Now, here’s Carolyn.

Hello Lazies! A while ago, Joan and I were discussing the world of irons and Joan asked me to write-up an overview for you.

While we’ve know each other for years, and Joan is the reason I have a small business and quilt design company, she has never met my sewing room. So she doesn’t know my pressing set up - allow me to introduce you.

Carolyn’s ironing set-up in her studio.

My Equipment
Here we are in my sewing studio at home. I have a larger than normal ironing board (which needs a new cover) but I continually wish for a larger surface like a Big Board. The only downfall to my current large surface is when I need to iron small areas. So I have a little sleeve board as well. A Big Board or giant ironing surface is on the ’someday’ list.

For years I worked with a heavy monster of an iron like my mom had – maybe a Sunbeam or the like. Then I started using those cheap models – both in price and in quality – when they became available in the late 70’s and 80’s.

Rowenta DG580 Steam Generator Iron

Love At First Sight
Somewhere early in my quilting career, I invested in a Rowenta iron. This was in the 90’s when they were the hallmark of quality in the quilting community I had joined. I loved my iron and it even impressed my husband – who during his 30 year military career did all his own ironing. But over the years, my beloved iron developed a leak. I’m told this was due to the washer around the water tank drying out and cracking. Okay, it was a good excuse for me to upgrade.

I bought a steam generator. Again, I went for a Rowenta, but now I’m looking at the Reliable brand for my next upgrade.

Invest In Good Tools
I see irons as a tool and since I was brought up in a family that believes the right tool for the job makes the job smoother and easier, I don’t hesitate to invest in good tools.

My Life With A Steam Generator
I was sure the hose and tank would drive me crazy. How wrong I was! Having the tank there to hold all that water and a hose to deliver the steam means I have a lighter iron in my hand. It also means my iron NEVER spits on my fabric – the water is in a tank 6 feet away. Steam is available at the touch of a trigger but mostly I just have the best hot, dry iron I’ve ever used.

Steam Is My Friend
Since I, like Joan, have sewn since childhood both clothing and other projects, I always looked at steam as a friend. I see it as important to manage – but I’ve always used it and never quite understood the people who touted using only a dry iron. Well, after a couple of years of using the steam generator, with steam on demand when I want it rather than all the time, I’ve become a dry iron user. Steam is now used only for reinforcement and discipline – like when a crease just won’t go away or a seam needs encouragement to open and lay flat. Other than that it’s a spritz of ‘Best Press’ brand pressing spray and my dry iron every day.

Thanks Carolyn! Up next for Carolyn is introducing her new Charm Wizard ruler - charm your scraps to pieces.

Enjoy!
Joan

A centered stripe fabric, or border print,
makes up the symmetrical green fabrics.

Where To Start
Below is the striped fabric I used for this Claire. The stripe wasn’t wide enough to use just one for the cover, but the stripes are close enough that I can use most of two stripes and the space between them.

I lined up the center of the green with a line on my cutting mat. Then I simply measure for half of the cover in each direction and cut.

A wide stripe or border print can be fun.

I’ve overlaid the photo with a graphic showing the center and the overall cut size. The angled lines represent the center panel that will be swapped from the front to the back of the bag.

Find the center then cut the cover piece.

The Final Result
With the front and back views side by side, you can see where the center of the striped fabric offers a little variety on the back and the fabric is symmetrical because we centered the piece.

Front and back views of the same bag.

Here’s a view of the inside of this Claire Handbag.

Critters and Cuties
Are you a fan of Tula Pink’s designs? I am. I love Jen’s critters and cuties which are composed of, and nearly hidden amongst, her elaborate scrolling designs. The border print hides a dandy owl shown below. The pink ‘V’ is the beak. The lining features a bunny and you probably saw the butterfly on the pink fabric.

Fat Quarter Giveaway
Compliments of Moda Fabrics, leave a fabulous, Lazy comment on today’s blog post and one lucky Lazy commenter will be drawn to win a set of the fat quarters of the Hushabye collection used to make the Claire in this blog post. You have until Tuesday June 30, 2009 at midnight to post a comment and be entered for the giveaway.

