Confessions of a Craft Addict

I’ve sewn the Mother Load and lived to tell the tale.

No, that’s not a typo; it’s a reference to a bag pattern by Seams & Dreams. I first learned about it at Quilt Market last fall, when I accosted some poor unsuspecting soul to compliment her fabulous, roomy bag. She was happy to share the name and I, in turn, passed it on to Sarah, who ordered it for the shop.

This is most definitely the bag for the gal who needs to carry everything wherever she goes. Now that I think about it, it’s likely the perfect bag for my BFF, who appears to live out of her purse. The photo just doesn’t give you an adequate sense of scale, so let me try to explain. The bag on the left, the Extra Large, is standing up thanks to to the two throw pillows from my couch that I shoved in there — and there’s room to spare. The other day I went to the shop with the Large bag (on the right) and fit two quilt tops, the Sleep-Away quilt, some fabric and a Funked-Out Peasant Blouse. Room to spare in that one, too.

The pattern construction seemed a little odd when I first read through the directions, yet it came together quite smoothly and easily. There’s a good amount of topstitching near the top of the bag and I wish I’d thought to trim the fusible fleece about an inch down from the top to reduce some of the bulk up there.

I’ve gotta tell ya, the positive comments on these bags have just blown me away. I think some of it is the bold fabric choices. The Large bag was made with a fat quarter stack from Robert Kaufman that I picked at Market. Total impulse buy that made zero sense for me because a fat quarter is really not much fabric for a girl who sews mostly children’s clothing. The Extra Large was a wrap skirt in a previous life. No, really! One of the moms at Miss L’s preschool sent it home in our school bag one day. She’d done a closet purge and thought I might be able to repurpose it. I toyed with the idea of turning it into pants for the Bunny but I think I’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of it’s new form.

Tags: bag pattern, Mother Load, repurposed wrap skirt, Robert Kaufman, Seams & Dreams, Sewing