What an amazingly gorgeous day! Spring has definitely arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. Well, at least for now.
I took Rico to his herding lesson today and he did a really good job! Here’s a little video of us working together.
He’s such a great dog! I hope to live up to his talent some day as a handler.
But look at how gorgeous it was today!!! It was so wonderful to be outside!
After herding we hightailed it home to grab lunch so we could make it out to Oregon City by 4:00 for some agility training with friends. It was great to be around some friends and have even more activity on a Saturday. Here’s a nice photo as the sun was going down.
It really cooled down once the sun went behind the trees.
When I got home I grabbed dinner for me and the dogs. And I was wiped out. I didn’t go for a walk of any kind today! That’s probably the first day without a walk in many months. I thought about going for a walk after dinner, but decided I was going to sew instead.
So I hit my sewing room and finished up the quilting on the Aboriginal fabric bag panels I made last night and got sandwiched this morning.
OMG! That fabric is just completely magic! I really love working with these gorgeous designs and colors.
I also got the bag body constructed. I think this will be the front of the bag.
Look at that!!! Holy cow!
And the other side of the bag.
I decided to get the linings cut and fused before I wrapped up for the night.
I may use that red fabric for the slip pocket and zipper pocket lining.
Here’s how the lining will look in the bag.
That lining fabric is left over from the aboriginal quilt I made for my nephew. It’s really gorgeous. Look at these close ups of the designs…
And here you can see it with the bag to get a feel for how they look together.
That fabric reminds me of stars in the night sky when you’re in a place far away from city lights and there’s no moon. I’ve seen stars shine like that!
I will probably finish this bag up tomorrow. I’ll have to squeeze it in with a couple of long walks. I have to make up for my lack of walks today! The dogs will expect it.
I’ve received a few photos of Frankenbags over the last week. Let’s dive in.
This first one is from Yvonne Seaman. She wasn’t sure it qualified as a Frankenbag, but it looks like a Frankenbag to me! She said despite my warnings about the pitfalls when assembling a bag, she managed to make most of the mistakes I had highlighted! Well, Yvonne, I call those learning experiences! I love her cirved piecing. I’ve wanted to do some of that and found a good tutorial a few months ago. I guess I should jump in!
This next bag was made by Sandee Henricks. I just love this bag. The colors of the fabrics are so bright and springy. This is not Sandee’s first Frankenbag. But I love that she got brave enough to add a zipper placket on this one!
Next up is this bag made by Deanna Apfel. She made a quilt and this bag for her friend who makes masks and is very generous with them throughout their community. This is all mask leftovers. It’s a great bag and a great use for all those fabric scraps!
Last up tonight is this bag made by Betty Sims. She used an Arizona desert theme for her bag. I love all the fun colors. and it looks like she added a zipper placket and her own handle approach.
Oops. One more! This one was made by Barbara Ryan. she included a zipper pocket and a zipper placket at the top of the bag. The little dogs and cats are Laurel Burch fabrics. I love all her bright colors and her wavy vertical quilting.
Looking forward to a Sunday at home getting some stuff done.
agilejack 
So many gorgeous bags. Betty’s Arizona bag is special to me, having lived in Tucson for eight years before moving to NE Ohio. Sandee’s yellow/orange zipper placket is pleasing to my eyes. And I love Deanna’s polka dots. Keep ’em comin’! 😊
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I love seeing what others are making! So many ideas.
Anne
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Those Aboriginal fabrics are GORGEOUS – I would hate to have to cut into them 🙂
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I used to feel hesitant to cut into fabric, now I just dive in. I know there’s almost always more where that came from!
Anne
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thank you for sharing the video – i used to love watching the field trials in the UK on pbs and so excited when in scotland to come upon a local one in the course of a day trip, only to find out it was just ending.
And i LOVE the aboriginal fabrics. I sooo wish i could afford to buy some. Your comment about stars is good, and another thing they could bring to mind would be zentangle on steroids.
I love reading your posts and seeing the bags – and one day i’m going to venture out and try to make one myself!
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I love watching any dog do what they’re bred to do. It’s amazing to see strong instinct and good training come together.
Anne
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Inspiring talent! Love seeing everyone’s personal touches on their Franken bags ☺. Beautiful Aboriginal bag too! I just incorporated a bit in a panel. It’s looking great! Slow going – limited time. Bravo Rico!
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The first one is slow. Each one gets faster and easier. With more, you relax and just go with the flow!
Anne
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Rico was fun to watch. One can understand why sheep owners have border collies to help them out. They run like the wind and love to work!
Love your newest bag. The others shown are great also. It would be tough to pick a favorite.
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If you have sheep, it’s really handy to have a trained dog. The love to work, and they make the work a lot easier!
the bag I’m working on now is almost always my favorite!!!
Anne
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How can I get the pattern for the bag? Thank you.
Sharon
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It’s a free tutorial on my blog. You can find it here: https://agilejack1.com/2021/03/25/frankenbag-tutorial/
Anne
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Love Yvonne’s bag with the curved piecing – a whole new look! Interesting video of you and Rico at work. How in the world do dogs learn commands and whistles and how do you? It’s another language entirely.
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Sometimes training the dog is easier than training the human! I’ve been a dog trainer for years and sheep herding is the most challenging dog sport I’ve ever done.
And… learning all the different whistles is really hard! And then you need to be able to blow them consistently in the heat of the moment. Not easy!
Anne
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The Aboriginal fabric is so beautiful, I can see the ✨. Yay, Rico!!! Does Bender go too and cheer y’all on?
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Bender come along for the ride and gets to do field runs and swims in the creek.
Anne
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I love the aboriginal Frankenbag. It seems to me that no matter the design or colors, the aboriginal fabrics all go together so well. And Rico, well he is just amazing! I love watching herding dogs, it actually gives me goosebumps for some reason. They are so smart and have that herding DNA–wonderful! I love that you could pick Rico out from just about any distance by his “one ear up” profile!
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The Aboriginal designs seem to be like the Kaffe Fassett Colletive fabrics in that they really work well together. It’s sort of hard to put a combo together that doesn’t work.
I love Rico’s ears!
Anne
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