Enjoy!
Joan

Claire Handbag before and after final pressing.
Shown in ‘Hushabye’ by Tula Pink for Moda.

Three Steps: Press, Specialty Press, Re-Press
Slide the open end of your finished bag project onto the rounded and pointed end of the ironing board and press what you can. Work your way around the open end of the bag. Press along the top edge of the bag, gently pull on the handles and press where they attach at the top edge, and press as much of the body of the bag as possible.

Pressing the body of the bag is easy. But what about the bottom? You can’t fit your iron in there. Your ironing board doesn’t reach the nooks and crannies of your project.

The Side Bottom Seams
If there are seams around the bottom edge of the bag - fabulous! Press those first. Reach into the bag with both hands and force the corners of the lining into the corner of the cover, pushing them into each other. Then gently pull your hands apart as you exit the bag and it will flatten at that seam and resemble the picture below.  While it is flattened, press just the seam. Start with the tip of your iron then slide more of your iron onto the project. I use lots and lots of steam for this. I want to build memory for this line along the bottom edge of the bag.

Here, I’ve placed half of my iron on the seam. By having this much of my iron on the project, I’m actually creating an unwanted crease on the front and back of the bag near the bottom. I try not to do that, but it happens and it’s okay, I’ll re-press later to eliminate that unwanted crease.

Pressing The Front/Back
There is one landmark on the front and back of Claire to guide us. We stitched across the outside pockets at 2 1/4″ in Step 2 of the pattern. That stitching line should be the bottom of the cover. Many bags have no seam at the front or back to guide us, so we’ll use the perfectly pressed side seams as guides. Reach into the bag again and tuck the front lining corners into the cover corners, spread your arms as you remove them from the bag creating a nice fold from corner to corner. You might have to help the bag make this fold. Just massage and manipulate the bag until you it looks right to you.

Important
Things can get kind of wonky here, but when the side seams and the front of the bag are resting nicely on the ironing board - you’ve got it. This means the bottom is squared up perfectly. Press this fold just as we did for the side seams. Start with the tip of your iron.

Then progress to your whole iron. Remember, I use lots of steam to set this fold with memory.

Finally, slide the bag back onto the rounded and angled end of your ironing board and press out any unwanted creases made while pressing the bottom edges. Steam will be handy once again.

Benefits the Lining
This final pressing will also allow the lining to fill out the inside of the bag a bit more. The pockets will hang more nicely. And the Bag-E-Bottom will rest more comfortably at the bottom of your bag.

Specialty Pressing Boards and Items
While I haven’t found pressing hams to be of much help, one nice option is a sleeve board. You can find these at most places where ironing boards and pressing hams are sold. I found a picture of one here to show you: Sleeve Board

Next Week
We’ll look at how I fussy-cut a border fabric to make this Claire and have a drawing for the fabrics used.

Enjoy!
Joan

Sue Congdon’s Claire shown in Moda’s Nostalgia,
with the outside pocket from Moda’s Crazy 8’s.

The First Claire
Sue Congdon from South Carolina was the first Lazy Girl to report having made Claire - good job Sue! Look at those little colorful polka dots peeking out from inside the bag - too cute!

Sue’s beautiful Claire is the store sample for Aiken Quilt Shop in Aiken, SC.

Fabric Notes
Let’s take a look at what Sue did. She followed the option in the pattern to make the front and back of the bag the same. Choosing this option requires one extra fat quarter (FQ) of fabric for a total of 8 instead of 7.

Rather than using two coordinating fat quarters for the cover, Sue used two matching FQ’s or a 1/2 yd cut for the main fabric. She then also needed one additional fat quarter for the contrasting middle panel, and one fat quarter for the outside pocket. Sue used two matching fat quarters or 1/2 yd cuts each for the lining and inside pockets.

Fat Quarters vs. Yardage
Fat quarters (18″ x 20-22″) are the most efficient cuts for the this project because of the size and shape of the project pieces. If you work with yardage from the bolt, you will have more total yardage than you need and you’ll have some nice-sized left-over scraps. The back of the pattern lists yardage cuts under ‘Notes’. See the back of the pattern here.

