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Slip/zip pocket construction

by Linda Theil The purpose of this post is to describe the basic construction of a dual slip pocket and zippered pocket that can be adapted to the interior or exterior, front or back pattern pieces of many bag designs. I describe this pocket and its inspiration in a previous post titled "Autumn pouch".   To make a basic seven-inch wide by eight-inch long combined slip/zip pocket that may be incorporated into many bag designs you will need four pieces of fabric. All pieces in this basic, slip/zip pocket demonstration will be seven-inches wide. You will also need an eight- to nine-inch length of #5 zipper tape and zipper pull. (Yes, you can use any size zipper you like, but not much shorter than eight inches or so.) #1 One piece of matching, coordinating, or accent fabric to make the FRONT of the zipper pocket seven-inches wide by six inches long. (blue) #2 One piece of zipper pocket LINING seven-inches wide by 11-inches long. (orange) #3 One piece of matching, coordinating, or...
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Autumn pouch

  by Linda Theil I made another large Noodlehead "Plover Pouch" from the Lori Holt "Calico Home Decor Zippy Bags 2 Project Panel" last week. This time I hand-embroidered the autumn-themed design to quilt the front panel.  I used Bison Brown Prarie faux leather for the pouch gusset and zipper panels, and Mustard Mora faux leather -- both from Emmaline Bags in Alberta -- for the pouch back.  Ben 3D printed a " Chubby Cat Keychain-Charm Kitty Figurine " for my zipper pull with a free pattern from MakerWorld.com . I attempted to adapt a combined slip/zip pocket featured in Noodlehead's "Firefly Tote" pattern for my large Plover with no success, but I used one of my experiments as a zippered pocket in the interior of this current Plover incarnation. After purchasing the Firefly pattern and watching the free Noodlehead sew-along for the "Firefly Tote" on YouTube, I was able to adapt the slip/zip pocket to fit a medium-sized Plover that ...
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Cookbook-palooza!

Dutilh Centennial Cookbook art by Holly Pultz, 1979 by Linda Theil There is nothing more real than a meal. If you wish to learn about the real lives of humans, discovering what they ate is a good foundation for understanding. Community cookbooks are primary sources for what people ate; how they ate it; and sometimes, why they ate the meals they chose. It is our contention that the recently released digital edition of the Dutilh Centennial Cookbook is a perfect resource for this type of investigation as it is full of recipes and kitchen lore covering Twentieth Century kitchens in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. As an example you can learn on page 55 that the editors included an Italian pasta dish translated to "Straw and Hay" in a Christmas Eve dinner menu highlighted by an original Holly Pultz drawing of baby Jesus in a manger. This cookbook is a treasure of real lives at a real time in a real place. Watch "Cooking Up Change" promo reel for some sizzle! This yea...
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Susan's tote

by Linda Theil I sewed my second "Clever Core Tote" designed by Diane Spencer-Ogg this weekend. I made this one for my sister-in-law, Susan, who loves a good tote! I used fabrics from the "Slow Stroll" collection designed by Stephanie Sliwinski of Fancy That Design House for Moda in 2022. For this tote I followed the pattern's two-tone layout using two color iterations of the same print from the collection. S-O "Clever Core Tote" crafted by L. Theil in "Slow Stroll" by Moda I added a decorative strip of fabric and D-ring on the front of the tote, omitted from the back. The "Clever Core" design features an integrated, zippered pouch; and a full-sized, zippered-pocket inside. The bag is roomy at 13x11x4-inches, well-designed, and very sturdy in its construction. For the strap I used 1.5-inch wide, cotton webbing from Penny Supplies. I preferred the tan webbing, but Susan chose the jauntier blue! Update: August 25, 2026 I made a bag c...
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Landscape tote

by Linda Theil I recently learned that the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild's 2027 quilt show will have an entry category for accessories, so I thought I might make a bag to enter in the show. I had a quilted landscape that I'd made in Karen Eckmeier's "Accidental Landscapes" workshop; and I thought that UFO might make a nice panel for a tote. The workshop was a lot of fun. For those interested in pursuing her technique, Karen Eckmeier has produced an "Accidental Landscapes Magic" YouTube video and an Accidental Landscapes (Quilted Lizard, 2008) book available from Amazon. For my quilted panel, I had used fabrics from Sarah Sczepanski's  "Rust & Bloom"  collection of monoprints published by Free Spirit Fabrics in 2023. I had purchased a half-yard bundle of the collection, so I had several fabric choices to use in the construction of my new tote. British designer Diane Spencer-Ogg just released a new, small-tote pattern, the "Cleve...
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Pencil pods for kids!

by Linda Theil It's not too early to start thinking about donations for the Livingston Educational Service Agency's annual Backpacks for Kids! project. July 30, 2026 is the deadline for donations; and local-district, free distribution is 4-6 PM on August 8, 2026. For more information check out the LESA Backpacks for Kids! web page. Alisa has purchased ten back packs and all the required school supplies to fill them and I have made ten pencil-pods -- one for each backpack.  When I went looking through my stash for materials for this year's pencil pods, I found a lot of small scraps from a project I made last year using the "Hedgehog Hollow" collection by In the Beginning fabrics. You can read about that project on my blog post titled "Three pillows and a quilt" . Although the orts were small, the images are so beautiful I thought I would use the scraps to make as many pencil pods as I could eke from the leftovers.. My goal was to feature the beautiful an...
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