post. The “birch tree” is so cute, just so the boys know it isn’t a real tree 😉. Your Australian Frankenbag is great and thanks for adding the Instagram account link. More fun stuff to look at and get inspired.
    Thanks always for your blog posts. I enjoy all your words and photos 🥰

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    1. Yes. I do keep an eye on my boys around that tree!

      Maybe I’ll share some of the Instagram accounts I follow to find inspiration. I have some good ones… not all quilting.

      Anne

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    1. I think I’ve used a different photo of me and my dogs on the beach for my holiday card for years! It’s usually the best photo I have! Plus, who doesn’t love the ocean?

      and yes… that cow is really good!

      Anne

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  4. Thanks so much for the Frankenbag tutorials! Love this bag! Made 3 of them for Christmas gifts for my (adult) Grand Kids.

    Do you have a tutorial for the main block for the bag shown on this post? I can usually figure out how to make a pattern, but this one…no. It is different and I love it!

    Thanks for sharing. Love your dogs too!

    Kathy

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    1. The main block in this bag is a pineapple block. You can probably find tutorials to make one on Youtube or somewhere else on the web. I have a special ruler for making them. You can also find some of those rulers with a web search.

      Would love to see your bags and share them on my blog. You can email photos to me at anne@agilejack1.com

      Anne

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  5. That cow on the last Frankenbag closely resembles the cow on one of your feed bags. I love that you show the ones readers have sent you; you really started a trend with these bags and are so generous to share the tutorial here on your blog. I look forward to hearing good news about Rico’s experience this weekend at the trials. Those are some good, good boys.

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      2. I think I posted a photo of the one I made with a steer on it, but it’s a black steer. I’m talking a lovely black and white Holstein! That’s what I want on a feed bag!
        Annme

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  7. I love your posts so much and especially the pics of the “boys”. Even my sister, who wouldn’t be caught dead sewing, loves the news and pics of the boys. I would love to try a Frankenbag. I have a HUGE stash of fabrics and scraps, bu none of them are in those wild colours! I’m 79, so don’t want to collect more fabric at this stage of the game. I thought I could find a great panel (or a couple) and buy fat quarters to go with. However, what do you think if I use the same patterns and variety of pastels? Would it be too quiet to be a real Frankenbag? Linda

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    1. You can make it out of anything you want to make it out of!!! Scroll back through my blog posts and see what others have made. There’s a wide variety. YOu should try one with your scraps and see what you come up with!
      anne

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  8. I LOVE the beginnings of your aboriginal bag! There’s just something fascinating about those patterns. By now, I’m sure you have it completed! SK

    Sent from my iPad

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