Design Options
The Claire Handbag pattern is designed to be an open-top tote. The pattern includes these additional options:
- An inside Velcro closure on the lining.
- A flap closure as shown below in red/black.
- Remember, with stack/chop/swap that we discussed a few weeks ago, the cover fabrics do a switcheroo and make the front and back covers different as shown here.  Instructions are included to make the front/back the same as Sue did above.

Green and white fabrics switch places on front/back of bag.

Flap Closure

If you prefer a flap closure as shown above, consider leaving the pocket off of the front side of the bag. As shown here, I think the flap and the pocket are too much and take away from her cool angles. And if you don’t want any outside pockets, leave them off and your Claire will still be snappy and beautiful.

Claire Show & Tell
Lazies, I’d love to see your new Claire as well as anything Lazy you make. Join more than 4,000 Lazies in our Yahoo group or nearly 3,200 Lazies in our Facebook Page and Facebook Group and post your pics. And me - here’s my page at Facebook. I post my pics at all of these places.

Here’s what the pattern looks like:

Claire Handbag pattern #LGD125

Thanks to Sue for sharing her new Claire with us!

Enjoy!
Joan

Natural Effects from Marcus Fabrics.

Above are the front/back views of another scrumptious Claire. Below is the inside view. I used a plaid and a random dot for the lining and two identical prints in different colorways for the pockets. Claire uses 7 fat quarters of fabric. Three for the outside, four for the inside. You’ll need two fat quarters for the lining pieces and two for the pockets. Choose one fat quarter for each part of the inside of the bag.

Natural Effects from Marcus Fabrics.

A New Approach
For the most part, I’ve been working with fat quarter collections to make all of the fabulous Claire’s I’ve been sharing lately. After making so many, I developed a routine for picking fabrics (along with a healthy addiction to our new Claire).

Often times I had more than seven fabrics to choose from and once I only had four. I started by picking the three outside fabrics as we discussed last week. I made the covers, then decided on the lining and pocket fabrics. I laid out the rest of the coordinating fabrics and I placed the covers on each one, looking for the most interesting combination. Since they were all coordinates, they all went together, so I threw caution and planning to the wind and decided from the collections as I went.

Every View is a Visual Delight
Take a look at the examples below. Some of these are Claire’s that we’ve showed before, but let’s look at them and focus on the lining/pockets this time.

Light lining, dark pockets. 7 different fabrics
Lining: both light backgrounds
Pockets: both med/dark backgrounds

Porcelina from Marcus Fabrics.

Above, we chose three striking prints for the cover. But look at that snazzy lining, peeking out from below the rim of Miss Claire, suggestively telling us something just as fun is going on inside. We paired a plaid with these fabulous linear prints. And that little dot reminds me of sprinkles on top of my ice cream.

One fabric for lining. 4 fabrics total.
Lining: one fabric (two fat quarters or 1/2 yard)
Pockets: two fabrics

Spring Fever by Hoodie’s Colleciton for Blank.

I only had four fabrics total to choose from. I used the same three cover fabrics on the inside of the bag for the pockets and the sleeve for the Bag-E-Bottom size F. The fourth fabric worked out beautifully for both lining pieces.

Reverse combination. 7 fabrics total.
Lining: one dark, one light.
Pockets: one light, one dark.

Paisley by Maywood Studio

Matchy-poo. The linings and pockets coordinate with each other. 7 fabrics total.
Lining: a light and medium green
Pockets: two black/whites

Belle Fleur by Avlyn

Claire Pattern Info
Do you have your fabrics picked out yet? Have you been dreaming of Claire combinations? One for each outfit this summer? I have. Well, hop to it and get started by printing off the back of the Claire pattern. It contains info on supplies, design options and notes.
claire-pattern-back

Next week - our new Claire baby gets here! Is it next week yet?

Enjoy!
Joan
PS: Thank you for posting such lovely Lazy comments. It is a true joy to hear what you think of our new Girl and share the fun (agony) of waiting for her to arrive.

Last week we discussed stack, chop and swap: Claire’s built-in secret for creating drama. As a good drama queen, Claire is equal parts attitude and attire. She’s got the attitude covered. The attire is up to you. So let’s talk about that a bit today.

