Its the Eclectic Elements Blog Hop!!!

I am sew excited!  Have been waiting for this day for what seems like ages now!  A big thank you for joining me to see my creations with the lovely Tim Holtz range of fabrics.  First up:

I designed this bag using the new range of fabrics:

I have wanted to design my own bag for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The bag has a front flap which when opened displays:

I wanted two front pockets to be able to throw last minute bits and pieces in such as a car park ticket and I also wanted a secure area in which to keep my purse hence the zipped compartment - here is a closer view of the top:

The bag is fully lined and inside there is a further zipped pocket and two normal pockets.

Here is a view of the back of the bag, again with another pocket (can you tell I like pockets!):

the pocket is secured with a loop and Tim Holtz fragment which I have made into a button using matching paper.

Here is a close up of the handle to show the quilting:

It says Smidge as that's what my OH calls me - I have also put my age (but am not showing that!) and the year on the handle - all other letters are random throughout.  All of the bag is quilted using Tims Word Play sizzix die as a template - I cut out lots of letters with freezer paper which I then ironed onto the bag front, back pocket, the handle and the main bottle cap pieces which make up the basic bag and then I free motion quilted around each letter.  I spent a lovely day making this!

I then decided I needed a new Things To Do organiser in which to keep my notebook, pens, spare bits of paper and other useful stuff that I like to have handy, so I spent a few happy hours using some of the older range of fabric and hand sewing lots of hexagons and then hand sewing them altogether to make this:

as you can see it is big enough to hold an A5 notepad and various bits - there are three pockets on the left hand side and two on the right.  I finished it by machine sewing a binding on the inside and then hand sewing it onto the front to give it a nice finish.  Again it is held closed with a loop and this time a Tim Holtz muse token.

Then last Saturday I decided to add to my Eclectic Collection of finished items and made this in which to keep my Surface (type of tablet for those who don't know!) - here is the front:

I cut up the fabric into 2.5" squares and machine sewed them together into strips and then into two blocks, added some wadding and lining to make the case.  It is bound using the same method as the notebook holder and again finished with a loop (I like these loops too don't I!)  and this time a clear button with some matching paper glued onto it.  Here is the back:

I still have quite a bit of the new range of the fabrics left so am going to see what other inspiration there is on the next blogs in the hop.

Please join in with me and visit the following participants of the hop:

Tracee – http://farmgatecreations.blogspot.com.au/

Jassy – http://jassy-playtime.blogspot.co.uk

Lisa – http://www.intheboondocks.blogspot.com

Jen – Http://quilterinthecloset.blogspot.com

Katie – titanpink.blogspot.com

Amy   http://sewincrediblycrazy.blogspot.com
Nicki - http://www.sunshinegirlnicola.blogspot.co.uk (you are here)

A big thank you to all the girls in taking part in this hop with me - can't wait to see what you have all made!

Thanks for looking - An Eclectic Sewer with sore fingers from Solihull