Completed project: Over sized messenger bag

My sister is a teacher and has a lot of papers and binders to carry back and forth each day.

So she asked me to make her a quilted over sized messenger bag that was functional and stylish.


I designed the bag above to fit her needs. It's 14 inches wide, 12 inches tall and 6 inches deep to fit all her binders and paper. There are two side pockets and one on the interior to fit her keys, pencils, pens and any other odds and ends she may have.


The strap is 3 inches wide, which I recommended so it wouldn't strain her shoulders. But it took me forever to find hardware for a 3 inch wide strap so it could be adjustable. Eventually I ended up using a piece made for a belt.

The entire bag is quilted in a diagonal grid, and I quilted in the ditch on the quilt block on the flap panel. I used a paper pieced design to make it look a little more modern, since my sister is in her early 20s.

My sister picked out the colors when we went on a shopping trip together to a quilt store near her home. And now it's finished just in time for her to start the school year in a couple weeks.

A busy July

Where has the month gone?

Since my last post I attended a Saturday workshop to make a tree skirt, got distracted while finishing it with making a design wall for my sewing room, broke my sewing machine, got a new onw and sewed up the top to the sunflower table runner above last night.

What have you all been?

Liberated quilting with Gwen Marston

Liberated quilt champion Gwen Marston was the featured speaker at the Mississippi Valley Quilt Guild this month and I really enjoyed her presentation.

She started her lecture by describing her experiences learning to quilt with Mennonite women and then having the opportunity to see a large collection of antique quilts early in her quilting life and how the two influenced her quilting style.


She sews the same way a women used to, quilting out of their sewing baskets using scraps would without the aid of a design wall. The result are quilts that have clumps of a color in a corner instead of spreading it out over the entire quilt, borders that look nice in proportion to the center design, but don't necessarily exactly measure the same length as the piece it surrounds, and filler pieces in sampler quilts made of blocks in various sizes.


I really enjoyed the applique quilts she shared with us. She makes them by following a general, somewhat abstract shape that she cuts out herself from a piece of folded fabric, the way women used to before quilting magazines and readily available templates. Not every leaf is exactly the same size and that's OK.

Marston kept emphasizing that she is not throwing the baby out with the wash water and although her quilts do not follow the current standards of perfection in symmetry or border and block placement, they are sewed with impeccable skill and attention to detail.


And to show our appreciation, our guild presented Marston with a Fourth of July themed liberated quilt.

Christmas in July sale

It's Christmas in July here at Custom Quilts by Stephanie Soebbing.

All Christmas stockings are 30 percent off. There are nine styles available in traditional and novelty prints including pet and sports themes. And if you don't find what you're looking for, I'd be happy to make a custom stocking for you.


Ready-made items are also 10 percent off throughout the entire month and I'm offering free personalization on all Christmas stockings. So get a really early jump on your holiday shopping here.


And especially for you blog readers, I am offering free shipping on all orders over $50. Just mention you read this blog in the notes section when you check out at www.stephaniesoebbing.etsy.com, and I'll refund your shipping costs on PayPal.

Merry Christmas.

Completed project: T-shirt quilt

I finished a T-shirt quilt for a client's grandson last night. It's made up of his shirts from school, Dance Marathon, vacations with his grandparents and some of his favorite rock bands.