Here are twelve cool cuts of the
‘Krakow’ line of fabrics by Mark Lipinski for Northcott Fabrics.

Cover and Pocket Fabrics
Claire needs 7 fat quarter (18″ x 20-22″) cuts of fabric total. Three fabrics for the outside and four for the inside  of the bag. Today, let’s pick two for the cover and one for the pocket. The collection above offers nice variety and there are a number of combinations that would create the drama we are after.

Sort Fabrics by Scale, Color, and/or Print
Color: there are 8 reds, 3 whites and 1 black. Perfect, I’ll use one of each color if possible.
Scale: there’s only one black fabric option, so we need to compliment its scale which is the smallest repeat print.
Print: several different shapes/repeats/random. Of the three whites, the stripe is fabulous, interesting and works with the black the best. Finally, I’ll chose a red print that works with both.

The Selection
Together, these three fabrics offer different levels of diversity.

Fabric 1: large scale random floral, primarily red
Fabric 2: wonky stripe, horizontal element, primarily white
Fabric 3: small scale repeat, primarily black

Two Feature Fabrics is Key
The red and white fabrics are good choices because they are interchangeable as the feature fabric for Claire. Both prints are strong enough to be the main fabric, are different enough to offer contrast and coordinate enough to serve as secondary fabric for one another. This is exactly what we want.

With the stack, chop and swap technique outlined last week, the fabrics will change places from the front to the back of the bag. So we want them to look good in both situations. Also, keep in mind that each of these two fabrics will provide one handle for the bag.

Front/back of Claire. Shown here with the optional flap
closure to be discussed in future blog post.

The black fabric with the small repeat is an opportunity to tie it all together. The black fabric is used to create a pocket at the middle panel on both sides of the bag. As the third fabric, it needs to play second fiddle to both feature fabrics.

Look how the depth of the black anchors the bag. Due to its shape and location, the third fabric is an accent, playing a very strong part in this production. Shown here with one of the bag’s options, the flap closure will be discussed in a future post.

All of this fabric fun creates interest
and drama where the seams meet.

She’ll Be Yours In No Time
We are growing closer and closer to Claire’s arrival. I can’t wait to get her in my hands and send her on her way to her new home with you.

Enjoy!
Joan

Front and back views of the same Claire Handbag.

The Order of Things
Three fabrics make up the outside of Claire. In the first picture above, we have white for the main fabric, green for the center panel and black for the center pocket. In the second photo above, the white and green are reversed and the pocket stays the same. Same three fabrics, different placement for front and back.

The Lazy secret to this design couldn’t be easier. Remember, it’s our opening mantra above: stack, chop and swap! I have to interrupt myself to tell you how much fun it is to make Claire. I adore the process as much as her design and function.

Stack, chop and swap is immediate gratification. I can say from the experience of making two dozen Claires that seeing those fabrics switch places and become the cover is addictive. Consider yourself notified.

Here we go..

Stack: One fabric on top of the other - easy peasy.

Chop: Rotary cut a big fabulous center piece. Oh baby, nothin’ like choppin’ fabrics.

Swap: Then simply swap the center panels. Cool, simple, Lazy! And better yet - nothing is wasted.

Precision in the Process
Now, one of the coolest things about this - we cut both fabrics at the same time, so all of the pieces created match perfectly for being swapped and sewn back together. And your finished front and back cover pieces should be identical in size. Lazy nirvana.

Value of Rotary Cutting
Tools and technique make a difference here. If you used pattern pieces and scissors, rather than rotary cutting the six pieces above, there’s a really good chance all of the pieces would all be slightly different and not match up. This precision is one of the many benefits of rotary cutting, rather than using pattern pieces, for this type of work. If you haven’t had a chance to bring rotary cutting into your repertoire of tools, making Claire might be a great time to do so. Find your local quilt shop and get acquainted.

Next Week
We pick out some ‘clothes’ for Claire. Yes, I mean fabric. Come this June, Claire will have you sayin’ chop n swap.

Enjoy!
Joan

Claire on display at the Maywood Studio booth.

