We’re excited to announce the two winners of Trish Preston of Two Peas in a Pod Designs‘ Tie Front Tote e-course!

Winner #1: Gwen Windham, who said “I just bought a yard of Pernilla’s Journey Unicorn fabric for a bag for my daughter– so that would be my first project if I won this giveaway!! The bow tie really adds to this bag— cute! Thank you for the chance to win!” (Ed. note: Gwen, we’d LOVE to see your fun unicorn bag once you’ve made it!)

Winner #2: Jeifner, who said “I would love to make a bag! I also am scared of them. I even went so far as to cut one out once. It has been ignored like a naughty child for months and months. Taking a class would be great. I’d like to use home dec fabric, or some Tula Pink Prince Charming, which I love.”

Congratulations, Gwen & Jeifner!  Please contact Trish directly at twopeasinapoddesigns@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Did you miss the post? Read Brioni & John’s reviews of the course and see their bags here. Also, here’s a brief video that Trish created to introduce her e-course. If you make a Tie Front Tote, we’d love to see it! Please add it to the Fat Quarterly Community & Inspiration Flickr group.

Also, we want to thank all of you who have truly embraced the friendly and collegial spirit of Modern Madness. To be clear, we love ALL of the fabric lines and designers that are part of Modern Madness. They’re all all-stars! The intent of Modern Madness is not to make any statements about who is better than whom; rather, it’s to celebrate modern fabric in all its glory, and to continue to expose our readers to designers and lines of which they may not have previously been aware. We love hearing comments resembling “Thank you so much for introducing me to this fabric line — I hadn’t heard of it before, and now I need to add some to my stash!” We appreciate your efforts to continue making Modern Madness a fun, friendly, and supportive activity.

OK, let’s see who’s advancing to the second round in Region 3 …

Washi by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Timeless Treasures Fabric (172 votes, 51%) def.
Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabrics (167, 49%)

Lush by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics (229 votes, 68%) def.
Meet the Gang by Marisa Anne of Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics (110 votes, 32%)

Good Fortune by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics (189 votes, 56%) def.
Modern Whimsy by Laurie Wisbrun for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (150, 44%)

Annie’s Farm Stand by Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods (205 votes, 60%) def.
Morning Tides by Mark Cesarik for Free Spirit Fabrics (134, 40%)

Woodland by Natalie Lymer for Lecien Fabrics (217 votes, 64%) def.
Appleville by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (122, 36%)

Prince Charming by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics (258 votes, 76%) def.
Pam Kitty Morning by Pam Vieira-McGinnis for Lakehouse Dry Goods (81, 24%)

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics (238 votes, 70%) def.
The Woodlands by Kristian A. Howell for Anthology Fabrics (101, 30%)

Ruby Star Spring by Melody Miller Fabrics (213 votes, 63%) def.
Curio by Basic Gray for Moda Fabrics (126, 37%)

Scoring: give yourself 1 point for every match-up you guessed correctly. Add it to your total score from rounds 1 & 2, and post your total in the comments below. See how you’re doing compared to other MM players around the world.

Today, the final 16 of our favorite fabric lines are in action in Region 4, which some consider to be the most hotly contested region. There are some real modern powerhouses in this region. It’s time to place your votes!

Echo by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics
Sophie by Chez Moi for Moda Fabrics

Pear Tree by Thomas Knauer for Andover Fabrics
Domestic Bliss by Liz Scott for Moda Fabrics

Curious Nature by David Butler of Parson Gray for Free Spirit Fabrics
Storyboek by Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabrics

Little Apples by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics
Paris Apartment by Bari J. for Lecien Fabrics

Half Moon Modern by Moda Fabrics
Taali by Jennifer Moore for Monaluna Organic Fabrics

Etchings by 3 Sisters for Moda Fabrics
Across the Pond by Michelle Engel Bencsko for Cloud 9 Organic Fabrics

Happy Mochi Yum Yum by Monica Solorio-Snow for Lecien Fabrics
Backyard Baby by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller Fabrics

1001 Peeps by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics
Powerpop by Jenean Morrison for Free Spirit Fabrics

Let’s take a look at who else emerged to compete another day in round 2 …

Ruby Star Shining by Melody Miller for Kokka Fabrics (380 votes, 61%) def.
Honey Child by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit Fabrics (242, 39%)

California Girl by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics (312 votes, 50%) def.
Silent Cinema by Jenean Morrison for Free Spirit Fabrics (310 votes, 50%)

