Skip to main content

Diane's Archie


by Linda Theil

Diane Spencer-Ogg, owner of Spencer-Ogg, Ltd. in Greater Manchester, UK, released a new mini-duffle pattern she calls "Arch Zipper Pouches" in two sizes with printable pattern pieces and video tuturial. Her video introduction can be viewed at the end of this post.

As always, Spencer-Ogg has hit the ball out of the park with the elegance of her design and the precision of her process. I have made two of the 10x8x4-inch large-sized Archies -- as her  fans have dubbed the new pattern. The bag shown above is made of Mora Faux Leather in grape from Emmaline Bags of Alberta, Canada. The interior, shown below, is cotton from the "Art History" collection by Marcia Derse for Windham Fabrics.



For my second Archie, I quilted a panel from the "Guess How Much I Love You" collection by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram for Clothworks.



With this new design, Spencer-Ogg debuts an updated pattern-production method that provides printable pattern pieces and a comprehensive video tutorial; but without the previously standard written-instructions accompanied by full-color photos of each step in the bag-making process. This change is a nod to current practice of many makers who rely on video tutorials instead of written instructions as learning tools. Spencer-Ogg has shared with thirty-thousand devotees in her  Spencer-Ogg Bag Sewing Group on FaceBook that the lower-priced format is an experiment that she will not use on every pattern in the future,

I have said before that pattern-making has come a long way from the days of a single photograph, a few line drawings, and inadequate instructions to today's sophisticated and demanding audience requiring instructional videos with each pattern. Diane Spencer-Ogg is premier in innovation, precision, and reliability. I've been making her bags for five years and every bag has been interesting and exciting to create.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scrappy log cabin blocks

by Linda Theil Scrappy Log Cabin quilt block by Linda Theil  Next month the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild will host a virtual quilt-along to make quilts for the SafeHouse Center womens' shelter in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One of the suggested blocks to make at the event is a Scrappy Log Cabin suggested by GAAQG member and artist Mary Bajcz. I love the Log Cabin block design and decided to get a head start on next month's event by organizing my materials and develping a process for making my Scrappy Log Cabin blocks. I began by watching Mary's YouTube video: "Scrap Quilt Strategy: The Log Cabin Technique" , and many others available on the topic. What a variety of approaches!   I'm not much of an improvisor and this is the first time I've tried the scrappy approach to quilt making. So It was quite an adventure for me. I pulled out my scrap bin and began sorting for lights and darks. After looking at many videos, I decided to work with a central square of 2.5-i...
1 comment
Read more

Sterling goodie-bags

Cathy and Carla on the beach at Sterling State Park, Monroe MI, May 2024 by Linda Theil Several years ago, Alisa discovered the full-amenity cottages on the beach at Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan; and we have enjoyed several family vacations there. Two years ago, I invited my cousins to spend a long spring weekend at Sterling, We enjoyed it so much we went again last year, and plan a trip for this year, too. I wanted to make a commenorative goodie-bag for this years trip so I chose a photo from last year and developed a color scheme for a tiny duffle and matching mini-backpack. The duffle is made from the Spencer-Ogg "Arch Zipper Pouch"   in the medium size -- 9 x 6 x 3-inches; and the mini-backpack is the "Bitty Bug Pack" pattern by Carolina Little Stitches. Both bags are made with Tilda "Chambray Dots" and faux waxed-canvas from Sally Tomato . For the feature panel on the front of the mini-backpack, I resized the  Sterling beach photo with my...
Post a Comment
Read more