Claire Makes Her Debut
Claire did a great job. I carried the Spring Fever pink/black/white Claire the first day and the Natural Effects brown/teal/white one the next. I dressed to coordinate with my new baby and declared myself a walking booth display. People would ask where’s your booth? And I’d point to myself! Mannequin on the go! I guess I modeled Claire. Yep, let’s go with that. We met and mingled as we walked the aisles. Claire met lots of new friends.

Frannie (and all my Lazy friends) from Clover always at the ready to share the next cool thing.

Made with Clover’s Sweetheart Rose Makers.

Pittsburgh Has Such a Nice Downtown
Intimate and pedestrian. Little parks here and there in the city. A little bit of a hill here and there - something we don’t see much of in most downtown areas. Tall interesting buildings, great sculpture on the sidewalks and store fronts. Even the Court Of Common Pleas was an attraction, made with fort-like construction which reminded me of St. Augustine Florida. Lovely little restaurants and eateries.

We were across the street from the Mellon Center - a sports arena of some sort. There was an event there the night before I arrived and my friends said they heard the crowds cheering from their rooms.

For the record, I had crab cakes for dinner both of my evenings there. That’s what it’s all about in my book, baby. Sixteen of us went to din din the first night - an event in and of itself. That was only part of our group! We walked the 8 blocks to dinner because it was downhill. Took the shuttle home for obvious reasons. Goodness. Dinner the second night was just a tiny group of four. We went back to the same place since it was so good the night before.

My Lazy bud Terry Atkinson of Atkinson Designs
shows off her yo-yo bag. Cute! The bag is, too.

Game Time
Lazy Girl Regina reported that the dice game Left Center Right was played at her quilt retreat recently for the bounty of fat quarters and I thought that was brilliant. So, I brought several of the games with me and introduced my friends, using chocolate for game pieces. It’s a game of give, take, whine and winner take all! Got any competitive friends? Look out! Very fast paced and there is no telling who will win until the very end. I knew after introducing them that they would each need a game, so I made sure I had enough for all of them. Here’s a link to the manufacturer’s website: http://www.dicegames.com/0002.php

Well, we played in the hotel bar after dinner one night and they nearly kicked us out for hootin’ and hollerin’ like idiots. Obviously, it was a hit. Other fun times on this trip included the always-expected challenges and antics of travel, odd cab rides in search of food, and a public restroom episode that spanned two establishments on opposite sides of town which will not be discussed again. No one was hurt or arrested, merely embarrassed.

Fabulous new Painstiks project made with a wholecloth stencil.
All of the color on this design is painted.

Long Time and New Friends
Nancy Clifton, owner of Aiken Quilt shop where Regina’s Lazy sister Susan reigns, found me at lunch the second day, handed me chicken fabric fat quarter and said ‘I hear you’re free-range’ referring to my self-described booth-free or free-range Lazy status! What a hoot. That’s the first time I met Nancy. Sue told me Nancy would be there and I was just thinking it would be memorable to finally meet her, not hilarious because she got my goat. lol.

Cecile from Just Another Button Company introduced stick pins, topped with her exquisite polymer clay buttons. I may need one of every style! Nope, no picture. We’ll have to keep watch at her website for details.

I met four of the designers whose fabrics I used on samples. That was lovely. I think they enjoy seeing how people use their designs as much as I do. I get such a kick out of seeing someone carry one of my little creations. I saw a few at the show, stopped all of them and chatted a bit about their bags.

Deb Luttrell of Stitchin’ Heaven, Jerry Stube of Quilter’s Quarters
and me in the Art Gallery Fabrics booth.

Well, it was great to be there, see everyone and I’m glad to be home. Always good to come home.

Enjoy!
Joan

‘Porcelina’ by Marcus Fabrics

Where to see Claire at Quilt Market

Check with the following booths to see our beauties: Avlyn, Maywood, Marcus, Blank and Checker Distributors. And hopefully Moda/United Notions if their yardage arrives today (I hope, I hope!).

‘Porcelina’ by Marcus Fabrics

Shown above and below, this is a fun and whimsical graphic line full of different scale prints. I love how all the fabrics come together from the side view shown below. And the handles stand up nice and pretty all on their own. Fabulous!