Ruby by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics (433 votes, 70%) def.
St. Ives by Sarah Fielke for Lecien Fabrics (189, 30%)

Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics (451 votes, 73%) def.
Feather N Stitch by Sarah Watts for Blend Fabrics (171, 27%)

Shades of Grey by Jan DiCintio for Daisy Janie Fabrics (375 votes, 60%) def.
Fox Trails by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake Fabrics (247, 40%)

Going Coastal by Emily Herrick for Michael Miller Fabrics (362 votes, 58%) def.
Stitch by Betz White for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (260, 42%)

Far Far Away III by Heather Ross for Kokka Fabrics (464 votes, 75%) def.
Mechanical Genius by Mo Bedell for Timeless Treasures Fabrics (158, 25%)

Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics (453 votes, 73%) def.
Hyperreal Garden by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics (169, 27%)

Scoring: once again, give yourself 1 point for every match-up you guessed correctly. Add it to your score from round 1, and post your total in the comments below. See how you’re doing compared to other MM players around the world.

Now let’s move over to Region 3 to see who’s matched up:

** Voting is now closed. Thanks for playing! **

Washi by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Timeless Treasures Fabric
Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabrics

Meet the Gang by Marisa Anne of Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics
Lush by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics

Good Fortune by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics
Modern Whimsy by Laurie Wisbrun for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

Annie’s Farm Stand by Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods
Morning Tides by Mark Cesarik for Free Spirit Fabrics

Appleville by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman Fabrics
Woodland by Natalie Lymer for Lecien Fabrics

Prince Charming by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics
Pam Kitty Morning by Pam Vieira-McGinnis for Lakehouse Dry Goods

The Woodlands by Kristian A. Howell for Anthology Fabrics
Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

Ruby Star Spring by Melody Miller for Kokka Fabrics
Curio by Basic Gray for Moda Fabrics

Wow, this is getting tougher and tougher, isn’t it? And it’s still only round 1!!

Fly a Kite by October Afternoon by Riley Blake Fabrics (305 votes, 61%) def.
Miscellany by Julia Rothman for Cloud 9 Organic Fabrics (198, 39%)

Grand Bazaar by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics (273 votes, 54%) def.
Tilly by Jan DiCintio for Daisy Janie Organic Fabrics (230, 46%)

LouLouThi by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics (370 votes, 74%) def.
Marin by Jennifer Moore for Monaluna Organic Fabrics (133, 26%)

Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics (359 votes, 71%) def.
J’adore Stella by Dear Stella Fabrics (144, 29%)

Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics (410 votes, 82%) def.
Whitewash by Meg Hawkey for Lecien Fabrics (93, 18%)

Heirloom by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabrics (368 votes, 73%) def.
Peacock Lane by Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics (135, 27%)

Lark by Amy Butler for Westminster Fibers (265 votes, 53%) def.
A Stitch in Color by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda Fabrics (238, 47%)

Outfoxed by Lizzy House by Andover Fabrics (307 votes, 61%) def.
Wrenly by Valori Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics (196, 39%)

So, how’d you do? Any surprises? Here’s how you can keep score if you’d like to see how your predictions are stacking up against other Fat Quarterly readers:

Scoring: for every winner that you predicted correctly, give yourself 1 point. Did anyone get a perfect score of 8? Let us know your score in the comments below!

OK, it’s time to move on to Region 2. Record your votes below, and see the bottom of this post for links to all of the fabric lines!

** Voting is now closed. Thanks for playing! **

Ruby Star Shining by Melody Miller for Kokka Fabrics
Honey Child by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit Fabrics

Silent Cinema by Jenean Morrison for Free Spirit Fabrics
California Girl by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics

St. Ives by Sarah Fielke for Lecien Fabrics
Ruby by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics

Children at Play by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabrics
Feather N Stitch by Sarah Watts for Blend Fabrics

Shades of Grey by Jan DiCintio for Daisy Janie Fabrics
Fox Trails by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake Fabrics

Stitch by Betz White for Robert Kaufman Fabrics
Going Coastal by Emily Herrick for Michael Miller Fabrics

Mechanical Genius by Mo Bedell for Timeless Treasures Fabrics
Far Far Away III by Heather Ross for Kokka Fabrics

Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics
Hyperreal Garden by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics

Over to you, Ruth….

I had also just received Jenny Pedigo’s Quick Curve Ruler in the post and wanted to put that to the test so started by cutting some orange peel shaped pieces by lining up one of the lines on the ruler with one of the zigzag lines,

cutting a curve,

flipping the ruler, lining the same line against the centre of the zigzag and cutting again.

