Two Queen Bee Bags

Ever since I saw my friend Michelle's Queen Bee Bag, I have wanted to make one.  She told me about the tutorial at the Moda Bake Shop, and I went to find it.  The tutorial is done by Polly of Aunt Polly's Porch.  The tutorial uses a charm pack and has pieced panels, but I wanted to keep it simple and show off the cute daisy fabric I found.  So while I used the tutorial for dimensions, I also changed quite a few things.

This is my first bag.

One thing I did differently was quilt big panels and cut them down to size.  The nice thing about using Kona Black for the main part of the bag is that it is a little extra wide.  I was able to quilt 7/8 of a yard and cut out two panels 22 x 27 inches.

Another thing I changed was making the pocket designed to hold a 18 x 24 inch cutting mat taller.  The tutorial has a 14 inch tall pocket. (I don't have a mat that size, so I put my June Taylor Cut-n-Press in the pocket.) My pocket was cut out at 22 inches square.  This makes it not so floppy.  Once again I quilted 2/3 of a yard of the daisy fabric and cut out the sizes I wanted.  So the red line you see at the top is binding, not just the lining showing.

I still did the two pockets on the other side, but wish that I had used velcro or a zipper on the bottom pocket.  When things are in the main part of the bag that bottom pocket really flops open.  But I love that tall pocket for rulers.

Originally, I wanted the lining to be quilted like this reversible bag I recently made.

I love how strong it feels, so I quilted a gray panel for it. What I didn't consider was how thick the bag would already be with the outer pockets, so I decided to use a plain lining instead.  For the inner pockets, I just zig-zagged around some left over quilted pieces.  The black pocket is divided in half, and the white pocket has a velcro closure.

This bag nicely fits my Pfaff Plexiglas extension table which measures 18 x 24 inches.  I am excited to take this bag to a class or retreat.

The one thing I was dreading making was the 80 inch handles.  She has you iron each side in 3/4 of an inch before folding it in half, adding batting, and topstitching.  That was 320 inches of a 3/4 inch hem.  I tried an experiment and used my Hera marker to crease a line at 3/4 of an inch and then iron it.  (This red is Kona Chinese Red - one of my favorites.)

This was a technique I have used when making cards.  You score the paper before folding and end up with a prettier fold.  I was amazed at how well it worked with the fabric.  Ironing that 3/4 inch hem went so fast!

So after the first bag was finished I had two large quilted gray panels (about 22 x 27 inches).  I didn't want it to go to waste, so I decided to make a second bag.  :)

I ended up cutting it down to 21 x 27 inches so I could make two big 21 x 22 inch pockets with that Studio E Essentials vine fabric.  I kept one pocket big to hold cutting mats and large square rulers.

And divided the second pocket in half.  (There is a seam between those two rulers).

I ran out of the Northcott solid gray, so I lined the second bag with Kona White.  There is just one pocket made out of the white fabric which has a velcro closure.

This bag is slightly smaller and fits my Janome extension table very well.

Right now they are both in my craft room.  I may or may not give the second one to my mother.  I may just keep it and store rulers I don't use as often in there.  We'll see.  :)

When I talked to my friend Michelle and told her about the changes I made, she said the one change she would make is boxing the corners a bit.  But all in all the tutorial for the Queen Bee Bag at the Moda Bake Shop is excellent.  One thing to note is that Polly says it is a 120 minute gift idea.  Even after I quilted the panels, it took me a lot longer than that for each bag.  She must be speedy.  :D

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the parties on my sidebar.  Check them out.  There is something fun for every day of the week.