‘Paisley’ by Maywood Studio fabrics

This is Paisley in the black colorway. Also available in green, red and blue with taupe. I love this line. It screams out to be made into bags. It’s sophisticated and light in tone despite its roots in black. Nice.

‘Metro Goes Au Naturel’ by Marcus Fabrics

This is a wonderful line of brown, black, cream and gray. Aside from simply being gorgeous, adding the gray in there with the tried and true black/brown/cream gives this well-anchored and classic styling a modern and pleasant twist. And the angled stripe is printed at that angle - fun stuff. Two samples!

Sketchbook from Blank Quilting

I love this line of stripes flowers and more in these rich colors. Claire is a perfect palette for strong graphics such as stripes. Two samples!

‘Belle Fleur’ from Avlyn

We saw Claire make her debut in Belle Fleur last week, but I didn’t have an inside view to share until today. So here’s a reminder of our cover Girl in smashing limey greens and black, as well as an inside peek below.

Batting and Interfacing Products

I tried a new-to-me product for the Porcelina sample shown above. It’s Fusible Batting from Bosal (bah-zle), item #325. Be sure and stop by their booth (I heard they will be at the show) and ask to see a sample. While there, check out their Fusible All Purpose Non Woven Interfacing, item # 334. It’s comparable to Pellon’s Decor Bond.

From Pellon, I like Decor Bond fusible interfacing item # 809 and Fusible Fleece for batting item # 987F.

I have plenty more to tell you about Claire in the coming weeks as we await her arrival in mid-June.

Enjoy!
Joan

Claire Handbag shown in an upcoming fabric line ‘Belle Fleur’ by Karen Combs from Avlyn.

The Wow Factor
The angled inset at the center of the bag is just cool, cool, cool. And easy, too. It offers the opportunity for an extra deep outside pocket, perfect for keys, phone or other small items.  And goodness, there’s a pocket on the other side, too. Nice!

The angled silhouette of the center panel mimics the overall shape of the bag. Claire is perfect for featuring a combination of strong prints and different scale designs. We’ll talk more about choosing fabrics in a future blog post.

Fabric Fun
The front and back of the bag have reverse fabric placements. Two main fabrics create three panels on each side of the bag. One side is white/green/white, the other is green/white/green. Pockets are the same fabric on both sides, located atop the center panel.

Here is the other side of the bag.

I love how the fabrics meet at the side seams.

Purse, Basket, Project Tote
Claire offers an interesting mix of uses. As she is, I think of her not only as ideal for a purse, but perfect for a project tote. Especially knitting or other handwork with the way she sits open and at attention. And I can’t shake the feeling that she is a spring basket, too, ready to accompany me on a walk through the park.

I have to tell you - I adore this design.  It’s sweet, simple yet not plain, functional with a hint of sass.  I look forward to discovering how she fits into my stable of purses, bags, totes and more.

Two New Lazy Tricks
Claire stands up nice and tall with one layer of batting for the cover and one layer of interfacing for the lining. A new Lazy construction trick helps her stand tall and open.

The short handles are my preference. Due to another special Lazy construction trick, the handles behave nicely,  resting across the top of the bag neatly and at the ready.

Details on both of these tricks are in the pattern, coming this June.

Claire pattern cover.

Arrival Date
Claire will be here in June.  Check with your local quilt shop to see if they will be offering her.

I will keep you posted about our new Girl, her debut at quilt market later this month in Pittsburgh and I hope to share some details and new pics on my blog over the coming weeks.

Claire Details
Size: 10 1/4″ wide at the bottom and 9 1/4″ tall by 4″ deep.
She uses our Bag-E-Bottom size F, same as Mini Mi.
Fabric: 7 fat quarters, 3 for the outside 4 for the inside.
Loaded with inside pockets.
Two outside pockets, one on each side.
Handles in two lengths: short and medium.

More Pics!
I’ve created an album of images of Claire at our website here.

I’ll feature some of these bags on my blog in the next week or so as I prepare to head off to Quilt Market in Pittsburgh for her debut. I hope you like our new Girl.

Enjoy!
Joan