Then I cut six equilateral triangles from my favourite dot of all dots – Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 – cut a curve out of two of each of their edges and pieced the orange peel pieces in.

I kept going until I had a hexagon.

Then I added a round of the Quilt Blocks circles fabric mitring the corners at 60 degrees so the pattern on the fabrics continued around the whole hexagon.  I then added something pink from my stash, quilted, backed and bound into a pillow which was instantly claimed by one of my ten year old twin girls and resides on her top bunk.  This post makes it all sound as though it went swimmingly well but actually this pillow went wrong more times than I can remember and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth every step of the way. EDITED TO ADD: piecing using this ruler is dead easy and very fun – the gnashing and wailing was all due to my only very dim recollection of geometry from school!

** Voting for Region 1 is now closed. Thanks for playing. Stay tuned to view the winners, and to vote for your favorite fabric lines in Region 2! **

As a reminder, you can print your brackets here.

And in case you’re unfamiliar with any of this region’s fabric lines, be sure to check out the links below!

Miscellany by Julia Rothman for Cloud 9 Fabrics
Fly a Kite by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Fabrics

Tilly by JanDiCintio by Daisy Janie Fabrics
Grand Bazaar by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics

LouLouThi by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics
Marin by Jennifer Moore for Monaluna Organic Fabrics

A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey for Moda Fabrics
J’adore Stella by Dear Stella Fabrics

Whitewash by Meg Hawkey for Lecien Fabrics
Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

Peacock Lane by Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics
Heirloom by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabrics

Lark by Amy Butler for Westminster Fibers
A Stitch in Color by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda Fabrics

Outfoxed by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics
Wrenly by Valori Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics

Love fabric? Love competition? In the spirit of March Madness, we’re excited to bring back MODERN MADNESS for another year of fun, fabric, and friendly competition.

Once again, we’ve populated the field of 64 with all of your favorite modern fabric lines. They’ll face off, round after round, until we arrive at the 2012 fabric champion as determined solely by the readers of Fat Quarterly.  And with last year’s champion, Jay McCarroll, without a new line to defend his title this year, we already know we’re going to have a new champion!

Here’s how it will work:

• We’ve already randomly placed our top 64 fabric lines into the brackets, based on our observations over the past year as well as the most frequently nominated lines by our readers. There were well over 90 fantastic lines that were in the running for our top 64, and even getting down to the field was a tough task. Print the brackets out to play along!
• Throughout the month of March, we’ll be posting the different rounds and regions of competition. Once posted, a survey will go live for you to vote for your favorites.
• Once the voting for each round is closed, we’ll update the brackets and get ready for the next round of competition.

From 64 contenders, only one will emerge as the favorite. Let the debate, conversation, and celebration commence!

Here’s the schedule:

Round 1

• Region 1: March 13th
• Region 2: March 15th
• Region 3: March 16th
• Region 4: March 17th

Round 2

• Region 1: March 19th
• Region 2: March 21st
• Region 3: March 22nd
• Region 4: March 23rd

Regionals

• Part 1: March 25th
• Part 2: March 27th

Quarterfinals – March 29th

Semifinals – March 31st

Championship – April 2nd

And college basketball fans know the best part about March Madness: predicting all of the winners before the competition starts, and keeping track of how many points you earn by being correct!

We encourage you to print the brackets before we begin and fill it out. We’ll give tips on how to keep score throughout the competition.

Sound like fun? Ready to play? Download your brackets here.

Today we have Miranda’s Mom, Denise, as she talks us through the process of making her very own design, the Josie bag. (Denise hopes to have patterns available for both bags on the website soon)

The Josie Bag!

Several weeks ago my daughter Miranda told me she had been accepted to receive designer fabric for a project of her choice.  Since the fabric was coming from the UK it did take a little time to arrive but when it did we were quite excited.  She wanted me to use one of the fabrics for something totally different than her.  She chose the triangle fabric and left me the circular one.   I had designed a Miss Betty bag a couple of years ago and wanted to hi-lite that but alas my fabric would not do.  Those circles were just too close to use them as centers for the grommets.  She decided to use her fabric for the Miss Betty Bag so I was left to design a new bag.

