Posted on by agilejack

A Hot Saturday and a Quick and Dirty Bucket Bag

It was pretty hot today. I took Rico for his herding lesson this morning at 11. He did such a good job, but boy does he get hot!

We have to be sure and give him lots of breaks when he’s working the sheep so he can run 100 yards away to take a dunk in the stock tank.

While we were up in Washington for Rico’s lesson, I decided to stop at a quilt store called Fiddlesticks. I was there a couple months ago and saw some really cool muslin that is dyed and has wrinkles and creases, and is heavier than a typical quilting cotton. I didn’t buy any at the time because I had no idea what I’d do with it. But I loved it and think about it occasionally. So today I bought a bunch of half yards.

It reminds me of waxed canvas, but not quite as heavy. I think it will make some fun utilitarian bags lined with some bright prints.

I bought a full yard of this one because it’s my favorite color.

All that creasing and wrinkling isn’t printed on. It’s from the dyeing process. I just love it.

It was hot enough today that I spent the remainder of the day in the house until later in the evening. So I dug in and finished up this quick little bag made from Svetlana Sotek’s tutorial that I shared yesterday.

Here’s the finished bag.

That denim is doing funny things on my computer! If you’re seeing the odd wood grain like pattern to the fabric, it’s an optical illusion! It’s basic denim.

I went back and forth on where to put the tag… above the snap, below the snap, off to one side. Here’s what I decided on.

Here’s the lining and I really like it! I love the little peeks you get of the lining as the bag moves.

This bag worked up really quickly. I could probably easily whip out a couple of them in the evening after work. It’s not fancy, but it’s generous in size and should be very functional.

I think it might have taken as much time to get the snaps on as it took to make the rest of the bag! I used some scrap fabric to successfully install some snaps before I tried them on the actual bag.

The snaps didn’t come with any instructions so I looked up a couple YouTube videos to see if they could help me figure it out. Once I got the right pieces ready for each side and had the right tools ready to go, it worked really well and quick. And I just love the metal hardware. Let’s see if I can remember what goes with what the next time.

Since I haven’t yet received the biothane I ordered for handles, I made this handle by wrapping a strip of the denim around a piece of white nylon webbing that I bought several years ago to make leashes covered in fabric.

It worked really well, I just folded over and pressed one long edge of the denim strip. Then I wrapped it around the webbing and top stitched two lines along each edge.

I really like the way this interfacing makes the denim feel. It’s sturdy and has some substance to it, but it’s still flexible and not stiff.

I actually cut my interfacing pieces to 18×18 and fused them onto the back of the denim and then cut the denim.

I did it this way because the denim is 50 inches wide and I can’t get the full width on my cutting mat. Rather than wrestling with all that bulk and trying to cut it straight, I just did it this way and it worked well.

This bag would be a great bag to take with you on a day of fabric shopping! It’s comfy on your shoulder and would nicely hold everything you bought that you couldn’t live without.

I’ll definitely whip up a few more of these.

Bender and Rico had a pretty boring day today. it was so hot that they didn’t get outside after Rico’s lesson. So we got out for a walk around 8:00 tonight. It was really nice out.

Coyote sightings tonight = zero.

When we got home I let the dogs out into the back yard, forgetting that the sprinkler was running, and Bender came in a few minutes later soaking wet!

He can’t help himself. He just loves water!

I did manage to pick my sad little apple crop yesterday. Here’s the entire crop.

I have my first load in the dehydrator. I’ll load it up again tomorrow.

I’ll probably only get three loads in the dehydrator. Last year I probably did a dozen loads. Everyone is having terrible apple crops this year. I’m glad I still have some dried apples left over from last year.

It’s supposed to hit 100 degrees here in Portland tomorrow. I’m planning on getting up and playing pickleball in the morning before it gets hot. Then I will probably hunker down in the house and make a couple bags.

18 Replies to “A Hot Saturday and a Quick and Dirty Bucket Bag”

  1. !I was at Fiddlesticks last month when we were in Vancouver visiting my daughter!! Nice shop- I picked up a little fabric and a pattern book. The one picture with the waves is fascinating! Looks like an easy bag to to whip up.

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  2. The new bag is great. Something about denim you just have to love. I could see a bunch of these for grocery shopping. Or fabric shopping. So quick with no pockets. Agree on the peeks of color. Cute. Great job. How thick is that biothane? I’ve never heard of it before but then I don’t have a dog.

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    1. Hmmm. the biothane is probably around 1/16 of an inch thick. Maybe a little more than that. It’s getting more and more common in dog leashes. It will be interesting to see how it works for bag handles.

      Anne

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  3. I like the size of the new bag and such a pretty lining! Will have to remember about the biothane. The boys look so cute getting wet ❤️. We only got a small 2” green apple 🍏, the rest were eaten by someone else. Our new place has an apple, a pear and a walnut tree and sellers said they get a lot of pears. Will need recipes! We are forecast rain maybe Wednesday and we sure need it, none since July and that was a quick shower.

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    1. I’m not a huge fan of pears, so i’m no help there. But I hear pear butter is good. You should look for recipes for that.

      i like this new bag. it’s not pretty, but it should be study and really functional. Oh, and fast!!!

      Anne

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  4. LOVE your Frankenbag pattern, although I have yet to make one myself, but this faster, simpler bag looks like a winner, too. I had a question about the shoulder strap—you said you wrapped it around webbing (genius BTW), but then did you turn under the raw edge on the opposite side before top stitching?

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    1. I pressed a quarter inch down along the long edge of the denim. that folded edge went over the raw edge from the other side of the strip. So once top stitched, it’s all clean and enclosed.

      Anne

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  6. Where did you buy your snaps?

    *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

    Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder.

    Help someone’s soul heal.

    Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

    RUMI

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  7. I have entered a bag-making phase of my sewing and have been trying a bunch of different patterns. I haven’t made any with snap closures yet. Could you give us the information on the snaps you used? Thanks!

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  8. Anne do you have any idea what those apples are? they look a lot like ‘Bramley’ which is an English cooking apple and very tart. My mouth is watering just looking at them. I have about a dozen apples on my 7 trees this year….

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    1. I’ve been told they’re Gravensteins, but I have no idea if that’s correct. They aren’t great eating apples. They make good applesauce and they dry nicely. I’ve never done anything else with them. they are very early compared to other apples around here.

      Everyone around here has had terrible fruit crops this year.

      Anne

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