While working on another project I was using some scraps of fabric and my Go Cutter to make flowers.  Seeing how they would look in the center of the circle almost made it seem that I had designed another fabric.  There were so many wonderful colors in the base fabric that I could choose just about anything to stick in the center and it would match.   Next – an alternate fabric for the lining and sides.  Miranda loved the teal as did I so we decided to use that for the outside gusset and handles.  Lining, left overs from another project but again, coordinating quite well with the base fabric.  I love a lot of pockets in my bags so things don’t get lost in the bottom.  It’s always a must for me.  A handy place for my Tylenol, I-Phone, business cards and keys.

I am teaching myself to machine quilt so first thing was to do an all over design.  Once done the fabric and batting was still too soft.  Add the flowers to the centers, with a hand button-hole stitch then layer another piece of batting and quilt around the flowers to make them pop.  Now I was ready to design the bag!

Getting ready to quilt.

Machine quilting the lining.  Looks like Cinnamon Buns!

Adding the flower to center

Another layer of batting and more free motion quilting

Back of fabric.

Next the pattern design

Cut freezer paper  10×14

Use kitchen items to round off bottom corners

Mark your center line. Center and cut the fabric

Eeeeekkkk!

The pieces after they were cut.

Interior pockets

Cut 2 14×10.5 folded  in half with batting inside. Stitch separations. Trim even with bag lining.

Measure the lining for the gusset

If you screw up, better on the lining than the fabric you can’t replace!

Lining done.

Now to measure and repeat the process for the outer bag.

Make outer bag as you did the lining.

Grommets in my stash are not Silver which is what I wanted.  Martha Stewart paint to the rescue!

Trace the area for placement, baste through all layers including lining so all with match up and not slip.

Cut through all layers – including lining

Attach grommets, I needed help for this as the thickness was too hard for me to press through.

(Thanks to my DH – Mark!)

Handles are cut 3.5 and folded over 1.5 in of batting and sewed to make 1.5 in  handles.

Shown also is the binding of the bag, cut at 2.25, double folded and sewn to hold lining and outer bag together.  Hand sewn in place on the interior of the bag.

Front tab with magnet and a bit of steam punk to hi-light the circles

Magnetic Snap Closure

Back of bag – just as charming as the front.

And now the finished product – Miss Josie’s Bag!

That was a fantastic journey through Denise’s design process, a huge thank you for sharing with us, Denise and to Miranda for yesterday’s tutorial . Be sure to visit both Denise and Miranda at Out of My Head Studio, where they are joined by the rest of their creative family, Denise’s husband Mark and son Nicholas.

We are coming towards the end of our journey now, with only 2 more designer challenges to share. Has this got your thinking hats on? What can you make with just a couple of fat quarters?

Quilt Blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker, for Moda fabrics is out in April, and will be available from Fat Quarter Shop as well as many other stores (we will keep you posted on who has it and when!)

The Miss Betty bag on today’s post was designed and made by Miranda, and tomorrow’s Miss Josie bag was made by Denise. I haven’t been able to pick a favourite of the two. I wonder if you will?

Let’s hand over to Miranda for today’s post.

MISS BETTY BAG

An easy fat quarter friendly bag.

Start by  layering the outer fabric and batting (I used fusible batting) and machine quilting the entire fat quarter of fabric.  The triangle pattern made it easy to stitch along the print of the fabric.   Also I selected a magenta dragonfly  fabric for the lining.  This too was machine quilted to give it more stability.  Once done, I cut all 4 pieces of the purse, two outer bag pieces and two lining pieces.  Stitch across the top of each bag as shown, open and press.

Cut the purse pieces

Stitch one lining and one out bag together at the top

Flip and press seams open

Measure for placement of grommets

Mark circle

Cut out section of fabric and batting where you marked. Mark lining fabric and cut so you have four holes in each section of bag.

Match right sides together pin and stitch bag and lining. On each side.  Leave notched area open.

Next stitch bottom edge, again leaving notched area open and a 5 inch section in the lining for turning.

Make boxed bottom on  outer purse and lining  matching seams.

Turn and match up the outer bag and lining grommet holes, baste to hold all layers together.

Place grommets on each section of purse  – Almost done!

Make handles.  Ours are 64 inches long, on continuous long strip with decorative stitching leaving at least 2 inches at each end.

Feed through Grommets in Purse, making sure to have the best stitched area on the outside, then join as above.  Open seams and press.

Add decorative stitch where you joined.

Your Miss Betty bag is DONE!

Thank you so much to Miranda from Out of My Head Studio for today’s fantastic tutorial using just one FQ of quilt blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker. DOn’t forget to comeback tomorrow to see what Miranda’s Mom, Denise did with her FQ!